Chapter 11 Back Mountain (1)
If this person is valued by His Majesty, she will have another way out.
At night, the courtyard is filled with fragrance, flowers sway along the path, and the palace lanterns on the pillars flicker, making the flowers look more beautiful than during the day.
There were cups and plates on the stone table. The young man in the pavilion smiled faintly when he saw Jing and motioned her to sit down.
When she got closer, she could smell the faint aroma of wine and looked at the full sake cup in surprise.
As if he knew what was on her mind, the young master pushed a jade cup in front of Ming Yan's shadow and said calmly, "Young lady, you are frowning because of the palace banquet list that the master mentioned."
"Master Sheng, don't you want to go?"
Chu Qingluojue found the question strange, because which woman in this mansion didn't want to enter the palace to play the zither and have some reputation of her own.
Having clearly understood the pros and cons, Sheng Youzhang knew that the list definitely didn't include his name. He said calmly, "It's up to you, sir, to decide on this matter. Overthinking and worrying about it is pointless. The dance and music at a banquet require harmony and order. As a man, I should have given up on that."
She almost forgot that this man had already achieved fame and came here purely to learn the piano. If he really entered the palace banquet, his value would be lowered.
Chu Qingluo lowered her brows and smiled knowingly. She inhaled the aroma of the sake and drank it all in one gulp. "Young Master, there's no need to strive for fame and fortune anymore. You won't mind playing at the banquet."
"Miss, you are a straightforward person, so I will tell you straight." Seeing that she could drink like this, she was really different from those ladies from wealthy families. Sheng Youzhang offered her a glass of wine and drank it down her throat.
"Having already won the top spot in the imperial examination, I do not seek fame and fortune, but only a name as long-lasting as yours. Playing the zither is my passion, and I truly came here solely to study."
"Mr. Sheng only wants to be liked," she said, looking up at the bright moon in the sky. After a moment's silence, she spoke with melancholy, "But I am different from you. I must go to the palace banquet."
These words filled Sheng Youzhang's ears with confusion. He frowned slightly and asked hesitantly, "What is your purpose, young lady, that you must do this?"
However, after this question was asked lightly, the woman in front of him no longer answered. Her phoenix eyes raised slightly, as if reminding him that he asked too many questions.
"I've been presumptuous again, young lady, please don't mind it." With a regretful sigh, the young man looked at the ripples of wine in the cup and decided not to say anything more. He then began to worry about her situation. "It's just that the young lady is too eager to achieve success, and her heart is rough and her temper is not stable, so it's difficult for her to play calmly."
"If Mr. Qu sees this, he will probably remember it."
"It's alright. Since entering this mansion, the master has recorded many of my faults." As dusk deepened, after a few drinks, she probably had no mood to talk about academic matters. She put down her wine cup, stood up apologetically, and bowed respectfully. "It's getting late. Please excuse me for leaving first."
"Miss Chu, be careful on the road."
Hearing Sheng Youzhang's farewell words, she walked away gracefully.
Whether or not to discuss zither music theory with this young man is not important. The purpose is to narrow the distance between the two.
When he arrived at the foot of the pavilion, Chu Qingluo did not go up the stairs. Instead, he walked around and entered the path leading to the back mountain.
I haven't seen anyone from Fu Zhao for two days. I previously ordered Ning Zhu not to set foot in Si Yue Fu again, but he can still be summoned from the back mountain.
She walked along the path into the forest, lit a cigarette, and waited quietly for someone to come.
Less than a quarter of an hour later, a light sound was heard in the woods, and the footsteps were slowly approaching, but the pace was not that of Ningzhu.
She looked back with a slight pause, her eyes and brows showing a hint of coldness.
There was no sign of anyone behind the newcomer. She couldn't help but snort coldly and looked at the man in black clothes sternly: "Why are you here tonight? Where is Ningzhu?"
The person in front of her was Feng Yan, the left envoy of Fu Zhao. He was cunning and his whereabouts were erratic. His skills were much better than those of Ning Zhu, the right envoy. However, he had improper thoughts about her, the princess of Long State, which made her disgusted for a long time.
Because of this, she was used to dispatching Ning Zhu instead of the Left Envoy. Then she thought, she hadn't seen Feng Yan for a long time.
Feng Xuan chuckled as he approached. He fearlessly stroked her loose black hair, tangling his long fingers around it. Without the slightest hesitation, he whispered in her ear, "Ningzhu is injured. She might not be able to get out of bed for the next few days. I'm here to take your place."
"Why, the princess doesn't want to see me?"
His white fingers wrapped around the hair and brushed across the delicate skin of the woman's neck. Feng Yan laughed wildly, his body trembling slightly with his laughter.
Chu Qingluo had always disliked this person. Her eyes flashed with sternness. She suddenly raised her hand and grabbed his throat, gradually increasing her strength as if to take his life without mercy. "Dare to disrespect me? Do you believe I will kill you?"
"My life was saved by the princess..." Feng Yan's breathing stagnated, his playful expression changed slightly, but he did not fight back, his voice was hoarse, as if he was really going to die in the next moment.
"If the princess wants it, take it. I have no complaints."
The man in front of her was indeed the one she saved. When her country was destroyed, she fled and happened to see Feng Yan being hunted. She ordered the remaining people of Fu Zhao to rescue him and let him live with Fu Zhao.
From that time on, he harbored evil intentions, and his feelings grew more and more wild. The more she rejected him, the more excited he became.
Chu Qingluo smiled coldly. She had always been ruthless towards him and strangled him until he almost died. "I have always wondered if you, the Left Envoy of Fu Zhao, have any other intentions. If you do, I will get rid of you as soon as possible."
"I do have some ulterior motive, but this intention..." Feng Yan spoke with difficulty after a long while, his lips trembling weakly, his face pale. "The princess detests it, and I dare not overstep the line."
Her tightly clenched fingers suddenly loosened, and she looked down at the man falling to the ground, gasping for breath. His expression instantly calmed down, and after a few moments he seemed to be fine.
"I once said that whatever the princess wants, no matter what it is in the world, I will get it for her." Feng Yan cleared his throat, staggered to his feet, and wanted to hold her thin shoulders, but his hands were slightly suspended and then dropped.
"What counted then still counts now."
"I want Da Ning to be destroyed and everything in Long State to be taken back." Chu Qingluo gave a sneer of sarcasm and then spoke out loudly.
He nodded meaningfully at the sound, his lips curled up in a playful smile, but his eyes revealed some certainty: "Okay, I will definitely get it for the princess..."
Ning Zhu once advised her that keeping Feng Yan by her side might bring her trouble, but at that time, there were very few assassins in Fu Zhao, so she did not listen to the advice and kept this man by her side, which strengthened Fu Zhao's power.
Although he disgusted her, he was a man of his word.
He said that if he could take it, then he would do his best. Chu Qingluo slowly softened her movements and said helplessly for a long time, "Feng Yan, sometimes I don't know how to treat you..."
"Princess, there is no need to feel burdened. I am willing to obey your orders and serve you." Feng Yan smiled, and there seemed to be an unconcealable joy on his lips and in the corners of his eyes.
She was even more confused and asked coldly, "Then what are you laughing at?"
Who in this world, besides Fu Zhao, would have known that such a delicate and tender woman was the long-forgotten Princess of Long? Feng Yan was in high spirits, his expression of delight still lingering, "It's just a pity. Who would have known that the frail second young lady of the Chu family was actually a princess of the previous dynasty, whose nation had been destroyed..."
"Princess Mu Xiao has returned triumphantly to the court. Who will be attending the celebration banquet in half a month?" Getting back to the point, since the Left Envoy had come because of Xin Yan, he could only ask him about the palace banquet. Chu Qingluo pondered for a moment and asked very reluctantly.
"I heard that these were just a few brothers who had been fighting on the battlefield for years, and no one from the royal family attended the banquet." Feng Yan still chuckled, but when he said this, his eyes suddenly fixed.
"But... there is General Sun, Sun Zhong."
As expected, Sun Zhong attended the banquet...
The memory of General Daning leading his troops to siege the Imperial City had been etched in her mind for years. This time, Sun Zhong would undoubtedly die.
A sharp gleam flashed across her gentle eyes as she sneered softly, "I must attend this banquet."
The girl in front of him wanted to assassinate the general who defended the country, which was simply putting her life in danger... Feng Yan leaned leisurely against the tree trunk, broke off a branch and looked at him casually: "Sun Zhong is the general of Daning, with great military achievements and excellent skills. Princess, you should think twice..."
"I have considered the dangers involved..." Chu Qingluo turned her head slightly, glanced casually at the broken branch in his hand, and suddenly said solemnly.
"Don't break that branch off again. This tree was planted by me, Master."
When I think about the man who planted this tea tree for three years, it would be a pity if it was destroyed by this reckless man.
She suddenly felt displeased and hurriedly gave orders.
Feng Yan was suddenly confused and threw the branch away in confusion, not even daring to lean on it.
"You just said that Ningzhu was seriously injured. Who plotted against her?" Chu Qingluo thought that Ningzhu didn't come because something happened to Fuzhao. She turned her back and looked up, calmly appreciating the watery moonlight.
Speaking of Ning Zhu, the black-robed man suddenly sneered, his lips curled in mockery: "She was careless and was discovered by the secret guards sent by the Ninth Prince. Fortunately, my subordinates rescued her, otherwise she would have become a corpse long ago."
The Ninth Prince of Daning, Chu Yanshuo...
How could this person know Fu Zhao's existence and whereabouts...
She was not familiar with the person they were talking about, but she only knew that the Ninth Prince was extremely intelligent, talented, and more resourceful and decisive than any other prince.
But he didn't know that he was secretly investigating the remaining power of Fu Zhao.
"How does the Ninth Prince know Fu Zhao?" She frowned and asked in a deep voice.
"It must be a captive from Long State who reported the secret. I think it must be the servants around Your Majesty who surrendered and revealed all this," Feng Xingxing said calmly, as if he felt that the rise and fall of Fu Zhao was of no concern to him. "Princess, don't worry. With this lesson, no one in Fu Zhao will let their guard down again."
Turning around and looking at the cynical black figure, Chu Qingluo frowned in dissatisfaction. In the face of crisis, she wanted him to express his attitude.
Feng Yan immediately understood the princess' intentions and quickly knelt on one knee, restraining his unruly behavior and respectfully clasping his fists. "I have your subordinates here. Everyone in Fu Zhao is willing to go through fire and water for you, without hesitation."
"Ningzhu is seriously injured, so Rifuzhao will be in your care for the next few days. If you take good care of her, I will reward you." Seeing this, she curled the corners of her lips slightly, walked up to him and ordered him to stand up, whispering a threat in his ear, with a cold look in her eyes.
"If you don't take good care of it... I will kill you."
"I just like the princess's domineering look..." Seeing her approaching like this, Feng Yan's heart beat like thunder, and an uncontrollable glimmer flashed in his eyes. "It is my honor to die in the princess's hands..."
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