Legend of Fu Yao

“You dumb lass! How many times have I told you to not put the little incense burner under the table! You’ll cause someone to trip and fall! Go and keep it right now!”

That slap of hers produced a crisp sound as it rang in the room despite not hitting him. The long sleeve nails embedded with jewels slit open Shadow Blade’s collar. He quickly covered it while Meng Fuyao continued to reprimand him, “Ugly b*tch. What kind of place do you think this is for you to show your ugliness! Little An, drag this thing out and drill some discipline in her!”

Her words came out like the wind, and once the final word was said, Little An had already bowed as he vicariously dragged “Chun Mei” away, berating “her” as he walked. “You are an experienced maid beside Her Highness, but how can you still make such amateur mistakes. Wait till you get to the palace…” His voice gradually faded into the night, and from afar, one could hear the soft sobbing sound of a lady.

Meng Fuyao turned around “enraged” as she mustered a small smile to Xuanyuan Cheng. “I’m so sorry you had to see that. Chun Mei is a maid I brought over from Chang Ning. She’s isn’t very smart, but she has been by my side since I was young after all… Keeping her around… nostalgic, I guess…” As she “reminisced” the past, the corner of her eyes reddened.

Xuanyuan Cheng watched her. He had heard that while this Yuwen Zi was the eldest daughter of the Yuwen family, due to her mother’s early passing, she had been neglected as the concubines pulled the strings. The treatment she had was not one that was considered appropriate for her status and might have shaped the temperament she now had. Looking at it, the information seemed to match. He quickly smiled. “Your Highness is filial and generous. I understand.”

Meng Fuyao placed her hand on the table, and she lightly yawned. With her eyes glancing at the clock and a smile on her face, she mumbled, “This incense certainly makes one sleepy…”

Xuanyuan Cheng “came to a sudden realization” and looked at the time. With a smile filled with a bit of guilt, he replied, “I was too worried about your body and actually forgot about the time. Please forgive me, Your Highness.”

“What are you saying,” replied Meng Fuyao politely. “This discussion with you has been enlightening, and after I enter the palace, I still hope to learn from you.” Then, she turned to order her maids to send the Regent King out in her stead.

She had already announced his departure, and so Xuanyuan Cheng could only stand up to take his leave. “Please rest early, Your Highness. I have ordered the doctors to come to the inner courtyard, and they will wait for your instructions.”

At this moment, Meng Fuyao only wanted this pest to leave immediately, and she half-heartedly agreed. He continued to ramble on and nagged. Meng Fuyao’s fingernails dug into her palm, but her expression remained unchanged as she courteously responded. With an elegant posture, she smiled and graciously sent Xuanyuan Cheng to the door while listening out to any sort of moment happening behind. She blocked the door and stood rooted to the ground.

Unsurprisingly, Xuanyuan Cheng indeed turned back after a few steps and said, “Your Highness, please go back and rest early.”

His cold gaze scanned Meng Fuyao’s face. Finally, he relaxed upon seeing her calm and peaceful behavior and strutted out of the door.

Meng Fuyao slowly closed the door and ordered Little An to put the curtains down. “Chun Mei, bring me some water to wash off my makeup!”

Her voice could be heard clearly before being cut off by the closed doors.

Once the front door was closed, Meng Fuyao instantly bolted back into the room.

She sprinted into the room and quietly opened the door. Shadow Blade was still in his “Chun Mei” appearance, standing behind the door without changing his clothes.

Seeing that he still did not return to his original appearance, she stomped her foot anxiously. “You, you, you… Why haven’t you quickly recovered!?”

Only when the crackling sound of the bones sounded again did Shadow Blade slowly reply, “If he were to turn back…” Without completing the sentence, he collapsed.

Meng Fuyao reached to support him. Before he could say anything else, a mouthful of fresh blood spattered all over, dying half her dress ruby red. Concerned, Meng Fuyao sealed his acupuncture point and moved him to the bed wanting to heal his wounds.

Suddenly, Little An entered and informed her, “The Regent King is currently outside in the courtyard. He seemed to have ordered his servants something, I couldn’t hear what they were saying as it was too far.”

“Is it possible for you to contact His Majesty?” Meng Fuyao turned around, the capillaries in her eyes evident. “Xuanyuan Cheng is still suspicious of me. He will definitely take action tonight. The most possible course of action he would take is to say that there is an assassin and search my residence. We need countermeasures.”

Little An contemplated. “There is… But…”

“I don’t care what methods you use. Get Xuanyuan Min here, or else, I will wash this off my hands and leave. All conditions will be invalid!” Meng Fuyao cut him off, annoyed. “Quick!”

Little An thought about it, bowed and made his way out.

Tonight would be another sleepless night.

In the middle of the night, the serenity in the Regent King’s residence was broken as the yells of the word ‘Assassins’ filled the air. What followed were torches being simultaneously lit up, bringing light to the dark and gloomy residence.

Everyone’s response was quick, almost too quick for a response under normal circumstances. The guards were neatly groomed, appearing in the perfect place at the perfect time. The Regent King rushed out of his own room, not a button wrong, clothes neat and tidy. He was in an energetic and clear state, obvious that he had not gone to bed at all. In that instant, the residence was surrounded and filled; there was not a single blindspot.

The “assassin’s” appearance was certainly bizarre… He was everywhere, yet nowhere to be found. The guards marched on noisily as they hunted for the “assassin”, making their way from the front courtyard to the back courtyard and from the back courtyard to the inner courtyard to… the real destination.

“Your Highness! An assassin has trespassed the residence and for your safety, may I please request Your Highness to come out? I will take all responsibility for this disturbance.” Using his inner energy to amplify his voice, Xuanyuan Cheng asked as the rest of the guards surrounded Residence Harmony.

There was no response.

Xuanyuan Cheng raised his eyebrows. After a while, he repeated himself again. In a voice that not only the people in the Regent King’s residence could hear, but the people in the palace probably could as well.

Finally, this time, there was a response. From Residence Harmony, a female voice replied lazily and coquettishly, “It is very safe here. Why would I move about in the middle of the night? Here is fine.”

Xuanyuan Cheng raised his eyebrows again, his eyes betraying hints of suspicion. In a low voice, he tried to persuade her once again. “Your Highness, since you stay in my residence, I am responsible for your safety. I dare not take chances. If anything happens to you before your wedding, I cannot make it up. Please, Your Highness.”

The courtyard fell silent once again. After a while, Meng Fuyao replied, “You do not have to take any responsibility if anything happens. I will suffer the consequences of my choices.”

This response deepened Xuanyuan Cheng’s suspicions. When he had stepped out of his daughter’s room, he had vaguely spotted something flash by the wall. Subsequently, he had heard an odd sound when he visited Yuwen Zi. Initially, he did not think much of it, but afterward, he felt that sound was one of the bones moving; definitely not from Yuwen Zi. Then, who could it be? He did not need to suspect the people under him, and the most probable would be the servants beside Yuwen Zi. Linking it with the vague flash he saw, how could he not have his doubts?

This Yuwen Zi fitted the information he had of her to the tee. But what about the people around her? Furthermore, Yuwen Zi had denied him of his entry, which had aroused his wariness.

If it was just a cloud of suspicion, it was now an ominous, dark sky of suspicion that he had to clear.

“Your Highness! You are a lady, if the assassin were to break into your room, how would you protect yourself?” Enunciating each word clearly, he continued, “Your Highness’ safety is my responsibility; it cannot be taken lightly. Your Highness, please come out!”

He waved his hand, and thousands of guards chanted uniformly, “Your Highness, please come out! Your Highness, please come out!”

The ear-splitting, deafening chant resounded in the entire yard. Even the copper bell vibrated ever so slightly.

“Ah…” The lady sighed resignedly. A while later, Meng Fuyao gave in. “Then if I may just ask you to enter alone.”

Xuanyuan Cheng was taken aback. Meng Fuyao added, “You can be considered my relative. There’s nothing to hide… Really… I… I… Please enter.”

Her hesitation caused Xuanyuan Cheng’s gaze to waver. After some deliberation, he said, “Yes, Your Highness.”

The guards beside him immediately crowded forward and quietly tried to persuade him, “Your Highness, your valuable body…”

“No harm.” Xuanyuan Cheng smiled elegantly, but an undeniable hint of arrogance was embedded in his tone. “There is no one in this world that can take my life in one move, not even my senior.”

Under the illumination of the sea of torches, alone, he pushed open the doors to Residence Harmony. He was greeted by darkness. A few shadows that were cast from the light beyond the walls further added to the eerie and mysterious vibes of the place. His heart jumped.

Then he calmed down. ‘What could there even be? An assassin? A spy? A killer? Very well, I’ll let him never return.’

His shoes knocked against the stone floor in a calm, steady beat. The yard was oddly quiet but listening closely, it was as though someone was laughing softly.

Xuanyuan Cheng stopped short in his tracks, his eyes filled with confusion.

‘Laughter?’

In the middle of the night, not a single torch lit in the yard, surrounded by thousands of armed soldiers. To actually hear a peal of laughter in this situation.

Xuanyuan Cheng snorted. ‘Trying to act mysterious? Scaring me away?’

He pulled his sleeves back, quickening his steps. He had used his inner energy, and the places where his feet landed would cause a hairline crack in the tiles.

He made his way into the third inner courtyard—still no one in sight.

Suddenly, the peal of laughter faded.

The air in the courtyard was still, as though there was not a single soul there. Yet, it felt as though every corner of the place was under watch, hiding behind the walls, the flowers, the trees—it was omnipresent.

Xuanyuan Cheng took in a deep breath. ‘The opponent seems to be skilled in psychological attacks. Without making a move, he can instill anxiety into people.’

He refused to be controlled like that. “Your Highness, my apologies!”

His actions were quicker than his words. Before the words “Your Highness” had been said, he had already broken down the first door that led to the inner room.

Bang!

The heavy door collided with the wall with such force that even the residence seemed to shake. This one move of his had instantly opened out all the windows of the residence, laying the sight in the house bare for Xuanyuan Cheng to see.