Photo above: Young Master Zhao
Ling Miao Miao opened her eyes, right before the tip of her nose, so close to touching, was the embroidered Qilin design on Mu Sheng's neat and tidy clothes.
His body was refreshingly cool, even the faint smell of incense carried a penetrating coolness. Even if his hands were around her waist, there was not an uncomfortable oppressive feeling.
Leaning against him was like leaning against a fine silk canopy, with a strange, dignified, extravagant comfort.
Mu Sheng sensed that she was awake and slowly approached, carefully laying kisses on her, starting from her forehead, and moving down tentatively down her rosy lips.
Her eyelashes trembled; her body shifted slightly, but she did not struggle, and even raised her chin to allow his kiss.
He instantly had a plan in mind – she was most well-behaved and least temperamental when having just woken.
His arms tightened around her, He kissed her quietly and carefully, and a slight ripple ran through Ling Miaomiao's heart.
The person in front of her had insides which were different from his outsides. It was quite surprising, as there was an unrestrained aura of "not a good person" on him from head to toe. She had seen him callous, ruthless, and arrogant.
But in front of her, he was unexpectedly... innocent.
-In any case, she had never seen anyone carefully place their lips down and brush them against the skin when kissing someone.
Her hand reached across his back and touched his long, shiny black hair, which was also cool to the touch, as if it was covered with a layer of frost, surprisingly similar to ore.
The teenager stopped abruptly and grabbed her wrist nervously: "This, you can't touch it."
She looked askance at the white hairband he left tied while sleeping: "That thing of yours, it's useless to me."
"Even so, you still can't." He grabbed her hand and pressed it forcefully to her side.
Seeing that the girl's large eyes were still unafraid, he touched her eyelids and lowered his face, half threatening and seductive: "Do you still want to be my 'doll'?"
Unexpectedly, it actually scared her.
She slapped him on the back of his hand and wrestled up and out of his arms relentlessly: "Get up."
As for Liu Fuyi's timely escape, everyone expressed understanding, except for Mu Sheng who was unrestrained in his ridicule.
The reception pavilion was open and bright, a place where the protagonist group gathered daily to discuss the details of the case.
Sunlight passed through the carved window1 and a patch of light fell over Mu Yao's hair: "Is there another reason for the princess going mad?"
"...Yes." Liu Fuyi was silent for a moment and looked grave, "Someone attempted to bewitch the princess, but things didn't work out the way she wanted. After the incident at Xingshan Temple, His Majesty sent for the palace's Taoists. They studied for three days and made a talisman for the princess, to protect her body from demons and evil spirits. The demon wanted to invade the princess's consciousness, but was blocked by this talisman, and the interaction between the two resulted in an unexpected consequence – the princess's psyche unraveled and it looked as if she had gone crazy."
Mu Yao asked, "Who was that person?"
Liu Fuyi gathered his sleeves to drink tea and sighed: "Within the imperial city, there is almost no demonic aura, so it is difficult to identify."
"As soon as I entered the imperial city, I was watched very closely. I could only stay with the princess and could not have much contact with others. Everywhere I went, I was followed by four or five guards, so I was unable to get away. That day I took the advantage of the opportunity to accompany the princess out of the palace to relax and disguised myself to get away for a moment. I wanted to deliver a letter to the inn where you were staying..."
He smiled thankfully, "I didn't expect to run into Miaomiao on the street."
But the girl did not know what was at stake and shouted his name in the street, so he had to leave the letter behind and disappear.
Ling Miaomiao did not feel fortunate at all. She gave Mu Sheng a cool look – it was for the sake of receiving this note that she was pressed against a tree and bullied, so great was her righteousness and selflessness.
She pursed her lips: "Then how did Brother Liu find 'Huazhe'?"
There were many restaurants in Wufang Town, and Huazhe was not the most conspicuous one. But from the moment the old man appeared, it meant that it became the key to unlocking all the secrets.
Liu Fuyi explained: "The spell on the princess's body, the older generation gave it a name, called 'One Mind Gu.' One Mind Gu is not an insect, but it leaves the controlled person at the mercy of the demon's whims. The name 'One Mind' is because the person under the spell is controlled by the demon's will, so sometimes it will cause confusion and the affected to perceive the demon's memories."
"I was beside the princess's bed and once heard her chanting two unusual phrases during her nightmares. The first phrase, was 'Lady Liu, I'm begging you.'"
"Lady Liu?" Mu Yao pondered slightly, recalling what she heard the day before, and thought this name seemed somewhat familiar, "Is it the female owner of 'Huazhe'?"
Liu Fuyi nodded his head; his expression became quite serious, then he said, "The second phrase was, 'Huazhe, now it feels clean.'"
The sound of the clapper rang out, and the old man waved his arms, the colorful chicken feather-like pieces of cloth on his sleeves flying up and down.
"At midnight, the city was full of fireworks on full display and in the display of fireworks and lanterns, the iron locks of the star bridge were unlocked."
"Young Noble Zhao saw the fireworks as he wished, but his attention, was not on that fireworks show."
"The girl standing beside him, looking up curiously at the sky full of bright lights, seems to be engrossed in this view, beautiful purple and red fireworks blooming across the skies, every single one of them reflected in her eyes."
The audience sat in absolute silence, chopsticks suspended in the air, seeming to see the eyes of the startlingly beautiful girl on the mountain.
"Did you think that Young Noble Zhao was moved by this?" The old man smiled and shook his head, "At the beginning, it was said that Mr. Zhao was reserved in nature and arrogant, not in the least a frivolous or debauched man. After watching the fireworks, he and the girl walked with one in the front and one in the back, saying nothing the whole way, like strangers who crossed paths by chance. But this girl was not quite the same from those he had seen before – he was used to the stunned reactions of others upon seeing him, and their shy attitudes which would follow soon after. But when he suddenly saw someone who did not reveal any reaction to him. He felt very comfortable and enjoyed talking to her, not to mention that on this night, two people thought of climbing this mountain at the same time to watch the fireworks. What a coincidence it was! He walked along, thinking of the person behind him, hesitating to turn around and talk to her."
"He was deep in his thoughts and didn't notice his feet stepping on empty air. Just like that, he was unlucky enough to fall into a stone cave and hurt his forehead."
"As Yong Noble Zhao was from a great family, he had always entered and exited the city gate while riding in a grand carriage, so he had never been in such a predicament. When he was feeling chagrined, there was suddenly a fragrant breeze and a white figure gently descended. He looked up and was stunned: the girl had actually followed him and jumped down without hesitation. She extended her white, pale hands and came to pull him up."
The audience stirred, low laughter mixed with whispers.
–A man and a woman, alone and trapped together late at night. It was the beginning of many badly written stories.
But Murong Shi was a girl, for her to have the courage to jump down the mountain to enact a beauty saving the hero, it brought her the approval of the audience.
"Young Noble Zhao and this white-clothed girl stayed the night and spoke of many things. He only knew her surname was Murong, when he asked for her name, she could not say. But she said her parents called her Murong'er, and her hometown was in the far north."
"Somehow, when she said the far north, he found this very much believable – the far north, it must be the land of snow, a flawlessly pure white world of ice and snow. Only from there, could there originate such an unmarred snow lotus."
"At the foot of a tall mountain in the far north, there was a very, very small village. In the village, there were very few people, Murong Shi was one of the few female children in that village. As Young Noble Zhao listened, he understood the situation somewhat – as a girl from deep within mountains, no wonder she had never seen fireworks."
"According to Young Noble Zhao's temperament, it was difficult for others to suit his taste, he liked authenticity and hated pretense to a severe degree. But every word and action of the Murong Shi before him, seemed to be tailor-made just for him, and he was inevitably moved – for the first time in the twenty something years of his life, he actively liked a girl."
"When the wind lifted her veil, Young Noble Zhao froze. His appearance was beautiful, and everyone praised his appearance as comparable to Pan An.2 But when he saw Murong Shi's face, he thought to himself that in front of her, his own appearance was the greatest pretense."
"The beauty's face was a heavenly creation, a flawlessly put together work, indifferent but dazzling, making her just the right one. More importantly was that she had innocent eyes, seemingly untainted by the world, beautiful and unaware of it, which was the killing blow."
Everyone was holding their breath, it was difficult to imagine what kind of beauty that was. They could only guess at her abstractly. She was probably as ungraspable and stiring as the soft clouds and dense fog of Wufang Town.
Ling Miao Miao's chopsticks unconsciously twisted the bowl of osmanthus cake, pinching them into thin pieces that looked miserable.
"Young Noble Zhao thought to himself that with this girl, he wanted her.
"When a peerless male hunts a woman with a goal of certain victory, no one can escape his grasp."
"Murong Shi's indifference was not due to an arrogant nature. On the contrary, she had a very calm nature – you may not believe it, but it was because she came from the village at the foot of the mountains and had not seen the chaos of society. When the first person a naive woman meets is a person who has decided to make her his wife, how could she have the chance to escape?"
There were scattered sighs from the audience, as if not quite satisfied that such a beauty was captured just like that.
Mu Sheng was not listening very attentively. He reached out, took her bowl away, and picked up a whole piece of osmanthus cake with the edges intact and fed it to her mouth.
Ling Miao Miao subconsciously held the osmanthus cake in her mouth, discovered that it was from him, and frustratedly took her chopsticks to lightly hit him on the back of his hand, "Listen, listen attentively!"
The teenager's dark eyes flashed and he covered his hand aggrievedly, turning his head to look at the chattering old man. He held the bowl and started to eat the broken pieces of osmanthus cake that were in her bowl.
The sweetness spread from between his lips and teeth. The corners of his lips silently curled up.
"In March of this year, Murong Shi married Young Noble Zhao. Young Noble Zhao had a very frank character, having married Murong Shi, he felt that his life was complete, so he resolved not to return to Chang'an, and settled in Wufang Town resolutely. He could abandon his family's wealth along with fame and fortune – he didn't care a bit."
"After their marriage, Young Noble Zhao found out that his wife's perception of feelings was a little stunted. With regards to human emotions, she did not understand them very well. He slowly taught her them one by one, like giving a pair of bright eyes to an unpainted painting of a beauty – Murong Shi lived a life of intimacy and harmony, and became more and more beautiful, startling the town. The clothes she wore, jewelry, even the flower petals used in her bath, would be vied for and imitated by women all over town."
"Young Noble Zhao naturally loved her, but he still carried a bit of anxiety in his heart – such a woman, with a beautiful appearance, a gentle and kind nature, devoted to taking care of him, and seemingly without any flaws. He didn't know how to love her in order to be worthy of such perfection. "
"..." The audience listened dazedly, sinking into contemplation.
"Soon this needless worry disappeared, and the following May, in the season for pomegranate trees to blossom, Murong Shi was found to be pregnant. Young Noble Zhao finally felt satisfied – the wife who seemed to belong to the heavens, finally seemed to have stepped into the mortal world. She was about to give birth to a child for him. Half of this child would be of his flesh and blood, out of his contribution. This was the proof of his and Murong Shi's love."
"Young Noble Zhao held his wife's hand and drew the bananas which were outside in the courtyard on the table. This winter, she had become pregnant. Young Noble Zhao smiled at her and said: 'This child is the expectation of your heart and mine, so let's call it Ziqi, okay?"
The hand Mu Sheng had been using to pour tea suddenly shook; the lid of the teapot fell off, the hot tea spilled out of the round mouth and on the back of his hand, and the skin immediately turned red.
Ling Miao Miao was startled. From within the hot steaming air, she quickly pulled his hand away from the table, and reprimanded: "What's wrong with you!"
"..." His eyes were utterly blank, and he seemed completely unaware of the pain.