Hongzhuang on Snow. A Clear Situation.
What Sisi accused me of left me totally confused and lost for words.
"You've completely lost me. When did I ever ask for you from Heavenly Fragrance Garden?"
I saw a letter on the pillow out the side of the corner of my eye. I found out what happened after I read it. The letter was for me, and penned by Prime Minister Li Si. He first recounted the bond we formed at Heavenly Fragrance Garden. Then, he mentioned how he helped me frame Jin Wangsun, which was a great job and was very much to his liking. Then, he mentioned that he supported me for the fuma selection and told me to take it easy. However, he reminded me that it was a fuma selection, nonetheless. He also reminded me that it was best to not visit Heavenly Fragrance Garden and similar places too frequently. He reportedly prepared a beauty for me who would be my maid. And so, he took the girl who lied next to me, Miss Sisi, tied her hands behind her back and sent her to my place.
'No wonder why everyone in Liu Shan Men gave me weird looks!! Turns out you were the one who screwed me over! Who ties up a girl and sends her to a constable office in the middle of the day?! And of all places, you choose one from Heavenly Fragrance Garden! You didn't leave your name, so you're fine. I only knew it was you, as you left the word 'Si' on the letter. I would've thought Heavenly Fragrance Garden was holding a bargain event, otherwise: come visit and we'll gift you a girl!'
'No wonder why Su Xiao was angry, and no wonder why Her Highness didn't stay here! It was all because you sent this girl here! Might I also remind you that you sure know how to choose, huh? Send me someone after my life, will you?!'
Sisi adamantly yelled, "You despicable scoundrel!! You killed my adopted father, and then violated me for your own entertainment. Do it. I will never spare you!"
Sisi glared at me with her eyes wide as though she was dead certain that I would violate her or something. I, to the contrary, thought the whole ordeal was a drag.
'I have so many things that require my attention right now; as if I have time to bother with you.'
I snipped the rope with two fingers, "This has nothing to do with me. Someone took matters into their own hands. Don't blame everything on me."
As soon as I released Sisi, I suddenly heard a voice in my ear. The speaker used Voice Transmission and articulated her thoughts in an affable and clear voice.
"You sure are being soft. She's an assassin. She must have a grudge with you, am I right? Are you just going to spare her?'
Every sect and school has their own way of utilising Voice Transmission. The different way the Buddhist sects and dao sects use it was vastly different as an example. This girl's version of it was gentle and heavy. Evidently, she used a Buddhist mental cultivation style. She was none other than Emei's exalted disciple, our reigning second Princess, Princess Hongzhuang!
I checked side to side. I had just conducted a search when I entered, too, but I didn't see her.
'Wait… could Her Highness have learnt some stealth technique over the last few days?'
"Save yourself the trouble; I'm on the roof."
'Eh? I see now; no wonder why I couldn't find her in the room.'
I mouthed, "Your Highness, have you been well over the last few days? Your Subject was not nearby. Did you manage?"
"It was no big deal… I just slept on the roof."
"Wow. Your Majesty, you truly possess extraordinary resilience! The roof is dirty, and it is a cold winter, yet you slept on the roof for three nights? You seriously possess impressive internal energy. With that said, the weather is freezing nowadays; even my second brother has fallen ill. It has been hard on you for the last three days."
"Hmph, it's nothing worth mentioning. Back then, I travelled across the lands, so it should come as no surprise that I have weathered harsh weather conditions. Our Emei Sect's internal strength is formidable. The cold is nothing to fear. You should be aware of that.
"Yes, yes, indeed."
While I spoke with Her Highness, Sisi regained her freedom, but she didn't leave. Instead, she just stared at me, feeling surprised.
I sat down on the edge of the bed and began to take my boots off. Once I took them off and placed them aside, I glanced at Sisi. Voice perplexed, I asked, "What? You still not leaving?"
"Are, are you really letting me go?" asked Sisi. She tucked her chin and looked at me. She resembled a doubtful kitten. She swept her eyes over the entire room, seemingly afraid that I set a trap or something. "Don't try to get in my graces. You killed my adopted father; I must take your life to avenge him. Don't even dream of trying to make me give up by doing me a small favour."
'So you're just going to dump it on me, huh?'
I smiled, "Well, stay here, and suck it up, then. I'm not married. I'm fine with having myself a mistress before I marry my main wife."
"Ming Feizhen."
"Ah, Your Highness! I was just trying to intimidate her, nothing more."
"…"
Her Highness suddenly stopped responding. When she did speak up again, she had a tinge of concern in her tone, "Uhh… Ming Feizhen, can you hurry up? I'm not cold, but… I can't discuss the recent events and whatnot with you from the roof."
"Huh? Hurry up? We do not have anything to chat about. I have been spending my days outside the city to avoid your elder sister's surveillance, and prepare for the fuma selection."
"I meant… we can chat… about the weather and whatnot. Otherwise… we can play idiom solitaire."
"What the heck? Even idiom solitaire is featuring an appearance now…? Could Her Highness…" I wondered. I suddenly figured it out. "Oh, fuck! Her Highness has frozen stiff up there!! She just put on a tough front with me, so now she can't bring herself to admit that she was cold! Geez, sensitive as always. She dug herself a hole too deep to climb out of!! I bloody knew no one could've slept on the roof for three freezing nights!!"
"I'm not that eager to enter your room… You know how superior my internal strength is. I… just wanted to play idiom solitaire."
'Her brain must be frozen silly!'
"Pl-Please give me a moment. I will be done right away!"
Quickly and aggressively, I said to Sisi, "Kid, you're a little runt who looks ten, so why do you have so much to say? I said I'm letting you go, which means that I'm letting you go. It's time for me to hit the hay. Either get up, or I'm making you my blanket. I'm willing to put up with looking at your nude body."
"You! You! You degenerate!"
The young girl's biggest weakness was being teased. Her immediate reaction was to try and hop off the bed. Unfortunately, her movement was very sluggish. She lied on the bed as if there was still a rope restraining her. In saying that, her hands and feet appeared perfectly fine. It was just that she crawled at a turtle's speed.
"What's the matter?"
With red flushes on her face, Sisi panicked, "N-Nothing. I'm leaving. Don't look at me!"
Her movements were sluggish enough to be considered bizarre. It looked as though her buttocks wouldn't move according to her desire. Noticing my gaze scanning her, she instantly reacted in a bashful manner. She covered her young and yet to develop buttocks with her hands, "What are you looking at?! Look again, and I'll dig your eyes out!"
I couldn't contain my laughter, "What's wrong with your bottom? It's swollen, isn't it?"
My remark fanned the flames of Sisi's rage. Her face turned red as a ripe tomato, "Y-You can still brazenly say that?! It was all thanks to you!"
'Me? What did I do?'
"All because you fell asleep that day and… you! You pervert!"
'Me?'
If my memory does my justice, I think Prime Minister did say something along the lines of me misbehaving while I was asleep. Apparently, I groped and rubbed the girl.
'Could the victim of my mischievous claws been…'
I turned to look at her slender hips. She was merely a young girl, yet it had to be her behind that was comparable to a mature woman. I then looked at my hands and performed squeezing motions…
'Did my hands really touch her?'
"Ming Feizhen…"
"Yes, Your Highness!" I replied. I straightened up and mouthed, "Reporting, Your Highness. I swear that I was not the one who squeezed her buttocks!"
Her Highness didn't respond to me right away. Finally, she responded, "… Mr. Right…"
'Fuck me! Her Highness has already begun the game of idiom solitaire! Has she lost her mind due to the cold?!!'
I swiftly flicked Sisi an expression that indicated ill-will. Then, I wriggled my fingers and made hand movements appear perverted. The sight of my hand gestures enraged Sisi even further beyond before, "Stop with that gesture, you damn fiend!"
She then propped herself up with a hard downward palm strike, ignoring the red bruise on her buttocks, only for the pain to overwhelm her, thereby nearly making her fall back down.
I picked Sisi up, and then put her on the ground properly and nicely. She put a desperate resistance when I first grabbed her, but she was far too weak in comparison to me. As it was futile, she had to resort to cursing me, "It's all your fault! It's all your fault! Are you still going to continue harassing me?!"
I responded with a smile, "Okay, okay, it was my fault. Put it on my tab."
After setting her down, I caressed and pampered her. While I was at it, I adjusted her clothes for her.
"I wasn't the one who killed Fu Xiang. I don't even know if he's dead or alive. I'm only telling you this once." I said. I then tied up her clothes to fix them in place. "If you want to exact vengeance on me, suit yourself. I'm not afraid. However, don't go getting involved with Jin Wangsun. The people behind him are not to be trifled with, and it's not to your benefit. Don't idiotically run off and offer yourself up as someone's scapegoat, got it?"
Sisi spaced out as she looked at me before blushing out of the blue, "Quit the nice guy act! I refuse to listen you!"
And thus, she turned and left.
I knew that she wanted to act tough and state that she wouldn't listen. In truth, she was cognizant of the fact that she was doomed to die after failing to kill me. Had she succeeded, he'd turn her into a scapegoat. Young she may be, but definitely not stupid.
As soon as Sisi left the room, I quickly looked up to the roof and whispered, "Your Highness, can you come down?"
It wasn't until a moment later that I received a reply, "… Gestures of affection. Your turn…"
'You playing with me here? Oi! You just said 'Mr. Right' before, didn't you? Earth to Your Highness; it ends with 'Right'! How many idioms have you gone through on your own?! What was the process that took you from 'Mr. Right' to 'gestures of affection'? It would be appropriate if you went from meeting your loved one to 'gestures of affection'!'
'Sheesh, it's all over the place now! I need to hurry and get the Princess down.'
However, before I could act on the thought, I suddenly heard footsteps. Sisi came back. With my sight on the roof, I asked, "You have something else to say?"
"A woman recently came to Heavenly Fragrance Garden… Her name is Juese. I assume she's someone you know, right?"
Her statement made me look to her, "I do. Your point?"
Sisi fumbled with her words, wondering if she should speak or not. In the end, she decided to tell me, "I shouldn't be telling you this, but since you let me go, I won't let myself owe anyone a favour. She suddenly joined Heavenly Fragrance Garden a few days ago and spread news that she wanted to be a courtesan. She also said that she wanted to give her virginity to a man on New Year's Eve. She made an appearance at Heavenly Fragrance Garden the night before. Countless men drooled at her mesmerising appearance. There's no way of keeping count of the number of men who visit Heavenly Fragrance Garden every night to try and meet her. It's said that the price offered for her has already risen to a ludicrous amount."
"Sh-, Miss Juese? She wants to be courtesan?" I exclaimed with disbelief. "And offer her virginity?!"
"I've seen girls in brothels… She… doesn't look as though she genuinely wants to be a courtesan. If you're her friend, you should dissuade her before it's too late."
I couldn't finish processing what Sisi said. I had no choice but to put everything aside. I bolted out of the door, crashing into five, six tables, seven, eight pots, nine, ten people and stumbled out of the door before running off full pelt.
"Shiyi! What in the world are you thinking?!!" I yelled in my head.
Princess Hongzhuang, who was in a daze on the roof, saw a figure zip out of the office. She frantically returned to her senses. Upon getting a clear visual of Ming Feizhen frantically running out, she took off after him.
Glossary
*Idiom Solitaire – It’s a game that requires, at least, two people. One person kicks it off with an idiom, and then someone else comes up with a new idiom, whose first character needs to contain the last character of the previous idiom. The one who eventually fails to come up with a follow-up idiom is the loser.
**Obviously I didn't adapt the idioms to English.
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