Chapter 79

When Feng Cheng and Chu Xiyue found Chu Changge, he was still in the pavilion, sitting by himself and looking like a husband full of resentment

“Where’s Murong?” Chu Xiyue asked as she looked left and right.

“She’s gone away.” Chu Changge’s expression was like he had lost his soul and dropped his spirit[+]Chinese idiom : dazed.

Chu Xiyue looked surprised, “Where did she go?” This was her home.

Chu Changge replied, “Her study.”

“…” Chu Xiyue’s face was full of black lines. She then gave him a huge roll of her eyes, and said, “She just went to her study!” She thought Murong Yunshu had ran away from home. It really scared her to death!

“If she’s not around, it is the same as she has gone away.” Chu Changge responded sullenly.

Chu Xiyue blinked, “Ah Chang, did you two have a fight?”

“No.”

“Then, why do you look so depressed?”

“She…” Chu Changge paused and gnashed his teeth. “She had gone away with that Nie Qing!”

Gone away…as if his wife had gone away with another guy. Chu Xiyue rolled her eyes again. She found that this brother who had been connected to her by blood and soul since childhood was getting even more weird. He had been inexplicably happy one second, then became inexplicably gloomy, and even more moodier than their mother.

The more Chu Changge thought about it, the angrier he got. It wasn’t easy for him to spend some time alone with his beloved one. He couldn’t believe that there was an inconsiderate guy who would come and ruin their atmosphere. As soon as that someone came and ruined their atmosphere, she would go as far as abandon him, just to count a few taels of silver….

“Where did Feng Ling go?” Chu Changge asked Feng Cheng with a gloomy expression.

Feng Cheng looked like he couldn’t make head or tail[+]Chinese idiom : baffled of his question, “Why are you asking after her?”

Chu Changge complained, “After all, Nie Qing was here because of Feng Ling. If she hadn’t tied Nie Qing up to the mountain, Yunshu wouldn’t have known him, let alone work with him.”

Feng Cheng knew very well that when a certain Chu wanted to take his anger out on someone else, any resistance would be useless, so he indifferently said, “Actually, it’s still my parents’ fault in the end. If they hadn’t given birth to Feng Ling, nothing like this would have happened. So, go ahead and blame them. They didn’t go anywhere else either. They’re right under your feet. You can just go down there and settle the score with them once you take a sword and slit your own throat.”[T/N]Such a childish fight. 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

Hearing this, Chu Changge’s mouth twitched. Then he moved his gaze to Feng Cheng’s head and commented, “I remember you used to be a real man.” For such a grown man to actually tie a red headband on his head…

Feng Cheng had anticipated that Chu Changge would tease him for it, so he had already thought of a response on his way back. He unhurriedly untied the red headband and held it out in the same position as it was a treasure bowl, while saying, “This is a custom in Jinling. Every Spring Festival, an unmarried woman will give a red headband to the man she likes, and if the man is also interested in the woman, he will tie the red head rope around his head.”

Chu Changge took his words with a grain of salt. Was there such a custom? Then, why didn’t he receive any red headband? He was truly brokenhearted…[T/N]OMG this two! 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

Chu Xiyue, on the other hand, wailed, stamped her foot and questioned him irritatedly, “If you know this custom, why did you accept it so reluctantly just now?”

Feng Cheng was dumbfounded. He unexpectedly――managed to fool both of them! Why didn’t he have such good luck when he was gambling…[T/N]🤣 You just met two foolish twin siblings. No luck needed there.

As soon as Chu Changge looked at Feng Cheng’s expression, he knew that Feng Cheng didn’t actually know the custom at all, and what he said just now was completely nonsense. Chu Changge burst into loud laughter. The sky that had turned hazy since Murong Yunshu and Nie Qing left, finally cleared up.

Feng Cheng really wanted to send a bottle of poison mixture to a certain person as a token of appreciation when the New Year came.

When Chu Xiyue saw that Feng Cheng did not say anything, she glared at him in exasperation and turned to run away.

“Xie-er is angry.” Chu Changge brought up with a smile.

With a look of innocence cum helplessness, Feng Cheng said, “I know.” Raising his eyes to look at Chu Xiyue’s departing backside, he added, “We met an assassin on the street.”

Chu Changge was startled when he heard Feng Cheng’s words. Only then did he notice that Feng Cheng was injured. “Coming for Xi-er?”

Feng Cheng shook his head, “It looked like on the surface.”

Chu Changge understood that when an assassin appeared at such a time, it was obviously aimed at him or Yunshu.

Chu Changge’s dark eyes sank slightly. He immediately ordered South, East, North and West to investigate the matter thoroughly. No matter who the other party’s real target was, he would not leave the matter at that.

*

Meanwhile, inside Yun Lai Inn, the largest inn in Jinling City, in the top number one room, a man stood in front of the window with his back to the door and asked, “Have you tested his skill yet?”

The skinny man who knelt behind him answered, “I have tested his skill. Chu Changge’s martial arts are not as magical as the rumours say.”[T/N]🤣 You’ve got the wrong person.

“How can you be so sure?”

“I stabbed him in the shoulder with just one move. Although it is not fatal, it is still disappointing that he can be stabbed by me.”

The man standing at the window was silent at his words, as if he was thinking about something, before he spoke once more, “Are you sure you didn’t get the wrong person?”

“There’s no mistaking it. I saw him come out of Murong Mansion with a stunning woman with my own eyes, and the concierge of Murong Mansion had treated that woman with respect. She must be Murong Yunshu. The person walking beside Murong Yunshu, who else could it be but Chu Changge?”

“Perhaps, he was just a bodyguard.”

“Impossible. They behaved intimately. Surely he was not a bodyguard.” The skinny man added, “The whole world knows that Murong Yunshu is Chu Changge’s woman. If that man was not Chu Changge, how could Murong Yunshu be openly giggling with him?”[T/N]T/N : Yunshu doesn’t giggle.

“But rumour has it that Chu Changge’s martial art is so profound that even the Eighteen Arhats of Shaolin Temple can’t wipe him out…”

“It’s just rumours. According to this subordinate’s opinion, it is nothing more than him buying reputation and fishing for praise[+]Chinese idiom : angle for undeserved fame. Except for the fact that he is truly extraordinarily handsome, most of the rumours regarding him are not true.”

The man by the window pondered for a long time again before he said, “I got it. You withdraw first.”

“Yes.”

After the skinny man went out, the man by the window slowly turned around. He had a pair of thick eyebrows which slanted on both sides, and a pair of dark eyes as deep as the sea. It was a handsome face with a rich silhouette that rather resemble Chu Changge.

*

In the other room, Murong Yunshu was verifying account records with Nie Qing when Bewitching Fairy Yue suddenly barged in and pointed at Nie Qing’s nose as she scolded, “Men and women should not touch hands when they give or receive things[+]citation, from Mencius. You are not allowed to get that close to her!”

Murong Yunshu and Nie Qing were dumbfounded at that moment. A few days ago, Nie Qing was ordered by the Emperor to go to Liang Wang[+]King’s Residence to stop the marriage between King Liang Jr and Murong Yunshu. When he heard halfway that the bride had been kidnapped, he immediately returned home and just arrived in Jinling today. Thus, he did not know who this inexplicable person in front of him was. He only thought that she was a crazy woman from outside, with a baffled look on his face.

Murong Yunshu, on the other hand, was flabbergasted for a long time. Then she frowned and asked, “Have you not seen the sign outside the door?”

Bewitching Fairy Yue blinked, “What sign?” With this, she withdrew from the room to take a look. As expected, she discovered a square wooden sign in just the right size hanging on the door, which read――’This study is an important place. Unimportant people are not allowed to enter’.

Murong Yunshu really thought her to be the same as those unimportant people?! Bewitching Fairy Yue unhappily said, “If you two are alone together, you will be gossiped about.”

Murong Yunshu knew that Bewitching Fairy Yue had deliberately come to pick a fight with her, so she smiled faintly and responded, “Is there still little gossip about me? Let him (her) talk about it. To be able to become a talking point for others over a cup of tea or after a meal[+]Chinese idiom : leisure time is a merit that will benefit me in every way.”

“You don’t care but my son cares!” Bewitching Fairy Yue pointed out.

Murong Yunshu smiled, “Right now, I am his elder. As it will rain when Heaven deems fit, and mother will remarry when she wants to[+]Chinese well-known saying : the natural order of things, he has no right to interfere in my business.”

Bewitching Fairy Yue suddenly felt like she had spinned a cocoon around herself[+]Chinese idiom : enmeshed in a trap of one’s own device. She really shouldn’t let Murong Yunshu call her sister…

“If there is nothing else, please return.” Murong Yunshu added, “A place like the study is not for just anyone to come as they please.”

Bewitching Fairy Yue’s beautiful eyes glared Murong Yunshu as she stated, “I’m your future mother-in-law!”

Still smiling, Murong Yunshu lightly said, “You yourself said that you are my ‘future’ mother-in-law.” She deliberately emphasized on the word ‘future’. The threat was self-evident――if you continue to be unreasonable, our relationship as mother-in-law and daughter-in-law will come to a premature end.

How could Bewitching Fairy Yue not hear what Murong Yunshu was saying? The more she thought about it, the angrier she became. Finally, unable to contain her anger, she shouted, “It’s all Ah Chang’s fault. He already suffers in the hand of his wife even before she officially goes through the door, which has caused me, his old mother, to suffer along with him!”

“He’s at the pavilion. You go out first, then turn left. Go all the way north and you can see him within a hundred metres.” Murong Yunshu was keen to provide her directions to his son.

Were all girls nowadays this ‘sensible’? After looking at Murong Yunshu for a long time, she couldn’t find any clues. So she finally swung her arms as she said with a waning enthusiasm, “Why don’t you have any temper at all? Boring, really boring!” She spoke as she walked out, the next time I come to pick a fight, I’ll make sure I’ve prepared well…

Bewitching Fairy Yues shook her head in frustration as she walked away. She had lost twice in a row. Could it be that she was really going to ruin her own integrity in her later years? In her ability to move unhindered in the jianghu[+]lit. rivers and lakes—people wandering from place to place and living by their wits, e.g. fortune-tellers, quack doctors, itinerant entertainers, etc. , considered as a social group for twenty years, she wouldn’t have any trouble in deliberately making life difficult for the person she had problems with. She had never thought that one day, she would lose to a young miss…

Murong Yunshu smiled without saying anything as she watched Bewitching Fairy Yue walk away before withdrawing her eyes and continuing to talk about business, “This month’s income…”

Nie Qing originally wanted to ask who that crazy woman was, but when he saw Murong Yunshu quickly return to her businesslike expression, he put his doubts aside. He wasn’t here to talk nonsense with her anyway.

*

Time passed quickly and in a blink of an eye, it was already a new year and the Lantern Festival arrived.

Every year on the night of the Lantern Festival, the official government of Jinling City would send people on boats to set off fireworks on the river, and there would be colourful dances and lanterns on the streets. In the past, Murong Yunshu had never been interested in celebrating it outside. She preferred to listen to the sound of mosquitoes and insects at home rather than going out to join in the fun. This year, however, she changed her normal routine and proposed to go for a stroll on the street. This took everyone by surprise, but everyone soon figured it out――there was an extra person with her.

Since South, East, North and West had not yet found out the assassin who tried to kill Chu Xiyue last time, Chu Changge was being extra careful when he went out this time. He ignored the envy, jealousy, ambiguity and criticism around him, as he held Murong Yunshu’s hand all the way, and refused to let go even for a moment.

When the group left the house, they were like a very large family, but as they walked, they slowly scattered to twos and threes groups. Only the four people South, East, North and West were always following behind Chu Changge and Murong Yunshu.

It was the first time that Murong Yunshu had gone out to see lanterns since she lost her mother at the age of eight. This time, she was together with her beloved one, so she was in an indescribably joyful mood. “Let’s go and guess the lantern riddle.” She said as she pointed ahead.

“Okay.” Chu Changge smiled and walked over with her.

Just after they took a few steps forward, a scholar in a dire state suddenly stopped them on their way there and stated, “This student’s name is Zheng Qien, from Xiazhou, Yunan. I have come to the capital for the Imperial Examination and passed through here. Unexpectedly, my belongings have been stolen, and thus, I have fallen to this dire state. As I looked at these two persons who have kind eyebrows and pleasant eyes[+]Chinese idiom : amiable looking, these two persons definitely have a good heart too. I wonder if it would be convenient to donate some extra silver taels to this student?”

Kind eyebrows and pleasant eyes[+]Chinese idiom : amiable looking…good heart…

East, South, West and North looked at the scholar with their face full of despise. This man was either blind or he was telling a bare-faced lie.

Chu Changge was in a good mood and didn’t want to care whether this person was really in misfortune or was only faking it. Hence he directly ordered the East Guardian to give the man a bit of silver, but he then heard Murong Yunshu say, “You came from Xiazhou, and you were safe and sound for thousands of miles. However, unexpectedly when you are in Jinling City, you have been robbed of your belongings. Are you suggesting that us, the people of Jinling City, are not righteous?”

The scholar, who obviously was not expecting her to ask this question, froze.

Chu Changge was dumbfounded and later laughed. Murong Yunshu was indeed a person who always said amazing things.

Seeing that the scholar did not seem to have ulterior motives, she was about to give him some silver, when she suddenly had a flash of inspiration, and asked, “What is the Doctrine of the Mean?”

As soon as the scholar came to his senses, he was being stunned again by her question.

Murong Yunshu thought to herself that this question might be a bit deep for a bookworm, so she switched to a more bookworm type of question, “What are the Four Books and Five Classics?”

By this time, the scholar had completely come back to his senses. He glanced at Murong Yunshu like she was a monster, and then――he calmly walked away as if nothing had happened just now.

Chu Changge and the four people from South, East, North and West were all stunned. She…she was absolutely amazing!

Murong Yunshu raised her eyebrows and asked, “Do you still want to guess lantern riddles?”

“Of course, we will go guess.” Chu Changge grinned as he walked. It must have been the scholar impersonator’s eight generations[+]long time of bad luck to run into her.

South, East, North and West were holding back their laughter until their faces cramp up. As it turned out, they were not the only lone army putting up a brave fight[+]Chinese idiom : [of a person or group of people] struggling hard without support against her. There were still much more unlucky people in this world…

*

After experiencing the ‘Four Books and Five Classics’ incident, Chu Changge’s mood relaxed a lot. He gradually entered the play state from his combat readiness state.

The two were excitedly guessing a lantern riddle when suddenly the crowd in front of them stirred, followed by steep chaos as everyone started screaming and running around disorderly.

Chu Changge’s first reaction was to shield Murong Yunshu behind him, while South, East, North and West immediately surrounded Chu Changge and Murong Yunshu on all of their sides, with their weapons out and ready to strike.

By this time, the crowd in front of them had begun to spread out on either flank, opening up a road in the middle. At the end of the road, eighteen men on eighteen steeds were approaching them step by step in an overwhelming manner.

The corner of Chu Changge’s mouth twitched slightly. He thought he was already arrogant enough, but he didn’t expect that someone would be more arrogant than him. Arrogant people would not live long without good luck. And these people, since they had blocked his way, it was obvious――that it was the end of their good luck.