Chapter 225: Untitled
<strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <i ss="_hr"></i><strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios
“So what about that?” Shadow de turned to look at her. “Are you suggesting that I should run out to my death while they are being boiled?”
Meng Fuyao was stumped and didn’t know how to reply for a moment. Shadow de was right; if he rushed out, he would simply be giving his life away. However, she had already long been used to Zhan Beiye and the ck Wind Calvary’s sacrificial rtionship with each other. Hence, she was simply under the impression that within the Five Regions Continent, such a rtionship would naturally exist between Shadow de and his subordinates.
Meng Fuyao was slightly surprised and mumbled, “I just feel that… I probably can’t stand it any longer.”
Shadow de fell silent. He moved his body with great difficulty andy down on the close stools to sleep. Meng Fuyao turned around to redress his wounds, her fingers moving over the healing wounds like a delicate butterfly. It was hard to believe that when it came down to delicate tasks, the generally boisterous Meng Fuyao would actually be so gentle and meticulous.
The golden rays of dusk fell upon her face, illuminating her translucent earlobes, reflecting on the fine, little strands of hair behind her ear, shining on her delicate cheekbones, on her moist, pomegranate flower-like lips, and on her beautifully shaped eyebrows—these were all very beautiful, but the most beautiful of all, was the look of concentration and concern in her eyes.
Shadow dey down with his head turned towards her. There was an ambiguous expression in his eyes as if night had suddenly descended, and he was separated by night while looking at the daylight.
The finger on his back was as gentle as a flower petal, as translucent as jade green spring water, washing over his back like a soothing and warm presence. He was shaken when he felt his heart stir, and he felt a bright, warm, and soothing feeling.
That kind of beauty, that kind of natural brightness made him inevitably think of his own darkness, all the chasing and escaping, all the fighting and bloodshed. The soundless swords in the night, blood-drenched robes on the ground as he changed clothes repeatedly, yet he was unable to remove the smell of blood that had prated deep into his bones. He belonged to hell, to the dark night, to the monstrosities and predators. He belonged to everything that was the opposite of her.
He suddenly felt the desire to confess.
He opened his mouth to speak, and Meng Fuyao stopped moving.
“You probably think that such a master is too cold and cruel, but actually, I feel that my survival is more important than the survival of anyone else.”
Meng Fuyao was speechless. If it were Zhan Beiye who said something like this, there was an 80% chance it would probably be changed into “If you all live, I’ll be even happier!”
“If I survive, then I’ll have a chance of saving them. Even if I can’t save them, I’ll also have a higher chance of avenging them. I can alsopensate their families and ensure their quality of living. Compared to them, my life is more valuable.”
Seeing that Meng Fuyao had a rather disapproving look on her face, Shadow deughed and said, “I had an extremely loyal servant. He would never leave or abandon anyone he served. Back when the enemy n was hunting us, apanion was hurt and abandoned. He refused to give up, returning in the middle of the night to save him. However, he was captured by the enemy and tricked into revealing our location… It was a bloodbath, everyone died… He and I were all caught in the death trap. I was saved, but he had been skinned alive. I remember thest thing he told me when he pushed me down the well to hide… something like trust… was too much of a luxury…”
Meng Fuyao did not say anything.
Shadow de had spoken efficiently and straightforwardly, but it was as though she could smell the metallic smell of metal and the stench of blood in the forest, as though she could see the servant’s loyalty and anguish, the scene where he had been tricked and forced to betray, as though she could see them being skinned alive, and the little boy hiding in the well, his face smeared with blood.
“I used to think that trust was a two-way thing. If you were honest, others would reciprocate ordingly. However, this is often just a pipe dream. If there isn’t any benefit to gain, the trust is nothing.
“So with regards to me and my subordinates, there is only one rtionship, master and servant. I control their will, their lives, their families, and promise them sufficientpensation after their sacrifice. As such, they offer me their unyielding loyalty, and I never have to worry about any betrayal. If not given the situation now, I am badly hurt, and they are boiling in the pot, but I can sit here without fear and tell you my story.”
He gave a coldugh and asked Meng Fuyao, “Have you ever thought, given something like this, if they couldn’t stand the torture of being boiled and gave me up, what kind of situation you and I would be in right now?”
Meng Fuyao remained silent and sighed. She couldn’t not admit that Shadow de and Zhan Beiye were two entirely different people. Nobody was right, and nobody was wrong, they all had their reasons.
This topic was getting too serious. Meng Fuyao touched her nose and changed the subject, fishing out the pill from earlier and said, “Cross Dresser said that he can save us, but I think he also had some conditions.”
She broke open the pill and revealed a piece of paper. A row of words entered her vision:
“This emperor is still short of an empress!”
“Your mother, what has youcking an empress, got anything to do with me?” Meng Fuyao jumped up and stomped angrily on the piece of paper. “And I still thought it was some kind of secret n, turns out it was just a load of rubbish… Wait, this emperor? This emperor?”
She picked up the crumpled piece of paper and ttened it against the wall, reading it again. “This emperor?” She repeated dumbly.
Shadow de suddenly cut in nosily, “I heard that the puppet king of Xuanyuan is rather… special.”
“Oh…” Meng Fuyao rubbed her forehead. “Indeed… rather special,” she affirmed.
He was a cross-dresser who called her “Long Live”.
An heir who grew up under the sick and twisted reign of the Regent King, it wasn’t surprising that he would be even sicker and twisted.
The game he yed was the throne, while the wine he drank were the concubines. The flower he admired was the Xuanyuan flower, and the one he climbed was the Meng family willow.
He was like an unshakable thousandyer of quilts.
“What did he say to you?” Shadow de’s eyes glinted as he asked.
“Meet him at the back garden of the Fragrant Jade House—that is, if I have a change of heart and ept his conditions,” Meng Fuyao replied wearily.
The corners of Shadow de’s lips curved upwards slightly. “To be his male empress?”
Meng Fuyao suddenly sat down on a bucket and said seriously, “I feel that he doesn’t deserve me.”
“Definitely,” replied Shadow de. “The one who is worthy of Your Ladyship probably has yet to be born.”
Meng Fuyao rolled her eyes, refusing to argue with a sick man. She asked again, “What do you think he means with this suggestion?”
“Xuanyuan has been recruiting concubines recently,” replied Shadow de replied. “For His Majesty to enrich his harem. Although His Majesty has quite a number of concubines in his harem, they are all of poor standards. As for the Fragrant Jade House, it is precisely where a new batch of girls who are most likely to enter the pce are residing.”
“Ha, why hasn’t an empress been selected after so long?”
“After a person’s freedom had been restricted too much, he would surely find some way to get back, be it singing, ying dumb, or not selecting an empress,” Shadow de replied lightly.
Meng Fuyao sighed and squatted on the bucket. The noise outside had not yet died down as she wondered, “Before night falls, Xuanyuan Cheng will surely search the pce again. We’ve already escaped him once, we can’t possibly escape him again. Hey, has your fever resided?”
Shadow de replied mildly, “Before tonight, I will rpse one more time, so you can leave by yourself.”
“Oh.” Meng Fuyao climbed down the close stools and scooped up Yuan Bao. “Then I’ll leave first, goodbye,” she replied.
She headed towards the door. Shadow de remained motionless, perched atop the close stools, watching her.
Meng Fuyao walked to the door and turned around. “Hey, how do I get to the Fragrant Jade Pce?” she asked seriously.
Shadow de looked at her silently, then suddenly smiled.
His smile was like a fresh flower blooming, the original weak look disappearing as it was reced by the brightness of his ssy eyes and fiery red lips, bathing everything around it in its light. For a moment, Meng Fuyao was blinded by its brightness and shut her eyes.
‘How bright, truly bright, I’m both shocked and touched, I’m going to die by a beauty’s smile, being an “empress” is fine too…’
It was a pity that the smile onlysted an instant and Shadow de had already returned to his cold and pointed self. “I don’t need you to sacrifice yourself to do anything. Moreover, Xuanyuan Min’s conditions might not be as simple as they look, why do you need to put yourself through this,” he said.
Meng Fuyao smiled and wrinkled her nose slightly. Pointing at herself, she said, “Don’t be so narcissistic already, Brother Shadow de. I’m not doing this for you. I just don’t want Xuanyuan Cheng to be toofortable, forcing me to hide so pathetically and almost losing my life. How can I just let it go? I insist on going against him; if Xuanyuan Min wants to use me, why can’t I use him too?”
She waved a hand and said grandly, “Since there’s something fun, why can’t I y and insteade here and gamble my life? Come, brother Shadow de, brother Yuan Bao, I’ll be able to let you two eat bird’s nest this time.” She adjusted her robes and readied her weapons, preparing for the arduous and risky journey to look for the Fragrant Jade House.
“Where is the Fragrant Jade House?” she asked again.
Shadow de looked at her for a long time until she was almost about to leave before finally saying, “It’s just next door.”
Meng Fuyao stumbled slightly against the wall and turned back bitterly. ‘Damn child, you’re too cruel…’
The Fragrant Jade House, where the new concubine candidates were staying, was just across a wall. Meng Fuyao tiptoed and peeked over the wall, smiling as she said, “Ah, silk robes and fine dining, soft beds and beautiful tapestry, here Ie…”
“Oh right, I haven’t asked you, where did the bed I slept onst nighte from?” Shadow de nodded his head at the bed, feeling that the material looked rather odd.
Meng Fuyao immediatelyughed and turned around. “I made it bybining the close stools,” she replied gaily.
This time, Shadow de stumbled, and Meng Fuyao pretentiously rushed forward to support him. “Ah, brother, are you alright?”
Shadow de took a deep breath, then calmly said, “I’m fine.”
Meng Fuyao said, sympathetically again, “How can you go out in this condition?” She turned around, not looking at his beautiful, half-naked body and pinched her face as she added, “If I’d known earlier I would have brought the robes that the cross-dresser was wearing. That red and green peony and macaw robes was really not bad.” After speaking, she shuddered herself.
However, Shadow de said, “Are your eyes shot? Can’t you see the bag hanging on the vines behind the wall?”
Meng Fuyao looked across, and sure enough, there was a cloth bag hidden between the vines, and two sets of eunuch robes were hidden inside. After helping ‘Dar Charm’ change, she too quickly changed into her set of robes. Their actions shook the vine, and someone had gently knocked on the wall. Carrying Shadow de, Meng Fuyao flipped over the wall. Theynded in a little courtyard, where a man who looked like a eunuch was waiting for them on the front porch of the Fragrant Jade House.