《An Accidental Rebirth: The Surrogate Bride》


 Chapter 1

    Clouds like marshmallows were floating in the sky while birds were twittering in the woods. At noon on a gorgeous spring day, Liu Zixiu was crouching on a mound and having lunch with a big bowl in his hands, the hem of his robe lifted. Seeing his son from afar, Liu Wuyi couldn¡¯t help yelling angrily. ¡°Zixiu, how many times have I told you not to eat like that by the door?¡±


    ¡°Dad!¡± Not until then did Liu Zixiu see his father. He then rose to his feet slowly and bowed to Liu Wuyi.


    ¡°Come on in!¡±


    ¡°Okay!¡±


    ¡°What do you mean by ¡®Okay¡¯?¡± Liu Wuyi shot him a glare. ¡°Yes, dad!¡± Zixiu immediately corrected himself.


    Liu Wuyi let out a sigh with his head shaking slightly. What had happened three years ago came to his mind. His wife and son were caught in a storm and fell into the river on their way back to his wife¡¯s hometown to visit her family. Though they were saved in time by the villagers nearby, owing to her poor health and the cold she had suffered in the water, his wife died soon. After seven days and nights in a coma, his son, Zixiu, finally woke up, but unfortunately, he lost his memory and even forgot his own name! Since then, Zixiu seemed to have totally changed into another person. The boy, who used to be rigorous, humble, reasonable and studious, had become a¡­ ¡°Alas! Forget it! I should thank God for sparing my son¡¯s life,¡± Liu Wuyi thought.


    As soon as they walked into the house, Liu Wuyi immediately caught sight of the food on the table, which he had left on the cooking bench to his son yesterday morning.


    ¡°You slept around the clock again?¡±


    Zixiu was tongue-tied, for he had indeed slept for over 24 hours. Though he couldn¡¯t remember the past, he could vaguely feel that it was how he had spent his days before¡ªsleeping during the day and when it came to the night¡­ it was always dark at night, so it seemed he could do nothing except for sleeping. As for his habit, eating by the door, it was formed completely because the weather was lovely outside while it was cold and dark inside the room!


    Seeing his son in a trance again, Liu Wuyi couldn¡¯t bear to scold him. He then walked into his own room. He had made some money by selling herbal medicine at the market in town this morning and was planning to find a matchmaker for his son tomorrow. Zixiu would be sixteen years old after the Tomb-Sweeping Day, so it was time to find him a wife. When he was lamenting about the passage of time, Liu Wuyi suddenly heard his son screaming outside. He immediately put away the silver ingot in his hands and rushed to the outer room.


    ¡°Ah! Ah! Ah¡ª!¡± Liu Zixiu rushed behind his father while shrieking in horror.


    ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± Liu Wuyi grew tense as well.


    Liu Wuyi couldn¡¯t help wondering whether the decision he had made was correct. Was his son really mature enough to marry a woman? As a medicinal herb collector¡¯s son who had been brought up in the mountains, he was frightened out of his wits by a small black worm and even blurted out some words Liu Yiwu had never heard of before, like ¡®caterpillar¡¯! If the outsiders knew about it, they might laugh their heads off. Liu Wuyi wanted to put his son¡¯s marriage on hold, but at the thought that the girl of Li¡¯s family, the only one in the nearby area who could match Zixiu, was about the age of getting married, he was worried that she might become someone else¡¯s wife if they didn¡¯t hurry. Though Liu Wuyi didn¡¯t like his son¡¯s indolence, he had confidence in his talent and moral character. ¡°No! I¡¯ll take Zixiu to the matchmaker tomorrow morning!¡±

 Chapter 2

    At night, Liu Wuyi talked to his son about getting him a wife.


    Zi Xiu was drinking water when he heard this piece of shocking news. Being chocked, he spat a mouthful of cold water on his father. ¡°My bad! My bad!¡± he apologized in haste and immediately found a handkerchief to wipe the water off his father¡¯s face, without noticing that what he said made no sense to his father at all.


    ¡°All right! All right!¡± Liu Wuyi snatched the handkerchief from his son¡¯s hand with a frown and wiped his clothes with it on his own impatiently. ¡°What did you say just now? Who has gone bad?¡±


    ¡°Gone bad?¡± Zixiu froze for a moment before he suddenly remembered what he had said. ¡°My bad?¡±


    ¡°What does it mean?¡± As Zixiu had always been saying strange things, Liu Wuyi didn¡¯t pay much attention to it this time but only thought it was because his son had something wrong with his brain after a long period of coma.


    ¡°Dad, have you never heard of this word? It means sorry!¡± Zixiu explained calmly. As he couldn¡¯t remember what had happened three years ago, he had no reason to deny his father¡¯s deduction regarding his brain damage after falling into the river.


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s getting late. Go back to your room and have a good rest. I¡¯m taking you to the matchmaker tomorrow morning.¡±


    ¡°Matchmaker?¡± Zi Xiu recalled what his father had mentioned just now. ¡°Dad, I¡¯m only sixteen years old, not even close to marriageable age. Is this some kind of a sick joke?¡±


    ¡°Do I look like I¡¯m joking?¡± Watching his son¡¯s surprised look, Liu Wuyi thought that Zixiu had lost even such common sense, which made him feel both angry and funny. ¡°That¡¯s what every man does when they reach the age of marriage. Yu Xiaohu of the Yu Village is your age, but he will be a father next month. How dare you say you¡¯re ONLY sixteen?¡±


    ¡°Be a father!¡± Zixiu was caught dumbfounded. ¡°Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s too early?¡±


    ¡°Too early? If we don¡¯t hurry, the Li girl will be someone else¡¯s wife!¡±


    ¡°Which girl?¡±


    ¡°The owner of the Li¡¯s Clinic, Li Daoling¡¯s granddaughter, Li Rongrong!¡± Liu Wuyi said helplessly, almost lost his patience. ¡°The girl is not only pretty and gentle but also knows about medicine. What¡¯s more, she¡¯s indifferent to fame and wealth¡­¡±


    ¡°Dad, you know Li Rongrong?¡± Zixiu suddenly chimed in.


    ¡°What the hell is wrong with you?¡± Hearing that, Liu Wuyi couldn¡¯t help rebuking him. ¡°If Doctor Li hadn¡¯t saved your life three years ago, you would have died!¡±


    ¡°Oh!¡± Zi Xiu vaguely remembered that someone had treated him after he fell ill three years ago. However, he had been too weak and always in a coma in those days, so he could hardly recall the details at the moment.


    ¡°Stop nagging! Go to bed right now. Or you won¡¯t be able to get up early in the morning.¡±


    ¡°But¡­¡± Zixiu felt that he had many questions to ask his father, but he couldn¡¯t call them to mind for the moment, so after wrestling with himself for a while, he went back to his room to sleep.


    At five o¡¯clock the next morning when the cocks crowed, Liu Wuyi and his son set out through the morning mountain mist with some food and silver ingots. As Liu¡¯s family had been living by selling medicinal herbs, they had been living in the interior of mountains and only when there was a fair in the town nearby, would they go down the mountain to sell herbs. Liu Wuyi used to go to town with his wife and son whenever there was a fair, but after the incident three years ago, he hardly ever led Zixiu down the mountain. Therefore, though unwilling to get married at such a young age, Liu Zixiu was kind of joyful to spend some time somewhere else. ¡°Xiaohu my age is going to be a father¡­ It¡¯s unbelievable!¡± Zixiu had a feeling that something was wrong, but he just couldn¡¯t tell what it was. For fear that a headache might occur due to overstrain and hypertension, he stopped pondering and managed to focus on his journey.


    The two walked along the winding mountain path and it wasn¡¯t until dusk had fallen that they arrived at the town. Zixiu had been in the mountains for six months in a row and he had only been to the town twice ever since he had recovered from his illness, so though there were not so many people in the street, he still couldn¡¯t hold back his excitement watching passers-by come and go.

 Chapter 3

    As it was getting dark outside, they had to visit the matchmaker tomorrow morning. Liu Wuyi then came to a small hotel with his son. It was the turn of spring and summer and the weather was a little muggy, so after dinner, the two of them walked into the courtyard of the hotel to enjoy the breeze. A few of their fellow guests were already sitting around the stone table under the flower shelf in the courtyard, chatting.


    Liu Wuyi was quiet by nature, and he was especially sick of men gathering and chattering like a bunch of gossipy women. Therefore, he asked his son to get two bamboo stools out from the room and then he closed his eyes to rest, sitting by the wall of the yard. Obviously, Zixiu was quite different from his father. He rarely had the chance to see so many people, so he had a strong desire to join them. However, as he didn¡¯t dare disobey his father and go talk to those people, he could only pick his ears.


    ¡°Hey guys, did you hear that the team escorting the princess of the Wen Kingdom has arrived in the Luan City?¡± A rough voice rang.


    ¡°Really?¡± A heat discussion immediately rose among those people.


    ¡°Why did they escort their princess here?¡± A discordant voice suddenly sounded, which was also the question on Zixiu¡¯s mind.


    ¡°Dude, don¡¯t tell me you don¡¯t even know the Wen Kingdom form alliance with our country by marriage!¡± someone said in surprise.


    ¡°Intermarriage?¡± After pausing for a while, that man who seemed to be out of step with other people¡¯s ideas continued, ¡°So there will be no wars in the future between the two countries?¡±


    ¡°Shhh¡­ Keep it down!¡± someone reminded him in a low voice.


    ¡°Why? I didn¡¯t say anything wrong¡­¡± that person didn¡¯t take his reminder seriously and he even mumbled a few more words. However, before Zixiu could hear what he was saying, his father grabbed him by the ear and dragged him into the room. It turned out that Zixiu had slipped into the crowd unconsciously.


    ¡°Go to bed early!¡±


    ¡°Dad, do you know about the intermarriage between the royalty of two countries?¡± Out of curiosity, Zixiu couldn¡¯t help asking his father. However, Liu Wuyi only responded expressionlessly, ¡°It¡¯s none of your business. Don¡¯t ask that much!¡±


    ¡°But Dad, after all, I¡¯m also a civilian of the Nan Kingdom. How could I even know nothing about such a sensational event that our country is going to connect with the Wen Kingdom by marriage!¡±


    ¡°You already knew it, didn¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Er¡­¡± Zixiu was rendered speechless. Even he himself didn¡¯t know why he was so curious about the intermarriage. To be precise, he was curious about everything around him, just like a foreigner who had just arrived in a country he had never been to, full of curiosity about everything. ¡°Weird! This is so weird!¡± after letting out a sigh, he immediately threw himself on the bed. He was tired out after a long day¡¯s journey.


    The room was quiet at midnight while the moonlight poured in through the window.


    ¡°Cuckoo!¡±


    Zixiu trembled and snapped open his eyes when he suddenly heard a bird squawk. He found it difficult to fall asleep whenever he changed bedrooms, so he was still awake by now. However, as his slightest hint of drowsiness had gone with that damn bird¡¯s noise, he tossed about on the bed and couldn¡¯t fall asleep anymore. Finally, he decided to take a walk in the yard.


    After sneaking out of the room, he found both the front door and the side door of the hotel were closed and the people in the yard had gone back to their rooms. He sat down on the stone stool and let out a sigh, facing the moon. ¡°Liu Zixiu, are you bored? Yeah, I¡¯m very bored¡­¡± he answered his own question. He had thought that he would have some fun in the town, but to his disappointment, the only night he stayed outside would pass like this. At the thought that he would go back to the mountain tomorrow, he couldn¡¯t help feeling depressed and wondering how he had gotten through over a decade.


    ¡°Boohoo¡­¡±


    When he was in a daze, Ziuxiu suddenly heard someone whimpering in the yard, which made his flesh creep. ¡°Who¡¯s weeping? Could it be¡­ No way!¡± he managed to set his mind at ease and listened carefully, trying to identify the source of the cry. After a short while, he shifted his gaze to the earthen wall on the right side of the yard.

 Chapter 4

    The earthen wall was over the height of a man, but that didn¡¯t bother Zixiu. He often had to climb up steep cliffs when he went out to pick medicinal herbs in the mountains with his father, so he climbed up the wall with ease. Wait, what did he climb over the wall for? Because he was so bored that he couldn¡¯t hold back the urge to see what was going on next door. Anyway, he had nothing to do for the moment.


    ¡°Boohoo¡­¡± The whimper rang again.


    Riding on top of the wall, Zixiu looked about and found a white figure leaning against the pillar in the porch of the neighboring yard. From the body shape of that person, he could tell that it was a woman. A woman in white crying at midnight triggered his imagination of a face without features, eerie but clear! What the hell? Had he ever seen such a horrible scene before? Why did it suddenly pop into his head?


    After wrestling with himself for a while with a frown, Zixiu finally climbed down the wall and landed on the ground in the neighboring courtyard. He couldn¡¯t suppress his curiosity. Moreover, he thought if he missed this opportunity, he might never again have the chance to encounter such an odd and thrilling thing in the future, so he decided to find out what had happened as an adventure. However, if Zixiu had known that the woman would start his nightmare, he would never have climbed up that wall in any case! But by the time he found out what had happened later, it was too late to regret.


    The woman didn¡¯t seem to have sensed someone approaching her and she was still sobbing there. Squatting down, Zixiu hid in the shade of the wall. Having observed for a while, he didn¡¯t find anyone else except for the two of them, so he deliberately let out a miserable shriek all of a sudden. ¡°Ah!¡±


    ¡°Who is it?¡± the woman asked in a trembling voice, obviously taken aback. ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡±


    ¡°Young¡­ Young Lady, don¡¯t worry! I fell¡­ from the tree¡­ by accident!¡± Zixiu stammered on purpose. He collapsed on the ground, covered his foot with his hands, his face twisted, as if he had really just fallen down from the tree. There was indeed a big tree next to him, so it might have been because Zixiu had excellent acting skills or that woman was too kind and bold, she walked to him gracefully after wiping her tears from her eyes without even suspecting his intent.


    ¡°Sir, are you all right?¡± Speaking with a broad twang, she had managed to calm herself down, which made Zixiu flustered. Zixiu climbed over the wall only because he was so bored that he decided to find out who was crying in here at this time of night. He admitted that he was kind of mischievous, but now he suddenly realized that he was taking the risk of being taken as a thief by doing so!


    ¡°Sir!¡± Receiving no response from him, the woman raised her voice.


    ¡°Nothing! I¡¯m fine!¡± Zixiu immediately shook his head, trying to ease his own embarrassment in a self-deprecating manner. The lady also smiled, but she didn¡¯t say anything, which made the atmosphere suddenly grow awkward.


    Rising to his feet, Zixiu whisked the dust off his clothes. ¡°Young lady, can you tell me what¡¯s eating you?¡±


    Hearing that, that woman seemed even more grieved. Her face turned gloomy with tears shimmering in her eyes again, and then she began to wipe her tears with a white silk handkerchief.


    ¡°I was born a miserable woman. How dare I trouble you? Sir, please just forget it!¡±


    ¡°Forget it? Obviously she has suffered a great injustice. How can I leave her alone? I, Liu Zixiu, is by no means a selfish, indifferent machine!¡± Struck by an emotional turmoil, he patted himself on the chest and said with a solemn demeanor, ¡°Let me know how I may be of service to you. I¡¯ll do whatever I can to help!¡±


    ¡°Sir, are you serious?¡±


    ¡°You have my word!¡± Zixiu revealed a righteous look on his face, without noticing the sly smile on that lady¡¯s face.


    ¡°Sir, so you¡¯re willing to come with me?¡±


    ¡°Huh? Go with you?¡± Seeing that Zixiu seemed to be confused, the lady added, ¡°Haven¡¯t you heard that a rapist was often seen in this town lately?¡±


    ¡°A rapist?¡± It turned out that she was worried that she might encounter a sex maniac¡­ But since she was so afraid of that rapist, why did she come out alone and cry here at midnight? ¡°Young Lady, you must have misunderstood me. I¡¯m not that pervert you heard about¡­¡± Liu Zixiu was eager to distance himself from the hearsay. However, before he could continue, the woman suddenly cut in on him with a smile.


    ¡°I know you¡¯re not, because that pervert¨C is me!¡±

 Chapter 5

    There were four states on this continent, namely, the Ning Kingdom in the east, the Nan Kingdom in the south, the Rong Kingdom in the west and the Wen Kingdom in the north. By virtue of its geographical advantage, the Ning Kingdom managed to maintain the stability of its regime on one side of the Yu River and had rarely been disturbed by war. The other three kingdoms were evenly matched, so except for the occasional skirmishes along the border, they mostly lived in peace, which formed a balance of three forces for decades. As the four states got along well with each other and exchanged frequently, the intermarriage between the royal families was common. However, when it came to that of the Wen and Nan, it was a different story that would go back to the civil unrest of the Wen Kingdom.


    Half a year ago, when the emperor of the Wen Kingdom was on an official tour, the crown prince, who was left in the imperial palace, was wrongly accused of plotting a rebellion. For fear that his father would fall for slanders, the crown prince killed the calumniator and was about to explain to the emperor after he came back. However, the calumniator¡¯s companion, who had narrowly escaped, got in the way and convinced the emperor of his lies. Out of rage, the emperor decided to execute his son. Left with no choice, the crown prince gathered a troop of tens of thousands of military men to fight against the imperial army and arrested dozens of nobles from the Nan Kingdom who had been living in the capital of the Wen Kingdom or left as hostages there, which put the two sides in a stalemate. Everyone knew that the consequences could be serious if a country suffered from internal strife and external enemies at the same time.


    Sure enough, the news about the Nan people being arrested in the Wen Kingdom reached the Nan Kingdom in three days, which created quite a stir among the officials. Burning with anger, the heroic general, Xue Ding, offered to bring an army of 800 thousand to the border and demand the emperor of the Wen Kingdom to release those hostages. He even threatened that he would lead his troop straight to Lin Yang, the capital city of the Wen Kingdom, to save the Nan people otherwise.


    However, when the war was on the verge of breaking out, a piece of shocking news suddenly came¡ªthe tenth emperor of the Wen Kingdom, Yuwen Jieren, died a violent death in his temporary dwelling palace the night before!


    After hearing the terrible news, everyone in the Wen Kingdom was in mourning and the crown prince almost cried his heart out, so the civil strife was put aside for the time being. Three days later, the crown prince, Yuwen Weixia, officially ascended the throne! The funeral ceremony lasted for 49 days from performing funeral rituals, burial and mourning to offering the nameplate of the former emperor into the royal temple. After that, the new emperor executed all the calumniators, saying that the alleged ¡°rebellion¡± was merely a false accusation. He also apologized for arresting the hostages from the Nan Kingdom and said to prevent the friendly relations between the two countries from being affected, he was willing to offer the latter 100 excellent horses, 1000 gold bars and made a proposal of intermarriage between the royalty. Would the emperor of the Nan Kingdom agree to his proposal? He did, unsurprisingly, while complicating the process.


    When the envoy of the Wen Kingdom arrived in Luan City, the troop of the Nan Kingdom was still stationed on the border. After receiving the letter written by Yuwen Weixia in person, Nangong Ao started discussing with his subordinates about how they should react to the Wen Kingdom¡¯s offensive behavior. Xue Ding was the first one to step out of the crowd and excoriated Yuwen Weixia for kidnapping the hostages in contempt of the Nan Kingdom and he strongly opposed the idea of cementing the two countries¡¯ relationship through marriage. Following his suit, a few more officials accused the new emperor of the Wen Kingdom and expressed their disapproval of intermarriage between the royalty from two countries. Soon the opinions of the officials appeared to be ¡°one-sided¡±. At this moment, the Prime Minister, Lou Yuankui, who had been quiet, suddenly raised his voice. ¡°Your Majesty, in my humble opinion, the intermarriage might be a valid solution.¡±


    Everyone was stunned. ¡°Prime Minister Lou, just tell me whatever is on your mind,¡± Nangong Ao said, his eyes glittering.


    ¡°Your Majesty, the fact that the crown prince of the Wen Kingdom arrested our people does make it look like he didn¡¯t take us seriously, so it¡¯s no wonder that our ministers are angry enough to object the intermarriage. However, as etiquette and peace have been valued by us since ancient times, and now Yuwen Weixia has offered to apologize after he became the new emperor, if we turn him down, the others would think we¡¯re too hypocritical and narrow-minded.¡±


    ¡°The Wen Kingdom started it! How dare they shift the blame?¡± someone shouted disapprovingly. After a short pause, Lou Yuankui continued, ¡°We have sent 800 thousand soldiers to the border as a warning already. Now that they have released the aristocratic hostages from our kingdom and offered to apologize, we have no reason to send our troops across the border!¡±


    ¡°Premier Lou, I beg to differ. Our army hasn¡¯t yet set foot on the land of the Wen Kingdom!¡± Someone retorted. ¡°But if we turn down Yuwen Weixia¡¯s offer, everyone will think that we¡¯re planning on go to war with them. Your Majesty, please look before you leap.¡±


    Nangong Ao was clear what was at stake. When it wasn¡¯t ready, he wouldn¡¯t break years of peace recklessly. But unfortunately, Yuwen Jieren¡¯s sudden death messed up all his plans and put him in a dilemma. After thinking for a bit, he asked, ¡°But Prime Minister Lou, what¡¯s in this intermarriage for us?¡±


    ¡°If we put the past behind us and get back on good terms with the Wen Kingdom, people of the two countries don¡¯t have to suffer from war. So, Your Majesty, everyone would appreciate you for your kindness and generosity, as well as your concern for ordinary people¡­¡±


    Nangong Ao enjoyed his flattering very much, so without any hesitation, he decided to adopt the intermarriage plan. ¡°I¡¯ll leave this matter to Prime Minister Lou. Is there a problem with that?¡± he asked.


    The officials knew well that Nangong Ao was a man of his word. As he had made up his mind, further objections were no longer raised, despite the fact that some of the official still held different perspectives. So, without further ado, Nangong Ao began the discussion regarding candidates for the intermarriage. To show his sincerity, the new emperor of the Wen Kingdom, Yuwen Weixia, was willing to marry his younger sister off to the Nan Kingdom, so Nangong Ao had to choose someone who could match this princess as her husband.


    After a heated discussion, the pro-war group led by Xue Ding recommended the emperor¡¯s third son, Nangong Wuchen, while the pro-peace group with Lou Yuankui as their head put forward the emperor¡¯s brother, Prince Mu, Nangong Du as the candidates.

 Chapter 6

    In Prince Mu¡¯s Mansion in Luan City, the capital of the Nan Kingdom, red silk flowers, colored ribbons and red lanterns decorated with golden traditional Chinese characters meaning ¡°happiness¡± could be seen everywhere. The flowery courtyard was crowded with guests, who had come with tons of presents. Amid the deafening sounds of gongs and drums, Prince Mu¡¯s wedding to Princess Liuxu was going on. After a heated debate, Prince Mu, recommended by the pro-peace group was finally chosen as the ideal husband for the princess of the Wen Kingdom. Why was the emperor¡¯s third son, Nangong Wuchen, who was strongly recommended by General Xue, finally defeated? Because he was actually a moron whose IQ was even lower than that of a three-year-old! Though they could vent their anger against Yuwen Weixia by marrying his sister to a mentally retarded prince, such tricks would be considered improper. And it would also make people in other countries think that either the Nan people were too stringy, or there was no outstanding young man at all in this country! Above all, the Wen Kingdom of Wen wasn¡¯t a country to be trifled with. Even marriages between ordinary people should be taken seriously, let alone the intermarriage between royalty members of two countries!


    After going through the complicated wedding process, the bride, who almost fell down for a few times because of being too feeble or not acclimated, entered the bridal chamber with the help of several elder female servants, while Prince Mu, dressed in a scarlet wedding robe, was left there drinking with the guests.


    Prince Mu, Nangong Du, was the youngest son of the previous emperor and he was about twenty years younger than Nangong Ao, his eldest brother. Therefore, Nangong Du was only in his early twenties at the moment. However, according to the local customs of the Nan Kingdom, a man could marry at the age of fifteen. That was why he had already had three female consorts and two male concubines before marrying Princess Liuxu. Needless to say, as the distinguished princess of the Wen Kingdom, Liuxu was married to Nangong Du as his legislate wife, which was kind of compensation for her.


    Nangong Du had a low tolerance for liquor, so after drinking for a good while with so many people, he got so drunk that he could barely wobble back to the bedroom with the support of his servants. It might be because of Princess Liuxu¡¯s special identity or Prince Mu¡¯s fractiousness, nobody came to their chamber for a spree (According to the Chinese custom, the spree happens after the feast when the bride and groom go back to their bridal chamber. Relatives, friends and anyone who comes to the wedding can play all kinds of tricks on the new couple, especially the bride), so the bedroom was silent for the moment with only a few maidservants waiting upon outside. When they saw Prince Mu walking over, they immediately bowed to him and said nervously, ¡°Your Highness, Princess Liuxu wasn¡¯t feeling well, so she has gone to bed.¡± Actually, it was just the excuse they made up. They were more likely to believe that the new princess was putting on airs and showing her majesty, so before Prince Mu could come back and remove her veil, she claimed to have ¡°gone to bed¡±. As all the maidservants knew Prince Mu was irritable, they deliberately explained to him in a tactful way, hoping he wouldn¡¯t vent his anger on them because of the princess¡¯s unruliness.


    ¡°Um¡­¡± Nangong Du muttered and waved, gesturing to the maidservants to leave before he staggered into the bedroom.


    Princess Liuxu was indeed sound asleep. As soon as the wedding was over and she was taken to the bridal chamber, she threw herself on the bed even without removing the red veil and her heavy headwear. As per the customs of the Nan Kingdom, the bride was not allowed to unveil on her own, which would allegedly bring bad luck. The princess seemed to have consciously followed the rule.


    Drunk as he was, Nangong Du didn¡¯t forget to take the bride¡¯s veil off. He staggered towards the table and managed to pick up the metal stick on it before moving to the bed slowly and sitting down. However, instead of lifting the bride¡¯s veil, he stared at the red candle on the nightstand as if lost in thought. After quite a while, he suddenly threw the metal stick at the candle and hit the wick with perfect precision. As soon as the candle flickered out, he ripped off the bride¡¯s soft red veil with his other hand, and without even taking a look at her face, he threw himself on her heavily.

 Chapter 7

    Liu Zixiu had no idea what medicine the ¡®pervert¡¯ lady had given him last night, but he knew the ingredients of the small black pill included liquorice, rehmannia glutinosa, radix astragali, rhizoma atractylodis, eucommia bark, datura stramonium, cinnamaldehyde and¡­ Based on what he had learned in the past three years, that was all he could tell. He was sure that the pill was toxic because he had been poisoned! Seeing the cunning look flashing in the woman¡¯s eyes, he was more certain about his deduction.


    Sure enough, two minutes later, he felt dizzy and became feeble and numb, as if he was on floating clouds. However, he hadn¡¯t lost his subconsciousness yet, so he knew everything that happened to him after being drugged. That wicked woman cleaned and dressed him up before she suddenly covered his head with a red veil, which blocked his vision. Next, someone helped him out of the room and then into a sedan. He didn¡¯t know how long he had been in the sedan before he was helped out of it. Then he was forced to bow to someone and kowtow to heaven and earth, which made him dizzy and nearly fall over several times. Zixiu let out a sigh of relief when he realized that he was finally being sent to the bridal chamber.


    Wait, bridal chamber? Yes! Though he was so weak after being drugged that he could neither speak nor hear clearly, at least Liu Zixiu knew where he was. But if a man who had been kidnapped, drugged and dressed up as a woman in formal wedding clothes with a red veil over his head before being thrown into a bridal sedan and even going through all the wedding procedures with a man failed to realize it, that would make him either a non-human creature or an idiot! Obviously, Liu Zixiu was neither. As soon as that woman revealed her own identity, he realized he had been caught up in a disaster. However, as he was no match for that perverted expert in combat, and lost the ability to ask for help or escape after being drugged, he could do nothing to stop what was going on. But why did Zixiu feel relieved when he was brought to the bridal chamber? Was he willing to stay in that room? That seemed right. He hadn¡¯t slept a wink for two days and one night, so if he continued to stay awake, he might black out soon. Therefore, as soon as he walked into the bridal chamber and sat down, he threw himself on the bed and fell asleep without even taking the red veil off. First, it was because he was too lazy; second, he was too feeble to remove it. In the hope that the groom wouldn¡¯t return so soon, he decided to doze off for a while before thinking about how to run away. Though he had no idea what that woman kidnapped him and brought him here for, his intuition told him that he had to find a way to escape before the groom returned. Otherwise, he would be dead! As the saying goes: A single slip may cause lasting sorrow. Zixiu was about to pay a terrible price for a nap!


    It was in the morning the next day when Zixiu woke up. The moment he opened his eyes and saw everything around him, he immediately went stiff. How he wished what had happened in the last two nights was only a part of his dream, and he had never met the ¡®pervert¡¯ lady or dressed as a woman and married someone, or at least, he had slept through the night without waking up in the middle and sensing someone on top of him¡­


    Unfortunately, in the early morning, he somewhat completely regained consciousness. The look in his eyes was complicated, but he didn¡¯t move, because he was too feeble, and also because he didn¡¯t dare to do so. He found himself naked in the arms of a man as naked as himself. Besides, he felt weak in the waist and the legs, and he saw some bruises on his skin. What¡¯s more, his ass was burning hot and it hurt so much! Everything was telling him a terrible, disgusting fact¡ªhe was f*cked by a man!! At the thought of what had happened last night, he felt like his head was about to explode. ¡°Damn it! I¡¯m not gay!¡± he bellowed inwardly.

 Chapter 8

    Zixiu had been longing for a chance to go down the mountain. However, instead of having fun in the town, he became a hapless victim. It was already very miserable to be kidnapped, not to mention f*cked by a man! At the thought of this, Liu Zixiu was in a terrible mood. What should he do next? Make a scene and commit suicide? Or give that pervert a good beating and then going to the government office to file a lawsuit? Zixiu denied both soon. He was neither a woman nor a man who would defend his virginity at the cost of his life.


    Though he still felt a little weak, Zixiu had fully come back to his senses and he smelled the reek of alcohol while feeling extreme discomfort in his lower body. ¡°Is it because this guy was drunk last night that he took me for a woman and¡­¡± Gritting his teeth, Zixiu wailed inwardly with mixed feelings¡­ Judging from this guy¡¯s strong arms, sturdy chest and the grim look on his face when he slept, Zixiu could tell that he would be digging his own grave if he dared swear at or lay a finger on this pervert. Moreover, the luxurious decoration in the room, the huge bed behind the veil and the scarlet quilt embroidered with mandarin ducks with golden thread¡­ everything was demonstrating the wealth and status of the owner of this mansion. On the contrary, he, Liu Zixiu, was only a nobody without backing. Besides, at this moment, he didn¡¯t even have a weapon in his hand. So even though he was the victim, Zixiu was worried that he couldn¡¯t explain himself about how he had become the surrogate bride. And he couldn¡¯t imagine how this man would react when he woke up and found out that he had had sex with a man after getting drunk. Zixiu was certain that he would be strangled before he could step out of the room, let alone going to the government office to sue him. Then he could only tell his grievances to the king of hell!


    Once again, his instinct for self-preservation told him to run away before the groom woke up, or he would be doomed! As the saying goes, a wise man knows when to retreat. Liu Zixiu decided to swallow the humiliation. ¡°That¡¯s not a big deal! I¡¯ll think of it as if I were bitten by a dog last night!¡± he comforted himself. In spite of aching all over, he held his breath and began to move cautiously. After managing to distance himself from the man on the bed, without hesitation, he lifted a corner of the quilt carefully and moved out little by little.


    It took him quite a long time before Zixiu managed to get out of bed without alerting that pervert. However, when he was about to put his clothes on, he found the wedding clothes he had worn yesterday and his underwear in tatters all over the floor, which instantly reminded him of what had happened last night. If it weren¡¯t for his strong psychological endurance, he would have died on the spot after coughing up a mouthful of blood! He didn¡¯t want to wear those damn wedding clothes again, but where was the wardrobe? Anyway, it would be too indecent to rush out and run in the street naked!


    ¡°Darling, if you need anything, just let the maidservants come in and help you.¡±


    Zixiu¡¯s heart skipped a beat when the low voice suddenly rang behind. He froze on the spot in an instant. ¡°Gosh! That pervert woke up!¡±


    Seeing that the new princess had ¡°her¡± back towards him nakedly and seemed reluctant to let the maidservants in, Nangong Du, who was experienced in dealing with women, took it for granted that this ¡°princess¡± from the Wen Kingdom was whoring herself out. He sneered inwardly, but jumped out of the bed in haste, pretending that he couldn¡¯t wait to the second time of intimacy.


    One, two, three, four¡­ When Zixiu counted to the seventh step that Nangong Du had taken toward him from behind, he suddenly picked up the vase on the cabinet by his side, turned swiftly and threw it at him.


    However, the vase didn¡¯t crack as Zixiu expected, instead, Nangong Du caught it without difficulty. Meanwhile, Nangong Du was shocked by what he had seen¡ªhis ¡°bride¡± was actually¡­ a man! Yes, he didn¡¯t get it wrong. It was a man who was standing in front of him, with a flat front and firm tumescence in his unholy nether realm!


    ¡°Who are you?¡± Nangong Du froze for quite a while before he finally came back to his senses.


    ¡°Who the hell are you?¡± Hearing him roar again, Zixiu was so scared that he couldn¡¯t utter a single word. Becoming as irritable as usual, Nangong Du grabbed Zixiu by the neck with his powerful hands, like a hawk catching a chicken. ¡°You better start talking!¡±


    ¡°My name is Mark Lira, and I¡¯m twenty years old. My favorite cartoon is The Prince of Tennis!¡±  Under the murderous gaze of Nangong Du, Zixiu blurted out a string of strange words, the meaning of which even he himself didn¡¯t know. Pieces of memory flashed in his mind, but before he could capture any information, he was struck by a splitting headache.

 Chapter 9

    ¡°Mark Lira? The Prince of Tennis?¡± Nangong Du kept on repeating these ¡®names¡¯. As far as he knew, no prince of these four countries had ever been conferred the title of Prince of Tennis! ¡°Could this guy be a spy sent by that Prince of Tennis from a barbarian country? It¡¯s incredible that a barbarian is so skillful in martial arts that he not only managed to enter my bedroom without being noticed by my guards but kidnapped my bride as well! What¡¯s more, it wasn¡¯t until just now that I found out he was not Yuwen Liuxu!¡± Nangong Du was shocked, wondering when everyone in his mansion, including himself, had relaxed their vigilance.


    ¡°Your Highness, the water is ready!¡±


    Two maidservants who were standing outside with water basins in their hands reported. Nangong Du woke from his trance and allowed them in. After they put the basins on the chairs, he said, waving his hand, ¡°You may leave now. I will help Princess Liuxu dress up in person.¡±


    ¡°What did His Highness say? He¡¯s going to dress the princess up in person? But why did he ask us to fetch some cold water?¡± The two maidservants looked at each other in surprise.


    ¡°What are you still standing here for?¡± Seeing them in a daze, Nangong Du roared impatiently. It seemed not only his guards were incompetent, but also his maidservants were rather stupid. This was really annoying!


    The maidservants knew that their master was ill-tempered, so when they saw him lose it, they were so terrified that they couldn¡¯t help trembling. ¡°Your Highness, it¡¯s our fault! It¡¯s all our fault¡­¡± They immediately knelt on the floor and kowtowed to him.


    This further infuriated Nangong Du. However, he had no time to lecture them for the moment. ¡°Enough! Now get out of here!¡± he bellowed with a frown, waving impatiently again.


    Miraculously exonerated, the maidservants had hardly recovered from the fright. Not daring to stay any longer, they hurried out, closing the door softly behind them as they left. Watching them leaving, Nangong Du rose to his feet, walked to the chair and held up the basin.


    With a sudden clatter, he poured a basin of cold water over the head of Zixiu, who had fainted from a headache. Yes, Nangong Du meant to use the water to wake up this spy, who came for no reason from nowhere and had pretended to faint after making the weirdest self-introduction at the slightest threat!


    ¡°Bah!¡± Zixiu woke up under the stimulation of the chilly water. He sat up all of a sudden, hurriedly spat out the water in his mouth and wiped his ears while complaining loudly, ¡°What the hell? Didn¡¯t you see me here before you did that? How come you¡¯re so reckless? Being thin and tiny doesn¡¯t make me invisible¡­¡±


    However, the next second, Zixiu suddenly saw the man, who was staring at him with a murderous look in his eyes. Only then did he remember the breathtaking scene before he passed out. ¡°Is this psycho going to kill me?¡± he covered his mouth in haste and moved backward unconsciously, completely lost the courage for further complaints.


    ¡°Bro, please have mercy on me! I¡¯m innocent, I swear! I have nothing to do with this! It all started with me falling into that perverted lady¡¯s trap¡­¡± Then he immediately poured out what had happened to him in the past two days. But it seemed he had totally forgotten the self-introduction he had blurted out before he blacked out.


    ¡°A perverted lady?¡± Nangong Du sneered at Zixiu¡¯s words, the murderous look in his eyes growing much intenser. ¡°I¡¯m telling nothing but the truth. I swear to the Lord!¡± Zixiu knew it was hard to convince him, so he went to great lengths to set his mind at ease.


    ¡°The Lord?¡± Nangong Du finally found a loophole in his words. ¡°How is he related to that cartoon Prince of Tennis?¡± he asked sarcastically.

 Chapter 10

    ¡°Cartoon? The Prince of Tennis?¡± It reminded Zixiu of the words he uttered when the pervert had nearly strangled him just now. ¡°I¡¯m Liu Zixiu, why did I tell him my name was Mark Lira?¡± Though the name sounded a bit familiar, Zixiu had no idea what it had to do with him. Besides, his father said that he hadn¡¯t even reached the age of sixteen, how come he blurted out that he was twenty? ¡°Do I look that precocious?¡± As for the cartoon and the Prince of Tennis¡­ Zixiu crawled to the edge of the bed, craned his neck and looked about as if the cartoon and the Prince of Tennis were somewhere in the room. ¡°Where the hell are they?¡± However, the moment he tried to search in his memory, he felt like his headache was coming back. He immediately shook his head hard, trying to stop pondering while drawing his neck back. He used to say strange things at home for no reason, such as ¡®sorry¡¯ or ¡®My bad!¡¯, so maybe all this was the sequela of the brain injury he suffered after falling into the river! But would this psycho believe him?


    Needless to say, Nangong Du wasn¡¯t convinced. So after Zixiu tried to clarify with the utmost sincerity that his name wasn¡¯t Mark Lira, he knew nothing about the cartoon or the Prince of Tennis, and he had blurted them out only because something went wrong with his brain as a result of an accident, his poor slim neck was grabbed by Nangong Du again! ¡°You little brat, do you know who I am? I¡¯m the prince of the Nan Kingdom. No matter if you¡¯re Liu Zixiu or Mark Lira, if you dare to lie to me, I will personally see to it¡­¡±


    As Zixiu was shocked when Nangong Du revealed his own identity, not even the least attention was paid to the latter¡¯s threat. ¡°This pervert is a prince? A royal family member, for God¡¯s sake!¡± he roared inwardly again.


    Almost reduced to tears, he hung down his head in despair, like an eggplant wilted after a frost. Though he had been in the mountains for years, hardly ever went out, lost his memory and even forgot the common sense of life, he heard something about the situation in the world from his father in the past three years and was aware that princes were emperors¡¯ immediate family. If this guy in front of him was the emperor¡¯s brother or son, then the bride he had taken the place of would be the princess. Gosh! He was involved in the kidnapping of the princess! If he couldn¡¯t explain himself as soon as possible, it seemed rotting in hell would be his only option left! How come he was so hapless? ¡°No! I¡¯m not gonna yield myself to death!¡±


    As Zixiu was worried about the dangerous situation he was in, he failed to notice that Nangong Du was getting more furious for hearing no response from him. With a grim look, he squeezed Zixiu¡¯s neck harder, showing no mercy.


    ¡°You audacious rebel, how dare you disregard my questions!¡± Nangong Du spat out the words one by one, gritting his teeth. He was not only the former emperor¡¯s youngest and favorite son, but was doted on by his eldest brother, the present emperor, as well as the dowager empress. Everyone had been submissive to him all his life, so he couldn¡¯t help flaring up when he found himself being ignored. ¡°Bastard, you¡¯re so dead!¡±


    ¡°Er¡­¡± Having been lifted like a duck, Zixiu instinctively struggled, trying to slap Nangong Du¡¯s hand away from his neck. However, Nangong Du grabbed his wrists with his other hand and gave him a nasty knock in the stomach with his knee, which made Zixiu immediately lose his balance and leaned backward before being pressed against the bed by Nangong Du.


    ¡°How bold you are to have attacked me! Little brat, I¡¯m going to kill you!¡± Seeing the scratches on the back of his hand left by Zixiu¡¯s nails, Nangong Du grew even angrier. He let go of Zixiu¡¯s neck before throwing a punch. However, when his fist was about to land on Zixiu¡¯s face, the latter suddenly stopped struggling. He looked calm, and even had a contemptuous sneer on his face!


    ¡°Idiot!¡±


    ¡°You have absolutely no idea who you¡¯re talking to, do you?¡± Nangong Du froze for a while before he realized what was happening. He had always been the one to curse others and nobody even dared say no in front of him, while this bastard called him an idiot to his face!


    ¡°Is there anyone else in the room except the two of us? Do you think I¡¯m talking to myself?¡± Showing no fear on his face, Zixiu condemned Nangong Du resentfully, ¡°Just think about it, please! Who would have been so stupid to disguise himself as a woman, marry you and wait to be fucked by a drunkard for no reason? Who do you think you are? Listen, even if you¡¯re powerful, rich and much more attractive than women, I won¡¯t be silly enough to degrade myself in having anything to do with a gay! I¡¯ve told you I was wronged. Why don¡¯t you just believe me? Now I don¡¯t see the point for further talk. If you want to kill me, just go ahead! But I have to remind you that mistakenly killing me will lead to consequences, which is that I will come back and haunt you until your last breath!¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± To Zixiu¡¯s surprise, instead of hitting the ceiling, Nangong Du propped his chin with his hand, looking unfathomable. ¡°So you think you¡¯re being unfairly accused?¡±


    ¡°Damn right I am!¡± After a short moment of pause, Zixiu nodded, feigning his composure. He had pretended to be calm when he swore at Nangong Du just now, but actually he was already scared out of his wits. Now the sudden change of Nangong¡¯s attitude toward him with the addition of that bizarre look in his eyes made Zixiu extremely nervous.


    ¡°But¡­¡± Nangong Du suddenly changed the subject. ¡°Why did the rapist pick you over everyone else?¡±


    Hearing that, Zixiu had a very terrifying premonition, but he still pretended to be tough. ¡°How could I possibly know?¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡± Nangong Du didn¡¯t seem annoyed, but only narrowed his eyes and looked Zixiu up and down. Being naked, Zixiu felt uneasy under his gaze. He knew very well he was no match for this damn pervert if they fought, but he didn¡¯t want to cover his chest like a woman and ask stupid questions like ¡®What are you doing?¡¯, so he had to swallow his pride. All he could do was tightly grab the quilt, which had slipped to his waist while this pervert was gazing brazenly at his bare upper body!


    ¡°As far as I¡¯m concerned, the rapists are all very picky!¡±


    ¡°So what?¡± Zixiu stiffened unconsciously and his voice began to tremble when the pervert suddenly put his hands on his sides, a gesture that somewhat reminded him of what had happened last night. Zixiu immediately felt the atmosphere between them grow ambiguous.


    ¡°Nothing. But I have to admit you¡¯re indeed more beautiful than the three consorts and two male concubines of mine.¡± As Nangong Du meant what he said, his voice became soft and seductive as he spoke. He had always fancied good-looking people, both men and women.


    However, what he said in such a charming voice did nothing but made Zixiu feel sick. ¡°It¡¯s unbelievable this guy already has three consorts and two male concubines at such a young age! So if we count the new princess in, that will make it¡­ Wait! Male concubines?¡±


    Zixiu¡¯s face turned pale when he suddenly realized what Nangong Du was talking about. ¡°Heavens! Is this guy really gay? If that¡¯s the case, then my chastity is on the line again!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t! Urgh¡ª¡° Feeling the pervert running his fingers over his skin, Zixiu couldn¡¯t hold it anymore and threw up straight on him before he could cover his mouth with his hands.


    ¡°You unappreciative blockhead! You think making out with me is an insult, don¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°You think it¡¯ll make me feel good? Urgh¡ª¡±


    ¡°How dare you talk to me in this way? I¡¯m going to teach you a good lesson!¡±


    ¡°Ah! You pervert, asshole, leave me alone! Get the hell away from me! Ah! Ahh¡ª!¡±

 Chapter 11

    Despite their drunken hookup the night before, Nangong Du was about to force himself on Zixiu again this morning! Was Nangong Du truly a sex maniac?


    Absolutely not! Though he always fancied the gorgeous, he wasn¡¯t an addict with an insatiable appetite for sex. For him, it was only a strategy to convince everyone that he was tyrannical and over-sexed.


    Actually, Nangong Du was clear that though Liu Zixiu deserved to be executed for his disrespect to him, what he said did make sense. If he were indeed a spy, he wouldn¡¯t have risked his life to marry him in disguise of a woman without making a move throughout the night. So Liu Zixiu was highly likely innocent. But who could guarantee it wasn¡¯t a part of his scheme? Who could guarantee Liu Zixiu was just an innocent scapegoat instead of a cunning fox? The princess of the Wen Kingdom, who had come all the way to marry him, was replaced by a man. And as the groom, he didn¡¯t even find it out until the next morning! Would anybody believe it if the rumor spread? Even though Nangong Du had nothing to do with the missing of Yuwen Liuxu, their marriage involved the relations between the two countries, so he might be able to pass the buck if he discovered last night that the princess had been kidnapped before their intimacy. Unfortunately, he was so drunk that he couldn¡¯t remember what had happened last night. It seemed someone had intended to ruin the intermarriage between the royal members of these two countries! But why did they send a man as the replacement? Were they trying to sow discord between these two countries by getting the Nan people to question the sincerity of the other party? But who could be the mastermind behind all this? The emperor of the Rong or the Ning, or the pro-groups of the Wen and the Nan? Or maybe it was that Prince of Tennis from some barbaric country?


    After pondering for a while, Nangong Du found almost all these countries were dubious and it was even possible that the princess had kidnapped a man to take her place in order to escape the marriage. Obviously, it was hard to get the princess back, so all Nangong Du could do was to cut everyone off from the news and contain the situation. Thankfully, Yuwen Liuxu had been living in the imperial palace and rarely came out, so except for a few high-rank officials had seen her, most of the team members who escorted her to the Nan Kingdom didn¡¯t know what she looked like, let alone Prince Mu, Nangong Du. Therefore, Nangong Du decided to play along. Whether this Liu Zixiu was a man or a woman, a sheep or a fox, as he had gone through the process of their wedding, he was Prince Mu¡¯s legal wife, the princess of the Wen Kingdom¡ªYuwen Liuxu!


    Now Nangong Du had to seize the hour to punish this unruly ¡®woman¡¯, who was bold enough to despise him, swear at him, and even consider his favor a disgrace!


    ¡°Will you throw up again? Answer me!¡± He turned Zixiu¡¯s head, forcing him to watch what he was doing to him.


    ¡°Urgh¡ª¡± Only at a glance, Zixiu felt like vomiting again. However, as he hadn¡¯t had anything for a whole day, he had nothing to vomit in addition to his gastric acid. And now he could only retch. Unable to hold back his anger, he cursed again, ¡°You asshole, rapist! You and that perverted bitch are birds of a feather! She kidnapped me and look what you¡¯re doing right now! Urgh¡ª¡±


    ¡°How dare you have another woman on your mind when you¡¯re with me?¡±


    ¡°Bullshit! You damn pervert, let go of me! If you dare to put that filthy d*ck of yours any closer, I¡¯m going¡­ Urgh¡ª¡±


    ¡°Little brat, you¡¯re my legal wife now, so it¡¯s only natural that I have sex with you!¡±


    ¡°Sod this! You shameless wanker! Urgh¡ª¡±


    ¡°Honey, you still have the strength to swear at me? It seems you haven¡¯t enjoyed enough!¡± With that, Nangong Du suddenly gave a hard push of himself on Zixiu.


    When Nangong Du forced himself into the already-bleeding tender rose again, Zixiu let out a miserable shriek in pain. ¡°Ah¡ª He¡­Help! I will never ever throw up like that again! I swear¡­¡±


    ¡°Your scream always turns me on somehow!¡± Nangong Du kept pounding from behind maliciously, showing no mercy.


    ¡°Your Highness, stop! Please! I¡¯m begging you¡­¡±


    ¡°Sweetie pie, you¡¯re so juicy! I just can¡¯t stop.¡±


    ¡°You bastard! You¡­ Ah! Ahh¡ª Um¡­¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t seem satisfied, darling. Guess I have to work harder¡­¡±


    ¡°Your Highness, please have mercy on me! I dare not scold you again! I swear! I swear¡­¡±

 Chapter 12

    After the punishment, Nangong Du let go of Zixiu triumphantly in high spirits. As the Chinese version of Casanova, he was sexually experienced, but even he himself was surprised that this young guy from nowhere would have made him feel like being in heaven and almost couldn¡¯t stop what he was doing just now. When he was savoring the sensation he had just experienced, another voice suddenly rang in his mind, ¡°Maybe Liu Zixiu isn¡¯t as innocent and harmless as he seems to be. Maybe he cast a spell on you to make you fall head over heels for him!¡±


    At the thought of this, Nangong Du reached out and ran his fingers over Zixiu¡¯s fair buttock to see if he had been tamed.


    ¡°Your¡­ Your Highness¡­ Don¡¯t¡­¡± Zi Xiu, who was already half-dead, immediately bounced from the bed like a frightened bird. However, as his whole body was drained of all the strength, before he could finish his words, he collapsed on the bed again.


    Instead of feeling guilty or pity, Nangong Du grabbed Zixiu by the hair and yelled angrily, ¡°How dare you resist? So you¡¯re still unwilling to be intimate with me, huh?¡±


    Although Zixiu was bold with unlimited psychological endurance, he didn¡¯t dare even breathe freely in front of this tyrant. He could only shake his head feebly as if struggling in his deathbed. Thankfully, at this very moment, there was a knock on the door.


    ¡°Your Highness, I have something urgent to report!¡± It was Yueying, Nangong Du¡¯s bodyguard.


    ¡°Come on in!¡± Without the least intention to cover up, Nangong Du was still tugging at Zixiu¡¯s hair. He didn¡¯t need to hide anything from Yueying. Seeing the strange man on his master¡¯s bed, Yueying didn¡¯t seem surprised and he said as calmly as usual, ¡°My lord, the personal maidservant of Princess Liuxu was killed in the guesthouse of our state.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡± Nangong Du¡¯s heart sank. ¡°What¡¯s the reaction of the delegation of the Wen to this?¡±


    ¡°They have reported this incident to His Majesty and requested us to confirm Princess Liuxu¡¯s safety. Prime Minister Lou is on his way here now at His Majesty¡¯s decree.¡±


    ¡°Lou Yuankui?¡± At the thought of Prime Minister Lou, Nangong Du frowned slightly and finally loosened his grip on Zixiu¡¯s hair. ¡°Did you find anyone suspicious in our mansion last night?¡± he asked.


    After pausing for a while, Yueying bowed to him with his hands cupped. ¡°Your Highness, I should be blamed for my incompetence!¡±


    ¡°Never mind!¡± Nangong Du stopped him in a low voice. After pondering for a while, he grabbed Zixiu by the neck again. ¡°Go get the portrait of Yuwen Liuxu, and change this guy¡¯s appearance according to it!¡±


    ¡°Er¡­¡± Yueying hesitated for a short moment before he continued, ¡°My lord, the portrait of Princess Liuxu is among a pile of other women¡¯s portraits sent by the dowager empress, and I¡¯m afraid¡­¡±


    Hearing that, Nangong Du suddenly remembered that he had thrown it into the cabinet like a piece of garbage without even looking at it after the dowager empress brought him Yuwen Liuxu¡¯s portrait in person. By then, the dowager empress had given him no less than a hundred women¡¯s portraits, so it would take some time to find Yuwen Liuxu¡¯s.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t those portraits marked?¡± He thought to distinguish hundreds of women, the dowager empress must have had their portraits marked at least.


    ¡°There¡¯s no mark on the portraits, but each portrait is attached by a profile. Unfortunately, they have been mixed up as well!¡± Yueying had to tell the truth.


    Nangong Du was rendered speechless. It seemed those profiles had also been tossed by him randomly!

 Chapter 13

    Nangong Du wasn¡¯t surprised about the death of Yuwen Liuxu¡¯s personal maidservant. As the princess had been kidnapped, it would look suspicious if nobody else around her got involved in the disaster. Or maybe the murder had left the clues to the Wen delegation on purpose. Nangong Du remembered there was indeed a young maidservant who came with the ¡®princess¡¯ and stood beside ¡®her¡¯ throughout the wedding. Unfortunately, nobody had noticed the maidservant, and now she must have changed her appearance and run away. ¡°Damn it!¡± Nangong Du clenched his fists furiously. Actually, he had found something wrong with the bride at the wedding yesterday, but he thought it was just because ¡®she¡¯ was worn out after the long journey and he never expected that it was all a part of someone¡¯s scheme! Nangong Du had his own plan, but now it had been totally ruined! What¡¯s more, shame on him for mistaking a man for a woman after he got drunk! If he could find out the person behind all this, he swore he would definitely torn him from limb to limb!


    Though burning with anger, Nangong Du put on a worried look as soon as he stepped into the front hall. Seeing Prince Mu in a bad mood, Lou Yuankui and the leader of the Wen delegation, Sun Zhao, exchanged glances before they bowed to Nangong Du. ¡°Greetings, Your Highness!¡±


    Waving his hand, Nangong Du said, ¡°Prime Minister Lou, General Sun, please don¡¯t stand on ceremony. I¡¯ve heard of the accident in the guesthouse of our state. It¡¯s unbelievable that the murderer was daring enough to have broken into the hotel and killed the delegation member of the Wen Kingdom! I attach great importance to this matter, and I¡¯ll urge His Majesty to step up the investigation. General Sun, you have my word. We won¡¯t let the murder get away with it!¡±


    ¡°Prince Mu, I¡¯m impressed by your righteousness, and also greatly touched by the fact that you¡¯re so concerned about people of our country. I would like to thank you on behalf of the delegation!¡± With that, the straightforward general was about to bow to Nangong Du to show his appreciation without even asking about the princess.


    Nangong Du immediately stopped him. ¡°General Sun, as a delegation member of your country was attacked in our country, we should take the blame for our negligence!¡±


    Lou Yuankui also promised, ¡°General Sun, please be assured! This is about the relationship of two countries, so we¡¯ll definitely find out who the murderer is and punish him with due severity.¡±


    Sun Zhao nodded before he continued, ¡°I¡¯m much relieved now. Fortunately, only a servant was killed. Your Highness, how is Princess Liuxu doing?¡±


    ¡°Er¡­¡± Nangong Du suddenly lapsed into a sullen silence which made Lou Yuankui and Sun Zhao can¡¯t help staring at him intently with all nerves tensed up.


    After pausing a while, Nan Gongdu raised his voice again, which was full of concern. ¡°As the maidservant has been with her for years, Liuxu was devastated upon hearing the news of her death. No matter how hard I tried to persuade her, she couldn¡¯t stop crying, which had me worried sick!¡±


    Hearing that, Sun Zhao also gave an anxious look. ¡°Princess Liuxu was born with a kind heart. She is nice to all her servants, besides, this maidservant has been serving her for five years¡­ Your Highness, I beg you to console her with all your might,¡± he said with a sigh.


    ¡°General Sun, Liuxu is not only the princess of your country but my wife as well. Needless to say, I will try my best to comfort her. But as she¡¯s in low spirits now, I¡¯m afraid she can¡¯t¡­¡±


    Nangong Du didn¡¯t finish his sentence, as if he was in a dilemma, but Sun Zhao immediately figured out what he meant. Actually, he wasn¡¯t familiar with Princess Liuxu, and now the princess had become Nangong Du¡¯s wife, so it would be inappropriate to visit her in her bedroom. After thinking for a short moment, Sun Zhao responded, ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. At least I can report to His Majesty that Princess Liuxu is safe now. Your Highness, I hope you don¡¯t mind my bothering you today. I¡¯ll come to visit Princess Liuxu again when she¡¯s in a better mood.¡±


    As they had confirmed the safety of the princess, Lou Yuankui didn¡¯t say anything else before he bowed to Nangong Du and left with Sun Zhao.

 Chapter 14

    Nangong Du was a little surprised that the problem had been solved so easily. Leaning against the armchair, he played with the teacup in his hands, lost in thought. ¡°Sun Zhao was so reckless that he believed the princess was safe before he even saw her! Am I making things too complicated? Maybe the mastermind behind all this doesn¡¯t mean to sow discord between the Wen and the Nan, but only did this against me for a personal grudge? As a prince¡¯s wife, Yuwen Liuxu was destined to stay in the mansion every day instead of going out at will, so maybe it isn¡¯t that difficult to keep the secret from the others forever¡­¡±


    When he was in a trance, a voice suddenly rang outside, ¡°Here comes the dowager empress!¡±


    ¡°The dowager empress?¡± After freezing for a few seconds, it suddenly dawned on Nangong Du that hadn¡¯t it been for the accident in the state guesthouse, he would have gone to the dowager empress¡¯s place with his new princess to serve tea and greet her this morning. He had just sent Sun Zhao away, and now he had to rack his brains to avoid the dowager empress from finding out the gender of his bride! How disturbing! He turned to Yueying next to him. The latter immediately understood his master¡¯s intention and left quietly.


    Actually, the dowager empress wasn¡¯t Nangong Du¡¯s birth mother, but she favored him so much and treated him as if he were her own son. Needless to say, there were reasons. First, because they were related by blood. Nangong Du¡¯s birth mother, the imperial noble concubine, Princess Xue, was the dowager empress¡¯s niece, the only daughter of her brother, General Xue Ding, so Nangong Du was Xue Ding¡¯s grandson. Second, before her death in childbirth, Princess Xue entrusted her son to the care of the dowager empress, who had been the empress back then, so Nangong Du was brought up all by the dowager empress, who treated him even better than her own sons. That was why among a dozen brothers of the present emperor, Prince Mu was the only one who didn¡¯t have to reside in any fief outside the capital.


    ¡°Greetings, Mother!¡± Nangong Du walked to the gate to meet the dowager empress.


    ¡°Rise, my son! Let me have a look at you!¡± Disregarding the presence of the eunuchs and imperial maidservants, the dowager empress grabbed her dearest youngest son and sized him up anxiously. ¡°My son, are you all right? Did anything happen in your mansion last night?¡±


    It turned out that his mother was worried about him, not the princess! Nangong Du helped the dowager empress sit down with a smile. ¡°Mother, relax. I¡¯m fine!¡±


    To convince his mother, Nangong Du even slapped his chest hard.


    The dowager empress let out a sigh of relief. She was shocked when she heard that Princess Liuxu¡¯s personal maidservant was killed. The first thing that popped into her mind was Nangong Du might be in danger as well. Worried about his son¡¯s safety, before the servants she sent out to inquire about information came back, she went to the Prince Mu¡¯s Mansion in haste.


    ¡°I feel much relieved now!¡± She nodded, staring at Nangong Du with loving eyes. After a while, she suddenly thought of her new daughter-in-law. ¡°How is Princess Liuxu doing?¡± she asked.


    ¡°She¡¯s sobbing in the bedroom. Mother, I¡¯m afraid she can¡¯t come out to greet you,¡± Nangong Du answered with a stiff expression.


    The dowager empress knew her son had an aversion to the marriage, so it was no wonder that he didn¡¯t like the princess of the Wen Kingdom. However, out of politeness, she had to show her concern to her daughter-in-law. After hesitating for a while, she rose to her feet. ¡°Du¡¯er, let¡¯s go to see the princess.¡±


    Unwilling as he was, Nangong Du couldn¡¯t turn his mother down. Dawdling for a while, he had no option but to lead the way to his ¡®consort¡¯s¡¯ bedroom.


    ¡°Here comes the dowager empress!¡±


    When they arrived outside the princess¡¯s residence, the voice rang loudly again. Several maidservants rushed out from the room and knelt down to greet the dowager empress.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t Princess Liuxu up yet?¡± Nangong Du asked.


    ¡°Your Highness, Princess Liuxu is still weeping in the bed and refused to freshen herself up.¡±


    Without a word, Nangong Du looked at his mother, as if he was saying, ¡°I told you¡­¡±


    The dowager empress paused for a while before she gestured to the eunuchs and imperial maidservants behind her to stop. She then turned to her son. ¡°I¡¯m going inside to have a look!¡±


    Nangong Du knew he couldn¡¯t stop his mother, so he walked into the room following her.


    It was already about ten o¡¯clock in the morning, but it was still very dark in the bedroom. The red veils everywhere highlighted the cheerfulness of the wedding chamber, but the dowager empress felt the atmosphere somewhat subdued. The further she walked into the room, the more she found the atmosphere bizarre. ¡°Is my naughty son making fun of his new wife?¡± she wondered. ¡°Du¡¯er, what¡¯s going on? Why didn¡¯t you ask them to lift the curtains?¡±


    ¡°Because Liuxu can¡¯t stand to be exposed to light!¡± Nangong Du answered with a pun. Yes, he really couldn¡¯t expose this princess to light.¡°What?¡± The dowager empress turned to be even more confused. She never heard Princess Liuxu had suffered from a phobia of sunlight!


    Seeing his mother in a daze, Nangong Du immediately explained, ¡°Liuxu¡¯s eyes were puffy from crying. I was afraid the light would hurt her eyes, so I asked the servants to draw all the curtains.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± The dowager empress revealed a suspicious look. Though she doted on her youngest son, she was clear how stubborn and mischievous he was. He had been resisting the marriage with Princess Liuxu, and he didn¡¯t seem in a good mood just now, so it was dubious that her son would have done this out of concern for the princess. ¡°Du¡¯er, I know you¡¯re not happy because I forced you to marry Liuxu. I can¡¯t compel you to like her, but after all, she¡¯s the eldest princess of the Wen Kingdom, the apple of the eye of her parents, so you should treat her well and never bully her. Understand?¡±¡°Mother, don¡¯t worry. I won¡¯t find fault with her,¡± Nangong Du promised, a hint of a sly smile crossing his face. He meant what he said, but only if the princess wasn¡¯t a replacement! At the thought of Zixiu¡¯s begging for mercy beneath him just now, he suddenly found bullying this little brat a good pastime.


    The dowager empress never expected that her son was thinking of something evil. She immediately praised him for being sensible, which made Nangong Du even smugger. He then made up his mind that as long as Liu Zixiu was obedient, he would spare his life for the time being.


    When they walked into the inner room, it was even darker around. The dowager empress saw a figure sobbing on the bed behind the red veil draping to the floor.¡°Darling, mother is here to see you!¡± Walking to the bed slowly, Nangong Du reached out and stroked slightly the person behind the veil, which made the latter shiver visibly in an instant. However, the dowager empress didn¡¯t notice this and now she was wondering since when her son¡¯s attitude towards the princess had changed. ¡°Du¡¯er called the princess ¡®Darling¡¯? It seems I was being paranoid. Du¡¯er was unwilling to marry her, but after his intimacy with this charming princess, he might have¡­¡± At the thought of this, she felt less guilty. Now that his son had fallen for the princess, the dowager empress was certain that this young couple would get along well with each other in the future.


    ¡°Honey, mother is here. Stop crying!¡± While Nangong Du was acting in front of the dowager empress, Liu Zixiu, the surrogate bride, couldn¡¯t help trembling out of fear and no matter how hard he tried, he just couldn¡¯t cry out. At this point, Zixiu suddenly sensed this pervert¡¯s hand reach his private part, which almost drove him crazy.


    ¡°Boohoo¡­¡± Zixiu managed to hold back the feeling of vomiting before he finally uttered the sound of weeping.


    However, it sounded more like a groan to Nangong Du. He quickened the movements of his fingers wrapped around Zixiu¡¯s increasingly firm tumescence, which turned the latter on in an instant. ¡°Darling, do you want me to feed you?¡± he whispered.


    ¡°Go to hell!¡± Liu Zixiu roared inwardly, feeling both ashamed and angry. Having been f*ucked countless times in a row by this pervert, it was the first time he had ever ¡®enjoyed¡¯ his service. Though it made him sick, Zixiu couldn¡¯t deny the indescribable pleasant sensation coming from his lower body. ¡°Gosh! What¡¯s wrong with me? How could this be?!¡±


    The old dowager empress, who wasn¡¯t even at the least aware that her dearest son was doing something nasty with his hand under the quilt, was still sitting at a distance from them persuading her daughter-in-law to take care of her health.


    ¡°Um¡­ Boohoo¡­¡± Now even Zixiu himself couldn¡¯t tell whether he was crying or groaning!

 Chapter 15

    Having nagged Nangong for quite a while, the empress dowager finally took her leave, and at this point, Zixiu had already fainted. Nangong Du ordered that no one should be allowed to approach the princess¡¯s bedroom or disturb. Moreover, he also sent Xingyi, the chief maidservant, who had served him for years, to serve the princess. Hearing the news, his other consorts and male concubines all turned green with envy. ¡°Wow! People of noble birth are treated totally differently from us!¡± As they were either prostitutes or actresses before they married into the mansion, they didn¡¯t dare set themselves against the princess for the prince¡¯s favor. They also heard from the servants that the princess turned her back on prince Mu at the wedding night, but the latter even helped her to dress up the next morning! As they had been serving Nangong Du for a long time, they knew well how bossy and ruthless he was, so they could tell the princess must have been a scheming woman! At the thought that they would have to live under the same roof with such a tough woman, they couldn¡¯t help feeling worried. However, they never expected that this extremely tough ¡®woman¡¯ was suffering from inhuman torture at the moment, which almost made him wish his own death.


    The chief maidservant, Xingyi, came to the Prince Mu¡¯s Mansion when she was a little girl. As she was quick-witted and good at combat skills, Nangong Du was especially fond of her. Though she wasn¡¯t Prince Mu¡¯s concubine, everyone in the mansion thought highly of her and even those consorts and concubines had to buy what she said. So actually, Xingyi wasn¡¯t an ordinary maidservant, but like Yueying, she was Nangong Du¡¯s trusted follower. Nangong Du sent her to the princess¡¯s bedroom in the name of serving the princess, but in reality he wanted her to prevent Liu Zixiu from contacting other people and exposing his real gender.


    Only at a glance at Zixiu, Xingyi could tell he must have reaped the consequences of his disobedience to Prince Mu. Having served her master for years, she had been used to this. However, it was the first time she had ever known that her master even forced on a man out of rage. In the past, all those who offended Nangong Du were either badly injured or died on the spot. Xingyi wondered if it was because Liu Zixu was lucky enough, or her master deliberately spared his life.


    At the thought of this, Xingyi stopped abruptly in the act of pulling open the curtain and cast a cold glare at the delicate, fair face of Zixiu, who was half-unconscious under the quilt embroidered with mandarin ducks. His black hair hung down and scattered on the red sheet and his bangs, wet with sweat, was pressed against his forehead, covering his eyebrows. His feather-like eyelashes trembled slightly as if he was still in fright. His roman nose sat nicely on his face and the residual rouge made his lips indescribable tempting. Maybe it was because he was lightly made up, his profile looked soft without the slightest touch of men¡¯s toughness.


    ¡°Even if Prince Mu weren¡¯t drunk last night, he might still mistake him for a lady. Besides, Prince Mu is into both men and women, so though he said he didn¡¯t kill this guy because he planned to play along by changing his appearance into Princess Liuxu¡¯s, the truth might be he¡¯s obsessed by him! Why had he never thought of disguising his henchman as Princess Liuxu? Wouldn¡¯t that be safer?¡± Xingyi thought with a frown and reached out slowly for Zixiu¡¯s neck.


    As if he sensed someone close, Zixiu suddenly shuddered before he shook his head and muttered something. However, he didn¡¯t open his eyes.


    Xingyi moved her hand to Zixiu¡¯s forehead and found in surprise that he was running a high fever!


    After hesitating for a short moment, she drew her hand back and took out a black ceramic bottle from her pocket. Uncorking the bottle, she poured out a red pill and forced it into Zixiu¡¯s throat, grabbing his chin.


    About ten minutes later, Zixiu gradually woke up.


    Xingyi walked to the bed again and before Zixiu could say anything, she suddenly flung the quilt off him. ¡°Get out of the bed! Go take a bath and get changed on your own!¡±


    ¡°Huh?!¡± Zixiu was caught dumbfounded and after a while, he suddenly came back to his senses. Covering his private part with his hands in a hurry, he felt his face burning. He¡­ he was naked in front of a woman!


    ¡°Who¡­ Who are you?¡± he asked while staring at the strange girl in front of him, horrified, his fear rising above his shyness.


    ¡°I¡¯m Xingyi. Your Highness, from now on, I¡¯ll be your personal maidservant!¡± With that, Xingyi turned with an uneasy look. After all, she was still a maiden. Though she had served Nangong Du for years, she had never seen another man naked.


    ¡°Xingyi? Your Highness? Maidservant?¡± Zixiu was confused, but as he had a headache, he couldn¡¯t think that much.


    Seeing him in a daze, Xingyi suddenly yelled, ¡°Do you really think you¡¯re a princess? Get out of bed right now!¡±


    Zixiui shivered at her angry roar, feeling as if that violent pervert was yelling at him. Though he was dizzy and aching all over, he crawled out of bed in horror, wrapped in the quilt. However, as soon as he stepped on the stool before the bed, his legs began to tremble, which made him lose his balance and fall to the floor heavily.


    Thankfully, as he was wrapped in the quilt and the floor was covered with a thick woolen carpet, he didn¡¯t black out again. After struggling for a while, Zixiu managed to rise to his feet. However, when he looked up, he immediately met Xingyi¡¯s indifferent eyes, which made his heart leap a beat and feel breathless with repression.


    ¡°Don¡¯t act like you¡¯re wronged! People who offended Prince Mu are unworthy of sympathy! What¡¯s more, I strongly suspect that you deliberately seduced him!¡± Xingyi said with a sneer.

 Chapter 16

    Xingyi seemed to have overrated Zixiu! After being tortured by that pervert for so long, he had lost his wits. How could he possibly have come up with the idea of feigning grievance for sympathy? Actually, instead of feeling wronged, he was almost suffocated with fear. At the thought of the grim look in Nangong Du¡¯s eyes, Zixiu felt as if a carriage were running over him. As Xingyi had been with Nangong Du for years, the look in her eyes was as cold as his. And now Zixiu¡¯s hair had already stood on end under her stare.


    After a while, Zixiu managed to calm himself down. At Xingyi¡¯s urging, he limped to the bathing pool behind the screen carved with flowers. The huge, round pool was already filled with water with some scarlet rose petals floating on it. With the rising water vapour, the fragrance of flowers came from time to time.


    Now that all Zixiu¡¯s clothes had already been soaked with sweat, and his body was sticky with you-know-what, he felt a growing sense of discomfort and longed for a warm bath as well. However, out of caution, he only put one foot into the water to test the temperature.


    ¡°Hiss!¡±


    The water was scalding hot! Zixiu instantly drew his foot back and squatted down carefully beside the pool, thinking about getting into it after the water cooled down a little bit. ¡°What are you still waiting for? Get into the pool right now!¡± Xingyi roared from behind the screen.


    ¡°Xingyi, how dare you yell at the princess!¡±


    Zixiu turned pale when the low yet authoritative voice suddenly rang. He could recognize the voice without even listening!


    ¡°I dare not!¡± Xingyi immediately knelt down to greet her master.


    ¡°You may leave now!¡±


    ¡°Yes, Your Highness!¡±


    Even if Zixiu had no time to think about it, he could tell what was going to happen next. With his legs like jelly, he was about to collapse on the floor. However, that didn¡¯t happen, instead, he fell into the strong arms of that pervert, who had quick reflexes and seemingly quite enjoyed taking credit for the heroic rescue!


    ¡°Darling, you seem thrilled at the sight of me!¡± Holding Zixiu in his arms firmly, Nangong Du narrowed his enchanting eyes. However, though he seemed to be flirting with him, there was a sneer on his lips.


    Zixiu trembled, not daring to say anything.


    ¡°Honey, do you feel chilly?¡± Nangong Du was still smiling, but his voice sounded eerie and chilling.


    Growing even tenser, Zixiu didn¡¯t say a word, but only shook his head instinctively like a rattle. Turning a blind eye to his reaction, Nangong Du continued,¡°How about we take a bath¡­ ¡±


    ¡°Ah!¡± Before this pervert could finish his words, like a frightened cub, Zixiu suddenly let out a sharp cry hysterically and gave him a hard push with all his strength.


    Crash!


    Caught off guard, Nangong Du lost his balance and fell into the huge pool behind him.


    ¡°Liu Zixiu!¡± he growled, his hair and clothes all soaked. At this point, Nangong Du suddenly felt that the water was burning hot!


    ¡°Ah!¡± Letting out a scream, he flapped the water in rage. ¡±Damn it£¡Xingyi! Get your arse in here!¡±


    Xingyi, who was on guard outside, immediately rushed in when she heard her master calling her name. Next second, she saw Prince Mu crawl out of the pool, soaked to the skin. ¡°Gee! I prepared the hot water to teach Liu Zixiu a good lesson, how come Prince Mu¡­¡±


    ¡°Your Highness, are you all right? Your Highness¡­¡±


    ¡°Cold water! Fetch some cold water for me!¡± Nangong Du ripped off his own clothes in haste. ¡°Ouch! The water is so damn hot!¡±


    ¡°Yueying, don¡¯t let him get away!¡± Though he was panting in pain, Nangong Du didn¡¯t forget to ask his men to hunt down the perpetrator. As soon as Zixiu ran to the window and was about to jump out, he was knocked out by a punch from Yueying standing in the corner.

 Chapter 17

    After a few buckets of chilly water had been poured over him, Nangong Du¡¯s body finally stopped steaming.


    For fear that his scalded skin might cling to his clothes and be ripped off, Xingyi helped Nangong Du to remove his silk underwear little by little cautiously. Fortunately, though the water was hot, it wasn¡¯t freshly boiled, so Nangong Du¡¯s injury wasn¡¯t that serious. In addition to the redness on his skin, neither blisters nor peeling occurred. Even so, the consequence was so serious that her master had every right to punish her for impiety or even attempted murder!


    ¡°Xingyi, seems like you¡¯re bold enough to set my orders at naught!¡± Nangong Du yelled with a grim look, veins bulging on his forehead. He had never been so discomfited in his life. Instead of having fun with that beauty, he ended up in his henchman¡¯s trap!


    Seeing that her master was in a fit of anger, though she didn¡¯t think she had done anything wrong, Xingyi didn¡¯t dare defend herself. ¡°I should be blamed. Your Highness, I¡¯m ready for your punishment!¡±


    ¡°Humph! I¡¯m glad you have the guts to admit it!¡± Though he was clear that Xingyi didn¡¯t mean to harm him, Nangong Du still put on a sullen look. At least, he had never allowed her to abuse the ¡®princess¡¯! This girl had gone too far that she even intended to scald Liu Zixiu with hot water! ¡°It seems I¡¯ve been too kind to you, or you wouldn¡¯t have been daring enough to disobey my order and torture the princess secretly!¡±


    ¡°I dare not!¡±


    ¡°Really? So you deliberately prepared a pool of hot water for me?¡± Nangong Du grew even angrier and he nearly jumped up.


    Grievously wronged by her master, Xingyi couldn¡¯t help retorting. She straightened her neck and answered with a serious look, ¡°Your Highness, the one who deserves my wholehearted service is your distinguished consort, not some random man from nowhere, like Liu Zixiu!¡±


    Being chocked by her words, Nangong Du widened his eyes in which there were flames of fury.


    However, Xingyi was burning with anger and she had lost her wits at the moment, so instead of stopping talking, she continued with her attempts to persuade Nangong Du to kill Liu Zixiu in case of contingencies in the future. ¡°Your Highness, though I¡¯m just a maidservant, I swear I¡¯m only loyal to you, and none of this was directed at you. But I¡¯m really confused about why you¡¯re trying to pass off a humble person, who intended to seduce you, as the princess! Your Highness, I¡¯m worried that you¡¯ll be fooled by his good looks and fall into the trap of someone with ulterior motives!¡±


    ¡°How dare you!¡± Nangong Du pounded the table in rage. ¡°You mean girl, how dare you accuse me of lust for beauty! Guards!¡±


    ¡°Your Highness, why are you so angry if that wasn¡¯t the case?¡± Instead of flinching, Xingyi added, ¡°You¡¯ve never lost your temper like this no matter how wrong I was before. Besides, Your Highness, it was Liu Zixiu who pushed you into the water! Why didn¡¯t you punish him rather than scolding me?¡±


    ¡°Shut up! Wasn¡¯t it you who deliberately prepared the hot water in the bath pool?¡±


    ¡°Yes, it was! What¡¯s more, I¡¯ve fed Liu Zixiu with the Skin-Irritating Pill, so even though he didn¡¯t get scalded, his face and body intended for seducing and deceiving you will be scarred and disfigured!¡±


    ¡°Skin-Irritating Pill?¡± Nangong Du was stunned. ¡°Who do you think you are? You vicious beast, how dare you deal with the princess at will?¡±


    ¡°Did he just call me a vicious beast?¡± Xingyi froze on the spot as if struck by lightning. She couldn¡¯t believe that her master would have described her as ¡®vicious¡¯! Since she began working for Prince Mu at the age of 8, she had maimed and even killed countless people, so she couldn¡¯t understand why her master would have hit the ceiling only because of a pill that would cause Zixiu¡¯s skin to fester!


    ¡°Your Highness, are you feeling sorry for Liu Zixiu?¡± Xingyi asked resentfully.


    ¡°What?¡± Nangong Du¡¯s heart skipped a beat, but a few seconds later, he was overwhelmed by anger again. He had never felt sorry for anyone, let alone the unappreciative little brat, Liu Zixiu, who had been bold enough to have pushed him into the pool! ¡°Guards! Get this girl full of nonsense out of here and slap her in the face! Slap her hard!¡±


    It was far out of Yueying¡¯s expectation that Prince Mu would have been so furious. Although he shared Xingyi¡¯s concern that his master might have been caught in a honey trap, unlike Xingyi, he only stood aside without saying a word just now. But at this critical moment, he had to rise to the occasion. Moreover, all the other guards and maidservants had been driven out of the hall.


    ¡°Your Highness!¡± He walked over calmly and bowed to Nangong Du. ¡°Your Highness, please calm down! It must have been Xingyi¡¯s impulse talking¡­¡±


    ¡°Get her out!¡± In rage, Nangong Du didn¡¯t want to listen to any form of explanation at all.


    Obviously, Yueying appeared to be much more rational than Xingyi. As he failed to change Nangong Du¡¯s mind, he shifted the topic. ¡°Your Highness, relax! Violent mood fluctuation is not conducive to your recovery. I suggest you decide how to punish Xingyi after the ointment application.¡±


    With that, he blinked at Xingyi, who was kneeling on the floor.


    Xingyi finally calmed herself down and began to beg for mercy. ¡°Your Highness, it¡¯s all my fault! No matter how much you want to punish me, please let me apply some ointment for you first.¡±


    Nangong Du knew it well that his scalds were not that serious, and now his patience had worn out, so he wasn¡¯t in the mood to say anything else to them. ¡°Get out! Both of you!¡± he roared, waving his hand.


    Hearing that, the two of them immediately bowed to him and left in panic, not daring to take a look at Liu Zixiu, who had been unconscious for quite a while under the window.

 Chapter 18

    ¡°I appreciate your interceding with His Highness!¡± Xingyi expressed her gratitude to Yueying after they arrived at the corridor outside the room, her the look in her eyes showed that she was by no means willing to submit.


    Expressionlessly, Yueying cast a glance at her and then shifted his gaze into the distance. After a while, he began. ¡°Don¡¯t be so reckless again!¡±


    Xingyi froze for a moment before she revealed a look of resentment. ¡±You also sensed something wrong with His Highness, didn¡¯t you? Or you would have stopped me earlier!¡± she said, clenching her fists.


    ¡°His Highness is just caught up in the moment. He will soon get tired of him.¡±


    ¡°Really? Then why was he so furious? He never stood up for anyone except for that woman, but he just had a go at me because of that¡­ ¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure His Highness has his own reasons. We shouldn¡¯t make wild guesses.¡± Yueying turned and interrupted in a low voice, his eyes beaming with a grim look. ¡°Prince Mu is your master, so it¡¯s none of your business whom he dotes on. Xingyi, I hope you don¡¯t get carried away!¡±


    Hearing that, Xingyi felt her heart skip a beat for no reason. ¡°I¡¯m just worried what happened five years ago might happen again!¡±


    ¡°His Highness won¡¯t make the same mistake again!¡± Yueying said in a resolute tone. The outsider sees the most of the game. He felt both Prince Mu and Xingyi were not themselves today!


    ¡°Xingyi, you have feelings for His Highness, right?¡± He put it straightforward.


    ¡°What are you talking about?¡± Xingyi was stunned and immediately denied it.


    However, the blush on her face gave her away.


    Putting on a new piece of silk underwear randomly, Nangong Du got out of the soft couch and walked to Zixiu angrily. As if trying to prove that he wasn¡¯t being partial, he gave Zixiu a good kick when the latter was still in a coma. ¡°You asshole, drop the act! Get up!¡± he roared.


    Clearly in pain, Zixiu opened his eyes in a state of half-consciousness, letting out a whine like a cub. He looked at the person in front of him with his brain fogged and muttered something with a frown, as if he didn¡¯t see Nangong Du at all. Then he tugged the quilt and wrapped himself even tighter before he curled up and closed his eyes again.


    ¡°Damn it! You¡¯re still in the mood for sleeping!¡± Out of rage, Nangong Du bent over, pulled Zixiu up from the floor and threw him against the wall. ¡°You little brat, open your eyes! I haven¡¯t gotten even with you for pushing me into the pool! How dare you¡­¡±


    Nangong Du stopped short when he found Zixiu unresponsive. After a short period of hesitation, he turned Zixiu¡¯s face to himself.


    Zixiu was still in the state of half-consciousness with his eyes closed. He mumbled something with a frown, but Nangong Du couldn¡¯t hear it clearly. Though the two of them had already had intimacy, Nangong Du had focused more on Zixiu¡¯s private part than on his face, so this was the first time he had ever looked at him carefully. Watching Zixiu¡¯s delicate face, especially his slightly trembling, seductive red lips, he found it hard to shift his gaze from this man appeared out of nowhere. Though he had always been lingering in theatres and brothels, Nangong Du had neither fallen for anybody in those places nor even kissed his male concubines. However, at this point, Zixiu¡¯s lips were like poppy in full bloom to him, which almost made him unable to restrain himself.


    However, he finally managed to suppress his desire. No matter how impulsive he was, Nangong Du knew it well that the poison was acting up in Liu Zixiu, so if he pressed his lips on the latter¡¯s, he would be poisoned as well. That was why he thought Zixiu¡¯s lips look like poppies, not cherries. If he hadn¡¯t turned down his mother¡¯s invitation to lunch on the pretext of ¡°keeping the princess company¡±, Liu Zixiu might have been destroyed by that mean girl, Xingyi!


    Then again, why did he care about Ziuxiu so much?


    Needless to say, out of pity for this ¡®beauty¡¯! As the well-known Prince Mu, Nangong Du wasn¡¯t that narrow-minded. Moreover, Liu Zixiu would be useful to him in carrying out his long-term plan. With such thought in mind, it was no wonder that he lost his temper with Xingyi.


    To show his generosity and mercy, he fed Liu Zixiu with the antidote.


    As the night fell, the breeze gently lifted the curtain. Zixiu finally woke up, the toxins in his body were gone, and his temperature had returned to normal. However, he felt even more painful all over and his head heavy, as if he had a stone weighing a thousand pounds on it. Actually, it was inevitable that he should feel this way. Needless to say, the prince wouldn¡¯t have carried an ¡®audacious rebel¡¯ who had offended him countless times to the bed, so Zixiu had been lying on the floor for the whole afternoon. What was more, because his forehead had swelled up after being bumped against the wall for a few times, it would definitely hurt like hell.


    When he struggled to sit up from the floor with all his strength, Zixiu suddenly felt a stab of pain in his ass, so he had to turn slowly and lie on his stomach.


    In addition to the occasional birds¡¯ twitters coming from outside the window, the room was quiet. As Zixiu hadn¡¯t completely regained his consciousness yet, he felt like he was in the mountains again.


    He gawked at the scene out of the window and after quite a while, he finally came back to the cruel reality, which made him shiver out of fear. ¡°Where¡¯s the pervert? I pushed him into the hot water, so he¡¯ll definitely seek revenge!¡±


    ¡°Rumble¡­¡± As Zixiu hadn¡¯t had anything for two days in a row, his stomach suddenly growled.

 Chapter 19

    Though that pervert was horrible, Zixiu was more fearful of hunger, which was as terrible as death to him!


    Out of the instinct for survival, Zixiu was unwilling to starve to death after suffering such grave misfortunes, so with all his strength, he staggered against the wall to the table in front of the soft couch little by little, grabbed a slice of cake on a small glazed porcelain dish, and stuffed it into his mouth. He had never been so hungry, even hungrier than those refugees in impoverished areas!


    ¡°Refugees? Impoverished areas??¡± Weird words suddenly popped into his mind along with some strange images when he was gobbling the snacks. However, he had no time to think about it and didn¡¯t notice anything wrong.


    In less than a minute, the plate was emptied up! After gradually coming back to his senses, Zixiu was gripped by panic again. Having been starved for two days, he felt that a tiny dish of snacks was far from enough to fill his stomach. On the contrary, it not only made him feel sick with hunger, but also made him feel mentally tortured, just like finding the roast gone immediately after his strong appetite had been aroused by a taste of the sauce on top.


    Driven by hunger, Zixiu finally decided to try his luck. Holding his breath, he moved to the outer room slowly, his heart pounding.


    To his surprise, the curtain of the inner room was gently lifted when a soft, sweet voice suddenly broke the stillness of the evening. ¡°Your Highness, you finally woke up!¡±


    Struck by a twinge of shock, Zixiu almost blacked out. After a good while, he looked up in a daze.


    It was Xingyi, who walked in with a smile, holding a delicate small flower basket. As if she had forgotten how rudely she had treated Zixiu earlier in the day, she continued, ¡°Your Highness, I¡¯m relieved to see you awake. I was nearly frightened to death at noon when you suddenly fainted with excessive sorrow. I see now you¡¯re still very weak, so I suggest you stay in bed and rest. I¡¯m going to report to Prince Mu right now!¡±


    After her vivid monologue, Xingyi rushed out of the inner chamber with a smile, as if she couldn¡¯t hold back her excitement, leaving Zixiu on the spot, dumbfounded. ¡°Fainted with excessive sorrow? My memory must have failed me.¡±


    When Zixiu was wondering what had happened before he fainted with his hands propping his head, Prince Mu, who was told that the princess finally woke up, could no longer contain his excitement and immediately dashed to ¡®her¡¯ bedroom, leaving all those officials and royal family members who came to show their concern for the new couple upon hearing about the incident that had happened to the princess¡¯s maidservant, as well as his consorts, male concubines, maidservants and guards stupefied. They never expected that the new princess would have been capable enough to subdue this youngest prince, who was well-known for his mischievousness in the Nan Kingdom. Now they understood why the emperor of the Wen Kingdom had married his younger sister off to Prince Mu without hesitation.


    All the guests marveled at the princess and they even wished that they could be lucky enough to meet this charming lady. At this point, Nangong Du already arrived at the bedroom of the princess at an incredible speed.


    ¡°Darling, you¡¯re up?¡±


    Though he was in a moderate position with his voice full of concern, Zixiu was still scared out of his mind. He couldn¡¯t stop trembling and began to regret that he didn¡¯t seize the opportunity to flee just now. But he was clear that running away could only worsen the situation!


    It seemed the only way to ease that pervert¡¯s rage was to apologize to him.


    He didn¡¯t have to put on an innocent look, as he was already innocent enough! Looking at Nangong Du with his bright, limpid eyes, Zixiu opened his mouth. ¡°Your¡­ Your Highness, I¡¯m sorry! I¡¯m terribly sorry! I didn¡¯t mean to do that. I didn¡¯t know the water was so hot¡­ Ah! No! No! I didn¡¯t mean to push you away. That was just an accident! I, I¡­ Ah!¡±


    Caught off guard, Zixiu fell into Nangong Du¡¯s arms. ¡°Heavens! Help!¡± he cried out instinctively.


    ¡°Honey, what happened? Did you have a nightmare?¡± Nangong Du reached out to stroke his pale face, and seemingly quite enjoyed the way Zixiu reacted. ¡°Is he apologizing to me? Interesting! I¡¯m sensing a theme here!¡±


    ¡°No, I didn¡¯t!¡± Zixiu shook his head stiffly, but he didn¡¯t dare push this pervert¡¯s hand away, so he could only repeatedly remind himself, managing to suppress the feeling of vomiting, ¡°Hold it back! Throwing up again will lead me to nothing but an early grave!¡±


    ¡°Rumble¡­¡±


    His stomach protested again!


    ¡°Oh, he¡¯s just hungry!¡± With a smile of relief, Nangong Du leaned towards Zixiu slowly.


    ¡°What are you doing? You psycho, if you dare to come any closer, I¡¯m going¡­¡± Widening his eyes, Zixiu roared inwardly. If it were possible, he would have killed this bastard with a punch without hesitation!


    ¡°Say something to entertain me right now! Or I might accidentally strangle you if my spirit can¡¯t be lifted!¡±


    To Zixiu¡¯s surprise, when they were as close as that their noses almost touched each other¡¯s, the zoomed smiling face in front of him suddenly turned gloomy. Zixiu froze in an instant at Nangong Du¡¯s threatening words, and he even thought that he had misheard them!


    ¡°Hurry up!¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± Sensing a pinch in his waist, Zixiu came back to himself and looked up at the person in front of him with a doubtful look.


    As soon as he raised his head, he immediately met this pervert¡¯s indifferent eyes, which sent a violent shiver through him.


    ¡°Your¡­ Your Highness¡­¡± Zixiu didn¡¯t dare disobey his demand, so he managed to act coquettishly. However, it sounded like a hostage begging for mercy.


    The look in Nangong Du¡¯s cold eyes grew even grimmer.


    At the thought that he had to please this pervert like a shameless slut, Zixiu felt like vomiting again.


    Being annoyed by Zixiu¡¯s reaction, Nangong Du grinded his teeth, his face livid.


    ¡°You naughty boy, stop messing about¡­¡± Having wrestled with himself for a while, Zixiu managed to finish a sentence that gave himself goosebumps!


    Nangong Du seemed to have finally been satisfied by Zixiu¡¯s performance. With a flirtatious smile on his face, he suddenly held Zixiu up and threatened in a low voice before the latter could let out a cry. ¡°If you dare to cry out, no dinner will be served this evening!¡±


    On hearing the word ¡®dinner¡¯, Zixiu immediately shut up and forced his scream back. It was obvious that the pervert had no intention to kill him, or he would have been worse than dead by now. Therefore, the greatest threat to him at the moment was hunger, which made him feel like he might collapse at any time!

 Chapter 20

    ¡°Liu Zixiu, go on vomiting! Have you reached your starvation limit already?¡± Nangong Du mocked at him inwardly, but on the surface, he continued as if out of concern, ¡°I dunno about you, but the heat is killing me! Darling, how about we take a bath to cool off before dinner?¡±


    ¡°Taking a bath?¡± Zixiu shivered out of fear, his hair standing on end in an instant as if he were already in the hot water. ¡°Looks like this pervert is going to get back at me!¡± he thought.


    Sensing the one in his arms as stiff as a stone, Nangong Du revealed a sly smile. ¡°Honey, come on! Don¡¯t be shy!¡± he deliberately said slowly.


    ¡°No way! I don¡¯t need anyone to bath me! Not now!¡± Zixiu shook his head desperately in horror, and he couldn¡¯t even utter a word. Unfortunately, it wasn¡¯t up to him.


    The maidservants had just gotten the water ready when they saw the prince walk in with the ¡®princess¡¯ in his arms. They all dropped to their knees obediently and bowed to them. ¡°Your Highness, Prince Liuxu, the water is ready,¡± the chief maidservant, Xingyi, said in a soft voice.


    ¡°Leave, all of you!¡± Nangong Du said impatiently. Gluing his ¡®burning¡¯ gaze on the ¡®princess¡¯, he couldn¡¯t wait to slip his hand into ¡®her¡¯ clothes, to be exact, into the quilt.


    Obviously, these girls were used to it, so they lowered their heads and left in haste. Being left alone with Prince Mu in the room, his ¡®sweetie pie¡¯ felt himself in hell. ¡°Dad, help! Your son is going to be boiled!¡± Unable to turn to anyone for help, Zixiu could only whine inwardly.


    ¡°Scared?¡± As soon as those maidservants left, Nangong Du immediately changed his attitude towards Zixiu and loosened his grip.


    However, to Zixiu¡¯s surprise, he didn¡¯t fall into the pool as he had expected. After freezing for a few seconds, he rose to his feet from the floor in a hurry, as if granted amnesty. Disregarding his nearly-broken spine, he forced a flattering smile at Nangond Du, hoping this pervert wouldn¡¯t throw him into the hot water. As much as he wanted to run away, he knew it was out of his depth. ¡°A wise man submits to fate! A great man knows when to eat humble pie and when to hold his head high! Heroes do not¡­ Well, I¡¯m not a tough man, and I have to give in to this jerk for the time being!¡± While trying to find an excuse to persuade himself to yield, Zixiu cursed secretly, ¡°Damn pervert, you¡¯ll live to regret this!¡±


    With a snort, Nangong Du shot a disdainful glare at him, which gave Zixiu, who had already decided to swallow the humiliation, the impulse to kill him with a kick. ¡°I¡¯m going to trample on his face! On his face!¡± he roared inwardly.


    ¡°Are you mad at me?¡± Nangong Du was tact, so the moment he saw Zixiu¡¯s twisted face, he immediately figured out what was on his mind. However, he was certain that no matter how angry he was, Zixiu didn¡¯t dare to protest. Stretching his limbs, Nangong Du ordered in a relaxed tone with his eyes closed, ¡°Come to remove the clothes for me!¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Zixiu was stupefied again. ¡°Looks like this pervert is serious about taking a bath, which means the water isn¡¯t that hot?¡±


    ¡°What are you still waiting for? Being executed for disobeying me?¡± Hearing no response from Zixiu, Nangong Du threatened in a low voice.


    ¡°Here¡­ I am!¡± Zixiu immediately answered. He moved over to Nangong Du as fast as a half-starved man with his ass injured could. However, instead of unbuttoning the clothes for Nangong Du right away, He looked up and down for quite a while, having no idea where to start. ¡°It¡¯s too complicated!¡± As all Zixiu¡¯s clothes were altered by his dad after they got them from the tailors, he didn¡¯t know how to unbutton the normal ones.


    ¡°Liu Zixiu, you don¡¯t think I dare to kill you, is that right?¡± Seeing Ziuxiu still hesitating, Nangong Du felt his patience wearing thin.


    ¡°Ca¡­ Calm down, Your Highness!¡± Under his threat, Zixiu had no time to think that much, and he immediately tugged at Nangong Du¡¯s clothes randomly in a desperate way.


    Surprisingly, he succeeded in ripping his clothes off! However, when he looked up at Nangong Du, he found the latter staring at him with a ferocious look.


    ¡°Get in the pool!¡± Nangong Du spat out the words one by one, gritting his teeth. Obviously, he was struggling to hold back his anger. ¡°It seems he won¡¯t hit the ceiling for the moment!¡± Zixiu thought.


    Unfortunately, Zixiu seemed to have gotten this pervert wrong and when he was about to push his luck by evading Nangong Du¡¯s vision, the latter gave him a good kick from behind.


    With a crash, Zixiu fell into the pool. He instinctively flapped the water with all his strength to prevent himself from sinking, but after a while, he suddenly realized that the water was shallow with a comfortable temperature, so it didn¡¯t seem necessary to struggle that hard!


    ¡°Little brat, don¡¯t overestimate yourself! You don¡¯t even deserve my revenge!¡± Folding his arms across his chest, Nangong Du looked down at Zixiu with a scornful look again. ¡°You good-for-nothing!¡±


    ¡°Good-for-nothing?¡± Even though he had lost his memory, Zixiu was certain he had never been humiliated like this in his life! This asshole not only insulted him physically and mentally but also trampled on his pride! Although he had never thought of setting himself against anyone, Zixiu decided to put up a desperate fight for his own dignity!


    ¡°Pa!¡±


    He slapped the water all of a sudden, his pent-up anger erupting in an instant. ¡°You bastard! Listen! I, Liu Zixiu, am by no means a pushover! I don¡¯t give a shit if you wanna fuck me or boil me, just go ahead! Drop the fucking act! I feel like vomiting at a mere glance at you! If you dare curse me again, I¡¯ll drag you to hell, and we¡¯ll rot in there together!¡± Zixiu roared, throwing all caution to the wind.


    Nangong Du didn¡¯t expect that a casual word would have aroused Zixiu¡¯s fury, and it took him quite a while to come back to his senses from a trance. He didn¡¯t hear clearly what Zixiu was yelling but only saw him staring at him in rage with his hands on his hips. For no reason, Nangong Du suddenly got intense.


    He lowered his head and took a deep breath without a word, managing to suppress his restlessness. Next, he removed his pants on his own, stepped into the bathing pool and sat down with his eyes closed, leaning against the platform.


    ¡°Huh?¡± Being stunned by this pervert¡¯s calmness, Zixiu stood still dumbfounded, not knowing what to do.


    Now the prince and the ¡®princess¡¯ were taking a bath in an awkward atmosphere, one half-lying, one standing in the pool!

 Chapter 21

    A dead mouse feels no cold. As he had prepared himself for the worst, Zixiu was utterly fearless at the moment. Lifting his head up high stubbornly, he stood in the water with his hands on his hips until Nangong Du¡¯s voice suddenly rang coldly, ¡°Clean yourself up, or you are not gonna sleep in bed tonight!¡±


    ¡°Why should I do that myself ?¡± Zixiu was still a little bit irritated, so he immediately shot back without a second thought. No sooner had he said this than he began to regret it, wishing he had bitten his tongue off! Who else did he want to bath him except for himself?


    ¡°Seems like my tolerance towards you has gone the wrong way!¡± Nangong Du wasn¡¯t easy to mess with and it was already a miracle that he didn¡¯t lash out just now. Clearly, he wouldn¡¯t put up with the haughtiness of this audacious rebel from nowhere anymore.


    ¡°Get your arse over here!¡± Nangong Du said grumpily. Seeing the coldness flashing in his slightly narrowed eyes, Zixiu couldn¡¯t help shivering. Now that his courage to put up a desperate fight with this pervert had nearly gone, he was overwhelmed by panic again and kind of wanted to flee.


    After a moment of deadlock, Nangong Du suddenly raised his voice to the point of roaring. ¡°Come over!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not deaf!¡± Zixiu dared not confront Nangong Du in his face for fear that he would kill him in a fit of rage, so he had to compromise for the time being. However, he remained haughty for the sake of his poor dignity. He complained wrathfully while moving towards Nangong Du slowly, feigning his composure, ¡°Don¡¯t you see I¡¯m walking over? What are you yelling for? You¡­¡±


    ¡°Zip it!¡± Before he could finish his words, Nangong Du suddenly cut in on him.


    ¡°Humph!¡± Resentful as he was, Zixiu stopped talking obediently. Swearing at Nangong Du inwardly, he failed to notice that the latter had reached out his leg in the water covered with rose petals!


    After lurching a few steps forward, Zixiu suddenly tripped over something, which made him lose his balance and fall into the arms of Nangong. ¡°Pa!¡± The next second, he felt a pat on his ass.


    ¡°Ah!¡± Letting out a scream out of fear, Zixiu struggled desperately, trying to break free from Nangong Du¡¯s grip, but his efforts were in vain.


    ¡°Honey, it seems you¡¯re reluctant to bath yourself, so let me do it for you!¡± Nangong Du said, running his fingers down Zixiu¡¯s waist.


    ¡°Your¡­ Your Highness, don¡¯t bother! I¡­ I¡¯ll get it done myself. Don¡¯t bother¡­¡± Could there have been anyone in the world more hapless than him? Zixiu wished he were dead. ¡°Your¡­ Your Highness, please let go of me¡­¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t think I can do that now!¡± Nangong Du said with a snort.


    An hour later, as it was completely dark outside, candles were lit up in the princess¡¯s bedroom decorated with red silky ribbons. Xingyi, who had just been sent here to serve the ¡®princess¡¯ in the morning, was dressing the ¡®princess¡¯ up after ¡®her¡¯ bath.


    The ¡®princess¡¯ had already changed to a bright pink silk skirt and now ¡®she¡¯ was sitting still on the chair with ¡®her¡¯ gaze fixed on the bronze mirror in front of ¡®her¡¯.


    At the same time, the prince was resting on the soft couch with his eyes closed while the maidservants carefully waited on him, massaging his legs, cooling down the air and repelling the mosquitoes for him.


    ¡°Your Highness, you¡¯re such a born beauty with gorgeous temperament! I¡¯m so lucky to have the chance to serve you!¡± After inserting the last gold hairpin into Zixiu¡¯s hair, Xingyi looked at him with a smug expression, as if admiring her own masterpiece. People who didn¡¯t know her well would think she was flattering the new princess to show her loyalty!


    Nangong Du was clear this girl was not only showing off her amazing makeup techniques but was humiliating Liu Zixiu as well. However, Zixiu didn¡¯t respond to any of her words.


    As he had been drugged by that witch the day before, Zixiu hadn¡¯t seen himself cross-dressed by now. What was more, having been tortured by Nangong Du for a whole day, he was not in the mood to admire his own reflection. And the only reason he had himself firmly settled in that chair was that he had been stupefied by the indescribable pretty face in the mirror!


    The silky hair, the delicate brows, the rosy cheeks with a glow, the tempting red lips, the even white teeth¡­ ¡°Heavens! Is this beauty in the mirror really me?¡± Zixiu still could hardly believe what he saw.


    ¡°Something tells me you don¡¯t like the way you¡¯re dressed up, darling.¡± After a while, Nangong Du motioned the maidservants to leave before he came up behind Zixiu.


    ¡°Darling?¡± Zixiu couldn¡¯t help frowning at the thought of this ambiguous address. Associating it with the way he was dressed up, he instantly got goosebumps all over.


    ¡°Darling, I remember you telling me you were hungry, but it looks like you¡¯ve filled yourself by merely appreciating your own reflection and don¡¯t need dinner.¡± Seeing Zixiu in a daze in front of the mirror, Nangong Du couldn¡¯t help making fun of him again.


    ¡°Dinner?¡± Zixiu paused for a moment before he suddenly realized he was starving to death. ¡°I do! I need dinner!¡± he answered in haste, as if afraid that there would be no food for him. ¡°My beauty won¡¯t feed me! Bah! I¡¯m not a woman! Why on earth would I mention ¡®beauty¡¯ and myself in the same breath?¡± he immediately corrected himself.

 Chapter 22

    Zixiu thought there would at least be a decent meal in return for his humbleness and submissiveness. However, to his surprise, this pervert was not only lewd but also extremely miserly! He kept on picking on him after they sat down at the table¡ªIn the beginning, he didn¡¯t allow Zixiu to pick food with his chopsticks, and now he even took his chopsticks away! ¡°You f*cking stingy asshole, do you want me to eat or not?¡± Zixiu roared inwardly.


    ¡°Oh, come on! Honey, you¡¯re making my heart bleed!¡± Before Zixiu could jump up and make a scene, Nangong Du pulled him into his arms and spat out the words he had prepared in advance.


    ¡°Making your heart bleed? Your heart must be bleeding because I¡¯m about to eat your food!¡± Zixiu struggled desperately, but Nangong Du was so strong that instead of breaking free from his grip, Zixiu was pressed against his chest firmly. Now he could even hardly breathe, let alone swear at anyone else!


    ¡°Darling, I know you feel off and have no appetite for the moment, but you haven¡¯t had anything all day, I¡¯m afraid you¡¯ll break down.¡±


    ¡°Who told you I had no appetite? I¡¯m so terribly hungry that I can finish the last bit of food in the entire mansion! Now be a nice boy, salvage your conscience elsewhere and leave me alone while I¡¯m eating!¡± Zixiu protested secretly. It almost drove him crazy to be so close to this pervert!


    ¡°How about I feed you?¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Zixiu¡¯s heart skipped a beat and he immediately shook his head. Only then did he realize that Nangong Du had loosened his grip. ¡°This asshole deliberately made other people think I threw myself into his arms and I¡¯m still leaning shamelessly against him after he withdrew his hands!¡± Zixiu thought resentfully.


    ¡°Have some soup, sweetie pie.¡± Holding the bowl with his left hand, Nangong Du stirred the soup a few times with a spoon in his right hand before he scooped up a spoonful carefully and sent it to his ¡®sweetie pie¡¯s¡¯ lips, his eyes full of softness and affection, which made the maidservants aside widen their eyes with surprise. ¡°OMG! Is Prince Mu really feeding Princess Liuxu? This is incredible!¡±


    Even Xingyi was caught dumbfounded. ¡°Didn¡¯t His Highness realize he had gone too far? How could a distinguished prince serve an unruly nobody like this? Liu Zixiu, look how good you are at whoring yourself out!¡±


    Compared to those maidservants, Zixiu appeared much calmer. He was starving, so without giving it much thought, he wrapped the spoon with his mouth straight away.


    Nangong Du immediately trampled on Zixiu¡¯s foot to warn him, but to his annoyance, Zixiu didn¡¯t seem to have sensed it and was still enjoying the soup! ¡°Liu Zixiu, since you like soup so much, I¡¯ll let you have enough!¡±


    ¡°Darling, would you like another sip?¡± With a sly smile on his face, Nangong Du said gently, as if he were a considerate husband.


    ¡°Hm! Sure!¡± Disregarding this pervert¡¯s hint, Zixiu immediately nodded. He would rather burst his stomach than starve to death!


    Next, under those maidservants¡¯ gaze, this distinguished prince coaxed the ¡®princess¡¯ with a poor appetite into sipping several spoonfuls of soup in succession, as if he had changed from a brute villain to a gentle new husband!


    Didn¡¯t Zixiu feel uncomfortable after all that soup?


    Needless to say, he did! Was he ever in the position to say no?


    He could if he wasn¡¯t afraid that the pervert might give him a good kick in his bloated stomach, which seemed to be more painful than death!


    After some time, a jar of nourishing soup for nerve-soothing was finished by the ¡®princess¡¯. The prince put down the bowl with a smile of relief and before he could grab something to eat, he asked a maidservant to bring him a handkerchief.


    Taking the opportunity of wiping the mouth for the ¡®princess¡¯, he leaned forward again.


    ¡°Little brat, you¡¯re really something!¡± he roared in a low voice in Zixiu¡¯s ear. Looking from where they were, the maidservants thought the prince was kissing the princess, so they immediately lowered their heads, pretending that they had seen nothing.


    Zixiu kept his mouth shut, without saying a word. The soup had rushed to his throat and the pervert was so close to him, so he was worried that he might throw up the moment he opened his mouth. If that was the case, this would highly likely be the last meal in his life!


    Nangong Du was aware that Zixiu had been stuffed with so much soup, but he wasn¡¯t going to let him off the hook. ¡°Darling, looks like you¡¯re worn out. Let me escort you back to your room to rest.¡±


    ¡°Go back to my room? Are you kidding me?¡±


    After going back to the bedroom, as there was nobody else except for the two, Nangong Du was back to his true colors of arrogance and tyranny. He pushed Zixiu onto the bed violently and kicked him in the stomach. ¡°Liu Zixiu, stay in bed obediently! Or you¡¯ll spend your remaining years dreaming of getting out of it!¡±


    ¡°Urgh¡ª¡± As his bulging stomach was suddenly squeezed, Zixiu felt like vomiting again, as if his insides had been turned upside down. Clenching his teeth, he struggled to fight back his impulse, but it didn¡¯t work. Seeing him cover his mouth, Nangong Du lost his temper again.


    ¡°Hold it, you son of a bitch! You¡¯ll see how I¡¯m going to teach you a lesson if you dare throw up that spoonful of soup I fed you!¡±


    Though it was hard, Zixiu took a deep breath and forced back the soup. His stomach felt worse and it hurt so much where he got kicked.


    ¡°What¡­ What the hell do you want?¡± Covering his stomach with his hands, Zixiu asked in a low voice, which was obviously even weaker than it had been before dinner.


    ¡°Who do you think you are? How dare you speak to me this way?¡± Showing no pity, Nangong Du became even more irritated. ¡°Liu Zixiu, what you said just now is more than enough to land you on the scaffold!¡±


    ¡°The scaffold?¡± Zixiu felt like laughing for no reason. He was too feeble to speak, so he could only shoot Nangong Du a resentful glare, covering his stomach with his hands. If he wound up dead here, he would definitely imprint the murder¡¯s appearance on his mind and haunt him to this perv¡¯s last breath!


    ¡°Care to tell me your name?¡± He realised that he still didn¡¯t know the name of this dickhead!


    ¡°Humph! Drop the act! How is it possible that you don¡¯t even know my name?¡± Nangong Du sneered. By ¡®you¡¯, he meant the mastermind behind Zixiu.


    ¡°Bastard!¡± After a while, Zixiu spat out this word in a faint voice with all his strength. Needless to say, another round of beating awaited him.


    Nangong Du applied more strength to his feet not because Zixiu was cursing him, but because the unyielding look in his eyes. ¡°Go on staring at me! Keep disobeying me! And I¡¯ll personally see to it that you rot in hell!¡± he yelled angrily while kicking Zixiu

 Chapter 23

    The more violent Nangong Du was with him, the more hostile the way Zixiu stared at him. Being filled with incisive hatred, Zixiu revealed a stubborn look. After being kidnapped by that damn woman and becoming ¡®Princess Liuxu¡¯ for no reason, he was humiliated and abused in every possible way by his perverted ¡®husband¡¯, who was kicking him now and might kill him at any time! ¡®What have I done wrong? Why am I subjected to such inhuman torture?¡± Zixiu felt grievously wronged.


    However, even if he didn¡¯t want to submit to humiliation, what could he do? Zixiu deeply regretted not having learned Qing Kung from his father. If he had learned it before, he wouldn¡¯t have been cornered like this, and at least, he could take advantage of this pervert¡¯s negligence to escape by leaping onto roofs and vaulting over walls. ¡°Dad must be looking for me everywhere, but under no circumstance would it dawn on him that I¡¯m in Prince Mu¡¯s Mansion. Am I destined to end up dead miserably like this?¡± At the thought of this, Zixiu couldn¡¯t hold back his tears anymore.


    Nangong Du was stunned and immediately withdrew his foot when he suddenly saw a teardrop rolling down Zixiu¡¯s face.


    ¡°Are you crying?¡± He thought that Zixiu would either go for mutual destruction or surrender right away, but to his surprise, that blockhead suddenly burst into tears!


    ¡°It hurts so much! Can¡¯t I even shed a few tears?¡± Zixiu thought angrily, gritting his teeth. He blinked hard with a frown, trying to calm himself down. However, tears continued to break free, like broken strings of bead. He wasn¡¯t a coward, but the sharp pain in his stomach was really killing him!


    Seeing the hatred that annoyed him in Zixiu¡¯s eyes had been replaced by grievance, Nangong Du curved his lips up slightly after a moment of thought. ¡°Liu Zixiu, I¡¯d like to offer a deal!¡±


    ¡°A deal?¡± Zixiu curled up with his hands covering his stomach, having no strength left to speak.


    Nangong Du sat down on the side of the bed and continued, ¡°If you agree to my terms, I promise I¡¯ll never find fault with you!¡±


    ¡°You bastard, what you¡¯ve done is far more than finding fault with me!¡± Zixiu couldn¡¯t help cursing inwardly. This psycho made such an understatement about his brutality, so the terms of this bullshit deal must be unfair!


    ¡°You don¡¯t agree?¡± From Zixiu¡¯s expression, Nangong Du could read his mind. He deliberately parted Zixiu¡¯s folded hands covering his stomach and threatened with a grim look, ¡°Looks like you haven¡¯t had enough of my punches!¡±


    ¡°No! Don¡¯t!¡± Zixiu shook his head instinctively. With a painful lump in his throat, he was about to cry again. Maybe he was truly a good-for-nothing, but he just didn¡¯t want to be pushed around again. It was too hard to be a brave and unyielding tough man!


    ¡°Good!¡± Nangong Du nodded with satisfaction and rubbed Zixiu¡¯s stomach gently, as if out of concern. ¡°It¡¯s quite simple! As long as you swear allegiance to me and never betray me, I¡¯ll spare you and won¡¯t force you to tell me who¡¯s behind you. What¡¯s more, I can pay you more than he did¡­ ¡±


    ¡°Hm!¡± Zixiu nodded with his eyes closed. He was aware that it was useless to protest, and now as he was suffering from a terrible stomachache, he was not in the mood to listen to this pervert explain the unequal treaty to him.


    Nangong Du continued, seemingly undisturbed by Zixiu¡¯s attitude. ¡°Needless to say, if you¡¯re indeed innocent, I promise you¡¯ll live comfortably in the rest of your life!¡±


    ¡°All right!¡±


    ¡°Darling, you¡¯re such a straightforward person! Come on! Gimme your hand!¡±


    ¡°Hm!¡± Zixiu nodded in a semiconscious state, yielding Nangong Du to put his index finger on the cinnabar seal-ink and leave his fingerprint on the agreement.


    Now that the deal had been settled, Nangong Du put away the agreement and the seal-ink with a quirky smile on his face. When he came back to bed, his attitude towards Zixiu was totally changed, as if he came back as a different person.


    He bent over to take off the white embroidered shoes for Zixiu, and then carefully moved him to the middle of the bed before putting a pillow under his head. ¡°Darling, now that you¡¯ve agreed to be loyal to me forever, I won¡¯t pick on you anymore, but you should never forget the agreement between us!¡±


    ¡°Hm!¡± Zixiu muttered with a nod while beads of perspiration was forming on his forehead.


    ¡°Does it really hurt that much?¡± Nangong Du asked with a trace of anxiety on his grim face. He hesitated for a short moment before he put his hand on Zixiu¡¯s stomach again and began to massage it gently.


    Sensing a warm stream running through his stomach, Zixiu felt a little better. In a state of half-consciousness, he moved closer to the source of the heat instinctively while grumbling as if complaining of coldness or pain.


    At the sight of Zixiu moving towards him, Nangong Du went stiff in an instant. After quite a while, he reached out his other hand and wrapped Zixiu in his arms.

 Chapter 24

    ¡°Rumble¡ª¡±


    Zixiu suddenly woke up with a start when a burst of thunder broke the silence of midnight. He sat up, his heart pounding as if he had just had a nightmare. However, he hadn¡¯t had any nightmares and was merely scared by the thunder. He learned from his father that his mother and he had fallen into the river in a rainstorm, so even though Zixiou lost all recollection of what had happened that day, he dreaded lightning flashes and thunder rumbles on a stormy day deep down.


    Sure enough, in the blink of an eye, he heard the sound of raindrops pounding on the roof. In the wind blowing through the window, the red curtains in the room fluttered, like ghosts wiggling wildly in the air, and the dim candlelight finally went out after flickering violently a few times.


    ¡°Ah!¡± Zixiu let out a scream and burrowed into the quilt.


    Nangong Du, who was sleeping next to him, was woken up. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± he asked grumpily in a daze. He hated being interrupted when he was sleeping!


    Zixiu froze for a few seconds before it came to him that he was still in the mansion of this pervert, who had kicked him in the stomach after dinner. ¡°How come I¡¯m sleeping in the same bed with this jerk?¡± Zi hurriedly fumbled for his underwear and took a sigh of relief when he found it was still on him.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you get some sleep? Why are you trembling¡­¡±


    Before Nangong Du could finish his lecturing, a dazzling light suddenly flashed in the dark. Zixiu shrieked in a low voice again and grabbed Nangong Du¡¯s clothes desperately, shaking more violently than ever.


    ¡°Rumble¡ª¡±


    Even the window was shaking with another sound of deafening thunder.


    ¡°This guy is afraid of thunder?¡± Nangong Du thought, revealing a usual playful smile barely palpable on his lips. Taking advantage of this opportunity, he wrapped Zixiu in his arms tightly and said affectionally on purpose, sounded kind of disgusting, ¡°Honey, relax! You have me to protect you¡­¡±


    Zixiu was stupefied again. After another few seconds, he suddenly realized what he was doing. He widened his eyes and instantly pushed the pervert away, clenching his teeth. However, as it was pitch-dark in the room, Nangong Du didn¡¯t see the look of shame on his face. Actually, he showed no intent to watch it.


    ¡°Go back to sleep!¡± he said drowsily and then turned his back on Zixiu.


    This unexpected episode relieved Zixiu¡¯s fear of the rainstorm. After being in a trance for a while, he suddenly noticed the pain in his stomach was gone. But there was a new problem¡ªhe wanted to go to the toilet badly after too much soup!


    After wrestling with himself for quite a while, Zixiu couldn¡¯t hold it anymore, but as it was completely dark in the room, he didn¡¯t dare wander about. Finally, he decided to wake that bastard up.


    ¡°Your highness!¡± he poked Nangong Du slightly with his trembling finger. ¡°Hm?¡± To his surprise, instead of losing his temper, the latter mumbled a reply.


    Feeling a little relieved, Zixiu asked cautiously, ¡°Your Highness, could you tell me where the restroom is?¡±


    ¡°Restroom?¡± Nangong Du was still half asleep, so he didn¡¯t show much emotion. ¡°What are you talking about?¡± Obviously, he didn¡¯t know what the word meant.


    ¡°Er¡­¡± Zixiu almost bit his tongue when he opened his mouth again. Realizing that he had said something that made no sense to other people, he immediately corrected himself, ¡°I mean where the outhouse is. Your Highness, I wanna pee!¡±


    ¡°Pee?¡± As if he had heard something strange, Nangong Du was wide awake at once. Repeating what Zixiu had said, he was amused by his childishness. ¡°This little brat is so funny¡­¡±


    ¡°Your Highness!¡± Hearing no response from the pervert, Zixiu was about to cry. ¡°Your Highness¡­¡±


    Only then did Nangong Du come back to his senses. He clapped his palms and after a short moment, Xing Yi walked in with a lantern in her hand, and the room was again illuminated by the faint light.


    ¡°Your Highness, Princess Liuxu, I¡¯m ready for your service.¡±


    ¡°Princess Liuxu needs to answer the call of nature. Take ¡®her¡¯ to the outhouse,¡± Nangong Du said, without feeling anything wrong. However, Zixiu was extremely embarrassed. ¡°How come he asked a girl to escort me to the toilet?¡±


    Although he felt embarrassed, Zixiu¡¯s bladder was about to explode, so he got out of bed in haste.


    After relieving, Zixiu walked back to the room under Xingyi¡¯s watch. Actually, it never occurred to him to seize this chance to escape because he knew the odds were against him. Moreover, it was still raining heavily outside. Anyway, he didn¡¯t dare share the same bed with that pervert again.


    So as not to disturb their intimacy, Xingyi left after relighting the candle in the room. Zixiu took off his shoes slowly while picking his ears. From his regular breathing, Zixiu could tell Nangong Du had fallen asleep, so he put his shoes back on in a hurry and sneaked to the soft couch.


    Unfortunately, when he was about to reach his destination, he suddenly heard the horrible, demonic voice ring from behind. ¡°Darling, you¡¯re not used to sleeping in bed, are you?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I am!¡± Zixiu shook his head in horror. His day of abuse told him that the pervert was on the verge of rage, so the consequences could be serious if he refused to obey his order.


    ¡°Come over then!¡±


    ¡°Hm!¡± Daring not protest, Zixiu immediately redirected his steps and moved to the bed but still kept looking back at the soft couch. ¡°Get your clothes off!¡± Nangong Du gave the order again.


    ¡°No way!¡± Thankfully, before Zixiu could blurt it out, his reason overcame his impulse. He was clear that before he was strong enough to resist, he couldn¡¯t say no to this pervert.


    ¡°Hurry up!¡± As he expected, seeing him hesitate, Nangong Du immediately roared impatiently.


    ¡°Fine! It¡¯s not a big deal! I¡¯ve already lost my chastity and it will make no difference to be raped one more time!¡± At the thought of this, Zixiu began to unbutton his clothes with a resolute look.


    However, no matter how hard he tugged, he couldn¡¯t get his clothes off, and instead, he was even more tightly wrapped! ¡°Why did they make the clothes so complicated? They are even more complicated than this pervert¡¯s!¡±


    ¡°You dumbass! How come you don¡¯t even know how to take off your clothes!¡± Nangong Du was lying on his side on the bed when he saw Zixiu almost tie himself up like a sticky rice pudding.  He instantly bounced up and threw Ziuxiu onto the bed angrily.


    With a few tearing sounds, Zixiu¡¯s clothes made of find satin turned into rags in an instant.


    Though he had prepared mentally, Zixiu was caught dumbfounded and he began to tremble all over. At the thought of what was going to happen next, he couldn¡¯t help gasping nervously, as if he had been suffocated.


    ¡°What are you shivering for? I¡¯m not fucking you!¡± Nangong Du suddenly blurted out something that surprised Zixiu.


    Stupified, Zixiu thought he must have heard it wrong. ¡°Take off your clothes on your own before going to bed in the future!¡± Nangong Du added.


    ¡°What did this pervert say? So he didn¡¯t make me get off my clothes to rape me?¡± Zixiu was confused.


    ¡°Who do you think you are? The most charming woman in the world?¡± With a look of disdain, Nangong Du said coldly, ¡°Don¡¯t worry! I¡¯m not into you at all!¡±

 Chapter 25

    They slept in separate quilts and deliberately distanced themselves from each other in bed. Not wanting to go back on his word, Nangong Du didn¡¯t do anything to Zixiu all night.


    When Zixiu woke up the next morning, it was already bright outside. He opened his eyes but only found that the pervert was gone. At the bedside lay a new suit, which was, needless to say, a woman¡¯s dress, for it was in bright pink! Zixiu was depressed but he had no guts to go naked in front of other people, so he picked the dress up and put it on randomly. ¡°What the hell does that asshole want? Is he really going to keep me in his mansion and disguise me as the princess forever?¡±


    When he was pondering, it suddenly dawned on him that he had made an agreement with Nangong Du. However, as he had almost been unconscious with the tearing stomachache the night before, he couldn¡¯t remember what kind of agreement he had signed under that pervert¡¯s threat.


    ¡°Good morning, Your Highness!¡±


    Hearing Xingyi¡¯s voice suddenly ring behind the curtain, Zixiu immediately came back to his senses. After a quick glance at his attire and confirmation that there was nothing indecent about him, Zixiu lifted the curtain and got out of bed. Xingyi seemed to be gentle and deferential when she spoke, but at the thought of the old saying which goes ¡®he who lives with cripples learns to limp¡¯, as well as her previous rudeness to him, Zixiu was certain that this woman must be as lunatic as her master and she was even highly probably a ruthless killer! Therefore, he decided to try not to offend her. However, if Zixiu had known that Xingyi fed him with the poisonous pills the day before, he might have learned earlier that sometimes people would attack you even if you didn¡¯t mess with them.


    ¡°Your Highness, let me help you freshen up!¡± With that, Xingyi walked over with a basin of water.


    ¡°¡­ All right!¡± After freezing for a while, Zixiu nodded uneasily. ¡°Damn it! What kind of man would allow others to dress him up like a woman all the time! I¡¯m such a loser!¡±


    ¡°Your Highness, what¡¯s wrong? Are you feeling sick?¡± Zixiu was a person who never knew how to hide his emotions. Though Xingyi was good at mind-reading, if Zixiu hadn¡¯t shown expressions on his face, she wouldn¡¯t have figured out what was on his mind so soon.


    Being seen through, Zixiu lost his composure at once. He moved to the chair in front of the dresser slowly while smiling awkwardly. ¡°Nothing! I¡¯m fine! Haha¡­¡±


    Ignoring his stiff smile, Xingyi kept her mouth shut and began to dress the ¡®princess¡¯ up.


    The entire cross-dressing process, which included only facial cleaning and powdering, eyebrows shaping, lipstick applying and hair doing, merely took Xingyi a few minutes.


    Watching his reflection in the mirror, which was bewitchingly attractive and yet delicate, elegant while adorable, Zixiu suddenly recalled a compliment to beauties¡ªAlways charming with either light or heavy makeup! Narcissistic as it might sound, it was indeed the case that every time he showed up in town, a whole bunch of girls on the streets would almost drown him in their affectionate gaze, and if his dad hadn¡¯t pulled him away by the ear, he might have¡­ ¡°Er¡­ It seems I¡¯ve thought too much!¡± Zixiu managed to stabilize his wild state of mind. But anyway, no one could deny that he was a gorgeous young man. How could that pervert despise him so much that he even said he was not into him! ¡°I even started taking pity on you for your poor taste of beauty! Wait¡­ What does it matter if he has taken a fancy to me or not? Even if one day I do become gay, I will never have a crush on that arrogant, grumpy, shameless scum!¡±


    ¡°Darling!¡±


    The moment he had just finished cursing inwardly, Nangong Du¡¯s voice suddenly rang in his ear. Zixiu was taken aback and he almost slipped off the chair.


    ¡°Liu Zixiu!¡± Having been standing behind him quietly for a while like a ghost, Nangong Du suddenly yelled. ¡°What are you nervous about? I said I wouldn¡¯t find fault with you anymore!¡± Staring at the reflection of this terrified ¡®beauty¡¯ with a complicated expression, he couldn¡¯t help complaining.


    ¡°You won¡¯t find fault, my ass!¡± Zixiu was full of suspicion. However, at the thought that he did sleep well last night, he felt his tension relieved a little. ¡°Your¡­ Your Highness, how may I be of service to you?¡± he stammered.


    ¡°Relax, honey!¡± With a mysterious smile on his face, Nangong Du reached out his left hand with a scroll of painting in it. While spinning it teasingly, he continued, ¡°People I sent out found this portrait last night and I¡¯d like to know what you think of it.¡±


    ¡°A portrait?¡± Zixiu was a little surprised. ¡°Your Highness, I¡¯m a layman in painting, so you¡¯d better ask someone else to¡­¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s necessary!¡± Nangong Du chimed in, sounding a little annoyed. However, in the blink of an eye, the quirky smile came back to his face again. ¡°Honey, actually, I¡¯m not here to have you appreciate this painting. I¡¯m here to ask if you know this beauty in it!¡±


    ¡°The beauty? What¡¯s he talking about?¡± Zixiu was lost in his words. However, as the scroll unfolded, the confusion on his face gradually gave way to surprise and he couldn¡¯t help widening his eyes.


    Yes, it was none other than him in the painting!


    To be precise, it was a lady who looked exactly alike. In a white dress, she had a silk handkerchief embroidered with ¡®Liuxu¡¯ in Chinese in her hand, looking even slimmer and more delicate than Zixiu.


    ¡°Does her face ring any bells, honey?¡± Nangong Du had been observing the changes in Zixiu¡¯s expression before he raised the question.


    Zixiu came back to his senses and was about to shake his head instinctively before it suddenly crossed his mind that Nangong Du might think he was lying if he told him that he knew nothing about this woman, who could almost be regarded as his spitting image. What was more, he was almost strangled by this pervert the day before simply because he had told the truth! Caught in a dilemma, he had no idea what to say.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you answer me?¡± Nangong Du urged.


    ¡°It¡¯s¡­¡± After hesitating for a few seconds, Zixiu decided to play dumb. ¡°It¡¯s¡­me?¡± he said, pointing at himself.


    ¡°Are you serious?¡± Nangongdu chuckled, but next his voice turned harsher. ¡°It turns out that Princess Liuxu of the Wen Kingdom is a man!¡±


    ¡°Princess Liuxu of the Wen Kingdom?¡± Zixiu¡¯s heart skipped a beat. For fear of overreaching himself, he immediately reworded his answer. ¡°Your¡­ Your Highness, though this girl looks like me, I don¡¯t actually know her. My family has been living off collecting herbs in the mountains for generations, and now my dad is the only family of mine in the world. I never heard him say we had any relatives, not even distant ones¡­¡±


    ¡°Enough!¡± Nangong Du interrupted him impatiently. ¡°I didn¡¯t say she was a relative of your family! This is the portrait of the genuine Princess Liuxu. Do you see why that woman picked you now?¡± Nangong Du said with a touch of sarcasm in his tone.


    He hadn¡¯t completely overcome his suspicion about Zixiu yet, but he was certain that this guy couldn¡¯t stir up any trouble. Thanks to the characters embroidered on the handkerchief in the painting, he had found the portrait of Princess Liuxu so easily. Now the game seemed to have become more intriguing!

 Chapter 26

    Until he saw this portrait, Zixiu had always thought that he simply got into trouble by accident because he tried to help that witch out of curiosity. ¡°How come this girl looks exactly like me? Is kidnapping me part of someone¡¯s scheme?¡± he wondered.


    But it didn¡¯t make sense! He had been in the town only a few times in the past three years, so no matter how charming he was, nobody would have waited several years merely to kidnap him. Moreover, hadn¡¯t it been for his insomnia, he wouldn¡¯t have wandered about in the yard and run into that woman who was the start of his nightmare! ¡°Is it a pure coincidence? How could that be! Has dad been hiding something from me? But how come my family has anything to do with the royalty of the Wen Kingdom? What the hell is going on?¡± Zixiu was in over his head. However, despite his confused state of mind, he was aware that his situation was getting more dangerous. ¡°This pervert must be more suspicious of me. Gosh! It¡¯s unfair! What have I done wrong?¡±


    ¡°Your Highness, please do trust me! I hate liars the most! My family lives in the Cirrus Valley in Mount Windward. We¡¯ve been honest people for generations, selling herbs for a living. I rarely went out and in the last three years, I¡¯ve only gone down the mountain three times. If anyone says I have anything to do with that perverted woman, it¡¯s pure malicious slander! Your Highness, you¡¯re such an insightful person, so I¡¯m sure you will uphold justice and protect the innocent me, right?¡± Zixiu explained, almost in tears.


    Compared to him, Nangong Du appeared to be much more relaxed. Watching the portrait on the table with keen interest for a while, he muttered, ¡°The Cirrus Valley in Mount Windward?¡±


    ¡°Yes! That¡¯s it!¡± Zixiu immediately said in response to his words with a smile. ¡°That¡¯s where I live! Your Highness, if you don¡¯t believe it, just send someone there to verify what I¡¯ve said. My dad is Liu Wuyi. On the 15th of every month when there¡¯s a fair in town, he¡¯ll go there to sell herbs!¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Nangong Du didn¡¯t seem to be convinced. ¡°Honey, you went into so much detail, so I guess it¡¯s only a made-up story!¡±


    ¡°Your Highness, don¡¯t get me wrong! Lying to you is the last thing in this world that I would ever do!¡± To show his sincerity and prove that every word he spoke was heartfelt, Zixiu put away his flattering smile. Needless to say, he wouldn¡¯t throw his father under the bus to prove his innocence. The Cirrus Valley in Mount Windward not only had a varied topography, but was also secluded, so nobody could find it without a guide. Actually, without his father leading him, even Zixiu himself dared not step out of the valley for fear that he might never find his way back once getting lost. At this point, a question suddenly crossed his mind. ¡°Even if it¡¯s for the mere sake of convenience when collecting herbs, we shouldn¡¯t have lived in such a secluded place, which is necessary only for people trying to stay off the grid. Is dad really hiding something from me?¡±


    ¡°Darling, are you homesick?¡± Seeing that Zixiu seemed to have been lost in thought, Nangong Du began to beat about the bush.


    ¡°Homesick?¡± Zixiu was surprised, wondering what this pervert meant.


    ¡°Honey, you have my word. I¡¯ll escort you home to visit my father-in-law one day!¡±


    ¡°Fa¡­ Father-in-law?¡± When Zixiu heard this word, his face twitched unconsciously. ¡°Is he really starting to take me seriously or is this part of another trick?¡±


    Disregarding Zixiu¡¯s awkward look, Nangong Du continued with a meaningful smile, ¡°Honey, I¡¯m sure you¡¯re smart, but I would hate to see you fall victim to your own cleverness!¡±


    ¡°Er¡­ Hehehe¡­¡± What was he talking about? Zixiu didn¡¯t understand what Nangong Du was implying, so he could only flash a fake smile, which gave the latter another reason to make fun of him.


    ¡°I can feel myself drowning in that smile of yours. Darling, are you trying to seduce me?¡± Nangong Ddu suddenly wrapped his arms around Zixiu¡¯s waist while staring at him lustfully.


    ¡°Your¡­ Your Highness¡­¡± Before Zixiu could muster up courage to yell at this psycho and break free, he had already lost it.


    Fortunately, he didn¡¯t act on impulse. Nangong Du didn¡¯t harass him anymore after giving a pinch on his slender waist. ¡°Darling, you¡¯re doing better now! As you¡¯ve been dressed up, let¡¯s go and have breakfast together!¡±


    ¡°Breakfast? So he has dropped the idea of looking into my relationship with the woman in this painting?¡± Seeing Zixiu in a trance, Nangong Du grabbed him by the arm and pulled him out of the room.

 Chapter 27

    Nangong Du neither picked on nor harassed Zixiu, so the atmosphere was relatively calm over breakfast. However, as they didn¡¯t prepare much for him, after gobbling up the food in his bowl, Zixiu still felt hungry. Watching that pervert enjoying the heaving food in his plate, Zixiu was filled with resentfulness. ¡°You miser!¡±


    ¡°Honey, you¡¯re done so soon?¡± Nangong Du asked, pretending to look up casually. Before Zixiu could say anything, he turned aside and ordered, ¡°Xingyi, help Princess Liuxu back to her room.¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± With a deferential reply, Xingyi moved forward while casting a sarcastic glance at Zixiu.


    Obviously, this jerk wouldn¡¯t provide him more food, but at the thought that there must be some snacks in the bedroom, instead of protesting, Zixiu obediently rose to his feet and walked out with Xingyi. Watching him leaving, Nangong Du revealed a faint smile which even he himself didn¡¯t notice.


    After the heavy rain last night, the sky looked especially clear and even the sunshine seemed to be lustrously transparent.


    Walking along the winding path, which was paved with green limestone, Zixiu saw some magnificent pavilions over the lake. ¡°Seems that asshole really knows how to enjoy himself! He even had such a huge artificial lake created, which does bring out the elegance of this garden!¡±


    Smelling the petrichor mixed with the aroma of grass, Zixiu felt so refreshed that he even put the physical and mental harm he had suffered these days behind him for the time being, as if he were on vacation. That would be perfect if he hadn¡¯t been watched on by that emotionless Xingyi, who was following him closely!


    ¡°Your Highness, it¡¯s warm and stuffy outside, you¡¯d better go back to your room to rest!¡± Trying hard to hold back her impatience, Xingyi suggested in a soft voice. If it were not for her master, she would never have treated Liu Zixiu so gently. However, even though she dared not disobey Nangong Du¡¯s order, she was not in the mood to wander about with Zixiu under the scorching sun.


    ¡°There¡¯s no need. I don¡¯t feel hot at all. I¡¯m sure it¡¯s stuffier in the chamber!¡± Zixiu had briefly figured out Xingyi¡¯s intention, but he preferred to stay outside. First, it was indeed stuffier in the room, and being in it only reminded him of how that psycho had treated him; and second, he wanted to make full use of his spare time to probe the surroundings of the mansion in preparation for his escape. Zixiu was deliberately uncooperative, hoping that Xingyi would leave him alone after losing her patience. However, he seemed to have overlooked the most important thing¡ª unlike those ordinary obedient maidservants, Xingyi was a tough woman who wasn¡¯t easy to mess with.


    Needless to say, Xing Yi was clear what Zixiu was thinking about. ¡°I offered him a toast, but it seems he¡¯d rather be roasted!¡± she thought angrily. This was her principle in dealing with such ungrateful, smug people¡ª if a carrot didn¡¯t work, she would use a stick! If it was inconvenient to punish them openly, she would do it secretly!


    Without sensing the danger, Zixiu still strode forward excitedly. However, he had only taken a few steps before he suddenly stepped on something slippery and lost his balance. ¡°Ahh!¡± When he was about to fall, he closed his eyes and shrieked instinctively.


    Thankfully, he didn¡¯t fall to the ground as he had expected. The moment he let out a scream, someone grabbed him by the waist from behind and pulled him into his firm arms.


    Zixiu was certain it wasn¡¯t a woman. ¡°Am I in that pervert¡¯s embrace again?¡± He didn¡¯t dare look up and that person showed no intention to loosen his grip until Xingyi¡¯s angry voice rang.


    ¡°How dare you! Where are your manners in front of Princess Liuxu?¡±


    ¡°Your Highness, I didn¡¯t know it was you! My apologies! Please pardon my abruptness.¡± After letting go of Zixiu, the young guard bowed in apology to him, looking neither arrogant nor humble.


    ¡°Who¡¯s this guy?¡± Zixiu froze on the spot, staring at the man in a guard¡¯s attire blankly. He was tanned, slim and tall¡­ but that wasn¡¯t the point. What shocked Zixiu most was his ¡°maiden¡± name this young man had whispered in his ear just now¡ªLiu Zixiu!


    ¡°Why are you still here?¡± Before the ¡°princess¡± could figure out what was going on, the maidservant, Xingyi, hastily yelled at the ¡®nosy¡¯ guard to leave, with a poker face.

 Chapter 28

    Because of this incident, Zixiu had to put on hold his plan to explore the surroundings with full use of hanging about in the park. As soon as he returned to his chamber, he burrowed into the quilt with his face covered, pretending to be tired, which was the only way he could avoid Xingyi¡¯s sharp gaze.


    Zixiu had thought that he was alone here, and nobody would have known where he had ended up, so he was both surprised and overjoyed when he heard that guard call his name. However, after calming himself down and thinking it twice, he had a feeling that something didn¡¯t make sense. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen that guard, so how come he knows my name? Before I lost my memory, my family had been living in the secluded mountains, so we would never have known a guard of a prince¡¯s mansion thousands of miles away. What¡¯s more, that pervert has cut everyone off from the news of Princess Liuxu¡¯s missing and I look exactly like her when cross-dressed, so even if that guard knows me, he couldn¡¯t have recognized me at the first glance when he saw me in a woman¡¯s attire at Prince Mu¡¯s Mansion. Was he sent by that jerk to probe my attitude? But a person as arrogant and proud as that pervert seems to have no reason to bother about such a frivolous thing. It¡¯s so weird! Who the hell is that guard?¡±


    The more he thought, the more confused Zixiu felt. He had always had a lazy brain and if it weren¡¯t for lack of other options, he wouldn¡¯t have racked his brain to struggle with Nangong Du these days, which took a lot of effort. Moreover, with so few clues, he was unable to figure out who that mysterious guard might have been. Therefore, he stopped pondering and fell asleep soon.


    Needless to say, Xingyi would never be ¡°kind¡± enough to wake this ¡®princess¡¯ up for dinner, so when Zixiu awakened with a rumbling stomach, it was already afternoon.


    Rubbing his eyes, he sat up slowly before he suddenly saw a face zooming in front of him. Zixiu was taken aback and he pushed it away instinctively.


    ¡°How dare you push me?¡± Nangong Du¡¯s cold voice suddenly rang in his ear.


    Zixiu stiffened for a moment and then realized that he had done something stupid again, so he immediately explained, ¡°Your¡­ Your Highness, I didn¡¯t mean it. I just woke up and I¡¯m not fully awake yet. I didn¡¯t mean to do it, so please don¡¯t be mad at me! What¡¯s more, rage might be detrimental to your health! Your Highness¡­¡±


    ¡°Guess if it were someone else, you wouldn¡¯t have pushed him away. Am I right?¡± Nangong Du suddenly blurted out something that muddleheaded Zixiu.


    ¡°Someone else? What did he mean?¡± Zixiu wondered with a puzzled look.


    With a snort, Nangong Du continued, ¡°Honey, I heard that you hooked up with a young guard in the garden this morning!¡±


    ¡°Hook up?!¡± Hearing this phrase, Zixiu didn¡¯t know whether to laugh or cry, as if he had just heard the most ridiculous dry joke in the world. ¡°Are you kidding me? How could a straight man like me try to attract attention from the same sex?¡± he thought resentfully.


    ¡°Are you trying to deny it?¡± Seeing that Zixiu was caught dumbfounded, Nan Gongdu said even more harshly. ¡°Liu Zixiu, I told you that I would hate to see you fall victim to your own cleverness. You¡¯re my legal wife now, so I won¡¯t show mercy if I catch you flirting with any other man and having physical contact with him again!¡±


    Though Zixiu grew angrier at his words, he didn¡¯t think that Nangong Du was deliberately humiliating him. ¡°Is this psycho starting to doubt that guard¡¯s identity as well?¡± he wondered.


    ¡°Did you hear me?¡± Hearing no response from Zixiu, Nangong Du suddenly raised his voice in rage.


    After coming back to his senses, Zixiu nodded in a panic and answered, ¡°Got it, Your Highness! I¡¯ll bear it in mind¡­¡±


    ¡°How come you simply addressed yourself ¡®I¡¯ in front of me?¡± Nangong Du began to pick on him for no reason.


    Zixiu was even more overwhelmed. ¡°What should I address myself in addition to ¡®I¡¯? This psycho is too difficult to please!¡± When he was complaining secretly, Nangong Du suddenly grabbed him by the collar.


    ¡°Liu Zixiu, if you dare treat me so disrespectfully again, you¡¯ll lose your tongue forever and be turned into a¡­¡±


    ¡°Your Highness, calm down please!¡± At the thought of what this asshole was about to say, Zixiu couldn¡¯t help trembling. However, he had no idea what he said that made this prince feel offended. ¡°Could that be because the word ¡®I¡¯ is a taboo in this household? Wait¡­¡± At this point, a self-effacing address ¡®humble consort¡¯ suddenly came to his mind.


    The murder of the maid from the Wen delegation had been solved this morning, and Nangong Du was going to attend the dinner party at the imperial palace with the new princess tonight, so he did need Zixiu to address himself this way when speaking to him in public.

 Chapter 29

    For most people, especially those who were brought up in remote mountains and had never been in town, having the chance to attend royal banquets would be a great honor. However, Zixiu didn¡¯t feel this way and he showed no sign of excitement. It was not only because Nangong Du had threatened him that spilling the beans at the banquet would only lead him to death¡¯s door, but also because Zixiu himself lacked a basic understanding of the majesty of imperial power and he had never thought of princes any nobler than ordinary people. Now what he needed to do was stay calm and keep his mouth shut. As the old saying goes, ¡®Out of the mouth comes evil¡¯, the more one spoke, the greater the chance of making mistakes, so it was wise to say as little as possible on this occasion.


    Nangong Ao, the emperor of the Nan Kingdom, had specially arranged the banquet to make up for the death of the Wen delegation member of whom, to everyone¡¯s surprise, the murder was an unknown thief determined to silence the witness after being caught in the act. Some people suspected that he was just a scapegoat and things couldn¡¯t have been that simple. However, as it was Zhang Mingqi, the governor and the expert detective in the capital city of the Nan Kingdom, who was known for his integrity, probity and concern for his people as well as his 100% record of solving crimes, in charge of this case, they didn¡¯t dare to say anything. What¡¯s more, the case was heard in public and closed on solid evidence and a confession, so no one had any reasons to challenge the verdict.


    Though the party hadn¡¯t started yet, the brightly-lit imperial garden was already packed with people and filled with laughter. Sensing many people¡¯s peeping at him from time to time, Zixiu felt his heart pounding and he really wished there were a tunnel through which he could flee at once. He thought he must have aroused other people¡¯s suspicion, but the fact was everyone was looking at him out of curiosity, surprise and even admiration after they had witnessed or heard of what remarkable achievements ¡®Princess Liuxu¡¯ had made in taming ¡®her¡¯ husband. Needless to say, there were also some people who were so amazed at the ¡®princess¡¯s¡¯ beauty that they couldn¡¯t help but glance at ¡®her¡¯ a few more times.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± With a frown, Nangong Du stopped him in a low voice when Zixiu suddenly linked his arm through Nangong¡¯s. No matter how uninhibited he was, Prince Mu wouldn¡¯t allow himself to appear too intimate with his ¡®wife¡¯ in the presence of so many people in the imperial palace!


    Zixiu was stunned and it wasn¡¯t until he looked down that he realized he was unconsciously holding this pervert¡¯s arm. ¡°Huh? Isn¡¯t it usually the lady who takes the man¡¯s arm at such a banquet?¡±


    Seeing Zixiu still hesitating, Nangong Du urged impatiently in a low voice, ¡°Let go of me!¡±


    ¡°Eh-hem!¡± Hardly had his voice faded away, they suddenly heard someone coughing slightly.


    Being taken aback, the two separated in an instant. Zixiu raised his head and saw a strong middle-aged man in a gray silk robe followed by a gorgeously dressed, graceful woman, who looked like a couple.


    ¡°Prince Mu, Princess Liuxu, my respects to both of you!¡± The man bowed to them with his hands cupped while the woman lowered her head respectfully as well.


    Nobody had ever greeted him this way, so Zixiu kind of panicked. He turned to look at Nangong Du and saw the latter nodding with a faint smile as if he had been used to this kind of ceremonious salutation. ¡°Uncle, Auntie, please don¡¯t stand on ceremony!¡± he said coolly.


    ¡°Uncle, Auntie?¡± Zixiu widened his eyes in surprise. Xingyi had never told him anything about Nangong Du¡¯s family members, and all he knew was this pervert called the dowager empress ¡®mother¡¯.


    ¡°To show respect for seniority, you should curtsy to the elders.¡± Zixiu suddenly recalled what Xingyi said during the emergency training in etiquette an hour before he left for the imperial palace. Without giving a second thought of his current identity, he hurried over and curtsied. ¡°Greetings, Uncle, Auntie!¡±


    Xue Shili, Mrs. Xue, and even Nangong Du were stupefied on the spot at his words.


    A few seconds later, Nangong Du came back to his senses and immediately pulled Zixiu up. ¡°Princess Liuxu, you don¡¯t have to be so courteous!¡± Though he was in rage, he still smiled gently as he spoke.


    ¡°Your Highness, I have no idea, as a humble official, what I¡¯ve done to deserve your curtsy!¡± After realizing what was happening, Xue Shili and Mrs. Xue immediately went down on their knees in return. As he was Xue Ding¡¯s adoptive son, Prince Mu should call him uncle. However, even if he were the birth son of General Xue, he dared not accept the princess¡¯s curtsy. Moreover, the way Zixiu had paid respect just now was only intended for greeting the emperor and the dowager empress!


    Instead of calling him ¡®Darling¡¯, Nangong Du addressed him as ¡®Princess Liuxu¡¯ for the first time. From this asshole¡¯s abnormal attitude and words, Zixiu could tell he had made some mistakes. With his mind spinning, he immediately came up with a remedy. ¡°Humble consort Liuxu is not familiar with the etiquette in the Nan Kingdom, so please pardon my graceless manner!¡±


    As the saying goes, ¡®Loose lips sink ships¡¯.


    The moment he heard the two words ¡°humble consort¡± running out of Zixiu¡¯s lips, Nangong Du widened his eyes to the extremeas he couldn¡¯t hold back his anger anymore. Disregarding Xue Shili and his wife, who were still in the middle of prostration, as well as people around them ¡®inadvertently¡¯ staring at them with strange looks, he wrapped his arms around Zixiu¡¯s waist with his brows knitted as if full of concern. ¡°Darling, you look tired. Let me lead you to the inner palace for some rest!¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± Zixiu looked at him blankly. However, before he could figure out what this pervert meant, he was taken away forcibly.

 Chapter 30

    ¡°Humble consort without an adjectival possessive pronoun, huh? Whose consort do you think you are?¡± Nangong Du roared in a low voice with a grim look as soon as they arrived at a dimly lit path with fewer people.


    ¡°Whose consort? What does he mean?¡± Zixiu was confused, but he dared not ignore his question. ¡°Your Highness, needless to say, I am the humble consort of yours!¡± he answered after weighing his words.


    ¡°Mine?¡± With a sneer, Nangong Du raised his voice. ¡°Then why did you leave out the crucial part in front of Xue Shili! Do you wanna be his instead?¡±


    ¡°Er¡­¡± Bearing Nangong Du¡¯s precepts in mind, Zixiu had been thinking that he should avoid addressing himself as ¡®I¡¯ when this pervert was around, but he seemed to have got it wrong. ¡°How the hell should I address myself? Why the hell was that a mistake?¡± he wondered in confusion.


    ¡°Someone got you on semi-permanent mute? Remember how talkative you were 2 seconds ago?¡±


    ¡°¡­ I, no, humble consort Liuxu, humble consort of yours¡­¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re deliberately going against me, aren¡¯t you?¡± Before Zixiu could explain himself, Nangong Du suddenly cut in on him coldly while applying a little bit more strength to his hand resting on Zixiu¡¯s waist.


    Caught off guard, Zixiu suddenly fell into Nangong Du¡¯s arms. When he looked up and met his eyes, Zixiu was so frightened that he couldn¡¯t help trembling all over and a moment later, his muscles began to stiffen. ¡°Heavens! Help!¡± he cried out inwardly.


    ¡°Am I that horrible?¡± Nangong Du didn¡¯t mean to say this, but at the sight that Zixiu was scared out of his wits when he put his arm around him, he just couldn¡¯t hold back his rage.


    ¡°No, you¡¯re not¡­¡± Zixiu was almost reduced to tears, which was a dead giveaway for lying.


    Burning with anger, Nangong Du pulled him to the dark woods without a word.


    ¡°Du!¡±


    After a few steps, a voice, which to Zixiu was the most melodious sound in the world for the moment, suddenly rang. It seemed God had heard his prayer and sent the empress dowager here in time to help him out!


    Nangong Du immediately loosened his grip on Zixiu. Watching the empress dowager and other womenfolk of the royal family walking towards them gracefully from the white marble bridge, he didn¡¯t forget to warn Zixiu in his ear, ¡°One more mistake and you¡¯ll live to regret it!¡±


    Though Zixiu hadn¡¯t recovered from the shock and had lost his tongue for the moment, he nodded numbly.


    ¡°The empress dowager is really sharp-eyed! The path is so dark, and even though our clothes are brightly colored, nobody except for her saw us from afar. Could this be because the special bond between a mother and her child?¡± Zixiu really wished the empress dowager could detect his son¡¯s evil deeds by telepathy!


    ¡°Mother!¡± Watching a line of people approaching, Nangong Du bowed to the empress dowager obediently before he slightly elbowed Zixiu, who was still in a daze.


    Meanwhile, those ladies whose status was lower than this couple curtsied to them. After that, everyone shifted their gaze to the silent princess until Zixiu spat out a word timidly, ¡°Mother-in-law!¡±


    Hearing that, the empress dowager frowned slightly in shock and all the other ladies lowered their heads with a surprised look as well, which instantly turned the atmosphere awkward.


    Zixiu realized that he had said something wrong again when he saw other people changing their attitude and that pervert clenching his fists. In panic, he racked his brains, trying to come up with a remedy.


    However, to everyone¡¯s surprise, before the awkwardness reached its peak, that empress dowager suddenly beamed while reaching out to Zixiu gracefully. ¡°Liuxu, my darling, come over. Let your mother-in-law take a good look at you!¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± Zixiu didn¡¯t notice that the empress dowager was speaking to him until Nangong Du poked him hard secretly, but in other people¡¯s eyes, he was just pushing the princess to his mother gently. ¡°Darling, don¡¯t be shy. Mother is calling you,¡± Nangong Du said with a smile as if he was a considerate husband.


    ¡°Haha! My daughter-in-law is so shy!¡± The empress dowager laughed heartily. Despite her seniority, she walked over and stopped between her son and her daughter-in-law before taking them by the hand.


    Seeing that the empress dowager was in high spirits, the womenfolk around them felt much relieved and began to laugh, following her suit.


    Zixiu blushed in an instant, but not from shyness. ¡°Who is shy? Who is your new daughter-in-law!¡± Thought he.


    After the joke, the empress dowager turned to her ¡®daughter-in-law¡¯, only to see that ¡®she¡¯ didn¡¯t look well. Associating with what she had seen in his son¡¯s mansion the other day, she put away her smile and asked, her voice full of concern, ¡°Liuxu, you look pale. Are you feeling sick?¡±


    ¡°Impossible!¡± Nangong Du immediately chimed in. He leaned forward, as if looking at his wife out of concern, but actually, he was warning Zixiu with a threatening look.


    The empress dowager didn¡¯t turn to him, but she couldn¡¯t help feeling suspicious that his son was in such a hurry to interrupt. ¡°Liuxu, did Du¡¯er bully you? No worries! Nobody dares to lay a finger on you while I¡¯m here!¡±


    ¡°Bully?¡± Zixiu¡¯s heart skipped a beat as he turned pale. However, before he could speak, Nangong Du took a step ahead again, ¡°Mother, where did all these misunderstandings come from? Everybody knows I dote on Liuxu to the utmost. Why would I bully her?¡±


    ¡°Really? Liuxu, I need to hear it from you.¡±


    ¡°Sure!¡± Zixiu nodded without hesitation. He was clear it was useless to bitch about Nangong Du in front of this old lady because he wasn¡¯t the genuine Liuxu and the empress dowager was that pervert¡¯s mother, not his!

 Chapter 31

    When they returned to the imperial garden with the empress dowager and the other ladies, the emperor and the empress happened to come the other way. The guests didn¡¯t sit down until the most important royal family members had taken their seats.


    Before the banquet began, the emperor delivered a simple speech, but Nangong Du didn¡¯t seem to have taken it seriously. As soon as he sat down, he glared at Zixiu, who was sitting next to him, and said in a playful tone, ¡°It seems you¡¯re not as stupid as I thought!¡±


    Having no idea what to say, Zixiu didn¡¯t reply. Moreover, he hadn¡¯t had lunch, so he was not in the mood to talk to anyone because of hunger.


    Nangong Du didn¡¯t give that much thought, and in his opinion, Zixiu¡¯s silence belittled and insulted him. Therefore, disregarding that his brother, the emperor, was delivering a speech with a serious look, he roared at Zixiu in a low voice angrily, ¡°I haven¡¯t gotten even with you! How dare you give me the cold shoulder?¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Zixiu stared at him blankly, but as he didn¡¯t want to irritate this scum again, he managed to pull himself together. ¡°My apologies!¡±


    ¡°Your apologies?¡± Nangong Du repeated the words with emphasis. ¡°You¡¯ve made such a fool of me in front of so many people. Do you think an apology can make up for it all?¡± he said with a sneer.


    ¡°Your Highness, what do you want?¡± It seemed that hunger could easily make people irritable. Zixiu frowned impatiently on the verge of losing his temper.


    However, Nangong Du wasn¡¯t annoyed and a faint smile even crossed his poker face, as if he really enjoyed in picking a quarrel with Zixiu.


    ¡°Darling, it seems like I¡¯ve made you upset!¡±


    Though he seemed to be joking, his voice sounded spine-chilling, which made Zixiu, who was up against him, didn¡¯t dare to go too far.


    ¡°Your Highness, don¡¯t get me wrong. As you said it was no use to apologize. To make amends, your humble consort could only ask for your opinion!¡± In a panic, Zixiu answered carefully.


    ¡°Oh? Honey, so you¡¯re neither dissatisfied nor afraid of me?¡± Actually, this was Nangong Du¡¯s major concern.


    ¡°Sure! Hehe!¡± For fear that this pervert might harass or probe him again, Zixiu only allowed the sickly smile to linger on his face for a few seconds.


    Thankfully, at this point, a blast of muffled drumbeats suddenly rang.


    The banquet started officially.


    With the melodious music echoing, a bunch of dancers walked to the open space surrounded by dining tables and began to dance gracefully like butterflies. These lithe, beautiful girls were so charming that as soon as they began, they attracted the attention of a lot of people, and needless to say, including Nangong Du, the prince known for his dissolute behaviour and love for the gorgeous!


    Of all the people present, Zixiu might be the only one who glued his gaze on the dishes as soon as the maidservants brought them in. Whether it were dishes of which he could tell the name, or the ones he had never seen, one glance was enough to make his mouth water. He finally got a chance to come out for a meal and he was certain that at any rate, that psycho didn¡¯t dare prevent him from eating on such an occasion, nor did he dare to act violently against him. Needless to say, Zixiu wouldn¡¯t miss this chance to gorge himself. Therefore, when the others were still immersed in the show, he had picked up his chopsticks and started chowing down!


    There was never a shortage of delicacies like abalone, ginseng, shark fin, in Prince Mu¡¯s Mansion, but ever since Zixiu ¡®married¡¯ this prince, he had had nothing in addition to a jar of soup, a bowl of plain porridge and a few tiny dishes of snacks. ¡°If what he said was true, that his family has been living in the mountains for generations and lived off of herbs collecting, what he usually eats must be humble food and he must have never ever tasted such delicacies, but now he is eating in a relatively decent way when he is so hungry, so he must be well-brought-up and his origin can¡¯t be that simple!¡± Nangong Du thought while peeping at Zixiu who was busy with his food. For no reason, Nangong Du suddenly remembered Zixiu¡¯s bright red, tempting lips when he was suffering from poison the other day.


    ¡°Have a try!¡± he couldn¡¯t help but pick food for Zixiu.


    ¡°Eh-hem¡­¡± Having been taken aback, Zixiu got chocked on his food.


    Only then did Nangong Du realize that he was not himself today, but he regained his composure and handed over a glass of water to Zixiu in silence soon after a short moment of pause.


    Zixiu took the glass from him, gulped the water down, and finally stopped coughing. Though it was this pervert who had made him choke, Zixiu still showed his appreciation habitually.


    ¡°Prince Mu, Princess Liuxu, I¡¯m very glad to see you two love and respect each other so much!¡± Nangong Ao, who was sitting on the seat of honor suddenly praised at the sight of what this couple was doing. In front of him were the Prime Minister, Lou Yuankui and the delegation member of the Wen Kingdom, Sun Zhao, who were obviously toasting him with wine cups in their hands.


    ¡°Pardon our manners, Your Majesty. I should be blamed for startling Princess Liuxu just now!¡± Nangong Du was telling the truth, but he didn¡¯t seem to feel guilty.


    Nangong Ao laughed loudly and then shifted his gaze to Zixiu. ¡°Princess Liuxu is virtuous and broadminded, so I¡¯m sure you won¡¯t be mad at my brother!¡± he said half in jest.


    Zixiu didn¡¯t say a word, but only curved his lips up, secretly felicitating that before leaving the mansion, Xingyi had told him how to respond if the emperor joked with him. ¡°Does the emperor often make fun of that pervert?¡± he wondered.


    ¡°Everything has its vanquisher. The emperor must be more aggressive and terrifying, or he wouldn¡¯t have had power over this mischievous prince!¡± It didn¡¯t come to Zixiu¡¯s mind until Nangong Ao looked away from him. To be honest, even though the emperor looked at him much more softly than that pervert did, Zixiu was startled and broke out in a cold sweat.


    Next, Nangong Ao raised his gold wine cup again and said with a smile, ¡°I¡¯d like to propose a toast to the newly-weds, Prince Mu and Princess Liuxu. I wish you everlasting love and the early birth of a son!¡±


    Hearing that, everyone went stiff and turned to look at him in surprise, which led to sudden freezing of the atmosphere. Zixiu cursed inwardly when he heard the words ¡®early birth of a son¡¯, but he wasn¡¯t aware that the others were also taken aback by those words!


    Nangong Ao was already in his forties, and although he had so many consorts and concubines, but only three of his children were boys. Unfortunately, his first and second sons had died in infancy and the only one left was mentally-retarded. Therefore, until now, he hadn¡¯t appointed a crown prince yet. According to the rules of the royal family of the Nan Kingdom, if the emperor had no son, he had to appoint his brother¡¯s son as the crown prince when the time came!


    What did Nangong Ao mean by wishing the early birth of Prince Mu¡¯s son in front of so many officials and those delegation members from the Wen Kingdom?


    Though the speaker had no particular intention in saying this, the listeners caught the implication!


    Nangong Ao glanced at people present and suddenly realized that he had stumbled on a sensitive topic, so he immediately put on a smile, trying to ease the tension.


    ¡°Everyone, relax! Make yourself at home!¡±


    Having no idea what was happening, Zixiu looked at the officials blankly for a while before it suddenly came to his mind that he might have spilled the beans by accident! He peeped at Nangong Du in a hurry and only saw the latter pick up the wine cup.


    ¡°Your Majesty, I¡¯m counting on that! To show my respect, I¡¯m going to empty my cup first!¡±


    With that, he downed the wine in one gulp without hesitation.


    ¡°That¡¯s my brother!¡± With that, Nangong Ao also emptied his cup.


    As the tension in the air had been relieved, the dancers went on their performance, and some of the guests shifted their attention back to the singing and dancing while the rest were busy with their food.


    In the middle of a treasure hunt in his food, Zixiu suddenly felt someone stepping on his foot. Having learned the lesson, he immediately put down the chopsticks and beamed at the stranger in front of him.


    Toasting was the essential part of the banquet, and now Sun Zhao was standing before prince Mu and Princess Liuxue, holding a gold wine cup, with the Prime Minister, Lou Yuankuai, by his side.


    ¡°Prince Mu, I¡¯d like to propose a toast as an apology for my unannounced visit the other day!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t mention it, General Sun.¡± Picking up the gold cup full of wine, Nangong Du emptied it.


    He looked so charming while drinking, but the blush on his face became more pronounced. Zixiu stared at Nangong Du¡¯s side face tensely. ¡°How is this guy¡¯s drinking capacity? I hope he won¡¯t get drunk!¡± he prayed with butterflies in his stomach.


    ¡°Eat it!¡± As soon as Sun Zhao and Lou Yuankui left, Nangong Du saw that the meat he had picked for Zixiu was still in the latter¡¯s bowl.


    ¡°Got it!¡± Zixiu answered while picking up that inviting piece of meat in horror. ¡°What the hell does this pervert want? Is the meat poisonous?¡±


    With an ominous sense of foreboding in his mind, Zixiu put the meat into his mouth sadly. As it was so big, he couldn¡¯t swallow it without chewing.


    ¡°Do you like it?¡± Watching Zixiu finish that piece of meat, Nangong Du asked coolly.


    ¡°Hm!¡± Zixiu answered with a nod. The meat was tender without too much grease and tasted so good with mild spiciness permeating every bit of it. What¡¯s more, spicy food was his favorite. ¡°How come this asshole was so nice to me and even picked food for me? Did he do this on purpose because someone was watching us secretly?¡±


    ¡°Have some more then!¡±


    ¡°All right!¡± Thinking that Nangong Du was acting, Zixiu appeared very cooperative and although that guy put the same food in his bowl every time, he finished them all.


    Watching them from the nearby table, the empress dowager nodded with a satisfied smile.


    People came over to toast from time to time. Looking at Nangong Du flushed with intoxication, Zixiu felt like a cold chill was running up his spine and he almost lost his appetite.


    ¡°Your Highness, are you hungry? Do you feel like some food?¡± Not daring to stop him from drinking, Zixu had to advise in a tactful way. It seemed he wasn¡¯t that easy to get drunk with food in his stomach.


    ¡°I¡¯m not hungry. Darling, help yourself to some more!¡± Nangong Du picked up his chopsticks and put more of the mildly spicy food into Zixiu¡¯s bowl.

 Chapter 32

    Sure enough, what Zixiu had been worrying about finally set in. By the time the party was over at around ten o¡¯clock in the evening, Nangong Du was as drunk as a dog, just like he had done on their wedding day. He staggered forward and got into the sedan with the help of two guards.


    The prince and the ¡®princess¡¯ were supposed to come in separate sedans, but as the empress dowager didn¡¯t feel assured to leave her son alone, she asked her ¡®daughter-in-law¡¯ to take care of him in the same sedan. Poor Zixiu!


    Not daring to disobey the empress dowager¡¯s command, Zixiu got into the sedan obediently.


    In the spacious, luxurious sedan, which was lit up by the glow of a luminous stone, Nangong Du was lying still on the soft couch on his side with his eyes closed as if he wasn¡¯t aware of anyone coming in at all.


    Zixiu wasn¡¯t naive enough to think that the pervert had fallen asleep. Moreover, asleep or awake, a wolf wouldn¡¯t change its nature! He then cautiously sat down on the soft couch by the door. He watched Nangong Du¡¯s every move intently as if it were a formidable enemy in front of him. Zixiu swore to himself that if this asshole dared force himself on him again, he would hop out of the sedan even at the cost of his life!


    After a while on their way, Nangong Du suddenly sat up with one hand covering his stomach and the other covering his mouth. ¡°Urgh¡ª¡± ¡°Gosh! Is he going to vomit?¡± Zixiu instantly lost his composure.


    ¡°Spittoon!¡± This word suddenly popped into Zixiu¡¯s mind for no reason. ¡°Where¡¯s the spittoon?¡± He scanned around and even bent down on the carpet, craning his neck to look under the soft couch, but still found nothing.


    ¡°It¡¯s urgent! For God¡¯s sake, what should I do?¡±


    Like a cat on hot bricks, Zixiu paced about in the sedan. Seeing that Nangong Du might throw up at any time, he couldn¡¯t help muttering, ¡°How come you drank so much with almost zero tolerance for liquor! How come you¡­¡±


    When Zixiu was complaining in a panic, he suddenly caught sight of the teapot on the table.


    Without the slightest hesitation, he immediately picked up the delicate teapot and moved it to Nangong Du¡¯s lips.


    Until then did he realize that he had been had!


    As soon as Zixiu removed the lid of the teapot and before he could tell what was happening, Nangong Du suddenly snapped him by the wrists.


    With a shake of his hands, the fine fragile porcelain fell to the floor.


    Thump!


    Unexpectedly, after a faint, dull thud, only the lid fell to the floor and the teapot had already been firmly caught by Nangogn Du. Moreover, as the floor was carpeted, the lid wasn¡¯t broken.


    ¡°How could he be so quick?¡±


    Zixiu didn¡¯t notice when Nangong Du had reached out. At this point, in his widened eyes, there was only the fleeting crafty, enchanting smile of this pervert.


    As if his body had been nailed to the ground and his brain was on strike, Zixiu had forgotten his vow of throwing himself out of the sedan in case of danger, and he was so shocked that he couldn¡¯t move at all.


    Nangong Du narrowed his enchanting eyes slightly while staring at Zixiu, seemingly half-drunk. To be precise, he was fixing his gaze on Zixiu¡¯s rose-like inviting lips, the color of which was not scarlet, stained with poison, but bright red stimulated with chilies. Though he was surprised that Zixiu was used to spicy food, anyway, he had achieved his purpose!


    At the thought of this, he couldn¡¯t help curving his lips into a smug smile, which as far as Zixiu was concerned, was not a good sign!


    ¡°Darling!¡± Muttering the ambiguous address which didn¡¯t belong to Zixiu, Nangong Du slowly leaned forward in an obvious attempt to kiss him.


    Zixiu was startled. However, as if having been enchanted, he stood still until Nangong Du sealed his lips gently with his.


    His kiss was so gentle that it felt almost kind of aloof, like a dragonfly skimming the water; his kiss was so soft that it felt like silky fabrics upon his lips, bringing a touch of tenderness. Being in a trance for quite a while, Zixiu suddenly realized that his first kiss¡­ Er¡­ It seemed it wasn¡¯t the right time to indulge himself. ¡°So this pervert wasn¡¯t drunk and he was just faking it?¡±

 Chapter 33

    As Nangong Du had been clinging to him with his lips against his all the way, Zixiu had no idea when the sedan stopped. Though this pervert made no further movement than this, Zixiu still widened his eyes and stood still with all his nerves tensed up all along. It wasn¡¯t until the curtain of the sedan was lifted that he came back to his senses. Zixiu blushed in an instant and gave Nangong Du a shove in haste as if he was caught red-handed doing something indecent.


    To his surprise, the latter made no response and fell straight backwards.


    ¡°Your Highness!¡± Seeing that, Xingyi, who was glaring at Zixiu angrily in front of the door, leaped into the sedan in the blink of an eye and supported her master with both hands. When the strong smell of alcohol rushed into her nostrils, she realized that Prince Mu was drunk. Having no time to find fault with Zixiu, she immediately asked the guards and maidservants to help the prince out of the sedan.


    Watching those people cautiously carry that pervert away with as much care as handling priceless eggshell porcelain, Zixiu heaved a sigh of relief. After quite a while when he sensed that everything quieted down outside, he stuck his head out of the sedan.


    There wasn¡¯t a soul out there! ¡°Help from the heavens!¡±


    At the thought that he had a good chance of escaping, Zixiu was so thrilled that his heart began to race. He hopped out of the sedan tensely, trying not to make any sound and then looked around, feigning his composure. Under the bright moonlight, he saw nobody except for the willow branches swaying gently with the breeze.


    After a rough inspection of his escape route, Zixiu hid in the shadow of a row of willows and then tiptoed forward. Seeing the archway drawing closer, he couldn¡¯t help but quicken his pace. However, at this moment, a voice burst forth, which brought him to an urgent halt.


    ¡°Your Highness, where are you going?¡±


    Hearing the unfamiliar man¡¯s voice, Zixiu froze for a moment before he suddenly remembered the mysterious guard he had met in the morning. Taking a deep breath, he managed to calm himself down before turning around.


    Sure enough, it was that guard!


    ¡°Prince Mu is drunk, so I was thinking about getting some soup to sober him up!¡± Zixiu answered calmly, but obviously, he had forgotten that as a ¡®princess¡¯, he didn¡¯t have to report to a humble guard.


    With a faint smile, the guard looked mild and respectful. ¡°Your Highness, you don¡¯t need to tell me that,¡± he reminded.


    ¡°Huh? You were the one who raised that question just now!¡± Feeling so confused, Zixiu put on a look of surprise.


    The guard was clear what was on his mind, but he didn¡¯t explain. ¡°Your Highness, how lucky Prince Mu is to have a consort who loves him with all his heart!¡± Behind his smile, there was an obvious flicker of melancholy in his bright, limpid eyes.


    ¡°What?!¡± Zixiu instantly flared up at his words, but he managed to hold back the scolding which almost ran wildly out of his mouth. After all, it was that pervert who should be cursed. How could he vent his anger on other people? Moreover, this guard had no idea what that asshole had done to him. ¡°Isn¡¯t it common for a princess to bring her husband a bowl of soup? Why did the way he spoke sound as if he were jealous, sarcastic and even sorry for me? He knows I¡¯m not Princess Liuxu, doesn¡¯t he?¡± Zixiu wondered, full of doubt. As he still couldn¡¯t figure out who this guard might be, Zixiu decided to stop beating around the bush. ¡°I¡¯d better get to the point!¡±


    However, when he was about to jump right in, the guard suddenly put away his smile and said seriously, ¡°Your Highness, if there¡¯s nothing else I can do to help, please excuse me!¡±


    Before Zixiu could react, he had rushed out of the door.


    ¡°What the hell!¡± Watching the archway in a daze, Zixiu scratched his scalp, wondering if everything just now was merely an illusion.


    ¡°Your Highness!¡±


    After a few seconds, a soft, sweet voice rang behind. Even without turning around, Zixiu knew it was Xingyi. Needless to say, he had to turn to face her.


    ¡°Your Highness, why are you still here?¡± Though Xingyi¡¯s voice was gentle, she looked ferocious. When she walked over, she suddenly raised her voice. ¡°Liu Zixiu, are you trying to flee?¡±


    Caught in the act, Zixiu had to explain with the same pretext, ¡°I¡¯m going to get that soup!¡±


    ¡°¡­ Get your arse back to your room!¡± Xingyi roared in rage.

 Chapter 34

    In the dead of night, the flame of the candle on the windowsills of Princess Liuxu¡¯s bedroom was flickering with the breeze from the lake.


    Zixiu was lying on the comfortable soft couch at his ease with a silk quilt on his belly, his hair disheveled. While throwing the snacks into his mouth from time to time, he waved a small fan occasionally. He was in such a good mood that he took a look at the moon in the sky now and then.


    Enjoying the beautiful scenery, he was suddenly seized with the impulse to sing.


    He thought for a while with a piece of cake in his mouth before a song¡¯s name suddenly came to mind.


    ¡°You look haggard and lonely with tears in your eyes.


    The pale crescent reminds you of the good old times.


    It was a long frosty night,


    You are leaning against the rail in the attic when despair strikes.


    Hearing the knock on my red window lattice when the drizzle dropped by,


    I lamented for having to be apart from you.


    My dream morphed into a touch of fragrance far behind,


    And I seemingly see you with it wafting in the wind.


    Chrysanthemum withered, scattering on the ground.


    Your smile has faded, nowhere to be found.


    Seeing the fallen petals all over, I indulged myself with a broken heart.


    Listening to the north wind whistle outside,


    I can¡¯t help thinking of you throughout the endless night.


    Alone by the lake, I was overwhelmed by sorrow¡­


    ¡°Ha-ha-ha!¡± When he hummed this line, Zixiu suddenly burst into laughter, felicitating that he hadn¡¯t jumped out the window the day before, as there was a lake outside, and he couldn¡¯t swim at all!


    More to his delight, Nangong Du had a bedroom separate from the princess and his concubines. It was because that the damn pervert had been carried to his own bedroom as soon as he got out of the sedan that Zixiu was bold enough to eat, drink, enjoy the moon and sing at will on the soft couch at this time of night. In other words, he didn¡¯t need to worry about that asshole picking on him or harassing him. Given the current situation, Zixiu had a slim chance to escape, but how come he had the mood to enjoy himself? As the saying goes, ¡®life is short, just seize the day!¡¯ Moreover, he had slept too much during the day and didn¡¯t feel drowsy at all for the moment, so he might as well have some fun of his own.


    As nobody had come to complain, Zixiu raised his voice and sang loudly, ¡°Chrysanthemum withered, scattering on the ground. Your smile¡­¡±


    ¡°Liu Zixiu!¡± A voice suddenly rang coldly, which got all the rest lyrics stuck in Zixiu¡¯s throat.


    ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡± Zixiu was so startled that he bounced out of the soft couch in an instant and almost cried out.


    Needless to say, it wasn¡¯t some ghost, but Xingyi. Zixiu hadn¡¯t noticed that the maidservant in charge of serving the ¡®princess¡¯ would sleep in the small chamber next door when she was on duty, and it happened to be her on duty tonight.


    ¡°My apologies! I thought you¡¯ve left!¡± He said sincerely, thinking that Xingyi was irritated because he disturbed her rest. However, he hadn¡¯t realized that Xingyi hated him to the core and she not only regarded him as her sworn enemy in love, but also intended to get rid of him.


    ¡°Humph!¡± Xingyi snorted. She had already hit the ceiling the moment she lifted the curtain of the sedan and saw what Nangong Du and Zixiu was doing. Now that the shameless b*tch was asking for trouble, she would definitely teach him a good lesson!

 Chapter 35

    ¡°You thought I had left? Your Highness, where did you want me to leave for?¡± Xingyi deliberately picked on Zixiu.


    ¡°I¡¯m not a mind-reader. How come I know what was on your mind!¡± Zixiu thought resentfully. ¡°Er¡­¡± Seeing that he was at a loss for words, Xingyi immediately chimed in.


    ¡°Your Highness, are you going to kick me out of the mansion?¡±


    ¡°Why would I do that?¡± Zixiu couldn¡¯t help but blurt out. At the thought that being with a woman in the same room at night might lead to gossip, he added, ¡°Don¡¯t get me wrong. I was thinking that you should be in bed at this time of night!¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Xingyi revealed an enigmatic smile, which suddenly turned into a sullen look next. ¡°As you¡¯re aware it was late at night, why would you sing such an obscene song?¡±


    ¡°An obscene song?¡± Zixiu was caught dumbfounded. ¡°Is this some kind of a joke? What made this woman think this way? Moon, attic, window lattice, lake¡­ Do these words sound obscene to her?¡±


    ¡°You crafty slut! You got His Highness drunk and tried to seduce him with these lewd lines¡­¡±


    ¡°He drank too much himself! Why blame me for that? Come on, you can¡¯t just sling mud at people randomly!¡± As Zixiu had reached the limit of his tolerance for Xingyi¡¯s insults, he cut in on her furiously.


    ¡°Feeling wronged? You shameless b*tch¡­¡±


    ¡°Get a grip! I haven¡¯t gotten even with you for imprisoning me here and getting me cross-dressed! How dare you curse me? Can you be a little bit more reasonable?¡±


    ¡°Liu Zixiu, it turns out that you haven¡¯t forgotten who you are!¡± Having been interrupted a few times, Xing Yi was further infuriated. ¡°You wanna reason with me? Then tell me why you threw yourself into His Highness¡¯s sedan?¡±


    ¡°I¡­ Do you think I was willing to share the same sedan with him? The empress dowager shoved me in!¡± At the thought of what had happened in the sedan, Zixiu couldn¡¯t help but feel awkward. ¡°Why didn¡¯t I dodge but still stood there for such a long time when he was about to kiss me? What an idiot I was!¡±


    ¡°It is you who did such a disgraceful thing! How dare you shift the blame to the empress dowager!¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t do anything indecent! The bastard Nangong Du¡­ He¡­¡± Needless to say, Zixiu couldn¡¯t tell the others that Prince Mu had forced himself on him. With the rest of his words stuck in his throat, he was seized with an impulse to give someone a punch to vent his anger! However, when he was in a trance, Xingyi had landed her fist on his face!


    ¡°Pa!¡± Before he could realize what was happening, Zixiu felt his ears were tingling and his left cheek burning hot.


    Staring at him with her bloodshot eyes, Xingyi cursed at him with her hand in midair, looking like an ugly shrew!


    This woman was hideous! Terribly hideous!


    Looking at the vicious woman, Zixiu suddenly remembered the proverb ¡®nothing is more poisonous than the heart of a woman!¡¯


    Zixiu wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. ¡°I never thought this damn Xingyi would have been so merciless that she was even no less vicious than the bastard, Nangong Du, which makes them a perfect match! In any case, I won¡¯t beat a woman, but¡­ that pervert might not be as softhearted as me!¡±


    Zixiu suddenly came up with an idea, which made him burst into laughter.


    Irritated by his attitude, Xingyi raised her hand again while roaring, ¡°You asshole, stop playing dumb!¡±


    ¡°Asshole?¡± Zixiu repeated the word in a strange tone. ¡°Xingyi, it seems you¡¯ve forgotten that I¡¯m the consort of Prince Mu, whom your master usually addresses as ¡®darling¡¯!¡±


    ¡°Darling?¡± After a short pause, Xingyi withdrew her fist with a sneer. ¡°Ha! You¡¯ve finally shown your true colors!¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± Though Zixiu wasn¡¯t aware of what Xingyi meant, he shrugged with a smile. ¡°Whatever you say!¡±


    ¡°Humph!¡± With a snort, Xingyi looked even more ferocious, but she showed no more intent to attack Zixiu.


    Being cryptic for quite a while, Zixiu clicked his tongue, as if he was in a dilemma. ¡°Xingyi, I¡¯m afraid I¡¯ll let you down!¡±


    ¡°Stop nagging! You¡¯re making your¡­¡±


    ¡°Enough!¡± Zixiu shouted, gesturing her to stop cursing. ¡°Xingyi, you¡¯d better watch your tongue! Anyway, I¡¯m the princess, but you¡­ You¡¯re no more than a maidservant!¡± he continued with a solemn look.


    ¡°You¡­ How dare you!¡± Xingyi turned pale in an instant and she couldn¡¯t help but clench her fists.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t say anything wrong!¡± Showing no fear, Zixiu continued, adding fuel to the fire, ¡°Though I¡¯m just the replacement of the princess for the moment, I might be regarded as the real one someday. Who knows?¡±


    ¡°You wish!¡± Waving her fist, Xingyi suddenly bellowed in rage, ¡°You wanker, go to hell!¡±


    ¡°Wait! His Highness deliberately acted like he was drunk because he wanted to kiss me!¡± While running about in a panic, Zixiu screamed the words which he thought would save his life.

 Chapter 36

    Zixiu was indeed taking a chance.


    He had won the first set by a narrow margin and though he had been beaten up by Xingyi, at least he was still alive! ¡°Gosh! This woman is really a shrew! If other people know I was defeated by a woman, they will definitely laugh their heads off! What a shame!¡±


    However, if Zixiu had realized that Xingyi was not only a martial arts practitioner but also was an expert in combating, he wouldn¡¯t have been so depressed!


    Xingyi was a part of this gamble as well. If Zixiu hadn¡¯t said that Prince Mu was just feigning it, she would have ended his life with a punch at the risk of being punished by her master. Maybe she had no chips in her hand, but she honestly wanted to know if Nangong Du had really fallen in love with Zixiu. Therefore, she didn¡¯t use all her strength in the following attack, and no bruises were left on Zixiu except for the finger marks on his face. However, in any case, Xingyi wouldn¡¯t apply ointment for this ¡®b*tch¡¯ to reduce the swelling!


    By the next morning, Zixiu¡¯s left cheek had swollen up like a steamed bun, which was enough to show the power of Xingyi¡¯s punch.


    Apart from sore eyes, tinnitus and dizziness, what made Zixiu suffer most was the burning pain in the face, which almost kept him up all night. Now he had trouble even in chewing, so instead of getting up to have breakfast, he groaned, lying on the soft couch.


    As soon as Nangong Du stepped into the princess¡¯s bedroom in the morning, he saw Zixiu moaning in pain with dark circles under his eyes and a swollen face.


    Out of surprise, he immediately walked over. ¡°Darling, what happened?¡±


    The second bet started!


    ¡°Your Highness, your humble consort is alright. It¡¯s just that I bumped against the corner of the table by accident last night¡­¡± Zixiu deliberately put on a pathetic, frail look while speaking, but not to buy Nangong Du off, to win his sympathy or to seduce him as some ugly shrew had said maliciously. He knew that Nangong Du might doubt his motives if he was eager to bitch about Xingyi. Zixiu had seen that there were five obvious finger marks on his cheek when he looked into the mirror just now, so he was certain that Nangong Du could tell he had been slapped.


    Needless to say, Nangong Du was full of suspicion at this point. He turned aside with a grim look and asked, ¡°Xingyi, what the hell is going on?¡±


    ¡°Your Highness, I did it!¡± Without even the slightest intention to hide the truth, Xingyi admitted while peeping at Ziuxiu with a fierce look as if she was saying, ¡°B*tch, just wait and see!¡±


    Noticing that this ugly woman was challenging him, Zixiu glared back fearlessly. Though he was no match for Xingyi in combating skills, he would counterattack with his wits. Anyway, he couldn¡¯t put up with this woman anymore!


    Seeing the two glaring at each other in rage, Nangogn Du had briefly figured out what had happened, but he didn¡¯t show this on his face. ¡°Xingyi, do you know who it is that you slapped?¡±


    ¡°Her Highness!¡± Xingyi answered respectfully. After learning her lesson, she was more cautious and would never say anything other than answers to Prince Mu¡¯s questions.


    ¡°Then why did you pick a fight?¡± Nangong Du said without any emotional fluctuation, which muddleheaded Zixiu. Remaining silent, Zixiu patiently bid his time.


    However, to his surprise, that hideous woman began to distort the facts against him!


    ¡°Her Highness seemed out of ¡®her¡¯ mind last night and ¡®she¡¯ even said something disrespectful to you, so I thought I had to do something to stop ¡®her¡¯!¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡± Before Zixiu could defend himself, Nangong Du chimed in, ¡°What did Princess Liuxu do last night?¡±


    ¡°I hurried into Her Highness¡¯s room when I heard ¡®her¡¯ singing a lewd song loudly and saw ¡®her¡¯ lying on the soft couch with ¡®her¡¯ hair in a mess. I advised ¡®her¡¯ not to sing out of kindness, but ¡®she¡¯ not only threatened to drive me out of the mansion but also insulted you and the empress dowager! I slapped Her Highness only to sober her up.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I see!¡± Though Nangong Du responded with a nod, he was clear that Xingyi had always regarded Zixiu as an eyesore, so he couldn¡¯t take her word for it. He wondered how Zixiu would tell him a different story from the one Xingyi had told him. ¡°This little brat likes singing obscene songs? Interesting!¡±


    ¡°Darling, do you still remember what happened last night?¡±

 Chapter 37

    ¡°Your Highness, your humble consort feels like his face is burning! Could you please just allow me to apply some ointment first?¡± Rather than speaking ill of Xingyi, Zixiu presented the most convincing evidence. If Xingyi was telling the truth, that she had taken the matter into her own hands just to sober him up, why hadn¡¯t she applied the ointment for him by then? Or his face wouldn¡¯t have swollen to this point! Besides, as Zixiu couldn¡¯t stand the pain anymore, he was worried that he might black out at any time if left untreated.


    Nangong Du had figured out what was on Zixiu¡¯s mind, but instead of yelling at Xingyi, he only ordered calmly, ¡°Xingyi, go fetch the ointment.¡±


    ¡°¡­ Yes!¡± After hesitating for a while, Xingyi walked out obediently.


    ¡°You¡¯ve made quite a scene, haven¡¯t ya?¡± As soon as Xingyi left, Nangong Du narrowed his enchanting eyes while curving his lips up into an uninhibited smile. ¡°Did you sing the obscene song because you were feeling lonely without me last night?¡±


    ¡°How were my songs obscene? Can¡¯t you see she was just slinging mud at me?¡± Zixiu retorted with his face twisted out of pain, throwing all caution to the wind.


    Nangong Du didn¡¯t seem annoyed. ¡°Do you mean I should punish Xingyi?¡± he asked with a smile.


    Zixiu was so delighted at his words that he almost clapped his hands in approval. However, he managed to stay calm, as if he didn¡¯t hear what he said. ¡°This pervert and that skank are confederates, so he won¡¯t punish her easily. I¡¯d better wait and see.¡±


    Sure enough, Nangong Du shifted the topic next.


    ¡°But you have to tell me what the hell happened last night. The last thing I want to do is wrong an innocent person!¡±


    ¡°An innocent person? How come you addressed such a vicious woman as an innocent person?¡± Zixiu sneered inwardly.


    ¡°Honey, why don¡¯t you tell me about last night? Is that because you feel you¡¯re in the wrong¡­¡±


    ¡°I wonder what makes you think this way!¡± Zixiu interrupted him angrily when he heard Nangong Du ask him in a skeptical tone. ¡°Your Highness, you promised me that you would never find fault with me again, but now even a maidservant dared slap me. As nobody takes me as the princess, your humble consort would rather be a doorman!¡±


    ¡°What?¡± After freezing for quite a while, Nangong Du suddenly burst into laughter. ¡°Darling, is this some kind of a joke? You¡¯re my legitimate wife. How can I send you to work as a doorman?¡±


    ¡°Your Highness, you can¡¯t even bear to degrade me to a doorman, but how come you turn a blind eye to the maidservant bullying me?¡± Zixiu said, sounding even a little enraged. ¡°As this jerk said I was his legitimate wife, I¡¯m going to fight for the right of this title! What¡¯s more, that vicious woman should pay for calling me ¡®b*tch¡¯!¡± he thought.


    ¡°Honey, looks like you¡¯re not gonna take it lying down unless I punish Xingyi with due severity.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not the case. Your Highness, do you still remember the agreement between us? Your humble consort only wants to remind you to keep your promise,¡± Zixiu said with a mysterious look, but actually, he hadn¡¯t remembered what kind of agreement he had signed with that pervert yet. As since they signed the agreement, Nangong Du had treated him much better than before, he took it for granted that the agreement was binding on him to some extent. Now he was taking it as his bargaining chip!


    ¡°Darling, are you threatening me?¡± Nangong Du said with a quirk look crossing his slightly narrowed eyes.


    Thankfully, as Zixiu¡¯s face hurt so much, he was propping his chin with a frown, which served as the ideal cover-up for his tension. ¡°Your humble consort dares not!¡± After he spat out the words slowly, the two of them ended up in a subtle deadlock.


    A short moment later, Xingyi returned.


    ¡°Your Highness, Princess Liuxu, here¡¯s the ointment!¡±


    ¡°Apply it for Princess Liuxu!¡± Nangong Du ordered coldly.


    Xingyi¡¯s heart sank as she was keenly aware that Prince Mu was not in a good mood. ¡°Yes!¡± Biting her lip, she walked over to Zixiu with the ointment and said gently, as if full of concern, ¡°Your Highness, this might hurt a little bit. Please hold still!¡±


    ¡°Humph!¡± Zxiuxiu didn¡¯t want to talk to her, so he closed his eyes with a snort. ¡°Nangong Du is still hesitating about whether to punish Xingyi, so obviously, I lost the game! I¡¯m so stupid! How can I count on that damn unequal agreement!


    ¡°Ah¡ª¡±


    The more he thought about it, the angrier he became, so Zixiu finally cried out loudly.


    Almost at the same time, Xingyi, who was applying the ointment for him, went down on her knees with a thump. ¡°Your Highness, it¡¯s all my fault! I shouldn¡¯t have exerted that much strength. Your Highness, please¡­¡±


    ¡°Xingyi, what¡¯s wrong with you? If you had applied the ointment earlier for Princess Liuxu, ¡®her¡¯ face wouldn¡¯t have swollen like this!¡± Zixiu was so surprised that he froze on the spot when he heard Nangong suddenly yell at Xingyi.


    ¡°Your Highness, I should be blamed for that. I was about to get Princess Liuxu the ointment last night, but, but¡­ ¡± With that, Xingyi suddenly burst into tears. ¡°The medical room is usually open in the morning, and as I didn¡¯t have the key, I failed to get the ointment in time¡­¡± Covering her mouth with her hand, she sobbed miserably while trembling, as if she had been grievously wronged!


    Zixiu blushed with anger. He grabbed the pillow on the couch tightly and was seized with the impulse to throw it in the face of this lying b*tch. However, Nangong Du not only believed what Xingyi said but also let her go after merely asking her a few more questions.


    ¡°Calm down, Darling. You said once that rage might be detrimental to one¡¯s health.¡± After sending Xingyi away and comforting Zixiu for a moment, Nangong Du sat down on the soft couch, picked up the ointment on the table, and was about to apply it to Zixiu¡¯s cheek.


    Zixiu turned his head with his lips twitched. He didn¡¯t need anyone¡¯s insincere care!


    ¡°It¡¯s not worth getting mad at a maidservant. Xingyi already realized her mistake,¡± Instead of losing his temper as usual, Nangong Du coaxed him in a soft voice.


    However, as Zixiu had had enough of his tricks, he didn¡¯t respond.


    ¡°I know Xingyi¡¯s story is not entirely credible, but can you swear that you didn¡¯t say anything insulting to me last night?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I cursed you! So what? Don¡¯t you think you deserve it?¡± Zixiu thought, rolling his eyes at Nangong Du with contempt.


    ¡°Liu Zixiu, you¡¯re too na?ve! You¡¯re just trying to set me against Xingyi, aren¡¯t you? But I know better!¡± Nangong Du¡¯s patience was worn out finally. But he was right was right about one thing. Zixiu meant to use him to teach that arse licker a lesson.


    ¡°You¡¯re not going anywhere outside your chamber until that swelling has subsided!¡± With that, Nangong Du threw the ointment to Zixiu and left with a grim look.

 Chapter 38

    ¡°You look haggard and lonely with tears in your eyes


    The pale crescent reminds you of the good old times


    It¡¯s a long frosty night


    You¡¯re leaning against the rail in the attic when despair strikes


    Hearing the knock on my red window lattice when the drizzle dropped by


    I lamented for having to be apart from you


    My dream morphed into a touch of fragrance far behind


    And I seemingly see you with it wafting in the wind¡­¡±


    In the dead of night, the dim candle flame flickered in the bedroom of Princess Liuxu.


    Zixiu was still lying on the soft couch with his hair disheveled. Even though there were no snacks around, the fan was gone, and his face was swollen, which made him look much more discomfited than the night before, he was still singing. The more they were reluctant to hear his songs, the louder he persisted in singing!


    ¡°Withered blooms clung to the last hours of sunbeam


    As the times get tougher, so does our destiny


    My heart is frozen with the fear that you¡¯ll cross the river and leave


    Without ever coming back to me¡­¡±


    Zixiu suddenly stopped singing and sat up with his eyes widened.


    Holding his breath, he heard a wisp of music coming in along with the warm breeze from the lake which blew the curtain up gently.


    As his father had always whistled songs with leaves, Zixiu instantly recognized that the sound was produced with a leaf. What¡¯s more, that person was whistling the melody of the song he was singing!


    Zixiu immediately realized that someone was listening to his singing! ¡°Is dad here?¡± he wondered, dazed by the sudden joy.


    Without giving it much thought, Zixiu jumped out of the couch in the thrill of his discovery before he put on his shoes and rushed out. He was in such a hurry that he even forgot to carry a lantern.


    Following the faint music, Zixiu groped his way in the dark. As Nangong Du had ordered all the guards and maidservants to wait on in the outer chamber, Zixiu was left alone in the huge inner chamber and as even Xingyi wasn¡¯t here, nobody had lit the candles.


    Zixiu arrived at the garden behind the inner palace without even noticing it, but at this point, the melody stopped abruptly.


    Looking around in the dim moonlight, he saw nobody except for the trees.


    After pausing for a while, Zixiu finally fixed his gaze on the peak of the artificial rock¡ªthe pavilion, in which, as he expected, he saw a tall, slim figure.


    ¡°Your Highness!¡± That person walked over to him.


    Hearing the way he addressed him, Zixiu felt his heart sink instantly. That man¡¯s voice sounded a little familiar, and when he moved closer, Zixiu found out it was no other than the mysterious guard!


    ¡°Who the hell are you?¡± Thinking of their conversation the night before, Zixiu couldn¡¯t wait to find out the answer.


    ¡°Your Highness, have you really forgotten who I am?¡± the guard asked, sounding a little disappointed. He then lowered his head slowly with his hands covering his face and after a moment when he looked up again, his appearance had totally changed!


    Being startled, Zixiu took a few steps back instinctively. ¡°Don¡¯t come over! Who¡­ Who the hell are you?¡± Waving his fist, he looked at the guard with his nerves on edge, as if it were a ghost in front of him.


    ¡°I¡­¡± The guard opened his mouth and was about to answer before he suddenly widened his dark, sparkling eyes, staring at Zixiu¡¯s face in shock. ¡°Who did it? Who slapped you? Zixiu, tell your Senior Brother who that bastard is!¡± he roared while dashing over in the blink of an eye.

 Chapter 39

    ¡°Senior Brother? But as I¡¯ve never had a master, how come he addressed himself as my Senior Brother? Though I lost my memory, dad must have told me everything he thought I ought to know.¡± In the thirteen years before the accident, like any other kid growing up in the mountains, Zixiu led a dull, boring life, having no friends and knowing little about the outside world. ¡°Maybe someone had sent their children to learn from dad how to identify and pick medicinal herbs, but how come dad had never mentioned it to me? Is the guard lying? Or has dad been keeping something from me? What the hell is going on?


    Staring at the ceiling blankly with a frown, Zi Xiu was lost in thought. After a short while, his ¡®Senior Brother¡¯ walked in with a basin of water.


    ¡°Zixiu, wash your face first so that I can apply the ointment for you.¡± The guard put the basin on the table, wetted a handkerchief and then wrung most of the water out of it. After that, he folded the half-dry handkerchief into a square before handing it to Zixiu swiftly.


    From the time he had been inquiring about the one who slapped Zixiu in the garden to the moment he had been fetching him water to wash his face, the guard¡¯s concern didn¡¯t seem fake. At the thought of this, Zixiu couldn¡¯t help feeling ashamed of himself for being so mean. After showing his appreciation politely with an awkward smile, he took the still-steaming handkerchief from his ¡®Senior Brother¡¯ and started wiping his face with it.


    Nangong Du hadn¡¯t shown up since he stormed out of the chamber in the morning. Xingyi had come a few times, but in addition to bringing a morsel of food, she did nothing, not even the hair-do for Zixiu. As his face hurt so much, Zixiu wasn¡¯t in the mood to freshen himself up, and he looked discomfited for the moment with his hair in a mess and his clothes in disarray.


    ¡°Zixiu, I thought you had been resting in your bedroom as you were in low spirits these days, but it has never occurred to me that¡­ you had suffered so much!¡± the guard said with a look of deep regret, clenching a corner of the table cloth as if he was going to tear it into pieces.


    Zixiu was surprised that this guy would have been so resentful about the beat he had gotten. Feeling embarrassed to stare at him, he secretly peeped at the guard, pretending that he was wiping his face intently.


    This guy wasn¡¯t that dark and his skin was actually very fair. He looked so different from yesterday that Zixiu couldn¡¯t see any resemblance between his current appearance and his looks the day before. Only then did Zixiu realize that this guy must have changed his appearance by using some sort of a special technique. ¡°If it weren¡¯t for the truth that I¡¯m the spitting image of Princess Liuxu, that pervert would have changed my appearance with the same method! Since they can disguise a man as a woman in this way, it will be much easier to do that when the target is of the same gender. But why did he choose to disguise himself as a guard of Prince Mu¡¯s Mansion?¡±


    When Zixiu was in a trance, the guard suddenly raised his voice. ¡°Zixiu, tell me the truth, was it Nangong Du?¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± The moment he heard that pervert¡¯s name, Zixiu felt his heart skip a beat and the handkerchief slipped from his hands and fell to the floor with a snap.


    ¡°I knew it was that son of a b*tch!¡± the guard shouted with a grim look.


    ¡°No! It wasn¡¯t.¡± Zixiu shook his head after coming back to his senses. When he bent over and was about to pick the handkerchief up, the guard stopped him. Lifting his head, Zixiu saw his ¡®Senior Brother¡¯ looking at him with concern and pity in his eyes, which caused an upsurge of strange feelings in his heart.


    To be frank, though he had suffered a lot recently, Zixiu only blamed it on his own bad luck and never felt sorry for himself. Maybe he had become numb to such ongoing misery, but at this moment, he was kind of moved.


    ¡°Senior Brother, forget it. I¡¯m fine!¡± Zixiu said with a solemn look after the guard picked the handkerchief up. He was certain that this ¡®Senior Brother¡¯ was a martial artist, or he wouldn¡¯t have been able to sneak into the princess¡¯s bedroom without alerting the others. However, as a straight man, Zixiu thought it was shameful to ask for help because he had been bullied by a woman!


    ¡°Let me get your wound treated first.¡± The guard calmed himself down soon and took out a small white porcelain box from his pocket in the blink of an eye.


    ¡°What¡¯s inside?¡± Zixiu thought it must have been some kind of ointment, but he still asked, as if he hadn¡¯t got the faintest.


    ¡°The ointment,¡± the guard answered with a smile.


    ¡°Where did you buy it?¡±


    ¡°Er¡­¡± After hesitating for a moment, the guard showed a sign of shyness on his face. ¡°I didn¡¯t buy it¡­¡±


    ¡°You made it yourself?¡± without noticing the glow on the other party¡¯s face, Zixiu chimed in.


    ¡°Yup!¡± The guard nodded.


    ¡°It turns out he does know a thing or two about medicine!¡± Zixiu bore it in mind. ¡°But does he really have anything to do with dad?¡±


    ¡°Zixiu, raise you head. I¡¯m going to apply the ointment for you.¡± Holding the small box, the guard suddenly revealed an uneasy look.


    ¡°Oh.¡± Zixiu didn¡¯t sense anything wrong and he looked up calmly. Taking this opportunity, he widened his eyes and looked carefully at the features of the man in front of him. However, this face didn¡¯t ring any bells with him!


    ¡°Senior Brother¡­¡±


    ¡°Hm?¡±


    Hearing Zixiu call him, the guard responded with his hands trembling. ¡°Ouch!¡± Zixiu cried out in a low voice.


    The guard instantly lost his composure. ¡°Zixiu, are you alright? Does it hurt? It¡¯s all my fault. I shouldn¡¯t have exerted that much strength¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine. Haha!¡± In spite of the pain, Zixiu forced a smile.


    However, when he turned to the guard again, he suddenly froze on the spot. ¡°Senior Brother, what¡¯s wrong with your face?¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± The guard was stunned too, as if he had just realized that he himself blushed. He hemmed and hawed, having no idea what to say.


    Zixiu couldn¡¯t help but feel a little worried. ¡°Senior Brother, are you alright?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s done!¡± Instead of answering his question, the guard told Zixiu that he had finished applying the ointment for him and before Zixiu could say anything else, he had dashed out of the room.


    ¡°Wait, Senior Brother! I have some questions for you!¡± Zixiu shouted, but received no response.

 Chapter 40

    The ointment that guard provided turned out to be incredibly effective. Feeling cool on his face, Zixiu soon fell asleep with the faint scent of herbs. When he woke up the next morning, he found that the bruise on his face was gone and the swelling had also subsided.


    As soon as he turned his head, Zixiu saw the items for freshening up and the breakfast lying on the table. Obviously, Xingyi had brought them in when he was sleeping.


    ¡°Humph!¡± Zixiu snorted. ¡°That damn woman doesn¡¯t wanna see me? That¡¯s great! She¡¯d better never show up in front of me! You bastards really make me sick!¡±


    Needless to say, in spite of his contempt for the two, he had to wash his face and have his breakfast.


    As usual, a bowl of plain porridge was all he had for breakfast, and Zixiu gobbled it up in the blink of an eye. Thankfully, he had never had breakfast at home, so he didn¡¯t feel terribly hungry for the moment.


    Watching the dark clouds filling the sky, Zixiu could tell that the rain might pour down at any time.


    He hated this kind of weather. He would stay at home all along on stormy days before, and today was no exception. After having breakfast, he went back to the soft couch to rest with his eyes closed. However, he couldn¡¯t help thinking of what had happened the night before.


    ¡°That ¡®Senior Brother¡¯ is such a weirdo! He always popped up in front of me and left without even saying good-bye! Why did he disguise himself as a guard? Given the current situation, he doesn¡¯t seem to be trying to get me out of here¡­ But how did he figure out I was in the Prince Mu¡¯s Mansion?¡±


    Zixiu suddenly realized the key of the problem. ¡°Clearly, that ¡®Senior Brother¡¯ isn¡¯t the guard of the mansion, or he wouldn¡¯t have changed his appearance. But how come he knew I was in the Prince¡¯s Mu¡¯s Mansion? Does he have anything to do with that witch who kidnapped me¡­¡± Managing to stabilize his wild state of mind, Zixiu decided to wring the answer out of his ¡®Senior Brother¡¯ when he saw him next time. It was the only chance to get out of here and resume his normal life!


    Zixiu then stopped pondering and closed his eyes again. However, when he was about to fall asleep, he suddenly heard the familiar music coming faintly again along with the breeze from the lake. ¡°Is my ¡®Senior Brother¡¯ waiting for me?¡±


    Sure enough, it was his ¡®Senior Brother¡¯ who was whistling the song. However, instead of waiting for Zixiu to meet him in the garden, he appeared by the door of the princess¡¯s bedroom without a sound.


    At this point, Zixiu happened to arrive at the door and nearly bumped against him.


    ¡°Zixiu, where are you going?¡± Seeing Zixiu in a hurry, the guard thought he was going out.


    Zixiu froze for a moment and then shook his head. ¡°Senior Brother, come on in! I was just thinking of going out to meet you!¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± With a gleam of joy crossing his face, the ¡®Senior Brother¡¯ peeped at Zixiu¡¯s face before he asked in a soft voice, ¡°Does your face still hurt?¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± Zixiu paused for a short moment before rubbing own face subconsciously. ¡°It doesn¡¯t hurt. Really! Your ointment is so effective. Look, the bruise disappeared overnight. I appreciate it, Senior Brother!¡± he said with a smile.


    ¡°¡­ I¡¯m much relieved now!¡± After hesitating for quite a while, the guard murmured, but unfortunately, Zixiu didn¡¯t hear what he said. ¡°Senior Brother, why did you leave all of sudden last night? I have many questions for you!¡± Zixiu couldn¡¯t wait to know the answer to his concern.


    ¡°Er¡­ because it was late yesterday¡­ Go ahead if you have any questions for me!¡±


    ¡°Senior Brother, we haven¡¯t seen each other for years, right?¡± Zixiu asked cautiously, but next, he was astonished by the answer.


    With a gloomy look on his face, his ¡®Senior Brother¡¯ answered slowly, ¡°It has been thirteen years! You were only three years old when we parted, so it¡¯s no wonder that you can¡¯t recognize me¡­¡±


    ¡°I was only three years old by then?¡± Zixiu widened his eyes and couldn¡¯t help but go on probing. ¡°Senior Brother, why haven¡¯t you ever come to see me?¡±


    ¡°I did wanna see you, but our master didn¡¯t allow me to go anywhere out of the Valley of Fallen Blossoms until I was eighteen years old!¡±

 Chapter 41

    ¡°The Valley of Fallen Blossoms?¡± Zixiu immediately cast about for the name, but nothing related came up. Having no time to think about this, he continued, ¡°Senior Brother, we haven¡¯t seen each other for so many years, and I¡­¡±


    ¡°Zixiu!¡± Before he could finish his words, the guard suddenly grabbed him by the arms with a complicated look in his bright eyes, seemingly struggling to restrain himself. ¡°Zixiu, you, you¡­¡±


    Seeing him get so emotional, Zixiu couldn¡¯t help but feel anxious for him. ¡°What the hell is wrong with my ¡®Senior Brother?¡¯¡± he wondered.


    ¡°Senior Brother, calm down! Just take your time.¡± However, to his surprise, the guard froze on the spot after a shudder at his words, as if he had been struck by lightning.


    ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± Zixiu grew tense as well. Before he could raise his question, the guard had come back to his senses and he instantly withdrew his hands, looking panic-stricken. ¡°My apologies, Zixiu. I shouldn¡¯t have been so unruly, but I didn¡¯t mean it. Please forgive me¡­¡±


    ¡°Unruly? What makes him think this way?¡± Zixiu stared at him blankly, but he didn¡¯t forget to stop him from further apologizing. ¡°Senior Brother, you don¡¯t have to stand on ceremony.¡±


    ¡°!?¡± The guard sank into a trance again.


    ¡°Did I say anything wrong?¡± Zixiu wondered. When he looked at his ¡®Senior Brother¡¯ with widened eyes, he saw the other party staring at him in a daze as well.


    After quite a while, to relieve the bizarre atmosphere, Zixiu picked up a conversation. ¡°Senior Brother, my appearance must have changed a lot over the years, so how did you recognize me?¡±


    But there was no response from his ¡®Senior Brother¡¯.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t he hear me?¡± Zixiu thought, blinking his eyes. Disregarding the way the guard looked at him with unusual concentration, he repeated loudly, ¡°Senior Brother, it has been so many years since¡­¡±


    ¡°Zixiu, no matter how much you¡¯ve changed, I can always recognize you!¡± the guard suddenly interrupted him.


    Zixiu was surprised by his answer, and from the look in his eyes and the way he spoke, Zixiu suddenly had a feeling that his ¡®Senior Brother¡¯ seemed to have a crush on him!


    ¡°Impossible! My eyes must be deceiving me, and I must have misheard! Liu Ziuxiu, do you think everyone is as shameless as that pervert? Wait¡­ that pervert has never really taken a fancy to me¡­¡±


    When Zixiu was chafing at his own filthy thoughts, the guard suddenly handed him a small porcelain box, which was the same one he had seen the night before.


    ¡°This is for you, Zixiu!¡±


    Zixiu wondered what his ¡®Senior Brother¡¯ had given him the ointment for.


    ¡°I promised you that I was going to give you the ointment I concocted for the first time. Don¡¯t you remember?¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± Zixiu was even more puzzled.


    ¡°Zixiu, take care of yourself¡­¡± Before he could finish his words, the guard showed a sudden alert expression, and next, he stuffed the small porcelain box into Zixiu¡¯s hand in haste.


    ¡°Zixiu, take care! I have to leave!¡± Hardly had his voice faded away when he disappeared.


    Zixiu was left alone in the chamber, dumbfounded. After quite a while, he came back to his senses and his face turned pale. ¡°Did he give me this as a hint that he would never come back? Senior Brother, please! You¡¯re the last glimmer of hope I can cling on to!¡±


    ¡°Hey¡­¡± The rest of his words got stuck in Zixiu¡¯s throat, as he suddenly saw Nangong Du showing up at the door!

 Chapter 42

    Zixiu put his hand behind his back instinctively. However, in spite of his speed, he was caught in the act by Nangong Du.


    ¡°What¡¯s in your hand?¡± Nangong Du asked immediately after he stepped into the chamber. He then walked to the chair and sat down expressionlessly, looking incredibly domineering.


    In a panic, Zixiu tried to avoid his gaze. He wanted to flee but had no guts to do so, so he just stood where he was and couldn¡¯t help but blame the guard secretly. ¡°That ¡®Senior Brother¡¯ is really unreliable! Leaving me alone here, he ran away even faster than a rabbit did! If Nangong Du sees the ointment, I¡¯m done!¡±


    ¡°Darling, what¡¯s in your hand?¡± Nangong Du repeated, sounding a little unpleasant.


    ¡°It¡¯s a¡­ box¡­. of rouge!¡± It suddenly came to Zixiu that the porcelain box was quite similar to a box containing rouge, so he told a lie in haste.


    However, Nangong Du wasn¡¯t that easy to fool around.


    ¡°Let me have a look!¡± he said, reaching out for it.


    ¡°No way! I wouldn¡¯t give it to you anyway!¡± Needless to say, Zixiu could only cry out inwardly. He was clear that it would be in vain to protest, so he handed the porcelain box over to Nangong Du with butterflies in his stomach.


    It turned out to be a wise choice, which saved him a lot of trouble.


    The reason was quite simple. Though Nanggong Du always spent his days among women and he had already married a few consorts, as a straight man, he knew nothing about the cosmetics came in bottles and boxes of all shapes and sizes. What¡¯s more, as the ointment was made of the herbs of the Valley of Fallen Blossoms, it had a faint floral fragrance.


    Nangong Du opened the box and put it back on the table after a quick glance. ¡°Has your bruise subsided?¡± he asked coolly, looking up at Zixiu.


    ¡°¡­ Hm!¡± After hesitating for a while, Zixiu answered in a low voice. ¡°Thank God! It seems he won¡¯t probe further.¡± Zixiu had thought that he was doomed this time, but to his surprise, Nangong Du suddenly shifted the topic.


    When Zixiu was secretly felicitating his narrow escape, he suddenly felt a grip around his waist. Before he could react, he had fallen into that pervert¡¯s arms, which made him grow tense in an instant.


    ¡°Are you trying to lie to me?¡± Nangong Du pinched his chin and asked, staring at him.


    ¡°¡­ No, I¡¯m not!¡± Caught off guard, Zixiu went stiff and his face turned pale as a result of horror while spitting out the words with difficulty.


    ¡°I don¡¯t trust you!¡± With that, Nangong Du suddenly reached out the other hand and began to rub his face. ¡°You tried to cover up the bruise with rouge, didn¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Huh? It turns out that this psycho only wants to know if I¡¯ve powdered my face!¡± Zixiu was surprised at his words and he suddenly felt his tension much relieved. ¡°Seems I thought too much!¡±


    ¡°Your Highness, I¡­ no, your humble consort has no powder on his face, so it¡¯s useless to rub it,¡± he mustered his courage and protested.


    After checking it up in person, Nangong Du could tell Zixiu wasn¡¯t lying and as if annoyed by his own poor judgment, he suddenly shoveled him aside. Next, it occurred to him that Zixiu seemed to be talking to someone when he was about to enter the chamber just now.


    ¡°What were you yelling for with the box in your hand?¡±


    ¡°Er¡­ Your humble consort was hungry, so he wanted to ask the maidservant to bring him some food, and after he only cried a word out, you walked in.¡± Feeling a little bit relaxed, Zixiu suddenly found his lying skills had improved a lot.

 Chapter 43

    The porcelain box reminded Nangong Du of the moment when Zixiu was about to throw a vase at him the morning after their wedding. ¡°You were about to smash something again, weren¡¯t you?¡± he said sarcastically.


    ¡°Your humble consort was afraid that those maidservants couldn¡¯t hear him, so he¡­¡± Before Zixiu could continue, a bolt of dazzling lightning suddenly lit up the room. Heart trembling, Zixiu squatted down at once.


    ¡°Rumble!¡±


    The thunder rumbled loudly as if it were going to crack the earth.


    It was followed by dead silence. Zixiu hadn¡¯t recovered from the shock yet and he was still trembling with his hands covering his head.


    ¡°Darling, relax¡­¡± Nangong Du¡¯s gentle voice rang in his ear.


    ¡°That pervert is talking to me?¡±


    When Zixiu looked up and saw Nangong Du looking at him with his enchanting eyes, he showed a look of horror, as if it were a ghost in front of him.


    ¡°Darling¡­¡± Nangong Du whispered in a hoarse voice. They were so close that Zixiu could even feel his warm breath.


    ¡°Don¡¯t come over! Don¡¯t!¡± Zixiu couldn¡¯t help but widen his eyes. Holding his breath, he managed to cover up his panic with his brain spinning. ¡°Is this pervert sounding me out? Yes, that must be the case!¡±


    ¡°Get away from me!¡± Zixiu couldn¡¯t stay calm anymore, and when the tip of Nangong Du¡¯s nose almost touched his, he suddenly gave him a push with all his strength.


    However, though Nangong Du nearly fell over, he didn¡¯t lose his temper. ¡°Darling, what are you nervous for? I¡¯m not a tiger and I don¡¯t bite!¡± he said in a playful tone after managing to keep his balance.


    Zixiu didn¡¯t feel much relieved and for fear that the lightning and thunder might strike again, he didn¡¯t dare look up, so he missed the glow flashing across Nangong Du¡¯s face.


    Even Nangong Du himself hadn¡¯t expected that he would have blushed at being near Zixiu. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with me? How come I wanna kiss this rebel every time I see him?¡±


    Both have their own axe to grind, the two kept silent for quite a while. It wasn¡¯t until the terrible thunder had died away and it began to rain heavily outside that Zixiu regained his composure and staggered to his feet. However, what Nangong Du said next almost made him cough up a mouthful of blood.


    ¡°Are you trying to seduce me?¡± With that, Nangong Du walked back to his chair. After pondering for a while, he blamed his impulse to kiss Zixiu on the latter¡¯s seduction. ¡°I don¡¯t believe a man who is daring enough to find fault with me and set himself against me would have been frightened out of his wits by the thunder. You must be afraid that I¡¯m neglecting you, so you are trying to get my attention!¡±


    ¡°What? Bah! I might be blind enough to seduce that shrew, Xingyi, but I¡¯m not going to seduce a damn pervert like you! I¡¯ll be glad if you neglect me from now on and never, ever show up in front of me! You shameless jerk, I don¡¯t give a sh*t about what you think!¡± Zixiu cursed secretly, gritting his teeth.


    ¡°Honey, I¡¯m surprised you didn¡¯t throw up just now. You must have fallen for me!¡±


    ¡°Stop flattering yourself! What¡¯s it got to do with you whether I throw up or¡­ But it was indeed the case that I vomited because of this bastard last time!¡±


    ¡°Your Highness, what brings you here?¡± For fear that if he kept silent, Nangong Du might say something more indecent, so Zixiu shifted the topic, managing to hold back his anger.


    ¡°Honey, do you mean I shouldn¡¯t come if I don¡¯t have anything special?¡± Nangong Du immediately asked back.


    ¡°You¡¯re not allowed to come in any case!¡± Zixiu roared inwardly, but he had to answer respectfully, ¡°Your Highness, don¡¯t get me wrong. As you¡¯re the ruler of your mansion, needless to say, you can come at any time. How dare your humble consort complain!¡±


    ¡°My mansion?¡± Nangong Du frowned slightly. ¡°Honey, you mean if you weren¡¯t in my mansion, you¡¯d give me the cold shoulder?¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t mean that. Your Highness, whether your humble consort is in your mansion or not, he dares not complain,¡± Zixiu answered. ¡°Damn it! I picked on you? I set myself against you? How could you turn things upside down like this?¡± Zixiu thought resentfully.


    ¡°I hope you mean what you say!¡± Nangong Du said with a solemn expression, but after a while, he suddenly changed his attitude. ¡°Darling, didn¡¯t you just say you were hungry?¡±


    Zixiu was stupefied, thinking that Nangong Du was going back to the previous topic. However, to his surprise, that guy took out a bulging paper bag from behind and then handed it over to him expressionlessly.


    ¡°What¡¯s inside?¡± Zixiu wondered. Though he was filled with fear, he finally took the bag, which was still warm with a faint inviting smell coming out. After opening the bag, he was surprised to find a roast chicken in it!


    ¡°Why did he bring me a roast chicken? Nothing in life can ever be free. That asshole must be up to something!¡± Thinking of this, Zixiu was suddenly alert.


    ¡°Eat while it¡¯s still warm!¡± With a quirky look on his face, Nangong Du said gruffly.


    ¡°How come he suddenly becomes so nice to me? Should I eat it or not?¡± Zixiu was wrestling with himself.


    ¡°You¡¯re hungry, aren¡¯t you? What are you still waiting for?¡± Nangong Du roared, sounding a little impatient.


    ¡°What are you yelling for?¡± Zixiu protested inwardly. He put his hand into the bag in haste and ripped off a chicken drumstick. ¡°Humph! Wanna poison me? You wish!¡± Instead of taking a bite of it, he sent it to Nangong Du¡¯s lips. ¡°Your Highness, I¡¯d like to share it with you!¡±


    Nangong Du was a little surprised. After a short moment of hesitation, he bit into the drumstick, blushing slightly.


    ¡°So it¡¯s non-toxic?¡± Zixiu was muddled. With the drumstick in his hand, he stared at Nangong Du, full of suspicion.


    Only a glance at him, Nangong Du immediately figured out what was on his mind and his face darkened. ¡°Liu Zixiu, did you think I was going to poison you?¡±


    ¡°Has the idea never come to you?¡± Though Zixiu didn¡¯t answer, the look of doubt on his face betrayed him.


    ¡°Humph!¡± With a snort, Nangong Du walked out angrily.


    ¡°What the hell?¡± Zixiu watched his figure fading away in a daze. On all accounts, he didn¡¯t believe that the pervert would have brought the roast chicken out of kindness. ¡°So weird!¡±

 Chapter 44

    As the result of irritating that pervert, Zixiu didn¡¯t get any food for lunch. Though the swelling on his face had subsided, he was not allowed to get out of the bedroom. Having pondered for quite a long time, Zixiu still suspected that Nangong Du was about to poison him, so he waited until the night fell. Driven by hunger, and remembering how sorrowful Nangong Du seemed when he left, Zixiu finally gobbled up the whole roast chicken, throwing all caution to the wind.


    ¡°It¡¯s a little bit cold, but it tastes so good!¡±


    Zixiu couldn¡¯t help but feel fretting at the sound of the rain pounding on the window.


    ¡°Senior Brother, can you bear to see me suffer here? Have you made up your mind not to come back? How can you leave me alone like this! If it has never occurred to you to get me out of here, why did you show up mysteriously and give me hope? How can you be so irresponsible? You machine!¡±


    Though he was complaining secretly, Zixiu still held the porcelain box the guard had given him. ¡°Heavens! How miserable it is when a person loses his freedom and puts himself at the mercy of other people! ¡±


    ¡°Sweetie pie¡­¡±


    ¡°Oh, my actual and literal golly goodness! That asshole came again!¡±


    After stuffing the porcelain box into his pocket in a hurry, Zixiu jumped out of the soft couch, rushed to the door, and stopped behind the curtain.


    To his surprise, Nangon Du staggered into the room with the help of a bunch of maidservants.


    He looked at Zixiu blankly with a trace of a blush. When the breeze blew in, the room instantly reeked of alcohol. Needless to say, he was drunk!


    ¡°Is he faking it again?¡± Having learned the lesson from the last time, Zixiu couldn¡¯t help but hesitate about whether to give a hand to those maidservants. Except for Xingyi, all the other girls were so slim that even a gust of wind might blow them away!


    Though in a hurry, Xingyi and those maidservants didn¡¯t forget to show their respect to the ¡®princess¡¯.


    ¡°You may rise. Help His Highness to the bed right now!¡± Without hesitation, Zixiu shoved those maidservants away and helped Nangong Du to the bed in person. The latter didn¡¯t take the opportunity to harass him, so Zixiu thought he was really drunk, but the only thing that bothered him was that the pervert kept on calling him ¡®darling¡¯. ¡°He¡¯s making me physically sick!¡±


    Despite getting goosebumps all over, he finally managed to put the drunkard to bed. When Zixiu looked back, he was surprised to find that all those girls, including Xinyi, were gone!


    ¡°How come they left so quickly? So irresponsible! At least they should fetch some soup to wake their master up!¡± Zixiu muttered resentfully. ¡°I¡¯m just an outsider. Since even his favorite maidservant doesn¡¯t care about him, why should I bother to take care of him?¡± At the thought of this, Zixiu waved his hand and lay back on the soft couch.


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t this jerk go back to his own bedroom? Is he playing tricks again?¡±


    Thinking of this, Zixiu suddenly sprang out of the couch in alarm. Standing in the middle of the room, he looked warily at the seemingly delirious fellow in the bed.


    ¡°Darling¡­¡± Sprawling in bed, Nangong Du muttered, ¡°Sugar¡­ My snookums¡­¡±


    ¡°Shut up! How on earth can you be so talkative while you¡¯re still drunk? Dear God, has this asshole really fallen for me?¡±


    Associating the sarcastic remarks Nangong Du had made to him this morning with the roast chicken as well as how he had pretended to be drunk and stolen a kiss from him the other day, Zixiu immediately froze on the spot. ¡°Though I¡¯m handsome, talented, easygoing¡­ It¡¯s impossible that this pervert has taken a fancy to me! Liu Zixiu, don¡¯t take things for granted. You must have misunderstood it. Prince Mu has three other consorts and two male concubines, so maybe he¡¯s calling out to one of them!¡±


    At the thought of this, Zixiu couldn¡¯t help but tiptoe to the bed to eavesdrop on what Nangong Du was muttering.


    ¡°Honey¡­. Don¡¯t leave me¡­ Don¡¯t¡­¡±


    ¡°Is any of his other consorts or concubines about to leave?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s all my fault¡­ Sweetheart¡­ My baby¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s incredible that this bastard would have admitted his mistakes!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t¡­ I should be blamed for what you¡¯ve been put through¡­ I¡¯m useless and I can¡¯t protect you¡­¡±


    Zixiu widened his eyes in surprise.


    Although Nangong Du failed to finish his sentence, Zixiu keenly sensed that there seemed to have been bitterly painful chapters in his past. ¡°Did he get drunk because his old lover crossed his mind? What kind of person could it be that even this arrogant prince was unable to protect?¡±


    Holding his breath, Zixiu indulged in himself before Nangong Du suddenly cried his name out.


    ¡°Liu Zixiu¡ª¡±


    Blanching with fear, Zixiu flung himself down on the floor in haste, his forehead nearly hitting the edge of the bed!


    After a moment of silence, Nang Gongdu¡¯s voice rang again. ¡°Don¡¯t try to¡­ replace¡­ Darling¡­ Don¡¯t leave me¡­¡±


    Zixiu took a long sigh of relief. ¡°You psycho, you almost scared the hell out of me!¡±


    ¡°Your Highness!¡±


    ¡°Ah!¡± Hearing Xingyi¡¯s voice suddenly ringing behind, Zixiu screamed in horror, and next, he bumped against the frame of the bed. ¡°Ouch!¡±


    ¡°Your Highness, may I ask what you are doing?¡± With that, Xingyi walked in with a bowl of soup. Though she was speaking in a gentle voice, the look on her face was grim.


    ¡°I¡­ It¡¯s none of your business!¡± Zixiu answered coldly as soon as he came back to his senses. He had seen through this woman, so he wouldn¡¯t just let her have her way.


    Stop faking her gentleness, Xingyi put the bowl on the table while speaking with a ferocious look, ¡°Well, you might be right, but Liu Zixiu, don¡¯t think you¡¯re superior to anyone else because Prince Mu dotes on you! His Highness is only caught up in the moment and he¡¯ll soon get tired of you!¡±


    ¡°Humph! Do you think I¡¯m someone¡¯s puppet?¡± Zixiu thought disdainfully with a sneer. As he didn¡¯t want this shrew to take advantage of him in terms of argument, Zixiu talked back ironically, ¡°Even if I fall out of favor with His Highness one day, you are still no match for me! You¡¯re not even eligible to serve him in bed!¡±


    ¡°¡­ You¡¯re neglected by Prince Mu, so you¡¯re venting your anger on me, am I right?¡± Xingyi paused for a while, but instead of feeling annoyed, she revealed a smug look. ¡°You must still be in the dark. Prince Mu just came back from the brothel. Every time he married a new consort or a concubine, he would stay at the mansion for at least half a month, but this time you¡¯ve just married him, and he has already¡­¡±


    ¡°Who told you I was married to him? Listen! I, Liu Zixiu, have nothing to do with your master! If he likes to go to the brothel, just let him. I don¡¯t care!¡±


    ¡°Fine! Liu Zixiu, you¡¯d better not forget what you¡¯ve said just now!¡±

 Chapter 45

    ¡°This damn pervert already has so many consorts and concubines, but he still spends his days in brothels! What a sex maniac! Lascivious! Shameless! Filthy! Disgusting¡­¡± Lying on the couch, Zixiu cursed in a low voice. At the thought that he had been sexually assaulted by that damn asshole like many women, Zixiu had an urge to castrate Nangong Du.


    Needless to say, in any case, he dared not put his ideas into action. If Nangong Du was faking it, Zixiu would be risking his life. He was almost killed by Xingyi and now he had become more cautious. Besides, unlike the inhuman pervert and the shrew, Zixiu was so kind that even Nangong Du was indeed drunk, he couldn¡¯t bear to hurt him.


    ¡°If the bastard wakes up at midnight and finds out that I¡¯m not in bed, will he beat me up out of anger?¡±


    Thinking about this, Zixiu couldn¡¯t help but toss about on the couch. After wrestling with himself late into the night, he was so sleepy that he stopped pondering and went back to bed obediently with his pillow.


    Though Nangong Du was completely drunk, he didn¡¯t hog too much space on the bed, so there was still room for Zixiu. Moreover, the bed in the princess¡¯s bedroom was designed to be spacious enough. Zixiu lifted his foot and stepped over Nangong Du carefully before he curled up in the corner of the bed and fell asleep.


    Nothing happened during the night.


    However, the next morning, Zixiu¡¯s jaw nearly dropped to the floor in astonishment when he found out what had happened to Nangong Du!


    Usually, this prince would have left in the early morning before Zixiu woke up, but now the sun was already high in the sky, and he was still sleeping! Though Zixiu found it a little strange, he didn¡¯t want to ask for trouble, so he got out of the bed.


    A short moment later, Xingyi suddenly rushed in. ¡°Hasn¡¯t His Highness gotten up yet?¡± she asked, casting a glance at Zixiu.


    ¡°Are you blind?¡± Zixiu was about to shoot back, but feeling that this would make him look too narrow-minded, he then shook his head and answered honestly, ¡°Not yet!¡±


    After hesitating for a while with a frown, Xingyi walked over to the bed. ¡°Your Highness, it¡¯s time to get up. Your Highness¡­¡± she bent over and said gently behind the curtain.


    However, after calling him a few times, she heard no response from Nangong Du.


    ¡°How come His Highness is still sleeping at this moment?¡± Xingyi wondered and then turned to Zixiu. ¡°Did His Highness stay up all night?¡± she asked with a questioning look.


    ¡°I haven¡¯t got the faintest!¡± Zixiu shook his head slowly as if it had nothing to do with him. But next, he suddenly understood what Xingyi meant by ¡®stay up all night¡¯. ¡°His Highness hasn¡¯t woken up since you brought him here. Look, the soup is still there!¡± he immediately added.


    He pointed at the soup on the table Xingyi had brought to Nangong Du the night before.


    Looking at the soup with a solemn expression, Xingyi didn¡¯t ask more. After a while, she suddenly clapped her hands.


    ¡°Clap! Clap! Clap!¡±


    A figure in black flashed in and stopped in front of the bed.


    Zixiu was caught dumbfounded and after a moment, he came back to his senses. When he saw that person¡¯s face, he couldn¡¯t help but shiver in horror. It was none other than Nangong Du¡¯s henchman, the martial artist, who had knocked him out with a punch the other day.


    ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± Yueying was as calm as usual.


    Without a word, Xingyi looked at Prince Mu with a worried look.


    After pausing for a second, Yueying seemed to have sensed something wrong. He suddenly lifted the curtain, put his fingers under Prince Mu¡¯s nose, and then on his wrist. ¡°Xingyi, send for the imperial doctor right away!¡± he said with a surprised look crossing his face.

 Chapter 46

    In Luanzhou, the capital city of the Nan Kingdom.


    A handsome, graceful young man in white was wandering about in the busy street with a fan in his hand. Behind him was a comely lad in gray who was glancing around curiously with a joyful look, holding a bunch of sugar-coated haws in his left hand and some mutton kebabs in his right hand.


    ¡°Young Master, Luanzhou is so big and lively! I wish I could stay here for a few more days!¡±


    ¡°No worries! I have something important to attend to, so we won¡¯t go back home so soon!¡± Unfolding his fan swiftly, he waved it with a smug look, which made him look so charming that a lot of women immediately cast him affectionate glances.


    However, Lianshan wasn¡¯t as optimistic as his young master. After swallowing up a candied haw, he said with a worried look, ¡°But what if your dad finds out¡­¡±


    ¡°Impossible! Lianshan, don¡¯t you even trust me?¡± the young man interrupted him with a smile. After a while, he stopped in front of a jewelry stand and picked up a jade hairpin, looking at it carefully.


    Seeing that the well-dressed young man had a servant with him, the vendor could tell he must be a rich childe, so he immediately walked over with a brilliant smile. ¡°Sir, you wanna buy jewelry for your sweetheart?¡±


    ¡°Sweetheart?¡± The young man froze for a while and didn¡¯t come back to his senses until Lianshan¡¯s voice rang again. ¡°But Senior Brother might¡­¡±


    ¡°Senior Brother?¡± The young man cut in on him again. ¡°I guess he¡¯s not in the mood for my business for the moment!¡± he said with a mysterious smile.


    Though Lianshan didn¡¯t understand what he meant, seeing the confident look on that young man¡¯s face, he was aware that as they were in the same boat and he could do nothing to change his young master¡¯s mind, it was useless to say anything more. Taking a bite of the mutton kebab, he shifted his gaze to the hairpin in the young man¡¯s hand. ¡°Young Master, are you going to pick a gift for your mom?¡± he muttered.


    ¡°You silly boy! I¡¯m picking a gift for your future hostess!¡± The young man said calmly with a sly smile crossing his face. Before Lianshan could figure out what he was talking about, he picked up a white jade bracelet. ¡°Lianshan, do you think she will like this one?¡±


    ¡°Wow, you really have a good taste, sir! This bracelet is made of white jade peculiar to the Ning Kingdom. Although my booth is small, you can hardly find another bracelet of such fine workmanship in Luanzhou!¡± The vendor began promoting his goods at once.


    Standing aside for a while, the slow-witted Lianshan suddenly wised up. ¡°Young Master, you found your girl?¡± he whispered, looking at the young man in surprise.


    The young man smiled but didn¡¯t answer. After paying for the bracelet, he went on his way.


    When the two reached a crossroad, they saw that a group of people had gathered around a government notice and discussed in a low voice. The young man walked over out of curiosity, but as there were too many people and he couldn¡¯t squeeze into the crowd, he had to inquire about it to a man in front of him.


    ¡°Hey bro, what does the notice say?¡±


    Instead of looking back, that person still focused on the notice, craning his neck. After a while, he answered, ¡°His Majesty is offering a reward to the highly skilled physicians for the treatment of Prince Mu!¡±


    ¡°Prince Mu got sick?¡±


    Hearing him asking in confusion, that man turned around. ¡°Bro, you must have just arrived in Luanzhou. Everyone in the capital city is discussing it!¡± he sized the young man up while speaking.


    ¡°Oh?¡± The young man looked at him with a puzzled look.


    Scanning around cautiously, that person said in a low voice after a short moment of hesitation, ¡°Prince Mu suddenly fell into a coma a few days ago. It¡¯s said he got drunk in the brothel and never woke up after returning to his mansion. Almost all the most famous physicians in Luanzhou had diagnosed him, but nobody could tell what the matter was with him. According to the imperial edict, anyone who can revive Prince Mu will get ten thousand ingots of silver as a reward!¡±


    ¡°Ten thousand!¡±


    ¡°But it¡¯s not easy to get the bounty! A few cocky guys took down the notice yesterday, but as they failed to cure the prince, they were pulled out of the Prince Mu¡¯s Mansion and beaten thirty times with massive sticks!¡±


    ¡°They have only themselves to blame for their poor medical skills!¡± the young man said with a sneer.


    His bold remarks immediately drew astonished glances.


    ¡°Bro, you¡¯d better watch your tongue!¡± that person reminded, surprised at his arrogance.


    Despite his kind warning, the young man elbowed his way through the crowd and walked toward the notice confidently.


    When Lianshan suddenly figured out his intent, his face turned pale in an instant. ¡°Young Master, don¡¯t¡­¡±


    However, before he could finish his words, the young man had taken the notice down.

 Chapter 47

    ¡°Young Master, don¡¯t go to the Prince Mu¡¯s Mansion! You¡¯ll get yourself in trouble!¡± At the gate of the Yuelai Hotel, Lianshan was grabbing the young man by the clothes with an anxious look. ¡°Young Master, please! Let¡¯s go home!¡±


    ¡°But Lianshan, I already took down the notice. If I don¡¯t go and cure the prince, I¡¯ll be beaten up with sticks!¡± The young man had made up his mind to go, so he pushed Lianshan¡¯s hand, trying to get rid of him.


    However, instead of letting go of him, Lianshan applied more strength to his grip. ¡°Young Master, it¡¯s not a big deal to be beaten thirty times. But if your dad knows about what you¡¯re doing, you, you¡­¡±


    ¡°Saving lives is the duty of a physician, so I¡¯m sure dad won¡¯t blame me for that,¡± the young man straightened himself while speaking righteously.


    ¡°But¡­ but you didn¡¯t tell your dad before you left home!¡± Lianshan was reluctant to give in.


    However, what he said didn¡¯t work. Pattering him on the shoulder, the young man promised with a solemn look, ¡°Calm down, Lianshan! My dad won¡¯t know I¡¯ve gone to the prince¡¯s mansion. Just imagine the amount of candied haws and mutton kebabs I¡¯ll buy you as soon as I get that ten thousand ingots of silver!¡±


    ¡°Young Master, go home with me, please! I don¡¯t want the candied haws and mutton kebabs!¡±


    ¡°Lianshan, come on! Why are you so stubborn? Let go of me right now, or I¡¯m gonna beat you!¡±


    ¡°No way! Young Master, even if you beat me¡­¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you two go get a room?¡± the officer who had been waiting by the gate couldn¡¯t stand their nagging anymore and he turned to them with a poker face. ¡°If you dare make a scene in the Prince Mu¡¯s Mansion, you¡¯ll know how we¡¯ll teach you a good lesson with sticks!¡±


    ¡°Lianshan, did you hear what he said? If I get beaten, it¡¯s your fault!¡± The young man didn¡¯t take the officer seriously and he only tried to take this opportunity to get Lianshan to let him go.


    ¡°Huh, my fault?¡± Lianshan was rendered speechless. After all, he was only a child at the age of twelve. Looking at the officer, he found the latter staring at them with a grim look as if he were going to pick a fight with them at any time. ¡°If my young master is annoyed and fights with him¡­ the consequences could be serious!¡±


    Weighing the pros and cons, Lianshan had to loosen his grip on the young man. ¡°Young Master, you have to promise me that you¡¯ll come home with me as soon as you finish the diagnosis!¡± he reminded.


    ¡°You have my word!¡± the young man nodded with a smile and then striding forward, waving his fan.


    After quite a while, they finally arrived at Prince Mu¡¯s Mansion. Several guards were standing near the closed red-painted gate, looking as ferocious as the two copper lions on either side.


    ¡°Wait! What are you doing here?¡± As soon as they came up the steps, they were stopped by a guard.


    The officer immediately put on a flattering smile and handed over the notice that the young man had taken down. ¡°He¡¯s here to treat Prince Mu!¡±


    Taking the notice, the guard glanced at it and then shifted his gaze to the young man in white, who looked only seventeen or so. ¡°What¡¯s your name? Where are you from?¡± he asked expressionlessly.


    The young man unfolded his fan and answered with a smile, neither too humble nor too arrogant, ¡°I¡¯m Ling Xiao. I come from a medical family in Qingzhou. I have some prescriptions which were passed through generations in our family for incurable diseases. On my way to visit my relatives, I heard that Prince Mu was sick, so I¡¯m here to see how I may be of service to him.¡±


    Looking them up and down for a while, the guard snatched the medical kit from Lianshan and examined carefully before letting them in.


    With a squeak, the red-painted gate was opened from inside, and a middle-aged man with mustache walked out. ¡°Sir, this way please,¡± he motioned to Lingxiao in respectfully.


    Lingxiao nodded politely and then strode into the mansion, but no one had noticed the flash of resentment on his face. ¡°Xiuxiu, you must have been forced to marry that lascivious prince! Your fiance is coming to get you out of here!¡±

 Chapter 48

    Walking through the winding corridor, Lingxiao and Lianshan were taken to the bedroom of Prince Mu.


    After getting the permission to get in, they stepped into the inner room following the middle-aged man. A girl in green was carefully wiping the face of the man in bed as if she wasn¡¯t even aware that someone had come in.


    After pausing for a while, the middle-aged man leading the way smoothed his clothes and was about to say something, but was interrupted by the girl. ¡°Butler Xing, you may leave now!¡± she said, her voice silvery and gentle.


    ¡°Yes!¡± the man answered obediently and then walked out, without even taking a look at Lingxiao and Lianshan.


    After rising to her feet, the girl put the handkerchief in the water basin held by a young maidservant next to her before she turned and fixed her gaze on Lingxiao. ¡°You¡¯re the physician?¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡±


    ¡°Do you know if you can¡¯t wake His Highness up, you will not only be beaten with sticks but also lose your qualification to be a physician?¡±


    ¡°I know!¡± Lingxiao answered calmly.


    ¡°Good!¡± With a nod, the girl walked to the bed and said respectfully, ¡°Physician Ling, we¡¯re counting on you!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m flattered!¡± Lingxiao answered politely, but instead of walking to the bed, he lifted the hem of his robe and sat down on the chair carved with a pattern. Unfolding his fan gracefully, he continued, ¡°Before diagnosing, I need to know if Prince Mu suffered from any health problems and if there was anything unusual about his behavior before he lost consciousness. Miss, could you please get the one who served Prince Mu in bed that night here? I have some questions for her.¡±


    ¡°Er¡­¡± The girl remained silent with a gleam of hesitation in her eyes.


    Lingxiao had figured out what was on her mind, so he added with a faint smile, ¡°Observation, auscultation and olfaction, inquiry, pulse feeling and palpation are the basic methods of diagnosing illness. Every time I examine a patient, I ask him about his medical history and his physical conditions, but as Prince Mu is unconscious now, I have to inquire about this to the person who stayed with him that night. Do you think I¡¯ve gone too far?¡±


    Hearing that, the girl said with a smile, ¡°Don¡¯t get me wrong, Physician Ling! Just a moment, please!¡±


    She then whispered in the ear of the young maidservant beside her and the latter then hurried out with a nod.


    About ten minutes later, a voice rang outside loudly. ¡°Here comes Her Highness!¡±


    Seeing that the girl walked to the door in haste, Lingxiao rose from his chair with a strange look, as if the scene gave him some sort of a thrill.


    After a while, a well-dressed noble ¡®young lady¡¯ appeared at the door.


    ¡°Your Highness, greetings!¡± The girl in green bowed to ¡®her¡¯ respectfully.


    ¡°Your Highness, this is Ling Xiao paying respect to you!¡± With that, Lingxiao bowed to the ¡®princess¡¯ as well. Hearing him greet the lady loudly, Lianshan was filled with doubt. ¡°My young master said he hated women with heavy makeup, but why did he treat her so differently? Wait¡­ how come this princess smells like the herb named ¡®Liuyun¡¯?¡±


    ¡°You may rise!¡± Zixiu waved his hand as if he were the genuine princess. ¡°If it weren¡¯t for that pervert¡¯s sudden unconsciousness, Xingyi wouldn¡¯t have been so respectful to me!¡± he thought.


    When he found in surprise that the arrogant physician who had taken down the notice was a young man, he couldn¡¯t help but wonder, ¡°Is he the physician? Aren¡¯t those experienced physicians all gray-bearded old men? Seems this is another crazy guy who would rather take the risk of being beaten up for a reward. But ten thousand ingots of silver are very tempting indeed¡­¡±


    ¡°Eh-hem!¡± Xingyi suddenly coughed slightly, hinting the ¡°princess¡± not to stand by the door in a daze.


    When Zixiu came back to his senses, he immediately put on an anxious look, as if he worried about Prince Mu very much. However, he was stupefied again the moment he saw what the arrogant physician was doing. ¡°Gosh! Is that guy making eyes at me? How dare he flirt with a princess? Are my eyes deceiving me?¡±


    ¡°Eh-hem!¡± Seeing Zixiu still standing at the door like a log, Xingyi deliberately coughed again.


    However, to her surprise, Physician Ling, who was smiling brilliantly, suddenly put on a solemn look. ¡°Miss, as you can¡¯t stop coughing, you¡¯d better stay somewhere else. Prince Mu is very weak at the moment and the consequences could be serious if he gets infected. I¡¯ll ask my servant to send you some medicine for your cough later.¡±


    ¡°Mind your own business!¡± Xingyi thought resentfully, but she didn¡¯t say anything. ¡°Maybe this young man can cure Prince Mu. Who knows? But if he can¡¯t, I¡¯m going to make him pay the price for his meddling!¡±

 Chapter 49

    After coming back to his senses, Zixiu hurried into the room and sat down. ¡°Physician Ling, take a seat, please!¡±


    Lingxiao didn¡¯t stand on ceremony and sat back to his seat without hesitation.


    ¡°Physician Ling, if you have any questions for me, please go ahead.¡± Zixiu had answered the same questions many times since Nangong Du fell into a coma, and his patience was wearing thin.


    Lingxiao was a little surprised at the ¡®princess¡¯s¡¯ attitude, but he still put it straight. ¡°Your Highness, could you please tell me the age of Prince Mu?¡±


    ¡°Er¡­¡± Zixiu froze on the spot. Nobody had ever told him how old that pervert was, and it had never occurred to him to inquire about it.


    ¡°His Highness is at the age of twenty!¡± Xingyi immediately chimed in. She had never mentioned any personal information about Prince Mu during her emergent training with Zixiu, so it was no wonder that Zixiu had no idea about Nangong Du¡¯s age.


    Lingxiao immediately sensed something wrong. ¡°Xiuxiu doesn¡¯t even know how old Prince Mu is?! So he must have been forced to marry this asshole! Nangong Du is so licentious that he might even force on a guy to satisfy his lust, let alone Xiuxiu, who is so sweet and drop-dead gorgeous!¡±


    With a trace of coldness crossing his smiling eyes, Lingxiao unconsciously clenched his fists in his sleeves. ¡°Nangong Du, our parents had betrothed Xiuxiu and me before we were even born. How dare you take my fianc¨¦e away from me? Humph! I won¡¯t let you wake up so easily!¡±


    ¡°Did Prince Mu¡­¡± After quite a while, Lingxiao started asking questions that might be helpful for the diagnosis, managing to hold back his anger.


    As a number of physicians had asked the same questions these days, Zixiu answered without difficulty and Lingxiao soon got the picture.


    After observing the patient¡¯s complexion, listening to his breathing, and feeling his pulse, he came up with the diagnosis after a while.


    ¡°Prince Mu is poisoned!¡± Lingxiao said with a grave look.


    ¡°What?!¡± Zixiu was startled, but next, he was seized with panic. ¡°How come that pervert got poisoned? Are those people going to suspect that I did it?¡±


    Xingyi was shocked as well. Though neither she nor Yueying was a physician, they knew something about poison after serving Nangong Du for years. ¡°Since His Highness fell into a coma, none of those well-known physicians in Luanzhou has found out that he was poisoned¡­ Wait! Maybe this young guy is making this up! Who knows?¡±


    ¡°Physician Ling, can you tell me the name of the poison?¡±


    ¡°A Thousand Years of Intoxication!¡±


    ¡°A Thousand Years of Intoxication?¡± Xingyi narrowed her eyes, wondering why she had never heard of the poison.


    Detecting her suspicion, Lingxiao immediately explained, ¡°It¡¯s an anesthetic concocted by a Taoist priest by accident a hundred years ago, but as the side effect was considerable, it was reformulated and became a sort of poison. For its high production cost, it has never been used on a large scale and since the Taoist priest went into seclusion in the mountains, nobody has ever seen this poison anymore. I¡¯m surprised that someone is still using it¡­¡±


    ¡°Physician Ling, since you¡¯re certain that His Highness was poisoned, you must know how to detoxify!¡± Xingyi suddenly interrupted him, raising her voice. There were so many famous physicians in Luanzhou. Why should she believe what a young man said!


    Lingxiao was smart and he immediately figured out what she was hinting. ¡°Your Highness, seems you don¡¯t trust me and I can¡¯t escape getting beaten!¡± He turned to Zixiu and shrugged with a smile.


    Having just recovered from his panic, Zixiu was puzzled by what he said. ¡°I¡¯m not doubting you!¡± he blurted out.

 Chapter 50

    In the mist, from the valley covered with pink petals on the other side of the lake came a lingering sound of melancholy music.


    Standing in the white pavilion by the lake, Liu Wuyi felt like his patience began to grow thin. His son had been missing for days. How could he stay calm? However, no matter how anxious he was, he had to wait patiently, because as a loser, he was not eligible to step into the valley!


    ¡°Brother Liu, it has been years since we parted. How are you doing?¡± A voice rang loudly in the mist and that mysterious person Liu Wuyi had been waiting for finally showed up.


    ¡°Brother Yan, how are you doing?¡± Liu Wuyi greeted him, managing to hold back his impatience and anger.


    After a short moment, a man dashed to him, skimming the lake. ¡°Brother Liu, You¡¯ve been a recluse for years. It¡¯s an honor to have you come to see me!¡±


    ¡°Brother Yan, I¡¯m flattered!¡± Liu Wuyi forced a smile.


    Sensing something wrong, Yan Ke asked in confusion, ¡°Brother Liu, you don¡¯t look in a good mood. What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°Humph!¡± Liu Wuyi put away his smile with a snort. ¡°Let¡¯s put it straight. Where¡¯s my son?¡± he asked with a sullen look.


    ¡°Your¡­ son?¡± Yan Ke was caught dumbfounded. ¡°Brother Liu, how come I¡¯ve never heard of your son?¡±


    ¡°Brother Yan, don¡¯t play dumb! I¡¯m sure you have known Zixiu is a boy!¡±


    ¡°What?!¡± Yan Ke was almost chocked by his own saliva. He widened his eyes in astonishment as if he had just heard the most absurd thing in the world.


    Seeing that, Liu Wuyi grew even angrier. ¡°Brother Yan, it has never occurred to me that some people would have kidnapped my son with dirty tricks! Maybe they did this because¡­¡±


    ¡°Wait!¡± Yan Ke interrupted him, waving his hand. ¡°Zixiu is a boy? How could your daughter turn into a boy?¡± he still couldn¡¯t believe what he had heard.


    ¡°I¡¯m not joking! Zixiu is a boy and he¡¯ll marry a woman and have children in the future, so he can¡¯t marry Lingxiao. Brother Yan, you¡¯d better find a decent girl for your son asap!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s¡­ impossible! I saw it clearly that Zixiu was a girl when she was a baby!¡±


    ¡°Are you suggesting that I don¡¯t even know the gender of my own child?¡± Liu Wuyi said with a serious look. ¡°In any case, Zixiu won¡¯t marry Lingxiao. Brother Yan, please don¡¯t make things difficult for us!¡±


    Yan Ke was stupefied again. ¡°Brother Liu, I don¡¯t understand what you¡¯re talking about.¡±


    ¡°Humph!¡± Liu Wuyi¡¯s voice sounded even colder. ¡°Brother Yan, Lingxiao has reached the age of marriage, right? Even if it has never occurred to you to let him marry Zixiu anytime soon, your disciple, Luo Huali, is already eighteen and you must have allowed him to leave the valley¡­ Dare you swear Zixiu¡¯s disappearance has nothing to do with people of your sect?¡±


    ¡°Impossible! Huali is a good boy and he would never do such an indecent thing. Lingxiao is still in secluded cultivation, so he wouldn¡¯t have¡­¡± The rest words suddenly got stuck in Yan Ke¡¯s throat and his face turned pale as if he had just been struck by lightning. ¡°That brat has never been so obedient. How could he have been practicing martial arts for more than five days in a row? Gosh! I must have been fooled!¡±


    ¡°Brother Liu, calm down! I¡¯ll be back soon!¡± With that, Yan Ke disappeared in the mist like a gust of wind.


    ¡°What the hell is going on?¡± Liu Wuyi had been certain that Yan Ke must have something to do with Zixiu¡¯s missing, but now he wavered. After pondering for a while, he still couldn¡¯t connect his senior brother with a coward who dared not admit what he had done.


    However, as he couldn¡¯t practice martial arts anymore since he had gotten injured years ago, he didn¡¯t dare enter the Valley of Fallen Blossoms recklessly, so he had to wait by the lake.


    ¡°Alas! Where¡¯s my stupid son? He doesn¡¯t even know how to use Qing Kung. What if he meets the bandits?¡±

 Chapter 51

    ¡°Baizhi, go get Yan Lingxiao back!¡± As soon as he rushed back to the valley in rage, Yan Ke yelled at one of his young disciples.


    Having just come back from her walk in the woods, Mrs. Yan was shocked when she saw her husband knitting his brows. She hurried over and asked in a soft voice, ¡°My lord, what¡¯s wrong with you? Isn¡¯t Lingxiao cultivating in the hill behind our house?¡±


    ¡°We both were fooled by that brat! Have you ever seen him cultivating continuously for more than five days without making any trouble? I guess he might have left the valley to find his fianc¨¦e with Huali!¡±


    ¡°His fianc¨¦e?¡± Mrs. Yan froze for a moment before she continued, ¡°Are you talking about Zixiu? How could Lingxiao know Zixiu¡¯s whereabouts?¡±


    ¡°Zixiu is wearing the fragrance of ¡®Liuyun¡¯. The sense of smell of your son is as keen as a dog¡¯s. Needless to say, he can find ¡®her¡¯ without difficulty!¡±


    ¡°Er¡­ I almost forgot that.¡± With an awkward smile, Mrs. Yan continued, ¡°Lingxiao hasn¡¯t reached eighteen and he wouldn¡¯t have dared leave the valley without your permission!¡±


    ¡°Humph! You should know he and Huali have liked Zixiu since childhood, so he must have left because he was worried about losing his fianc¨¦e to someone else!¡±


    ¡°But Zixiu was betrothed to Lingxiao when ¡®she¡¯ was still in ¡®her¡¯ mom¡¯s womb!¡±


    ¡°That doesn¡¯t help! If Zixiu falls in love with Huali and is determined to marry him, the verbal engagement agreement between our two families will be of no use! What¡¯s more, Huali is mature and considerate, much better than our arrogant son!¡±


    ¡°My lord, how can you think highly of others and look down upon your own son!¡± Mrs. Yan complained with a frown. ¡°Anyway, Lingxiao is smarter and more talented than any other disciples of yours. It¡¯s a pity that he can¡¯t leave here until he¡¯s eighteen!¡± she thought.


    ¡°I¡¯m just telling the truth! Don¡¯t you think so?¡±


    ¡°Er¡­ You may have a point there!¡± Though she was a little irritated by what her husband had said, Mrs. Yan had to admit that their son was a little conceited. She didn¡¯t mean to add fuel to the fire, but after thinking it twice, Mrs. Yan suddenly clapped her palms. ¡°I have to warn Lingxiao that his Senior Brother is going against him for¡­¡±


    ¡°Enough!¡± Yan Ke interrupted her with veins bulging out on his forehead, secretly complaining that Lingxiao had been spoiled by his mother. ¡°Your son might have already left the valley!¡±


    ¡°Huh? Impossible!¡± Mrs. Yan widened her eyes.


    However, before she could recover from the shock, Baizhi had run into the hall, gasping. ¡°Master, Brother Lingxiao is not in the hill.¡±


    ¡°Where¡¯s Lianshan?¡±


    ¡°I couldn¡¯t find him either!¡±


    ¡°What!¡± Yan Ke suddenly raised his voice, which gave Mrs. Yan and Baizhi a start.


    ¡°My lord, calm down! Lingxiao must have missed Zixiu so much that he left without notifying you. But if he found Zixiu, we might be able to become grandpa and grandma next year. Haha!¡±


    Yan Ke almost coughed a mouthful of blood at his wife¡¯s words. After a while, he said feebly, ¡°Stop daydreaming! Brother Liu is asking me to hand over his son!¡±


    ¡°His son?¡± Mrs. Yan looked at his husband blankly, just as what Yan Ke had acted when he heard this piece of shocking news from Liu Wuyi. ¡°Brother Liu has another child?¡±


    ¡°Your daughter-in-law, Liu Zixiu, is actually a boy!¡±


    ¡°A boy?!¡± Mrs. Yan¡¯s eyes nearly popped out. ¡°Zixiu is a¡­ No, impossible! It must be some kind of a sick joke!¡±


    ¡°Have you ever seen a dad who couldn¡¯t even figure out the sex of his child?¡± Yan Ke retorted with what Liu Wuyi had just said.


    Shaking her head, Mrs. Yan said with a resolute look, ¡°Zixiu can¡¯t be a boy! When Ziyan changed the baby¡¯s diaper years ago, I was by her side. I was sure it was a girl and my eyes wouldn¡¯t have deceived me! Besides, if Zixiu is a boy, how could Brother Liu have agreed with the marriage between the kids?¡±


    Hearing that, Yan Ke couldn¡¯t help but start doubting Liu Wuyi¡¯s words. After thinking it for a while, he turned to his wife and said with a solemn look, ¡°Let¡¯s put aside the question of whether Zixiu is a boy or a girl. Now the kid disappeared and Brother Liu is either our son or Huali kidnapped him!¡±


    ¡°Huali is a good boy and he would never do such a thing!¡± Mrs. Yan blurted out.


    With a bitter smile on his face, Yan Ke said, ¡°Even you think this way! Seems our son is the most suspicious!¡±


    ¡°Maybe Zixiu was kidnapped by someone else!¡± Mrs. Yan immediately defended her son. ¡°It¡¯s not safe outside. Kidnappings and wife-snatches occurred from time to time. What¡¯s more, Zixiu is so pretty¡­ Although Lingxiao is a prankster, he won¡¯t do anything illegal or immoral! Anyway, Zixiu will be his wife sooner or later. Why should Lingxiao kidnap ¡®her¡¯?¡±


    ¡°But Brother Liu and his family have been living in the mountains, Zixiu seldom goes to town, and those who live near the mountains are all plain villagers who are not likely to do something like kidnapping. Moreover, except for people from the Valley of Fallen Blossoms, nobody else could sense the smell of ¡®Liuyun¡¯!¡±


    Mrs. Yan couldn¡¯t think of anyone else who might have kidnap Zixiu either. ¡°But¡­ What¡¯s Lingxiao¡¯s point in doing this? Maybe he has hidden Zixiu because he wanted to prevent him from seeing Huali!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s unlikely! Lingxiao was only four years old when Zixiu left the valley. Affection between children and love between a man and a woman are two different things! So I guess Brother Liu might be in doubt that my two disciples kidnapped Zixiu to force him to show up! Though my medical skill is superior to his, when it comes to the knowledge of herbs, I¡¯m far behind him.¡±


    ¡°So maybe Lingxiao and Huali took Zixiu away secretly because they wanted to learn from him about the identification of medicinal herbs?¡± It suddenly came to Mrs. Yang¡¯s mind.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know how much Zixiu learned from his dad¡­ But why did Brother Liu insist on that Zixiu was a boy? Had he betrothed Zixiu to someone else?¡±


    The couple brought the topic back to the sex of their future daughter-in-law, and they had totally forgotten that their Brother Liu was still waiting by the lake outside of the valley! Though most of their speculations were out of line with the facts, they were right about one thing¡ªYan Lingxiao had followed behind Luo Huali and gone to Luanzhou at the risk of being punished by his father because he worried that his senior brother might meet Zixiu privately and steal him! And because of the smell of ¡®Liuyun¡¯, the two finally found out Zixiu¡¯s whereabouts.

 Chapter 52

    When Liu Wuyi was waiting anxiously outside of the valley for Yan Ke to give back his son, everything went smoothly as Yan Lingxiao had planned and after diagnosing Prince Mu¡¯s illness, he and Lianshan were sent to the guest room to rest.


    Lingxiao didn¡¯t care what Prince Mu had been poisoned with at all. He wasn¡¯t here to save anyone, not to mention that this person was Nangong Du, who had taken his fianc¨¦e! He already showed mercy not having spread poison to hasten the villain¡¯s death. If his body couldn¡¯t be detoxified within a day, Nangong Du was sure to have a toxic attack and die, so Lingxiao was confident that people of the mansion dared not send him away. Now that the ball was in his court, even the emperor and the empress dowager had no choice!


    If Prince Mu died as a result of delayed treatment, the consequences could be serious. As no one could prove that Lingxiao¡¯s diagnosis was wrong, people dared not accuse him of alarmist, and now he was lying on a couch under a willow by the lake and enjoying the breeze in a good mood.


    Standing beside him, Lianshan was jabbing at the trunk of the willow, saying that it would help him remember the human body¡¯s acupuncture points.


    After practicing for a while, Lianshan was so tired that he sat down to rest, throwing a piece of candy into his mouth. A moment later, something important suddenly popped into his mind. ¡°Young Master, have you noticed that there was something wrong with the princess?¡± swallowing the candy up in haste, he asked in a low voice.


    ¡°What makes you think this way?¡± Lingxiao asked, opening an eye drowsily.


    ¡°She smelled like ¡®Liuyun¡¯!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not just that it smells like ¡®Liuyun¡¯, it¡¯s the fragrance of ¡®Liuyun¡¯!¡± With that, Lingxiao suddenly rose from the couch with his eyes sparkling as he looked at the glittering lake.


    ¡°Huh?¡± Lianshan was caught dumbfounded.


    With a mysterious smile on his face, Lingxiao lowered his head and took out the white jade bracelet he had brought in the morning from his pocket. Observing it carefully in the sun, he seemed drunk with pleasure. ¡°Lianshan, the princess is more beautiful than the white jade! Don¡¯t you think so?¡± he stared at the bracelet in a daze.


    Hearing him associate the white jade with the princess, Lianshan suddenly figured out what was on his mind. ¡°Young Master, are you thinking that the princess is your childhood sweetheart?¡± he asked in astonishment.


    Turning a deaf ear to his question, Lingxiao still looked at the bracelet affectionately, as if it were his fianc¨¦e whom he had been separated from for thirteen years. ¡°Xiuxiu is still as pretty as before! It¡¯s no wonder that dad and mom insisted on our engagement! Hahaha¡­¡±


    Thinking of this, he suddenly burst into laughter, which made Lianshan¡¯s hair stand on end. ¡°Seems my young master is crazy about that princess! Heavens! Something big is going to happen! Given his stubbornness, he¡¯ll definitely manage to take the princess away. Then we¡¯ll have to hide in the Valley of Fallen Blossoms for the rest of our lives and my dream of tasting all the delicacies in the world will never come true!¡±


    ¡°Young Master, don¡¯t be silly! Come on! Wake up! What¡¯s wrong with you? Young Master! Young Master¡­¡±


    ¡°Physician Ling, what¡¯s up? Don¡¯t take things too hard! Nothing is more precious than life! Physician Ling! Physician Ling¡­¡±


    When Lianshan was trying to bring Lingxiao to his senses, he suddenly heard someone else¡¯s voice ringing. Looking up blankly, he found in surprise that the princess, who was considered even more beautiful than white jade, was holding his young master close!


    ¡°What are they doing?!¡± Liangshan was so stunned by what he had seen that he felt like a bomb exploding in his head, which made him leave all the delicacies, like the candied haw, the mutton kebab, the glutinous cake, the sweet soup¡­ behind. ¡°Gosh! Since when have the two been hooking up?¡±


    ¡°Physician Ling, don¡¯t be silly! You only live once! No matter what happened, you should cherish your life!¡± Zixiu had thought that Lingxiao was going to throw himself into the lake when he happened to walk by, so he rushed over and grabbed the one who was about to commit suicide in haste, without noticing that he was holding Physician Ling tightly.


    ¡°Xiuxiu¡­¡± Lingxiao had never thought that Zixiu would have wrapped him in his arms and he couldn¡¯t help but call his name gently, almost drowning him in his affectionate gaze.


    Hearing that, Lianshan got goosebumps all over instantly. ¡°OMG! It¡¯s terrible! Since I began serving him five years ago, I¡¯ve never heard my young master address anyone so intimately! Urgh¡ª¡± Holding against the willow, he retched with his face twisted.

 Chapter 53

    Hearing the sound of someone throwing up, Zixiu suddenly realized that Physician Ling seemed to have calmed down. He then gradually loosened his grip on the latter, but to his surprise, he couldn¡¯t withdraw his hands. ¡°What the hell?¡±


    When he looked up in confusion, Zixiu immediately met Lingxiao¡¯s enchanting eyes, which reminded him of the moment the latter making eyes at him in the morning. Zixiu felt his heart skip a beat as if he had been struck by lightning. As Lingxiao grabbed him so tightly, Zixiu failed to break free from his grip after a few attempts.


    When he was struggling desperately, he suddenly heard Xingyi¡¯s voice coming from behind the sparse fence. ¡°Your Highness!¡±


    Zixiu turned pale in an instant and he was so nervous that he was nearly out of breath. Xingyi only allowed him to hang about near the princess¡¯s bedroom. However, he had not only crossed the line, but also tried to take the opportunity to run away!


    ¡°Your Highness, are you there?¡±


    Hearing the increasingly impatient voice approaching, Zixiu could tell that next, Xingyi would come out from behind the fence and appear in front of him like a ghost!


    Standing where he was in a panic, Zixiu didn¡¯t know what to do.


    At this critical moment, he suddenly felt someone grab him on the waist. Losing his balance, Zixiu leaned backward and saw Lingxiao¡¯s magnified face in front of him.


    ¡°Your Highness, what¡¯s wrong with you? Your Highness, wake up!¡± Lingxiao cried out with a trembling voice, looking anxious.


    He acted so realistically that Zixiu even doubted that he might have really fainted and been held up by Physician Ling and his servant. Otherwise, how could Physician Ling¡¯s eyes be full of concern?


    ¡°Oh! I really feel dizzy!¡± Zixiu gave himself a psychological cue and then closed his eyes cooperatively as if he had lapsed into a coma.


    ¡°What happened?¡± Catching sight of Zixiu, Xingyi dashed over instantly. She snatched him from Lingxiao and then placed him on the couch aside with a trace of suspicion crossing her sharp eyes.


    Seeing that, Lingxiao could tell that there must be many secrets about this ¡®princess¡¯. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t the new wife of Prince Mu be Princess Liuxu of the Wen Kingdom? How come Nangong Du replaced the princess with Xiuxiu without being noticed? It has been over half a month since they got married, but though Nangong Du was poisoned, nothing happened between the two countries, so there must be a skeleton in the closet! But it¡¯s none of my business! I¡¯m only a physician and I¡¯ll be content as long as Xiuxiu can get out of here and spend the rest of her life with me. Hahaha!¡±


    Though he was thrilled inwardly, Lingxiao looked very serious as if he was tense. He reached out and was about to feel the ¡®princess¡¯s¡¯ pulse, but was stopped by Xingyi euphemistically.


    ¡°Your Highness, seems your malady had recurred. Let¡¯s get back to your chamber and take a rest!¡± Getting down on one knee, Xingyi wiped the ¡®princess¡¯s¡¯ forehead gently with a handkerchief, her voice full of concern. However, from an angle that Lingxiao couldn¡¯t see, she was digging into the back of Zixiu¡¯s neck with her scarlet fingernails!


    ¡°How could a maidservant paint her nails red?¡± Clenching his teeth with a frown, Zixiu was in such pain that he almost burst into tears. Now he couldn¡¯t act as still as a dead man for fear that this damn woman would strangled him right away!


    Thinking that Zixiu was still faking it, Lingxiao suddenly came up with an idea. ¡°I wonder what kind of illness Her Highness has. Maybe I can¡­¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s necessary!¡± Xingyi interrupted him rudely while helping up Zixiu, who had just ¡®come round¡¯. ¡°Her Highness will be alright after a short rest. His Majesty has issued the decree, so Physician Ling, I suggest you concentrate on how to detoxify Prince Mu!¡±


    With that, she took Zixiu away without even looking back.

 Chapter 54

    Thanks to ¡®A Thousand Years of Intoxication¡¯, Xingyi was in a hurry to serve Prince Mu, so instead of torturing Zixiu, she only struck his acupuncture point, which deprived him of the abilities to speak and move.


    It was warm and stuffy with cicadas chirping outside all afternoon. Wrapped in the quilt in bed, Zixiu couldn¡¯t help sweating, but he didn¡¯t realize how ruthless Xingyi was until the moment he was about to faint from the heat.


    In a state of half-consciousness, the night fell. As it cooled down a little, his sweat-soaked clothes gradually dried out and he felt a little more comfortable. Now that the drowsiness was gone, he stared at the half-open red window, lost in thought.


    Outside of the window, the crescent was hanging in the sky with a bright star next to it.


    ¡°Alas¡­¡± As he couldn¡¯t speak at the moment, Zixiu let out a sigh inwardly, feeling more restless. ¡°What a wimp I am! Is there anyone worse off than me? I finally got a chance to escape, but was caught by that woman! When will the days of living in fear come to an end?¡± From the way the emperor and the empress dowager looked at him the day before, Zixiu could tell they were suspicious about him. ¡°Now that they have known Nangong Du was poisoned, will they suspect I did it? God, please show mercy and help me get out of here for the sake of the life I¡¯ve saved¡­ Wait! Did Physician Ling mean to commit suicide?¡±


    Recalling what Lingxiao had done at noon, Zixiu couldn¡¯t help but start doubting his intention. ¡°It seemed this physician of my age was holding me tight, so I couldn¡¯t break free.  No one who is about to commit suicide will hold on to the person who comes to save him! Besides, why did he say ¡®Xiuxiu¡¯1 every time he saw me?


    Full of doubts, Zixiu keenly realized that his situation was getting more dangerous. However, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn¡¯t figure out what kind of intrigue he was involved in. He had to admit that he couldn¡¯t stay calm anymore and now he was filled with fear, which almost drove him crazy!


    ¡°Xiuxiu!¡± A faint voice suddenly rang in the dim, quiet chamber.


    ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡± Zixiu felt his heart skip a beat and he couldn¡¯t help but sweat. ¡°Who is daring enough to come to the princess¡¯s bedroom at this time of night? Wait! ¡®Xiuxiu¡¯? Could it be¡­ Lingxiao?¡±


    In the blink of an eye, a white figure flashed to his bed.


    The intruder didn¡¯t make a sound as he walked, and because he had his back to the moonlight, the features on his face were blurred, which triggered Zixiu¡¯s imagination of a face without features dangling in front of him and even giving a terrible laugh¡­


    ¡°Ah¡ª¡±He was so terrified that a stream of energy in him burst through his blocked acupuncture point and turned into a scream. Almost at the same time, someone covered his widened mouth with one hand.


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± After struggling for a while, Zixiu suddenly found out that he could move!


    ¡°Shhh¡­ It¡¯s me!¡± Leaning against his chest, the white figure said in a low voice.


    Although he wasn¡¯t certain if it was Lingxiao, the warmth coming from the hand of the white figure and the faint smell of herbs in him made Zixiu feel much relieved. At least he could tell it wasn¡¯t a ghost!


    Translator¡¯s note:


    [1] Zixiu mistook what Lingxiao said (Xiuxiu) for two other Chinese characters meaning ¡®Don¡¯t you feel embarrassed?¡¯, whose pronunciation is exactly the same.

 Chapter 55

    ¡°The smell of herbs?¡±


    After pausing for a few seconds, Zixiu was certain that the intruder was none other than Lingxiao. Anyway, he always picked medical herbs in the mountains with his father, so he was more sensitive to their smell than ordinary people. As he had been very close to Lingxiao at noon, he was very impressed with the faint, pleasant smell of herb emanated from the latter.


    Zixiu had a feeling that he had once smelled this unique fragrance somewhere a long time ago, but he couldn¡¯t recall the herb¡¯s name.


    Instead of focusing on the fragrance, he shifted his attention to the guy who had already withdrawn his hand from his lips.


    Bearing Xingyi¡¯s lecture in mind, Zixiu didn¡¯t dare reveal his real identity, so he tugged at the quilt tight as any young lady would do when she saw an intruder breaking into her bedroom at night. While shoving the intruder away with all his strength, he rolled to the other side of the bed. In spite of his vigilance, he retained the majesty of a ¡®princess¡¯. ¡°Who are you? How dare you break into my bedroom¡­¡±


    However, before he could finish his words, he was caught dumbfounded when the other party¡¯s low, pleasant voice suddenly rang.


    ¡°Xiuxiu, I miss you so much!¡± With that, Lingxiao moved aside slightly. The bright moonlight immediately poured down on his young, handsome face. Though he looked a little bit resentful, he was indescribably charming, and every woman would fall for him when they saw him show his face with such a blue expression in the street!


    Even Zixiu was amazed at his gem-like dark eyes, in which he seemed to have seen the bright stars, let alone those girls.


    ¡°Xiuxiu, your Brother Xiao misses you so much!¡± Lingxiao went on pouring out his lovesickness to Zixiu, and his voice even began trembling.


    Unfortunately, as a straight man, Zixiu couldn¡¯t help but feel his flesh creep when he heard another man calling him affectionately in a trembling voice.


    After staring at him in a daze for a while, Zixiu suddenly understood what he meant by ¡®Xiuxiu¡¯! ¡°He¡¯s addressing me in such a disgusting way?!¡± Though Lingxiao¡¯s eyes, as bright as the stars out of the window, sparkled with sincerity, Zixiu couldn¡¯t help but feel vomiting, just like Lianshan had reacted at noon, but thankfully, he covered his mouth with his hand in time.


    ¡°Gosh! What¡¯s wrong with this guy? I can¡¯t believe he came to my bedroom at midnight only to act this way!¡±


    ¡°Physician Ling, if you don¡¯t leave right away, I¡¯m going to ask the guard in!¡± Managing to hold back the urge to throw up, Zixiu put on airs as if he were the real princess. Though he was aware that as Lingxiao knew his name, he must have something important to come to him, for safety reasons, he wouldn¡¯t readily admit that he was the replacement of Princess Liuxu.


    However, instead of feeling annoyed, Lingxiao was even more thrilled. He had been wondering that Ziuxiu might have changed a lot over the years, but it turned out that he didn¡¯t have to worry at all. ¡°Xiuxiu is still as adorable as before! No, he¡¯s more adorable than he used to be!¡± Thinking of this, Lingxiao burst into laughter, ¡°Hahaha¡­¡±


    ¡°Could Physician Ling be sleepwalking?¡± Taken aback by Lingxiao¡¯s sudden laughter, Zixiu couldn¡¯t help but wonder.


    Needless to say, that was just his wild guess.


    Lingxiao put away his laughter when he finally realized his abrupt behavior had frightened his fianc¨¦e. Staring at Zixiu, who was curling up in the corner of the bed, he said gently, ¡°Xiuxiu, your fianc¨¦ is here to get you out!¡±


    ¡°Fi¡­ Fianc¨¦?!¡± Zixiu instantly froze on the spot at this piece of shocking news! ¡°The mysterious guard said he was my senior brother, and this arrogant physician addressed him as my fianc¨¦! What a mess!¡±


    ¡°Physician Ling, you¡¯d better get out of here right now! No one needs your help¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not leaving!¡± Lingxiao interrupted him with a resolute tone. Shaking his head in grief, he continued, ¡°Xiuxiu, please trust me! I know you must have been forced to marry Nangong Du, but I won¡¯t marry anyone except for you! I don¡¯t care even if you¡¯ve lost your virginity. Xiuxiu, come home with me!¡±


    ¡°Seems this bro knows a lot about me! But what makes him think I¡¯m his fianc¨¦e?¡± Glancing at Lingxiao calmly, Zixiu wondered. ¡°Physician Ling, you must have mixed me up with someone else. I don¡¯t even know you!¡±


    ¡°Xiuxiu, come on! It¡¯s not your fault. I know you must have suffered a lot! I should be blamed not having come earlier!¡± With that, Lingxiao could no longer suppress his upsurging emotions and he climbed into the bed.


    Sensing that, Zixiu immediately stretched out his leg to kick him. ¡°Get out of my bed!¡±


    ¡°Xiuxiu!¡± With a bitter face, Lingxiao grabbed a corner of the quilt. After a while, he couldn¡¯t help but move closer to Zixiu. ¡°Xiuxiu, I feel so bad you treat me like this! Xiuxiu¡­¡±


    ¡°Stop calling me that!¡± Zixiu roared, getting goosebumps all over. However, instead of stop closing in on him, Lingxiao wrapped him in his arms.


    ¡°Hey! Don¡¯t you know according to the rules of etiquette, physical contact between men and women is forbidden?¡± From the way Lingxiao spoke, Zixiu could tell that he had regarded him as a woman, so he said this deliberately. To his surprise, Physician Ling held him even tighter!


    ¡°But you¡¯re not a woman!¡± Lingxiao looked down at him, his eyes full of affection apart from concern and pity.


    ¡°Heavens! Is he gay too?¡± Zixiu grew tense instantly. ¡°Impossible! No matter how hapless I am, I can¡¯t always catch men¡¯s attention for no reason! There must be some misunderstanding!¡± ¡°Physician Ling, what¡¯s wrong with you? I¡¯m a man just like you. How can I be your fianc¨¦e?¡±


    ¡°My dad told me that before you were born, your dad had betrothed you to me!¡±


    ¡°What?!¡± Zixiu didn¡¯t believe that Liu Wuyi would have made such a ridiculous decision to marry him to a man. ¡°Did Physician Ling mistake me for someone else, or was he making up a lie? Before I was kidnapped, dad was going to ask the matchmaker to go to the Li girl¡¯s house and discuss our marriage with his family!¡±


    ¡°Hasn¡¯t your dad ever told you about that?¡± Seeing Zixiu¡¯s changed expression, Lingxiao asked anxiously for fear that his fianc¨¦e might dislike him and even refuse to marry him! He was super pumped when he learned about the engagement between Zixiu and him four years ago. Before that, he had thought that his parents would punish him severely when they knew that he had a crush on Zixiu since childhood, but to his surprise, they had settled their marriage years ago! Until now he still felt incredible that his conservative father would have been so open-minded!


    ¡°My dad has never mentioned this to me! You must have mistaken me for someone else!¡± Zixiu struggled desperately, trying to break free from Lingxiao¡¯s grip. ¡°Damn it! We¡¯re both men, but how come he has so much more strength than I do!¡± he cursed inwardly.


    ¡°Let go of me!¡± Though Zixiu didn¡¯t want to make a noise, he couldn¡¯t restrain himself from crying out.


    Lingxiao froze for a while, staring at him with a complicated look and finally loosened his grip. ¡°Zixiu, I promise I won¡¯t go easy on Nangong Du! I¡¯ll definitely let him pay back for what he did!¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s going to avenge me?¡± Zixiu immediately cheered up on this topic. However, to cover up his excitement, he lowered his head and hid his face in the shadow. ¡°But Lingxiao doesn¡¯t seem to be an evil guy. Would it be unfair to him if I used him to avenge me?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s your plan?¡± After hesitating for a while, he asked expressionlessly.


    ¡°I¡¯m using acupuncture¡­¡± Lingxiao suddenly checked his tongue halfway into his words.


    Next, they heard someone shouting anxiously outside, ¡°Guys, help! Get the assassin!¡±

 Chapter 56

    ¡°An assassin?!¡± Zixiu¡¯s face turned pale. He looked at the intruder in a panic but only found the latter staring at him with his enchanting eyes, showing no intent to run away.


    ¡°What are you waiting for? Go!¡± he reminded in a low voice, wondering why this seemingly quick-witted guy was so numb.


    ¡°I¡¯m not the assassinator. Why should I go?¡± Lingxiao said with an innocent look, turning a deaf ear to the shouts and sounds of footsteps coming from outside. Looking at Zixiu calmly, he continued, ¡°Xiuxiu, I already stuck silver needles all over Nangong Du, and I¡¯m going to place him in a bamboo steamer tomorrow morning¡­¡±


    ¡°What¡­ What did you say?¡± Withdrawing his hand ready to push the ¡®assassinator¡¯ away, Zixiu leaned backward instinctively with his heart pounding and his body trembling. ¡°Silver needles? Bamboo steamer? Is he going to kill Nangong Du?¡±


    ¡°Squeak!¡±


    At this point, a faint sound of door opening suddenly rang in the outer chamber. Next, Zixiu felt a pain in his chest, as if he had been poked by something hard. After a while, he finally recovered from the shock. Blinking, he found that Lingxiao was gone and he himself was back to the way he had been at noon¡ªunable to move under the quilt.


    Before he could figure out what was going on, the room was lit up and Xingyi appeared by the bed. After looking him up and down for a while, she suddenly reached out two fingers and jabbed him hard in the chest.


    ¡°You can move now!¡± she said with a wary look.


    Zixiu didn¡¯t know what she was going to do, so after a short moment of hesitation, he moved slightly. ¡°God, please don¡¯t let this damn woman find Lingxiao!¡± he prayed inwardly. Though he wasn¡¯t certain if Lingxiao was still in the room, Zixiu could tell that if Xingyi found something wrong, he would get into big trouble!


    ¡°What are you nervous about?¡± Xingyi asked aggressively with a suspicious look.


    As Zixiu found that Nangong Du was a good excuse recently, he already had a plan in mind. feigning his panic, he stammered, ¡°I, I¡¯m worried about Prince Mu. Has he¡­¡±


    ¡°Mind your own business!¡± Xingyi cut in on him grumpily while shooting him a glare. ¡°Liu Zixiu, don¡¯t try to cook tricks! Seems you felt very comfortable this afternoon, huh?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m a gentleman, and I won¡¯t fight a woman!¡± Zixiu stopped talking obediently. When he turned around, he suddenly felt a chill on his back, which made him shiver slightly. After managing to calm himself down, he was surprised to find the reflection of a dagger shining in the bronze mirror!


    When he finally came back to his senses, Xingyi was already locked in a fierce fight with a masked man in black in the room!


    With a dagger in his hand, the man kept on attacking Xingyi¡¯s vital parts. Though Xingyi was unarmed, she dodged the dagger swiftly and it seemed she was about to fight back by taking advantage of the attacker¡¯s strength.


    After a while, the two of equal strength were still in deadlock, but it was obvious that they had come to know something of each other¡¯s abilities. The fight between them was getting fiercer and it seemed to Zixiu that they were moving as fast as lightning. In the dim candlelight, Zixiu saw the huge shadows of the two on the wall jump up and down from time to time and then scuffle together.


    A moment later, Xingyi suddenly pulled out a long strip of red silk from her sleeve and started attacking. ¡°Who are you? How dare you break into the princess¡¯s bedroom!¡± With her brows knitted tightly, she yelled, her voice much louder than it used to be when she lectured Zixu. Curving up in the corner of the bed, Zixiu was wrestling with himself whether to run away or not when he saw Xingyi roar with her face twisted. ¡°Gosh! What an ugly shrew!¡± He thought, trembling slightly. However, he had no time to think about Xingyi¡¯s appearance for the moment.


    Without a word, that masked man kept on waving the sword in his hand. Yes, in addition to the dagger, he also had a sword tied to his back when he entered the room, and now he was thrusting it toward Xingyi.


    ¡°What a mean person! How could you take so many weapons with you only to attack a weak girl?¡± Though Xingyi was by no means a weak girl, Zixiu couldn¡¯t help but take up the cudgels for her. ¡°But as Xingyi is so aggressive and ruthless, she might have offended someone, who¡¯s now taking his revenge here!¡±


    For fear that he might get injured by mistake and also because the only way to the door had been occupied by the two, instead of rushing out, Zixiu hid behind the bedpost, wondering what this masked man came for. It had never occurred to him that the assassin had anything to do with him, and what surprised him more was that the masked man would have suddenly thrown the dagger toward him!


    ¡°Run!¡± seeing that, Xingyi shouted at him anxiously.


    However, as Zixiu had never practiced martial arts, he couldn¡¯t dodge the attack as swiftly as Xingyi could. Moreover, the dagger was already dashing towards him at an incredible speed!


    Zixiu didn¡¯t realize that the assassinator was aiming at him until he heard Xingyi¡¯s roar. But it was too late to run. scared out of his wits, he went stiff, as if his acupuncture point was blocked again.


    ¡°Bang!¡±


    Instead of piercing his head, the dagger was nailed to the bedpost next to him!

 Chapter 57

    In a panic, Zixiu had no idea whether it was because of that masked man¡¯s missing the target or Xingyi¡¯s help that he had narrowly escaped death. Gasping, he couldn¡¯t help but secretly felicitate that he was still alive! When he raised his head again, he saw the red silk in Xingyi¡¯s hand had been replaced by a sword with a narrow blade. As the two swords collided, the unusually harsh sound could be heard, as if sparks were going to fly out at any moment. Now the situation had changed dramatically¡ªthe masked man was clearly at an advantage, and on the contrary, Xingyi seemed to be exhausted with her speed slowing down and unsteady steps.


    When he looked carefully, Zixiu was surprised to find that Xingyi¡¯s sword arm was injured!


    She had a terrible wound under her torn sleeve from which blood was oozing out. The blood had soaked through her sleeve and run down to the blade. ¡°Why is her blood so dark? Did that masked man daub his blade with poison?¡±


    ¡°Clang!¡± Xingyi¡¯s sword slipped to the floor. Before Zixiu could react, his waist had been wrapped with the snake-like red silk and he was levitated. When he landed on the ground again, he was surprised to find that he was already outside the house!


    ¡°Go!¡± Xingyi¡¯s voice came from the room, sounding very tired.


    Without any hesitation, Zixiu rushed out desperately. However, before he could get out of the yard, he found the masked man standing in his way! ¡°Seems I can¡¯t get away from this assassinator! But why would he want to kill me?¡±


    Before Zixiu could ask any questions, the masked man widened his eyes and thrust his sword at him.


    Feeling someone grab his waist again, Zixiu found himself in mid-air with the wind whistling in his ear. When he turned his head, he met Lingxiao¡¯s eyes.


    Holding Zixiu with one hand and the fan with the other, Lingxiao expressionlessly stared at the masked man who was leaping up as well.


    The three of them came to the rooftop in an instant.


    As Zixiu couldn¡¯t keep his balance on the sloping roof at all, he clung to Lingxiao tight. However, at the thought that he might be a burden for Lingxiao when the latter was in a fight with the assassinator later, Zixiu grew tense in an instant.


    ¡°No worries!¡± Lingxiao said in a soft voice. He then suddenly looked down with a gentle smile, and the way he was looking at Zixiu was so¡­


    With his heart pounding, Zixiu lowered his head, blushing slightly!


    Never having seen Zixiu blush, Lingxiao stared at him with excitement, and he had totally forgotten that the assassinator was still around. Applying more strength to his grip on Zixiu¡¯s waist, he leaned forward and kissed the latter on the forehead!


    Zixiu froze on the spot. The soft-touch somehow reminded him of the moment when Nangong Du kissed him in the sedan the other day. ¡°Heavens! What¡¯s wrong with me?¡±


    Though the masked man in black felt bad about being ignored, he held back his anger and stood still there, because he had sensed the strong killing intent and the robust internal force in the young man in white. His instinct told him that his opponent was a tough guy!


    Lingxiao had never been easy to meddle with. Now that he had just stolen a kiss from Zixiu, he was in high spirits. ¡°This guy is so blind that he even tries to assassinate Xiuxiu! He¡¯s digging his own grave!¡± Lingxiao thought in rage.


    He snapped open his fan and with a whoosh, and countless needles rushed out of it.


    The masked man was very experienced. He immediately leaped up while waving his sword against the needles.


    ¡°Bang! Bang! Bang!¡±


    When the needles fell to the ground, they not only made harsh sounds but also made sparks fly!


    Leaving his opponent no time to rest, Lingxiao waved his fan, shooting a number of silver needles again.


    Realizing that he was no match for him, the masked man narrowed his eyes and leaped to the roof of a relatively lower building.


    Lingxiao curved his lips up into a sneer. ¡°Seems there¡¯s nothing special about this killer! How dare he come to assassinate Xiuxiu with such poor combating skills?¡±


    Without a word, he folded his fan and threw a needle at the killer from behind.


    ¡°Ah!¡± Letting out a scream, the man in black fell to the ground in mid-air, like a huge bird shot with an arrow.


    Zixiu widened his eyes in shock, opening his mouth wide in the shape and size of an egg. ¡°Is he dead?¡± When he landed on the ground with Lingxiao, he asked blankly.


    ¡°No. I only struck his acupuncture point so he couldn¡¯t move for the time being.¡± Seeing that Zixiu was shaking in a cold sweat, Lingxiao answered with a worried look. He helped Zixiu into the room carefully, felt his pulse, and was a little relieved when he found that it was just a panic attack. ¡°If I had acted earlier, Xiuxiu wouldn¡¯t have been frightened to this extent!¡± At the thought of this, he couldn¡¯t help but feel guilty.


    ¡°Xiuxiu, no worries! You have your Brother Xiao to protect you!¡± He stroked Zixiu¡¯s back gently, trying to calm him down.


    After a while, Zixiu suddenly bounced up and ran to the inner room. ¡°Xingyi¡­ Xingyi was injured!¡±


    When the two of them rushed in, they saw Xingyi lying in a pool of blood on the floor with her eyes closed.


    Zixiu had never seen so much blood. With his legs trembling, he almost fell to the floor. Thankfully, Lingxiao held him up in time.


    ¡°You¡¯re the physician! Hurry up! Save her! She got injured because of me!¡± Grabbing Lingxiao¡¯s clothes, Zixiu said anxiously.

 Chapter 58

    Xingyi was badly injured as a result of excessive loss of blood and poisoning, so Lingxiao was reluctant to go to so much trouble to cure her. However, for the sake that she got injured because of Zixiu, plus Zixiu¡¯s pleading, Lingxiao had to set aside his prejudices against her for the time being and started treating her.


    To prevent too much poisoned blood from flowing into her heart, Lingxiao struck her acupuncture point and then fed her with a hemostatic pill. After carrying Xingyi to the bed with Zixiu, he ripped off her sleeve and was about to treat the wound for her when he suddenly heard someone approaching.


    Time was of the essence! Without looking up, Lingxiao went on his work. As Zixiu¡¯s hearing and alertness were not as keen as Lingxiao¡¯s, he didn¡¯t sense anything wrong until that person walked into the inner room.


    It was none other than Yueying. As Xingyi hadn¡¯t been back after she rushed out of Nangong Du¡¯s bedroom to hunt the assassinator, he thought something bad might have happened to her, so he went out to look for her. When he looked carefully and found that the person who was busy bandaging Xingyi¡¯s wound was Physician Ling, who had just come to the mansion in the morning, he felt his heart skip a beat. However, nobody could see any emotional fluctuation on his face. ¡°How is Xingyi doing?¡± he asked, sounding calm.


    Taken aback, Zixiu stared at Yueying blankly, feeling like his brain was going on a strike. On the contrary, Lingxiao remained calm. ¡°It¡¯s just a kind of common poison, so if she can make it through the night, she will be fine!¡± he answered.


    ¡°Common poison?¡± Yueying frowned. From the dark blood on the floor, he was certain the poison on the assassinator¡¯s weapon couldn¡¯t be ordinary. ¡°Ling Xiao is so capable at such a young age, so his background couldn¡¯t be simple! But is he our friend or enemy?¡±


    After pondering for a while, he turned to leave, showing nothing special on his face.


    Like a frog killed by a wheel, the assassinator was lying still on the ground. After ripping his mask off, Yueying could tell he had never seen this person. He then asked a few guards to carry him into the dungeon.


    The next day, the news that an assassinator had broken into Prince Mu¡¯s mansion the night before reached the emperor and the empress dowager. Prince Mu¡¯s sudden unconsciousness had stirred a sensation recently and all the officials thought that Princess Liuxu of the Wen Kingdom was a jinx who had brought bad luck to her husband. Now the princess¡¯s near assassination sparked a new round of discussion and everyone was speculating about who might be behind all this.


    The emperor ordered the head of the Ministry of Justice and the governor of the capital city to see into this case. Therefore, not only the prostitutes, the cleaning staff of the Land of Bliss, but also those who had ever stepped into this brothel on the day Prince Mu got drunk were taken away to assist in the investigation. Meanwhile, out of concern for the safety of the prince and the princess, the emperor sent a team of imperial army to the Prince Mu¡¯s Mansion.


    However, Lingxiao was the one who was under the most pressure. The emperor had issued the edict, saying that if he couldn¡¯t wake Prince Mu up in three days, he would be beheaded!


    To be honest, Lingxiao wasn¡¯t quite sure if he could revive Nangong Du within three days. After all, he had never tried to remove the poison ¡°A Thousand Years of Intoxication¡± from anyone else. Moreover, to avenge Zixiu, he had figured out some ways to torture Nangong Du, such as sticking a number of silver needles in him, ¡°steaming¡± him in a massive bamboo steamer, etc. Though these methods were helpful to detoxification and dredging meridians, they were not necessary for getting rid of this particular poison. Lingxiao was stressed not because he feared that he might be executed, but because he was worried that the reputation of the Valley of Fallen Blossoms might be ruined because of him if he failed to fulfill his promise to save the patient on time. Though he didn¡¯t tell anyone about his surname and his real identity, the almighty emperor might find them out one day. Lingxiao was sensitive and he had seen the situation clearly.


    As he had promised that he would revive Nangong Du in three days, after secretly torturing the latter for some time, Lingxiao suddenly changed his uninhibited attitude and started curing the patient seriously. As he was busy taking pulse, doing acupuncture, and decocting medicine soup for the prince day and night, he couldn¡¯t even find time to have meals and rest, let alone secretly meet his ¡®fianc¨¦e¡¯ at midnight!


    Prince Mu¡¯s personal guard, Yueying, didn¡¯t dare disturb him, so he could only hold back his doubts and was about to discuss with his master about it after the latter woke up.


    Xingyi had never been a weak, delicate young lady, and as she had started practicing martial arts since her childhood, she was much stronger than ordinary women. Therefore, though badly injured, she was out of danger and woke up the next morning.


    Zixiu felt much relieved at the news. Although he disliked Xingyi and always cursed her, he didn¡¯t mean to expect anything bad to happen to her. Now that Xingyi had risked her life to save him, Zixiu felt ashamed of his meanness. The next morning when he learned that Xingyi was awake, he immediately ran to her room. He even showed no such solicitude for Prince Mu, but Xingyi didn¡¯t seem to buy it!


    As the princess¡¯s personal maidservant was seriously injured and needed to rest for some time, the empress dowager sent her own maidservant, Tinglan, to come in the afternoon in case the other maidservants in Prince Mu¡¯s Mansion were too clumsy to take good care of the princess.


    At the same time, Yan Ke¡¯s first disciple, Luo Huali, who was practicing medicine in a remote village suddenly received a letter from his master, who asked him to find his junior brother Yan Lingxiao and his Uncle Liu¡¯s ¡®daughter¡¯ Liu Zixiu!


    Though his master didn¡¯t explain in detail in the letter why he wanted him to find the two, Huali had figured something out. ¡°Lingxiao has always wanted to compete with me in everything ever since he was a child, so he must have left the valley secretly following me. But how come Master Yan is also asking me to find Zixiu? Doesn¡¯t Uncle Liu know that he¡¯s married to Prince Mu, Nangong Du?¡±

 Chapter 59

    With Tinglan, the maidservant sent by the empress dowager, standing behind him, Zixiu sat in the chair stiffly, having butterflies in his stomach. He grew tense not because he was overwhelmed by the unexpected favor, but because he was worried that his true gender would be discovered. No matter how carefully he dressed up and how realistically he acted, he had to be cautious even if he wanted to take a nap, which made him feel so tired that even the veins on his forehead stood out. Even worse, it was getting dark outside and this was the time he used to take a bath before having dinner. ¡°Where are Nangong Du¡¯s men?¡±


    ¡°Your Highness, it¡¯s almost time for dinner. How about you take a bath first? I¡¯ll be waiting on by your side!¡± When Zixiu was waiting for someone to help him out anxiously, Tinglan suddenly suggested in a soft voice.


    Needless to say, the maidservant chosen by the empress dowager was quick-witted, considerate, and gentle. So though Zixiu was in a panic, he didn¡¯t detest her.


    After pondering for a while, Zixiu answered, ¡°I¡¯m hungry and I want to have dinner first!¡±


    ¡°¡­ Got it!¡± Tinglan was stupefied by this princess¡¯s straightforwardness. However, without showing anything special on her face, she walked out.


    A moment later, the chef brought some vegetarian dishes in, saying that to bless the prince in a coma, the empress dowager ordered the people in the capital city to eat vegetarian food for three days in a row. Zixiu didn¡¯t care if there was meat in the dishes at all. He sat down by the table and started enjoying his meal, putting his worries behind.


    After eating his fill, Zixiu rose to his feet and turned to Tinglan, putting on a melancholy look. ¡°Let¡¯s go and see His Highness!¡± he said as he had prepared in advance.


    Xingyi had forced him to see Nangong Du every day recently, so he didn¡¯t want to visit that pervert at all. However, to buy as much time as possible so that he didn¡¯t have to bath, Zixiu had to use it as an excuse.


    As Xingyi wasn¡¯t here, Zixiu stepped out of the bedroom without anyone¡¯s permission for the first time. However, to his surprise, nobody stopped him. Looking up, he suddenly found that the guards outside were not the same people as the day before, which reminded him that the emperor had sent some imperial guards here.


    Through the corridors and alleys, he came to the prince¡¯s bedroom. Before he could step in, a strong smell of medical herbs rushed into his nostrils. Even though Zixiu had started collecting such herbs with his father since childhood, he couldn¡¯t help but frown. The further he walked in, the stronger the smell became, which made him have a spur to cover his nose with his hand.


    As soon as they arrived at the door, Tinglan was stopped by Yueying. Heaving a sigh of relief, Zixiu walked into the bedroom in haste.


    Lingxiao had gone back to his own room to freshen himself up and have dinner, so Zixiu didn¡¯t see him in the room. Nangong Du was lying still in bed as usual.


    Walking to the bed, Zixiu asked with a ¡®worried¡¯ look, ¡°Is His Highness feeling better?¡±


    To his surprise, instead of keeping silent as before, Yueying reminded in a low voice from behind, ¡°His Majesty is suspicious about you. Be more cautious!¡±


    Hearing that, Zixiu turned pale and his hand couldn¡¯t help but tremble. He also heard rumors of Princess Liuxu¡¯s collusion with the enemy and treason, which was more terrible than the charge of poisoning her husband!


    ¡°Keep going what you have to do!¡± Yueying added after Zixiu turned around. He then shifted the topic. ¡°Your Highness, you may go back now!¡±


    Zixiu was surprised that Yueying had sent him away so soon, wondering if he was trying to prevent him from meeting Lingxiao. Walking out of Prince Mu¡¯s bedroom restlessly, he wanted to see Xingyi, but at the thought that it was improper for a princess to visit a maidservant, and Xingyi didn¡¯t seem to welcome him, he went back to his own bedroom.


    After walking into the inner room, Zixiu asked Tinglan out without taking a bath, saying that he was tired. Lying on the bed feebly, he felt so exhausted both physically and mentally.

 Chapter 60

    It had been a whole day since the assassinator was transferred from the dungeon in the Prince Mu¡¯s Mansion to the cell in the Ministry of Justice, but he hadn¡¯t confessed yet. Besides, no progress had been made in the poisoning case of Prince Mu so far. Therefore, the minister of the justice department, Zeng Huazhou felt his head was about to explode at the moment. The Land of Bliss was the most well-known brothel in the capital city with a lot of clients coming in and out every day. Among them, there were royal members, officials, businessmen, literary men, and swordsmen who would never register their personal information at the brothels, so it was very difficult to get any clue. Prince Mu had gone there alone in an ordinary childe¡¯s attire, so nobody knew what he had done and who he had met that day. ¡°Seems if we want to know all this, we¡¯ll have to wait until Prince Mu wakes up. It¡¯s obvious that the assassinator who tried to kill the princess is a well-trained professional killer. If no one struck his acupuncture point and took the poison bag out of his mouth, he would have committed suicide. How can a man who¡¯s not even afraid of death confess after being tortured? Alas! This case is really tough!¡±


    Shaking his head distractedly, Zeng Huazhou shifted his gaze to the governor of the capital city, Zhang Mingqi, seeing that this expert detective was propping his chin with his hand and his brows knitted. After hesitating for a while, he asked, ¡°Lord Zhang, what¡¯s the progress of the case?¡±


    Stroking his beard, Zhang Mingqi answered, ¡°Lord Zeng, I¡¯m working on it. I made a scene survey in the Prince Mu¡¯s Mansion today.¡±


    ¡°Have you found any clues?¡±


    ¡°I found a number of silver needles that looked exactly like the one in the assassinator¡¯s back. The guard in the Prince Mu¡¯s Mansion told me that the assassinator was struck with the same needle last night!¡±


    ¡°Oh? What¡¯s so special about these needles?¡±


    ¡°Nothing special. They¡¯re only ordinary needles for acupuncture. But I¡¯ve never seen such needles used as weapons!¡±


    ¡°Acupuncture?¡±


    ¡°Lord Zeng, here are the needles!¡± Zhang Mingqi gestured his attendant to place the evidence on the table and then explained, ¡°The tips of the needles are bent, apparently the result of a collision with a hard object. On the other hand, there are many pits in the blade of the assassinator¡¯s sword. If the one who attacked the assassinator shot these needles without the help of external forces, he must have robust inner force! Let¡¯s take a look at the other ends of the needles. There are some slight scratches on them, so the needles must have been installed in some kind of instrument before they were shot. What kind of instrument can hold so many needles? The weapons used by those guards in the Prince Mu¡¯s Mansion are either spears or blades, which can¡¯t hold needles at all!¡±


    However, Zeng Huazhou didn¡¯t see what he said had anything to do with the case, so he put on a sullen look. ¡°His Majesty commanded us to find out the one behind the scene. Lord Zhang, how come you¡¯re focusing on those guards? Are you suspecting there¡¯s a¡­¡±


    Zeng Huazhou forced back the word ¡®spy¡¯ with his puffy eyes widened. Without any solid evidence, he didn¡¯t dare to make a judgment.


    Zhang Mingqi put away the needles calmly before he continued, ¡°The minister of the Ministry of Household Registration already sent people to investigate the background of Physician Ling who came from Qingzhou. This physician had promised His Majesty that he would revive Prince Mu in three days, and according to the imperial physicians, Princess Liuxu¡¯s maidservant was infected with a rare kind of poison, but Physician Ling detoxified her without difficulty. How come we have never heard of such a talented physician? So I think this person is quite suspicious. What¡¯s more, the fan he always takes with him is perfect for hiding tiny weapons. As he¡¯s busy curing Prince Mu, I don¡¯t want to disturb him for the moment and I¡¯m planning to interrogate him after His Highness waking up. Lord Zeng, what do you say?


    In the evening, Luo Huali wrote a letter and made a pigeon carry it to the Valley of Fallen Blossoms. In the letter, he consoled his master and his Uncle Liu to be patient, saying that he had known Sister Zixiu¡¯s whereabouts and was on his way to Luanzhou, and he promised he would definitely bring Lingxiao and Zixiu back.


    In the moonlight, he galloped along on the horse, heartbroken. He felt even worse now than when he had left the Prince Mu¡¯s Mansion and he really wished he were dead! He had seen the obvious fingermarks on Zixiu¡¯s face¡­ but only because of a bowl of soup, he concluded that Zixiu had married Nangong Du of ¡®her¡¯ own free will and ¡®she¡¯ loved that asshole with all ¡®her¡¯ heart! He even thought that he had left Zixiu alone in the Nangong Du¡¯s mansion for ¡®her¡¯ happiness¡­


    ¡°Ah¡ª¡± Looking up at the sky, he let out a cry with tears rolling down his skinny face.


    Chrysanthemum withered, scattering on the ground


    You smile had faded, nowhere to be found


    Seeing the fallen petals all over, I indulged myself with a broken heart


    Listening to the north wind whistle outside


    I can¡¯t help thinking of you throughout the endless night


    Alone by the lake, I was overwhelmed by sorrow¡­


    It was said that people were most sleepy at the darkest hour before the dawn. Zixiu woke up with a start. It seemed he had just had a dream, but he couldn¡¯t remember what had happened in it. Stroking his silky robe, he felt it was soaked with sweat, so he got out of the bed, pulled out a suit of clothes randomly from the wardrobe, and then sneaked into the bathroom. After fastening the bolt, he pressed his ear against the door for a while but heard nothing. He then walked to the bathing pool behind the screen, filled the pool with water, and then got into the pool. Thankfully, as there were two inlet pipes that were connected to the hot spring and cold water, he didn¡¯t have to go outside to fetch water with a barrel.


    With nobody watching him over, Zixiu was in a good mood and he didn¡¯t get out of the pool until the water had cooled. After putting on the clean clothes, he unlocked the door and went back to his bed without draining the pool.


    The next morning when Tinglan saw the water in the bathing pool and the clothes Zixiu had taken off, she immediately went down on her knees. ¡°Your Highness, my apologies! I should be blamed for not having been here when you took a bath last night¡­¡±


    ¡°No worries!¡± Though Zixiu had done this on purpose, he still felt sorry for the girl. ¡°It was too late when I was about to take a bath last night, so I didn¡¯t ask you in. It¡¯s not your fault. You may rise!¡±


    ¡°Your Highness, thank you for your mercy! Thank you!¡± Tinglan banged her head onto the floor a few times before she rose to her feet with her hands trembling slightly.


    ¡°Alas! They¡¯re all maidservants, but how come Tinglan¡¯s attitude toward people is totally different from Xingyi¡¯s?¡± Zixiu couldn¡¯t help but sigh inwardly. At the same time, he felt sorry for Tinglan¡¯s being so humble. ¡°How come a maidservant belittled herself like this? She did nothing wrong, but she kept on apologizing to me! She must have been exploited, oppressed, abused, and enslaved by the privileged to the utmost, or she wouldn¡¯t have had to apologize without making a mistake!¡± Thinking of this resentfully, Zixiu suddenly blurt out, ¡°Tinglan, don¡¯t kneel down and kowtow to others so easily!¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± Tinglan had half-dried a handkerchief and was about to hand it to the ¡®princess¡¯ when she heard what the latter said. With her hand shivering, the handkerchief fell to the floor. ¡°Your Highness, it¡¯s my fault! It¡¯s all my fault!¡± she immediately knelt down again in a panic.


    ¡°You should kneel only to show respect for heaven, earth, and your parents!¡± Zixiu changed his mind before he spat the words out. Unlike Xingyi, Tinglan was a mild girl. What¡¯s more, even if it were Xingyi, she had to go down on her knees and bang her forehead in front of Nangong Du. Zixiu didn¡¯t understand what made those princes, princesses, the empress dowager, and even the emperor nobler than ordinary people. Even though they were of noble birth, they shouldn¡¯t have had people kneel and kowtow to them!


    A new day started from the unpleasant morning!


    After breakfast, Zixiu went to see Nangong Du as usual. However, before he could approach the gate, he saw billows of white smoke rising from the yard. A guard stopped him, saying that Physician Liang said as the treatment had reached a critical stage, nobody was allowed to enter.


    Zixiu recalled what Lingxiao said to him after breaking into his room the night before. Though his words sounded ridiculous, Zixiu could tell that Lingxiao did know him and¡­ liked him!


    ¡°I mustn¡¯t miss the chance again. I¡¯ll definitely get out of here!¡±

 Chapter 61

    Three days consist of seventy-two hours. It had been less than two days since the emperor issued the decree the day before. However, if the date was calculated from the beginning of detoxification in the afternoon two days before, Lingxiao had less one day to finish his task.


    At night, Lingxiao walked out of the ¡®ward¡¯, looking exhausted, but his eyes shining like stars. Not only was he proud of his excellent medical skills, but he was also overjoyed that he was going to leave here and enjoy his life with the one he loved. Everything was going as he had planned. Nangong Du would wake up in three hours, so if he took Xiuxiu away before that, the government department, the Prince Mu¡¯s Mansion, the poison, and the assassination would have nothing to do with them anymore! If his father didn¡¯t forgive him, he would wander far with Xiuxiu and never return to the Valley of Fallen Blossoms!


    As he had done the day before, he left Lianshan in the bedroom of Prince Mu before he went back to the guest room. While Lianshan was busy feeling pulse, acupuncturing, and decocting medicine for Nangong Du, Lingxiao had freshened himself up, had his dinner, and now he was lying in bed to rest, waiting for the night to fall.


    ¡°Help from the heavens!¡± It was windy and pitch-dark outside, perfect for running away.


    At midnight, Lingxiao had packed up all his belongings and was ready to go. Holding the fan, he stood in the yard in fine fettle with his hands clasped behind his back. His white robe flapped in the wind when he looked up at the sky, making him have the demeanor of a transcendent being. After a while, with a smile on his lips, he leaped onto the roof covered with green glazed tiles with the help of the wind. By his feet were two men in black lying on their backs. The hypnotics he developed in his spare time had worked and now the two martial artists who were spying on him on the roof were fast asleep.


    As a hotshot in martial arts, Lingxiao could move freely around the mansion without being noticed. He leaped forward swiftly and before those guards and servants could sense anything wrong, he had disappeared from their sight!


    Skimming the lake, he leaped into the princess¡¯s bedroom without making a sound.


    In the dim candlelight, he tiptoed to Zixiu¡¯s bed. However, to his surprise, he saw nobody in the messy bed!


    Lingxiao turned pale in an instant and his hand started trembling slightly. ¡°It seems strange that no one noticed me on my way here just now. Did I underestimate my opponent? Maybe those people already moved Xiuxiu to some other place!¡±


    At the thought of this, Lingxiao instantly lost his composure. When he was burning with anxiety, he suddenly heard the faint sounds of water in fits and bursts from behind. ¡°Is someone taking a bath?¡± he wondered.


    Growing more cautious, he turned quietly, holding his fan tight. When he followed the sounds, he saw the mist steaming behind the screen while a heady fragrance rushed into his nostrils.


    That was the smell of ¡®Swirling Clouds¡¯, especially strong tonight¡­


    In a daze, Lingxiao walked to the screen without knowing it. His heart pounded like drumbeats and it took him quite a while to calm himself down. To avoid looking in, he forced himself to fix his gaze on the screen. However, he could no longer resist the urge to look behind the screen as he watched the sculpted mandarin ducks carved on it playing intimately as if they were about to fly. Holding the fan with his trembling hand, Lingxiao lifted a corner of the translucent curtain and peeped into the room.


    Zixiu had just gotten out of the bathing pool and his jade-white body was completely exposed to his sight!


    Shivering all over, Lingxiao felt his blood boiling. ¡°Rumble!¡± With his head buzzing, two streams of blood rushed out of the nostrils of this talented young physician!

 Chapter 62

    In the darkness, only the candlelight in the pavilions on the lake gleamed into the cave of the rockery. Lingxiao and Zixiu had been waiting here for a long time, but Lianshan hadn¡¯t come yet.


    From time to time there was a commotion across the lake. Though they couldn¡¯t see those people clearly, they saw rows of lanterns moving. It seemed that news of Prince Mu¡¯s awakening would soon reach the imperial palace.


    Lingxiao leaped onto the tree again, looking in the direction of the bedroom of Prince Mu. He had asked Lianshan to get all the needles out of Nangong Du and meet them at twelve o¡¯clock. Half an hour had passed, but Lianshan hadn¡¯t shown up yet. If people of the imperial palace learned Prince Mu was awake, Zixiu¡¯s chances of getting out of the mansion would be slim.


    ¡°How is it going?¡± As soon as Lingxiao jumped down from the tree, Zixiao asked anxiously. He couldn¡¯t help but grow tension when he heard that Nangong Du had woken up, worrying that once he was caught, he might be¡­ ¡°No! That¡®s not going to happen!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m going to take you out of here first!¡± Lingxiao was aware that they couldn¡¯t wait here anymore.


    ¡°But Lianshan hasn¡¯t come to meet us yet!¡±


    ¡°Lianshan is good at combat and those ordinary guards can¡¯t do anything to him. Let¡¯s go!¡± With that, Lingxiao wrapped Zixiu¡¯s waist with his arm and was about to bounce up. However, before he could use his Qing Kung, he suddenly held his breath.


    As he heard the sound of clothes flapping in the wind, he felt a familiar aura approaching.


    Sure enough, his senior brother, Luo Huali, appeared in front of him the next second.


    ¡°Yan Lingxiao, what are you doing?¡± Luo Huali said grumpily.


    ¡°Hey, Senior Brother!¡± Breathing a sigh of relief, Lingxiao casually greeted him with a smile, as if he had just come across Luo Huali in the street. However, he didn¡¯t withdraw his hand from Zixiu¡¯s waist, and it was obvious that he was declaring to his senior brother that Xiuxiu was his!


    As it was so dark, Zixiu didn¡¯t see clearly the person who was talking to Lingxiao. When he heard Lingxiao address that person as Senior Brother, he felt his heart skip a beat. Looking at him carefully, he found it was none other than the mysterious guard who had given him a box of ointment days ago. ¡°Senior Brother¡­¡± Zixiu muttered with his eyes widened.


    ¡°Are you going to take Zixiu out of the mansion?¡± Without looking at Zixiu, Huali still fixed his gaze on Lingxiao, but from the corner of his eyes, he saw Lingxiao¡¯s hand resting on Zixiu¡¯s waist, which made him burn with jealousy. ¡°Seems I¡¯ve missed the opportunity to confess my love to Zixiu. I have only myself to blame for being so dumb!¡±


    Watching the melancholy look on Huali¡¯s face, Lingxiao knew his purpose had been achieved. He then put away his uninhibited smile and said seriously, ¡°Senior Brother, time is running out. Can we talk about it outside?¡±


    Hearing that, Huali came back to his senses in an instant, but he couldn¡¯t remember what he was about to say until he saw Lingxiao leaving with Zixiu in his arms. ¡°You can¡¯t leave like this!¡± he stopped them in a gruff voice.


    Lingxiao and Zixiu turned around synchronously, astonished.


    ¡°Why?¡± Lingxiao asked impatiently. ¡°Hasn¡¯t Senior Brother realized that Zixiu didn¡¯t marry Prince Mu of his own will?¡± he wondered.


    ¡°Zixiu is the princess now, so if you take him away, the consequence could be serious!¡± Huali said with a solemn expression. On his way back to Luanzhou, he had heard that Prince Mu was poisoned and Princess Liuxu narrowly escaped assassination. It had never occurred to him that so many terrible things would have happened just a few days after he had left the mansion. He really regretted having left so hastily!


    ¡°Zixiu is not the princess. He¡¯s my fianc¨¦e!¡± The very mention of the word ¡®princess¡¯ made Lingxiao fly into a rage in an instant.


    With a calm look, Huali continued, ¡°It¡¯s up to Nangong Du whether Zixiu is the princess or not! If you take Zixiu out on a whim, ten thousand of wanted notices for the kidnapper of Princess Liuxu will be posted all over the country tomorrow!¡±


    ¡°After leaving Luanzhou, Zixiu and I will get as far away as we can and Princess Liuxu will have nothing to do with us anymore!¡±


    ¡°Really? Then what about Lianshan?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m going to pick him up after I find Zixiu a safe place!¡±


    ¡°Your plan is perfect, but you still underestimated Nangong Du. Lianshan is in his hand now!¡±


    Following the route they took as they came out, the three of them crossed the lake and made their way quietly through the window to the princess¡¯s bedroom, like ghosts.


    The house was dead silent and the maidservant, Ruoqin, who had passed on messages, wasn¡¯t there.


    Unable to hold back his anger anymore, Lingxiao picked up a teacup from the table and crushed it into pieces with his hand, as if it were Nangong Du.


    Seeing that, Zixiu, who was standing next to him, was frightened out of his skin. He was aware that the two must be martial artists in legend. However, after having been with them for so long, he hadn¡¯t told his senior brothers that he had lost his memory three years ago, and the name Luo Huali and Yan Lingxiao didn¡¯t ring any bells for him!


    Though he was clear that the truth would come to light sooner or later, he was worried that if he came clean and the two found out that they had mistaken him for someone else, they might refrain from the idea of helping him out and leave in an instant.


    After wrestling with himself for a while, Zixiu turned to Lingxiao again. However, when he saw this martial artist crumbed another white fine teacup, he swallowed hard in a panic and finally forced back all his words.


    Luo Huali had been silent since he entered the room, without daring look at Zixiu.


    At this point, the sounds of footsteps suddenly rang outside. Holding their breath, Huali and Lingxiao immediately ducked behind the curtain quietly.


    ¡°Your Highness, Prince Mu is awake. He wants to see you!¡± It was Ruoqin who was speaking. As Nangong Du once gave orders that ordinary maidservants were not allowed into princess Liuxu¡¯s bedroom, although the ¡®princess¡¯ didn¡¯t respond to her when she called her half an hour ago, Ruoqin didn¡¯t dare enter the inner room. Therefore, she didn¡¯t know that the ¡®princess¡¯ had been out at all!


    Zixiu knew nothing about this, and as he had just learned from Luo Huali that Lianshan was detained, he thought it would be dangerous to go to Nangong Du¡¯s place for the moment. Having no idea what to do, he looked back at Lingxiao and Huali, who were hiding behind the curtain.


    Unfortunately, both of his two senior brothers were staring at the maidservant with a grim look, so they didn¡¯t notice Zixiu was looking at them for help. Zixiu had to decide for himself. ¡°Really? I¡¯ll be right there!¡± he said as if he were very excited at this piece of news.


    Along the way to the bedroom of Prince Mu, at regular intervals, there was a huge luxuriously decorated lantern, which lit the surroundings as brightly as day. The further Zixiu went, the brighter it became. However, in Zixiu¡¯s eyes, these lanterns were more like the eerie devil-fire which would lead him to hell!


    Since he ¡°married¡± into the Prince Mu¡¯s Mansion, Nangong Du hadn¡¯t assigned him any attendants except for Xingyi as his personal maidservant. Therefore, even Lingxiao and Huali wanted to escort him by changing their appearances into his footmen or maidservants¡¯, they wouldn¡¯t have a chance. Seemingly Zixiu had to go alone. Only then did he understand the meaning of the old saying ¡®nothing ventured, nothing gained¡¯! ¡°But why was neither of the two willing to change his appearance into mine to meet their rival in love?¡± Zixiu wondered.


    ¡°Your Highness, here comes Princess Liuxu!¡±


    When Zixiu walked into the room, he found in surprise that it was Xingyi who was speaking. Zixiu blinked as if he had figured out something.


    Though Nangong Du only waved his hand slightly in bed, except for Zixiu, everyone walked out quietly with their heads lowered. Standing in the middle of the room, Zixiu was so scared that his legs couldn¡¯t help trembling. Biting his lip for a long time, he finally spat out two words, ¡°Your Highness!¡±


    He heard himself speaking in a shaking voice.


    After a while, the room remained quiet. Nangong Du neither spoke nor moved.


    ¡°Has he fainted again?¡± Standing there with butterflies in his stomach, Zixiu began to make wild guesses.


    When he was indulged in himself, Nangong Du suddenly turned around, his face as pale as that of the bedridden!


    ¡°Come over!¡± Though he seemed very weak, he spoke in his usual commanding tone.


    ¡°Even if he were a wolf, he should be less powerful than usual.¡± After hesitating for a while, Zixiu plucked up his courage and moved to the bed slowly.


    To his surprise, as soon as he sat down, Nangong Du suddenly reached out and covered his hands. Sensing his fingers as cold as ice, Zixiu couldn¡¯t help but shiver. He withdrew his hands instinctively and folded them in front of his own chest.


    Instead of yelling at him or trying to attack him as usual, the patient in bed fell into a long silence, staring at him with his slightly puffy eyes without blinking, as if a person who died with his eyes open with everlasting regret.


    Unable to stand Nangong Du gazing at him this way, Zixiu offered to put his trembling hands into the latter¡¯s. Zixiu wondered if it was merely an illusion, but he seemed to have seen that the pervert was smiling at him!


    Holding his hands, Nangong Du looked at him for so long that Zixiu almost fell asleep. ¡°Water¡­¡± Nangong Du spat out the word feebly through his pale lips.


    Coming back to his senses, Zixiu rose to his feet and was about to fetch water, but Nangong Du showed no intent to loosen his grip. No matter how hard he tried, Zixiu couldn¡¯t withdraw his hands.


    ¡°How strange! This jerk¡¯s voice is as faint as the drone of a mosquito, but how come his hands are still so powerful? Is he faking it?¡±


    However, even if that was the case, Zixiu could do nothing to him. ¡°Maidservant!¡± He had to sit by the bed and ask someone in to help.


    A moment later, a maidservant came in. It wasn¡¯t Xingyi, but Tinglan. ¡°Your Highness!¡± she said while bowing to the ¡®princess¡¯ respectfully.


    ¡°Go fetch some water for His Highness! Hurry up!¡± Zixiu ordered in haste as if he cared about the prince very much.


    ¡°Yes!¡± Tinglan answered obediently and brought a cup of warm water in the blink of an eye.


    As Nangong Du still held his hands tight, Zixiu couldn¡¯t take the teacup, so he asked Tinglan to feed the prince, but Tinglan didn¡¯t dare to do so. Having no choice, Zixiu had to scoop up a spoonful of water and sent it to Nangong Du¡¯s lips.


    Watching the pervert wrapping the spoon with his mouth, Zixiu suddenly recalled the moment when he was fed with soup. With his heart trembling, he got goosebumps all over in an instant. ¡°What am I doing?¡±

 Chapter 63

    When Zixiu was ¡°intently¡± taking care of Nangong Du, who had just come round, Physician Ling came to the prince¡¯s bedroom. However, he didn¡¯t come here to exam Nangong Du¡¯s condition, but to ask Yueying to release Lianshan! Huali told him that it was Nangong Du who had detained Lianshan, but Lingxiao was aware that a person who was just out of danger and had not yet regained full consciousness couldn¡¯t be the mastermind behind all this. After pondering for a while, he thought that there was only one possibility¡ªhe accidentally exposed himself in the fight with the assassin that day, which aroused the suspicion of Yueying, the personal guard of Prince Mu.


    When he arrived at the door of the prince¡¯s bedroom, Yueying was guarding in the corridor with a serious look as usual. At the sight of Lingxiao, Yueying walked over and stopped him in a low voice expressionlessly, a trace of unfathomable look crossing his eyes. ¡°Wait, Physician Ling!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not here for Prince Mu!¡± Lingxiao interrupted him. ¡°Where¡¯s Lianshan?¡±


    Narrowing his eyes slightly, Yueying immediately figured out what he was here for. ¡°No worries. When His Highness recovers, Lianshan will be free again!¡± he answered coolly.


    ¡°Really?¡± Lingxiao nodded, but next, he suddenly put on a grim look while shooting Yueying a cold glare. ¡±I hate being threatened the most!¡± he said, gritting his teeth.


    ¡°Don¡¯t get me wrong, Physician Ling!¡± Yueying looked into his eyes calmly. ¡°I¡¯m so impressed with your superb medical skill and I appreciate you so much for detoxifying Prince Mu. How could I try to threaten you? His Highness always told me to be grateful. Now he has just woken up and hasn¡¯t seen you yet. If he knows I¡¯m watching you leave without doing anything, he¡¯ll definitely blame me for that. So I have no choice but to resort to such disgraceful means to keep you two in the mansion. Physician Ling, I hope you won¡¯t feel offended!¡±


    Though Lingxiao was unhappy with him, he had to admit what Yueying said did make sense. His heart skipped a beat when he heard Yueying say ¡°you two¡± just now. ¡°Did he find out I was trying to take Zixiu away? Impossible!¡±


    Needless to say, that couldn¡¯t be the case. During Nangong Du¡¯s coma, to ensure his safety, Yueying had never left him alone, so though he was suspicious about Lingxiao, he could only assign some guards to watch him over. As those guards were no match for Lingxiao in the cultivation of martial arts, none of them had ever discovered that he had secretly met with Zixiu. However, from Lianshan¡¯s expression and the way he acted before midnight, Yueying could tell there was something wrong, so he detained him. Even he himself didn¡¯t expect that he would have successfully prevented the ¡®princess¡¯ from escaping by doing this!


    Managing to calm himself down, Lingxiao became more cautious. ¡°Well, if you let Lianshan go, I¡¯ll get into the room to see Prince Mu right now!¡± he said gruffly.


    ¡°Physician Ling, relax! As long as His Highness recovers, I won¡¯t make things difficult for Lianshan!¡±


    ¡°Humph!¡± Lingxiao shrugged with a snort while staring at Yueying angrily. ¡°Seems you¡¯re not going to let him go anytime soon?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right!¡± Yueying shot back with a resolute look.


    If it weren¡¯t for Zixiu, Lingxiao wouldn¡¯t have taken down the government notice and come to detoxify Nangong Du. It was unbelievable that this guy was threatening him holding his servant hostage! ¡°Do you think you can do anything to me?¡± Burning with anger, Lingxiao roared as if his eyes were about to erupt with flames.


    ¡°Physician Ling, are you desperate to run away because you¡¯re not sure you can cure His Highness?¡± Yueying changed his strategy. He was aware that Lingxiao thought highly of himself, so he was deliberately stimulating him verbally.


    ¡°Run away?¡± As Yueying had expected, Lingxiao seemed to have taken his bait! Giving him a filthy look, Lingxiao said grumpily, ¡°Listen, I¡¯ll go nowhere if I can¡¯t cure Prince Mu!¡±

 Chapter 64

    Actually, Lingxiao didn¡¯t say this completely out of impulse. The detoxification of ¡®A Thousand Years of Intoxication¡¯ was a big challenge for him. Revival only indicated that the patient was out of danger, but it didn¡¯t mean that he would make a full recovery. The aftercare during convalescence was critical to the recovery and any small mistake could result in the loss of all previous work and the death of the patient. However, according to both the government notice and the emperor¡¯s decree, Lingxiao would have accomplished his mission as long as he woke up Prince Mu, so it wasn¡¯t really part of his job to bring Nangong Du back to full health. Now that even Yueying confused revival with recovery, and took it for granted that he shouldn¡¯t stop treatment until Prince Mu was restored to health, Ling xiao could tell that most people must have thought the same way. ¡°If Prince Mu died from inappropriate aftercare, everyone would think I failed to cure him!¡± For the sake of his own reputation and that of the Valley of the Fallen Blossoms, he shouldn¡¯t leave! As Zixiu had been in Nangong Du¡¯s bedroom for about an hour, for fear that his fianc¨¦e might be in danger, he didn¡¯t want to waste his time arguing with Yueying.


    Before anyone could tell Prince Mu about his arrival, Lingxiao had broken into the inner room when Zixiu and Nangong Du were holding each other¡¯s hands and looking at each other ¡°affectionately¡±.


    Lingxiao stopped abruptly in shock, feeling his heart sink. ¡°Pah!¡± With a shake of his hand, the fan fell to the floor, which dispersed Zixiu¡¯s drowsiness in an instant!


    Sitting upright in a panic, Zixiu managed to pull himself together. When he looked at Nangong Du with his widened eyes, he saw the latter¡¯s eyes closed. He then turned his head, looking in the direction of the sound, and was surprised to find that Lingxiao was standing by the door with a poker face as if someone owed him a huge amount of money! ¡±Er¡­This analogy doesn¡¯t seem quite right!¡±


    Seeing that Lingxiao was fixing his gaze with killing intent on his right hand, which was held by Nangong Du, Zixiu blinked. ¡°Is Lingxiao¡­ jealous?¡± he wondered.


    Feeling embarrassed, Zixiu tried to withdraw his hand. However, although Nangong Du seemed to be asleep or unconscious, he still held it tight.


    When Zixiu was about to break Nangong Du¡¯s grip with the help of his left hand, Lingxiao suddenly strode over in rage. He took out a long silver needle from nowhere, and thrust it toward Nangong Du¡¯s elbow without hesitation.


    ¡°Wait!¡± Zixiu immediately stopped him, staring at him in surprise. At the thought of Lingxiao talking about the ways of paying back Nangong Du that night, Zixiu got his flesh creepy and he couldn¡¯t help but lean forward slightly, trying to protect the patient. Though this pervert was both lascivious and violent, he didn¡¯t deserve to die!


    ¡°I¡¯m going to kill this bastard!¡± Lingxiao instantly flared up. Biting his teeth, he clenched the hand that held the needle into a fist, disregarding that the armed guard, Yueying, was still standing behind him.


    ¡°What did you say?¡± Zixiu was taken aback. He had never thought that Lingxiao would have been so vicious. He couldn¡¯t help but move a little closer to Nangong Du as if he were a hen guarding her baby. However, to his surprise, Yueying was standing there calmly without a word, folding his arms across his chest.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to kill Nangong Du!¡± Lingxiao roared. Though he put on a ferocious look when he spoke, he felt kind of suffocating pain in his chest, making him nearly lose his breath. ¡°Xiuxiu is defending Nangong Du! He even takes me as a ruthless killer!¡±


    ¡°Calm down!¡± Zixiu said in a trembling voice. While shielding Nangong Du behind him in tension, he tried to reason with Lingxiao as if an elder lecturing his junior. ¡°Killing is illegal! As a talented young man¡­ Er¡­ As a talented teenager with superb medical skills and extraordinary martial skills, you¡¯re sure to have a promising future. If you kill him, you¡¯ll be sentenced to death, and everything will be over! Even if you get a life sentence instead of a death sentence, can you bear to spend the rest of your life in a cell and toil in the toughest of circumstances? Is it worth risking your life for him?¡±


    Biting his lip, Lingxiao neither spoke nor moved.


    Having no idea what he was thinking of, Zixiu took a deep breath before he continued, ¡°If you¡¯re trying to do this for me, drop the idea! I¡¯ll find a way to put an end to my grudge with Prince Mu, and I don¡¯t want to put you through all this. Don¡¯t kill him! I¡¯m begging you!¡±


    Holding the needle in his hand, Lingxiao remained silent.


    At this point, Yueying narrowed his eyes slightly. ¡°Sure enough, Liu Zixiu has something to do with Physician Ling!¡±


    Thinking that his persuasion didn¡¯t work, after pausing for a moment, Zixiu continued in earnest, ¡°Well, even if you¡¯re not doing this for me, as a physician, you should treat your patients the way parents treat their children¡­¡±


    ¡°I just want him to let go of your hand!¡± Lingxiao suddenly interrupted him, sounding very depressed. ¡°So I¡¯m going to do nothing except for sticking a needle in his acupoint!¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± Zixiu was rendered speechless. Next, in a daze, he saw as soon as Lingxiao stuck the needle into Nangong Du¡¯s elbow, the latter loosened his grip on his right hand. Only then did he realize that he had misunderstood Lingxiao!

 Chapter 65

    ¡°Prince Mu is out of danger and in stable condition now. He¡¯ll wake up tomorrow morning!¡± In spite of his mixed feelings, Lingxiao examined Nangong Du carefully before telling Zixiu the diagnosis.


    However, Zixiu wasn¡¯t in the mood to care about Nangong Du at this moment. Looking at Lingxiao guiltily from behind, he wanted to apologize to him, but didn¡¯t know what to say. With a worried look, he clenched and loosened his fists repeatedly, biting his lip.


    After quite a while, Lingxiao turned around. Though the depressed look had faded away, there was no smile on his face. Seeing the uneasy look on Zixiu¡¯s face, Lingxiao felt a twinge in his heart, but he remained silent.


    Though the two of them looked at each other from time to time, they tried to avoid making eye contact. Now they seemed to have totally forgotten that Yueying was still around with a serious look as if he were transparent.


    ¡°Eh-hem!¡± Yueying raised his brows and coughed slightly. ¡°Physician Ling, I appreciate you very much for your hard work!¡± With that, he gestured Lingxiao to leave.


    Only then did Lingxiao remember that Nangong Du¡¯s personal guard was still here. Casting a glance at this ¡°transparent¡± man, he restrained his rolling emotions and walked past Zixiu with his head lowered.


    With the fading away of the unique herbal fragrance, Zixiu felt his heart sink. ¡°Gosh! Lingxiao is really upset with me!¡±


    ¡°Prince Mu is still very weak, so you¡¯d better not to disturb his rest!¡± When he arrived at the door, Lingxiao suddenly stopped and reminded gruffly. Actually, he was hinting the ¡®princess¡¯ to go back to ¡®her¡¯ own place to rest at this late hour. ¡°Humph! Nangong Du, you asshole, don¡¯t expect Xiuxiu to spend the night with you!¡±


    ¡°Darling¡­¡± Unfortunately, the patient in bed suddenly let out a faint cry at this very moment.


    Zixiu froze on the spot, holding his breath while Lingxiao turned livid with anger. ¡°Nangong Du, if I knew you would wake up so soon, I would have stuck a needle in the acupoint that would make you drowsy!¡± Lingxiao thought resentfully.


    ¡°Your Highness!¡± Yueying reacted quickly and strode to the bed. However, with his eyes closed, Nangong Du blurted out a string of inexplicable syllables in a trembling voice. It turned out that what they heard was just this prince¡¯s dream talking.


    Zixiu breathed a sigh of relief but on the contrary, Lingxiao grew even angrier. ¡°Was Nangong Du calling Xiuxiu? So he saw Xiuxiu even in his dream?¡±


    Burning with anger, Lingxiao was seized with an impulse to beat Nangong Du up. However, as he could do nothing for the moment, he turned to leave without a word.


    It made Zixiu¡¯s heart wrenching for no reason. In a panic, he strode out following behind him, disregarding Yueying¡¯s suspicious look. At this point, Nangong Du¡¯s voice rang again, ¡°Don¡¯t leave me¡­¡±


    Zixiu hesitated for a few seconds before he ran out without looking back.


    ¡°Lingxiao, wait!¡± He didn¡¯t call Lingxiao by the name until he reached the main hall and saw that nobody else was around.


    ¡°Don¡¯t bother! It¡¯s late at night, so you¡¯d better go back to rest.¡± Though Lingxiao was gentle and calm when he spoke, he didn¡¯t stop striding away, so it was obvious that he was still mad at Zixiu.


    Zixiu finally caught up with him and managed to grab a corner of his clothes. ¡°Wait a minute!¡± he said, gasping.


    Caught off guard, Lingxiao went stiff the moment Zixiu touched him as if he had just been struck by lightning. He stopped short and grabbed Zixiu by the waist when the latter was about to bump against him because of inertia, but next, he pushed Zixiu half a meter away as if he were a hot potato. With a flicker of melancholy in his eyes, he asked at a fast pace, clenching his teeth, ¡°Zixiu, do you like Nangong Du? I want you to tell me the truth.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± Zixiu was stunned by this abrupt question. He had been thinking about how to apologize to Lingxiao for his misunderstanding and had totally forgotten that Lingxiao had a crush on him. Moreover, he hadn¡¯t realized that Lingxiao was green with envy in the beginning. ¡°Heavens! Seems I really have a certain charisma that appeals to men!¡±


    From Zixiu¡¯s silence, Lingxiao seemed to have known the answer. ¡°I see!¡± he said in a low voice.


    ¡°What do you mean by ¡®I see¡¯? Are you thinking that I have feelings for Nangong Du? Can you just stop making wild guesses? I didn¡¯t allow you to¡­ ¡®approach¡¯ him only because I misunderstood you! My apologies!¡±


    Zixiu apologized sincerely after his helpless complaint, but Lingxiao only focused on the first half of what he said.


    ¡°Xiuxiu, are you serious that you have no feelings for Nangong Du?¡± Overwhelmed with joy, he reached out and was about to pull Zixiu into his arms.


    Thankfully, Zixiu had figured out what he was going to do, so he took a step backward while answering with a resolute look, ¡°Of course I¡¯m serious!¡±


    ¡°Sure enough, Physician Yan is jealous! It¡¯s so annoying! How come I feel like I¡¯m a faithless guy lingering between two women?¡± He sighed inwardly.


    Now that his resentment had melted away, Lingxiao was in high spirits. ¡°Xiuxiu, let me escort you back to your place,¡± He looked at Zixiu affectionately and said without giving it much thought.


    Shivering at his words, Zixiu immediately turned him down.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s necessary¡­¡± Zixiu was clear that the consequences could be serious if they were found out to be together. ¡°You must be tired after a long day. Go to bed early! Bye-bye!¡±


    ¡°What?¡± When Lingxiao was wondering the meaning of the last two words of his speech, Zixiu had run away in haste.

 Chapter 66

    In a good mood, Lingxiao went back to the guest room at a brisk pace while his senior brother, Luo Huali, returned at the same time. Actually, the two of them had figured out that Yueying was not going to let go of Lianshan if they asked him to do so. Therefore, Luo Huali had been secretly looking for Lianshan in the mansion these few days.


    ¡°Senior Brother, have you found Lianshan?¡± Lingxiao stopped fantasizing and asked with a solemn look.


    ¡°Yeah!¡± Huali answered, sounding relaxed, as if Lianshan had just been out playing and forgotten to go home, rather than being detained.


    At the thought that Yueying wouldn¡¯t have bothered to hide Lianshan, Lingxiao craned his neck to look out of the door, but only saw nobody. ¡°Where¡¯s he?¡±


    ¡°He was reluctant to come back with me!¡± Huali continued with a shrug.


    ¡°Huh?¡± Widening his eyes in surprise, Lingxiao became even more puzzled. ¡°Why?¡±


    After hesitating for a while, Huali related Lianshan¡¯s words. ¡°He said if he left, you would be in trouble, and he would go nowhere unless you picked him up in person.¡±


    ¡°The boy is such a fool!¡± Lingxiao said with a frown as if he were annoyed at Lianshan¡¯s stupidity.


    Glancing at him, Huali thought, ¡°It¡¯s pretty obvious what I mean but he¡¯s still playing numb!¡± He then decided to put it straight. ¡°If you didn¡¯t leave the valley without your dad¡¯s permission, Lianshan wouldn¡¯t have been so afraid of me taking him back to see Master Yan!¡±


    ¡°Haha¡­ Seems you¡¯ve seen me through!¡± Lingxiao smiled awkwardly. Actually, he did feel better staying here than being taken back to the Valley of Fallen Blossoms. He then probed, ¡°Senior Brother, are you serious to take me back?¡±


    Without answering him, Huali shifted the topic after a short silence. ¡°How is Zixiu doing?¡± he asked in a low voice.


    Actually, after coming back to the Prince Mu¡¯s Mansion, Huali was kind of guilty and he didn¡¯t dare to face Zixiu.


    ¡°He¡¯s fine. He has gone back to his room to rest!¡± At the mention of Zixiu, Lingxiao immediately recalled the moment when Zixiu rushed out to chase him, which flooded him with sheer happiness.


    Huali was at once green with envy at the sight of his junior brother¡¯s expression of intoxication. ¡°Eh-hem!¡± He cleared his throat intentionally and then got to the point. ¡°Did Zixiu tell you how he ¡®married¡¯ into the Prince Mu¡¯s Mansion?¡±


    ¡°Needless to say, he must have been under duress!¡± Lingxiao blurted out without a second thought. Since Zixiu had agreed to run away with him, he could tell that he didn¡¯t ¡®marry¡¯ Nangong Du of his own will.


    Biting his teeth, Huali pondered for a while before he asked gruffly, ¡°You know that the new consort of Prince Mu should be the princess of the Wen Kingdom, huh?¡±


    ¡°Hm!¡± Lingxiao nodded, but he didn¡¯t think that much. He took the imperial notice down and came to the Prince Mu¡¯s Mansion only because of the fragrance of ¡°Liuyun¡±, so it had never occurred to him how come Zixiu was in the Prince Mu¡¯s Mansion, not to mention associating the intermarriage between the two countries with Zixiu. It wasn¡¯t until he got into the prince¡¯s mansion that he knew Zixiu¡¯s current identity was Prince Mu¡¯s consort! However, as he only wanted to get Zixiu out of here, he was disinclined to pay any attention to anything else.


    Like Lingxiao, Huali disguised himself as a guard and sneaked into the prince¡¯s mansion also because he suddenly smelled the fragrance of ¡°Liuyun¡± in the street the other day. When he found that Zixiu had married Nangong Du, he was overwhelmed with grief and anger. However, when he saw how considerate Zixiu was to Prince Mu, he left, heartbroken. It wasn¡¯t until his master Yan Ke¡¯s letter reached him that he suddenly realized that the day Zixiu got married was just the wedding day of Prince Mu and Princess Liuxu of the Wen Kingdom! ¡°So to get Zixiu, Nangong Du even ran the risk of offending the entire Wen Kingdom!¡±


    ¡°Zixiu has been to the imperial palace several times, but nobody has ever seen through his identity. Don¡¯t you feel something wrong with that?¡± Hearing that, Lingxiao also smelled a rat. As far as he knew, in spite of his cross-dressing, Zixiu didn¡¯t change his appearance. Moreover, in addition to going to the imperial palace, he also met some royal members and officials recently. It was incredible that none of those people had found out that he was the fake princess!


    ¡°Maybe someone has found it out and that¡¯s why Nangong Du was poisoned and Zixiu was almost assassinated. Seems someone is trying to lay bare Nangong Du¡¯s trick!¡± Huali stated his speculation.


    ¡°I think someone is trying to kill Nangong Du!¡± Lingxiao added, narrowing his eyes. ¡°It turns out that someone hates Nangong Du than I do! If I knew it earlier, I wouldn¡¯t have taken down the imperial notice. Damn it! How stupid I was!¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the name of the poison?¡± Huali was intrigued by the fact that a highly skilled physician like Lingxiao would need to spend several days on this poison.


    ¡°A Thousand Years of Intoxication!¡± Lingxiao answered seriously, but there was a hint of smugness on his face.


    ¡°A Thousand Years of Intoxication?¡± Huali froze on the spot.


    ¡°Are you surprised?¡± Lingxiao became even more triumphant. ¡°It¡¯s amazing that someone even knows the recipe for the poison our patriarch made by accident! If I hadn¡¯t come, that asshole Nangong Du, would have died!¡±


    ¡°So Nangong Du is out of danger now?¡±


    ¡°Damn right he is! Given my awesome medical skills, there¡¯s no poisoned patient in the world that I can¡¯t cure!¡±


    ¡°Such being the case, you¡¯d better get Lianshan back asap. I guess Master Yan and Uncle Liu will reach Luanzhou at dawn.¡±


    ¡°What¡­ did you say?¡± Liangxiao was startled by the news. ¡°My dad¡­ my dad is on his way here?¡±

 Chapter 67

    Though he hadn¡¯t escaped from the mansion, Zixiu felt less worried with two senior brothers who were adept at martial arts by his side and he slept soundly during the night.


    The next morning after he woke up, Zixiu put on his clothes and neatly combed hair in disarray on his own before asking Tinglan in. He told Tinglan that during the process of praying for Prince Mu, he was not going to wear makeup. Actually, he was worried that Tinglan would find out his secret when she got too close. Thankfully, as he was only 16 years old, Zixiu had a fair, tender complexion. Moreover, he was even more beautiful than a girl. Therefore, when he wore his hair in a bun with bead flower on it and put on a woman¡¯s attire, even though without makeup, people could tell that he was a man if they didn¡¯t look closely.


    As the chief maidservant of the empress dowager, Tinglan knew very well what a servant should do, so even though she was suspicious that the princess was always making excuses to keep her away, she didn¡¯t dare say anything except for bringing ¡®her¡¯ the water for freshening up and breakfast.


    After breakfast, Zixiu went to see Prince Mu as usual.


    Coincidentally, the empress dowager came to see her son from the imperial palace as well.


    When the ¡®mother and daughter-in-law¡¯ met at the door of Prince Mu¡¯s bedroom, instead of putting on a melancholy look on their faces as usual, they all looked overjoyed. As it had nothing to do with him whether Nangong Du was in a coma or awake, Zixiu thought that he himself was just faking it. However, people¡¯s emotions were really complex, and sometimes they didn¡¯t even know what was going on inside of them. When Zixiu stepped into the inner room and saw Nangong Du, who had been lying in bed still for a dozen days, looking at him with his eyes slightly narrowed, leaning against the bedhead, he couldn¡¯t help but curve his lips up. Though the smile only lingered a few seconds on his lips, Zixiu felt much relieved, as if he suddenly saw sunshine after days of rain.


    ¡°It must be because I¡¯m too kind!¡± Zixiu thought while walking to the bed following behind the empress dowager. Though he was smiling, there was a gleam of sorrow in his eyes, which made him look a mixture of joy and sorrow.


    The empress dowager was very emotional when she saw Nangong Du. She walked over and wrapped her son in her arms silently with tears streaming down her face.


    Standing behind her, Zixiu was so moved that he almost burst into tears. In spite of her distinguished identity, like all mothers in the world, this old lady loved her son dearly. If Nangong Du died at such a young age, she would definitely be devastated.


    Seeing the sorrow and pity in Zixiu¡¯s eyes, though Nangong Du was still as feeble as the withered leaves in the autumn wind, there was a trace of gleam crossing his gem-like dark eyes, which made his lifeless face suddenly become vivacious. He had been fully revived now as if a gork had suddenly woken up.


    After quite a while, as if she was tired of crying, or felt that it would impair the majesty of the royal family, the empress dowager let go of her son reluctantly and turned to wipe tears off her face.


    When he saw that the handkerchief in the empress dowager¡¯s hand had been wet with tears, Zixiu handed his handkerchief over to her considerately. ¡°Mother-in-law, don¡¯t cry. Prince Mu is already awake! When he¡¯s fully recovered, he¡¯ll be able to enjoy flowers and drink tea in the imperial place with you in a few days!¡± he said, trying to comfort this old lady.


    As Nangong Du made no objection when he had addressed the empress dowager this way the first time he met her, Zixiu still addressed her as ¡®mother-in-law¡¯.


    The empress dowager froze for a while before she took the handkerchief and wiped the corner of her eyes. When she looked up at her tall, slim ¡®daughter-in-law¡¯, there was a complicated look in her eyes.


    However, Zixiu didn¡¯t sense anything wrong. To make this old lady feel assured, he grinned from ear to ear, which made him look a little silly and a little cute.


    As soon as she saw a big smile booming on his face, the empress dowager felt much better. When she looked back at her son, she found that the latter was staring at her ¡®daughter-in-law¡¯ without blinking.


    Knowing what was on her son¡¯s mind, the empress dowager shook her head slightly and then pulled Zixiu to the bed and put his beautiful hand into her son¡¯s. ¡°Liuxu, come here and let Du take a look at you.¡±


    Zixiu grew tension with his heart pounding and he couldn¡¯t smile as naturally as he had just done. ¡°Your Highness, I¡¯m glad you¡¯re finally awake!¡± he said, managing to force a smile.


    Nangong Du still looked weak. He tried to say something but failed to utter a sound.


    Only then did Zixiu notice that the pervert was in bad shape. His ashen cheeks were sunken, his lips were dry, and even peeling, which made him look so gaunt that anyone who saw him couldn¡¯t help but feel sorry for him. It was no wonder that the empress dowager kept on weeping bitterly!


    Though he knew it would make him look petty, Zixiu couldn¡¯t help but curse inwardly, ¡°You damn pervert, you¡¯ve never thought this would happen to you, have you? Humph! You deserve it¡­¡±


    When he was venting his anger secretly, he felt a sudden squeeze on his hand. Zixiu looked up in surprise and saw Nangong Du looking at him with a faint smile. Feeling his heart skip a beat, Zixiu turned his head in haste and couldn¡¯t help but feel guilty.


    Sure enough, he was too kind!


    ¡°Your Grace, Your Highness, it¡¯s time for Prince Mu to take medicine!¡± Physician Ling¡¯s voice suddenly rang outside.


    Zixiu heaved a sigh of relief. Now that his companion had come, he no longer needed to deal with those people alone.


    ¡°Bring the medicine in,¡± The empress dowager said in a hoarse voice, sounding a little tired. She had been worrying so much about her son recently.


    Lingxiao walked in with a maidservant following behind him. There was a bowl of steaming hot medicine soup on the tray the maidservant was holding.


    The empress dowager was about to feed her son with the medicine in person, so she gestured the maidservant to give it to her. Maybe Zixiu was too eager to get rid of the grip of Nangong Du, he withdrew his hands from the latter¡¯s instantly and grabbed the bowl from the maidservant before the empress dowager could take it. ¡°Mother-in-law, take a rest and let me do it!¡± he said as if he were a very dutiful daughter-in-law.


    After pausing for a few seconds, the empress dowager nodded with a gentle smile. At this moment, she suddenly understood why her son had taken a fancy to this kid. She didn¡¯t know whether to bless them or feel sorry for them.


    As soon as he took the bowl, Zixiu began to regret it. With the steam of the brown decoction rising from the bowl, a terrible smell rushed into his nostrils. The smell was far more disgusting than what he had smelled the other day in the yard, and soon, Zixiu couldn¡¯t stand it any longer. He not only felt dizzy, but felt sick to his stomach, and next his gastric acid rush to his throat. ¡°Urgh¡ª¡± He retched loudly, covering his mouth with his hand.


    ¡°Liuxu!¡± ¡°Your Highness!¡± the empress dowager, the maidservant, and even Lingxiao cried out in surprise synchronously.


    Thankfully, the bowl remained on the tray, not knocked over.


    ¡°I¡¯m alright. No worries! Haha!¡± Zixiu put the bowl back in its place and chuckled, trying to cover up for his tension. However, when he sensed someone glaring at him coldly from behind, he was seized with panic. ¡°The medicine is really disgusting! Don¡¯t other people think so?¡±


    ¡°Liuxu, what¡¯s up? Do you feel sick?¡± The empress dowager came back to her senses first and she immediately asked with concern.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine!¡± Zixiu shook his head with a smile. However, as soon as he finished his words, he felt like vomiting again. ¡°Urgh¡ª¡± ¡°Urgh¡ª¡±


    ¡°How come your hands are so cold?¡± The empress dowager suddenly grabbed him by the hands, looking surprised.


    Before she could give the order, Physician Ling had moved closer in a hurry.


    ¡°Your Majesty, relax! I¡¯m feeling Princess Liuxu¡¯s pulse right now.¡±


    With his eyes rolling about and his brows knitted from time to time, Lingxiao never took his gaze off the fan near Zixiu¡¯s fair wrist. Though Zixiu had stopped retching and felt much better now, when he saw the solemn look on Lingxiao¡¯s face, he couldn¡¯t help but feel nervous. ¡°Lingxiao is so skilled in medicine, but he hasn¡¯t diagnosed what¡¯s wrong with me for so long. Am I suffering from some incurable disease?¡±


    After feeding Nangong Du with the decoction, the empress dowager walked over in haste and asked with a worried look, ¡°Physician Ling, what¡¯s wrong with Princess Liuxu?¡±


    ¡°Congratulations, Your Grace! Congratulations, Prince Mu! Congratulations, Princess Liuxu!¡± Lingxiao suddenly rose to his feet and shouted his congratulations.


    Hearing the three ¡®congratulations¡¯ in a row, Zixiu couldn¡¯t help but feel creepy. His intuition told him that what Lingxiao was going to say must be jaw-dropping!


    Sure enough, after pausing for a few seconds, Lingxiao said with great certainty, ¡°Princess Liuxu is pregnant!¡±

 Chapter 68

    Princess Liuxu was pregnant!


    Hearing what Physician Ling said, the empress dowager immediately cheered up. She then told her attendants to send some jewelry, silk and satin, as well as various kinds of nutritious food, and antiabortifacient herbs to the princess¡¯s residence.


    Putting on a coy look, ¡®Princess Liuxu¡¯ was about to bow to the empress dowager to show ¡®her¡¯ thanks but was stopped by the latter. ¡°Liuxu, as you¡¯re pregnant, you don¡¯t have to stand on ceremony.¡±


    ¡°¡­ Your Grace, I appreciate your concern!¡± After hesitating for a while, Zixiu answered, his voice gruff and his face livid. ¡°Yan Lingxiao, you¡¯re such a quack! You idiot, how can a man get pregnant?!¡±


    As if he had heard that Zixiu was cursing him secretly, Lingxiao suddenly sniffed loudly. Actually, it was after much deliberation that he had announced Zixiu¡¯s pregnancy. When he put his fingers on Zixiu¡¯s wrist, he felt two different kinds of pulsations, which only occurred when a woman was pregnant. If he hadn¡¯t known that Zixiu was a man who could never conceive a baby, no matter how good his medical skill was, there was no way he could find out Zixiu¡¯s pseudopregnancy. It seemed that someone poisoned Zixiu with some kind of toxic, which gave him the symptoms of pregnancy, and this person most likely had known that Zixiu was the princess in disguise. Though Lingxiao couldn¡¯t figure out what that person¡¯s purpose was, to get Zixiu out of the mansion asap, he decided to keep it a secret. He now was wondering what Prince Mu would react to this piece of shocking news.


    After finishing his decoction, Nangong Du lay down again. However, before he could close his eyes, he suddenly heard the news of Zixiu¡¯s pregnancy and bounced up in an instant. As he had just woken up, he stared at Zixiu in a daze, looking quite confused, but everyone could tell that his face grew even paler.


    Out of a physician¡¯s sense of duty, and also out of fear that the patient he had awakened with so much effort would fall back into a coma, Ling Xiao rushed to the bed in haste. After checking Prince Mu¡¯s conditions, He said, in the way a physician usually instructed his patients, ¡°Your Highness, relax! Nothing is more important than your health!¡±


    Though Nangong Du didn¡¯t look at him, he followed Lingxiao¡¯s suggestion. Managing to calm himself down, he lay back to the bed.


    ¡°We¡¯d better leave Prince Mu alone to have a good rest.¡± with that, the empress dowager rose to her feet and walked out with those people following behind her.


    ¡°Darling!¡±


    When Zixiu was about to lift his right foot and step over the threshold, he suddenly heard Nangong Du¡¯s faint voice ringing from behind. In a panic, he tripped over the threshold and almost fell to the floor. Fortunately, Tinglan, who was by his side, had quick reflexes and caught him in time. ¡°Your Highness, watch out!¡±


    The empress dowager had walked out of the room when Tinglan cried out. She turned around and immediately saw Zixiu¡¯s discomfited appearance. ¡°You kid, how could you be so reckless! Come on, go back to him!¡±


    Hearing that, Zixiu felt like his panic had turned into an impulse to cry. ¡°How come I¡¯m always so hapless?¡±


    However, even the emperor didn¡¯t dare go against the empress dowager. Moreover, this old lady was doing this to create an opportunity for the new couple to be with each other alone. Therefore, Zixiu couldn¡¯t find any excuse to turn her down and he could only answer obediently with his head lowered, ¡°Got it!¡±


    Lingxiao also wanted to get in. Needless to say, he could only wait outside.


    As there was nobody else in the room except for the two of them, Zixiu didn¡¯t have to act. It was his comeuppance that Nangong Du now in such a wretched state. As he was too feeble to be violent with Zixiu as he had been before, Zixiu was no longer afraid of him.


    Looking down at him, Zixiu couldn¡¯t help but secretly felicitate that he finally held his head high in front of this pervert. However, unlike Nangong Du and Xingyi, he wasn¡¯t a shameless bully. But anyway, he wouldn¡¯t bury the hatchet and met him with a smile. Therefore, he only stood by the bed and asked with a poker face, ¡°Your Highness, what do you want?¡±


    ¡°What the hell is going on?¡± Nangong Du stared at him resentfully as if he was very annoyed at Zixiu¡¯s indifference. However, he didn¡¯t seem to be eligible to complain about Zixiu!


    With his senior brothers as his backing, Zixiu was now much bolder. He stared back at Nangong Du while speaking aggressively, ¡°What do you mean? I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about!¡±


    ¡°You¡­¡± Choked by his words, Nangong Du found it difficult to breathe and his face flushed dark red in an instant.


    Taken aback, Zixiu felt his heart skip a beat. He sat down on the edge of the bed in a panic and stroked Nangong Du¡¯s back so that he could breathe easily. ¡°Your Highness, don¡¯t get mad at me. It¡¯s all my fault! I shouldn¡¯t have been so rude!¡± he apologized in a soft voice, trying to appease Nangong Du¡¯s anger.


    ¡°Are you a woman? How come you get pregnant?¡± As he caught his breath, Nangong Du suddenly roared, as if he had completely been back to his former state!


    Zixiu was startled again. It wasn¡¯t because of Nangong Du¡¯s arrogance, but because he had heard that there would be a sudden spurt of vitality before people died. ¡°Gosh! Looks like this pervert can¡¯t hold on much longer!¡±


    ¡°Your Highness, don¡¯t believe that quack! You should know I¡­ no, you should know your humble consort is a guy, right? How can a guy get pregnant? Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s too ridiculous? Haha¡­¡± At the thought that Nangong Du might die at any time because of what he said, Zixiu was almost incoherent with fear.


    ¡°Your Highness, your humble consort will never be pregnant! Even if something unexpected happened, he would find a way to get rid of the trouble. So you don¡¯t have to bother for such a dummy message. Your Highness¡­¡± No matter how he hated this asshole, Zixiu didn¡¯t want him to die at this moment, or he wouldn¡¯t be able to explain himself and might be sent to the Ministry of Justice as a homicide suspect!


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with Prince Mu?¡± Hearing Zixiu¡¯s pathetic cries, Physician Ling, who was waiting outside, immediately rushed in. However, to his surprise, the moment he got into the room, he saw that Nangong Du was holding Zixiu tight while the latter was rubbing his face against his chest in a coquettish manner!


    ¡°Pah!¡±


    Lingxiao¡¯s fan slipped out of his hand again!

 Chapter 69

    People always thought their lover the most gorgeous in the world, but they had the opposite attitude towards their rivals, believing that they were always trying to seduce their sweetheart.


    Looking from where Lingxiao was, Zixiu and Nangong Du were hugging with each other passionately. However, the fact was that Nangong Du clasped Zixiu¡¯s hands behind his back with one hand and pulled Zixiu to him by grabbing his hair with the other. ¡°What do you mean by ¡®get rid of the trouble?¡¯ Honey, so you think it¡¯s a shame to be pregnant with my child, right?!¡± Nangong Du asked, his face ashen.


    ¡°No, I¡¯ve never thought this way¡­¡± Zixiu was scared out of his wits when he saw this pervert suddenly go mad and he didn¡¯t notice that Lingxiao had run into the room. Shaking his head instinctively, he managed to calm Nangong Du down before shouting for help, ¡°Physician Ling¡­ Is someone there? His Highness¡­ His Highness is¡­¡± The word ¡®dying¡¯ stuck in his throat.


    Hearing his panic-stricken cries, Lingxiao came back to his senses. After careful observation, this insanely jealous young man finally realized what was going on. In the blink of an eye, he conjured out a silver needle and shot it to Nangong Du.


    Next, the prince, who had been as fierce as a tiger, suddenly collapsed in Zixiu¡¯s arms.


    ¡°Your Highness!¡± Zixiu turned paled at once, but he still didn¡¯t notice the existence of Lingxiao. Thinking that Nangong Du was dead, he held him up and shook him desperately. ¡°Your Highness, what¡¯s wrong with you? Your Highness! I didn¡¯t mean that! Your Highness! Your Highness¡­¡±


    ¡°He¡¯ll be fine!¡± Lingxiao walked to the bed with a sullen look. Even though he had known that he misunderstood Zixiu just now, he was filled with grief and anger because his sweetheart paid so much attention to Nangong Du that he didn¡¯t even notice him come in! Though Zixiu had made it clear that he never liked Nangong Du, from the way he spoke and acted, Lingxiao could tell that far from hating that damn perverted prince, Zixiu was defending him! ¡°If Zixiu remains here, he may fall in love with Nangong Du over time¡­ Damn it! I¡¯ll never let that happen!¡±


    ¡°Zixiu, follow me! I¡¯m going to get you out of the mansion right now!¡± Putting aside his ambition to challenge the difficult medical problems and the fame of the Valley of Fallen Blossoms, Lingxiao suddenly gave Nangong Du a shove and then strode out in haste, holding Zixiu¡¯s hand.


    Zixiu came back to his senses when he felt a tug at him. He turned and looked at Lingxiao in confusion, and next, he suddenly widened his eyes, full of fear.


    ¡°You¡­ What the hell did you do to him?¡± he asked in a trembling voice.


    From his tone and expression, Lingxiao immediately figured out that Zixiu must have misunderstood that he had killed Nangong Du and was about to escape. ¡°How come Zixiu always thinks of me as a vicious man?¡± he thought sadly. ¡°So what even if I¡¯ve done something to Nangong Du? Shouldn¡¯t that pervert be punished for taking over someone else¡¯s fianc¨¦e by force?¡±


    At the thought of this, he grew even more furious. Clenching his teeth, he said, ¡°Nangong Du forced you to marry him, so I must make him pay for it!¡±


    ¡°So you¡­¡± Zixiu asked in a panic, trying to probe Lingxiao¡¯s attitude.


    Burning with jealousy, Lingxiao answered resentfully, ¡°I blocked his vital acupoint, and if he can¡¯t get his blood circulation back up in an hour, he¡¯ll die!¡±


    Hearing that, Zixiu was even more shocked and he immediately shook off Lingxiao¡¯s hand, as if being electrocuted. ¡°How could you treat him like this? It¡¯s not what you think! Nangong Du¡­ He didn¡¯t force me to marry him!¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± Lingxiao froze on the spot as if he had just been struck by lightning. ¡°So you married him of your own accord?¡± he blurted out.


    ¡°Bullshit!¡± Zixiu didn¡¯t know whether to laugh or cry. He wondered as a straight man, why God always arranged for him to be someone¡¯s wife or fianc¨¦e? How ridiculous!


    ¡°I was brought here by a perverted woman who kidnapped me! Nangong Du got drunk that night, so he¡­ Anyway, though he suspected that I was a spy sent by a hostile country, he didn¡¯t kill me, so I don¡¯t think he deserves to die!¡±


    Lingxiao didn¡¯t say anything. After pondering for a while, he showed an expression of loss. Grabbing Zixiu by the hand again, he continued with a gloomy look, ¡°Zixiu, if you don¡¯t want Nangong Du to die, I promise I won¡¯t kill him.¡±


    ¡°What are you talking about? You¡¯re making me¡­ Hey, do you think I¡¯m lying to you?¡±


    Lingxiao remained silent. He did think that Zixiu was defending Nangong Du. Even if Zixiu had been kidnapped by someone else, Nangong Du shouldn¡¯t have kept him in his mansion all the time. Because of him, the innocent Zixiu was almost killed by the assassin and now he was even poisoned, so Lingxiao swore to himself that he wouldn¡¯t let Nangong Du go easily!


    Lingxiao¡¯s silence triggered Zixiu¡¯s anger. ¡°Damn it! I¡¯ve suffered so much humiliation and abuse here, but this stupid guy even suspected that I had feelings for Nangong Du!¡± he thought resentfully. ¡°Yan Lingxiao, you quack! You¡¯re still doubting that I¡¯m a woman, aren¡¯t you? By the way, I haven¡¯t got even with you for peeping at me when I was having a bath the other day!¡±


    ¡°Xiuxiu, don¡¯t be mad at me. I didn¡¯t mean to suspect you. I trust you, Xiuxiu¡­¡±


    ¡°Shut up! If you dare to call me Xiuxiu again, I, I¡­¡± Without knowing what to say, Zixiu shook off Lingxiao¡¯s hand in a huff. Out of his mind with rage, he blurted out, ¡°You¡¯re right! I married Nangong Du of my own free will! I like him and I can¡¯t bear to see him die!!¡±


    With that, he rushed to the bed and wrapped the patient in his arms deliberately. When he looked down, he found in surprise that Nangong Du was staring at him with a complicated look in his slightly puffy enchanting eyes.


    Meanwhile, he heard Lingxiao¡¯s depressed voice ringing from behind, ¡°I only hit the acupoint that would make him numb!¡±


    Hearing that, Zixiu felt his head buzzing and before he blacked out, he roared inwardly, ¡°Yan Lingxiao, how dare you lie to me again!¡±

 Chapter 70

    Though it was already noon, all the restaurants and hotels in Luanzhou city were cheerless with only a few guests, and carriages were seldom seen at the door. Some of them were even temporarily closed. Waiters from neighboring hotels were gambling under a cracked old locust tree while an old dog nearby lying listlessly at the foot of the wall with its eyes closed as if it had fallen asleep. The depression was all because the empress dowager had decreed that everyone in the capital city had to go vegetarian for three days!


    Even though Yuelai Hotel was one of the most popular hotels in the city, its business was also slack these days and there were only a few guests in the lobby at the moment. As they didn¡¯t have much work to do, the old accountant and all the waiters except for Ah Cai had left of absence to visit their family in their hometown, which made the fat shopkeeper, Mr. Lu, have to greet the guests in person. Now, Ah Cai, the only waiter left in the hotel for having no family to visit, was napping by the door.


    ¡°Eh-hem!¡± Mr. Lu coughed slightly. Hearing that, Ah Cai immediately opened his eyes and started calculating on an abacus while flipping through the account book.


    Yawning, Ah Cai wiped the saliva from the corner of his mouth before he managed to widen his eyes.


    However, after staring at the deserted street in a daze for a few seconds, he was overwhelmed by drowsiness again. Thankfully, after a while, he suddenly heard the tramps of horses coming from outside.


    Ah Cai rushed out of the hotel instantly, his eyes shining with excitement.


    Sure enough, next, two middle-aged men appeared at the corner of the street with horses. One of the two was gorgeously dressed, while the other was wearing plain clothes, but there was nothing weird about them standing side by side. Though they were not young, they still looked charming and pleasing to the eye.


    ¡°Are you going to stay here for a short rest or accommodation?¡± With a flattering smile, Ah Cai strode to them.


    As soon as he finished his words, a young man came out of the hotel and walked past him quickly before bowing to the middle-aged men. ¡°Master Yan, Uncle Liu, greetings!¡±


    It was none other than Luo Huali, who had come from the Prince Mu¡¯s Mansion to wait for Yan Ke and Liu Wuyi in the early morning.


    ¡°Are you¡­ Huali?¡± Liu Wuyi asked after hesitating for a moment, his voice full of uncertainty. After all, when he had left the Valley of Fallen Blossoms with his wife and son, Luo Huali was only a 5-year-old child.


    ¡°Uncle Liu, nice to meet you!¡± Luo Huali bowed to him respectfully again. Though it had been thirteen years since they parted, as there wasn¡¯t much change in Liu Wuyi¡¯s appearance, Huali recognized him at once.


    ¡°You¡¯ve grown up!¡± Liu Wuyi nodded with a smile, but from the complicated look in his eyes, everyone could tell he had intention behind his words.


    Huali didn¡¯t know his Uncle Liu suspected him and Lingxiao of kidnapping his son, but Yan Ke knew well what his junior brother was hinting, so he immediately said, ¡°Come on, let¡¯s chat inside!¡±


    With that, he blinked at the waiter.


    Ah Cai instantly figured out what he meant. Putting on a professional smile, he led the way into the hotel. ¡°This way, please!¡±


    Mr. Lu walked out to greet the guests while asking Ah Cai to take care of their horses.


    Next, the three of them were put up in the guest rooms upstairs. Though he looked travel-worn, before taking a bath and changing his clothes, Liu Wuyi couldn¡¯t wait to inquire about his son¡¯s whereabouts.


    Hearing him ask Huali to his room, Yan Ke walked in as well. ¡°Huali, tell your uncle where Zixiu is right now! Does his disappearance have anything to do with you and Yan Lingxiao?¡± he said with a serious look before Liu Wuyi could ask any question.


    ¡°Zixiu is at Prince Mu¡¯s Mansion!¡± As he was clear that there was no way to hide this, Huali told his two elders the truth without hesitation.


    ¡°Prince Mu¡¯s Mansion?¡± Liu Wuyi and Yan Ke were all confused. At any rate, Liu Wuyi could hardly relate his lazy son to Prince Mu. ¡°It¡¯s said that Prince Mu was poisoned. Does Zixiu have anything to do with this?¡±


    At the thought of this, Liu Wuyi grew even more worried. ¡°What the hell is going on? How is Zixiu doing?¡±


    ¡°As Prince Mu¡¯s consort, Zixiu is safe for the moment¡­¡±


    ¡°What?!¡± Before he could finish his words, the two elders cried out in surprise. ¡°Zixiu is my future daughter-in-law. How come she became Prince Mu¡¯s consort?¡± Liu Wuyi was more shocked than Yan Ke was. ¡°How come my son became the princess? Could Luo Huali have mistaken someone else for Zixiu?¡±

 Chapter 71

    Zixiu didn¡¯t know how long he had been in a coma before he woke up. He felt so tired that he was even reluctant to open his eyes. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with me?¡±


    ¡°Zixiu, you¡¯re awake finally!¡± someone cried out.


    Next, Lingxiao burst into his sight with a worried look.


    ¡°Rumble!¡±


    Feeling as if a bomb exploded in his head, Zixiu blushed in an instant. What had happened before he fainted became clear in his mind little by little.


    ¡°I married Nangong Du of my own free will! I like him and I can¡¯t bear to see him die!!¡±


    ¡°Gosh! How embarrassing!¡± As a positive and easygoing young man, he acted so childishly in front of these two gays! What¡¯s more, out of sheer pique, he even made such an¡­ indecent remark! ¡°Damn it! How stupid I was!¡±


    Seeing the glow on his face, Lingxiao thought that Zixiu was running a fever and he became even more worried. In spite of his fake pregnancy, Zixiu¡¯s physical changes would be the same as those of a real pregnant woman. Fainting for no reason was a dangerous sign of illness, which combined with fever, suggested that Zixiu¡¯s health was far from optimistic. With the diagnosis, Lingxiao could tell that Zixiu was not only poor mentally but was also feeble physically, as if he had been seriously ill before.


    ¡°Zixiu, are you feeling better?¡± Lingxiao asked, full of concern.


    His words stopped Zixiu from complaining about himself and reminded him of the moments Lingxiao cheated on him and made a fool of him. ¡°It¡¯s all this quack¡¯s fault! He not only repeatedly lied to me but also spread the rumor that a cheery young man like me was pregnant! Yan Lingxiao, you¡¯ve gone too far! How dare you bully me like that? Even though I¡¯m not as mighty as a tiger, I¡¯m not a kitten like K, K¡­¡±


    Though the name had sprung to his lips, Zixiu just couldn¡¯t call it to mind. ¡°K, K¡­¡± He tried hard to search in his memory anxiously when a vague shadow in his mind kept on zooming in and out, stretching and deforming before it morphed into a tiny, fuzzy figure in the end. Zixiu was reluctant to give up, so he tried even harder, wanting to recall the name that had just flashed through his mind. ¡°It still doesn¡¯t work! The system needed to be reset¡­¡± He suddenly heard someone¡¯s faint voice ringing from nowhere.


    With the voice fading away, Zixiu had a splitting headache again. Unable to bear the pain, he let out a miserable scream, wrapping his head with his hands, ¡°Ah¡ª¡±


    Hearing that, both Nangong Du, who was lying in bed, and Yan Lingxiao, who was taking care of Zixiu by the couch, were shocked into a cold sweat. ¡°Darling!¡± ¡°Xiuxiu!¡± the two of them cried out synchronously.


    Like a person who had a sudden burst of energy just before he was about to die, Nangong Du suddenly bounced out of the bed. However, before he could take a step to his ¡®darling¡¯, he lost his balance. Fortunately, Yueying held him up in time.


    Lingxiao lost the composure of a physician and removed the silver needle from Zixiu in a hurry before wrapping him with his arms. He then put two fingers on Zixiu¡¯s wrist and was surprised to find that he couldn¡¯t sense the latter¡¯s pulse. What shocked him even more was that Zixiu¡¯s body was as cold as a dead man¡¯s!


    ¡°Xiuxiu, what¡¯s wrong with you? Come on, say something! Xiuxiu! Xiuxiu!¡±


    ¡°My headache¡­ is killing me¡­¡± Zixiu spat out the words feebly through his pale lips. As if his whole body was drained of all the strength, he stopped screaming and struggling with his face growing ashen and his pupils dilating gradually.


    With the help of Yueying, Nangong Du managed to walk to the couch. ¡°Darling¡­¡± trembling all over, he muttered, looking so pale. However, there was no hint of emotional fluctuation in his voice.


    ¡°He must be calling someone else!¡± In half-consciousness, Zixiu thought, feeling a little irritated for no reason. ¡°How could he call someone else while looking at me!¡±


    ¡°Your bastard!¡± Lingxiao roared furiously before he kicked Nangong Du hard in the leg. If anything bad happened to Zixiu, Lingxiao would definitely kill Nangong Du to avenge him!


    ¡°Thump!¡± Caught off guard, Yueying had no time to apply more strength to support his master, who fell to his knees before Zixiu.


    ¡°Darling¡­¡± Nangong Du muttered one more time, staring at Zixiu blankly. As Zixiu had thought, this prince was thinking of his darling, the woman he once loved so much. ¡°How come Liu Zixiu is so similar to Xianxian? Especially his innocent eyes, just like hers¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t leave me, Zixiu!¡±


    ¡°Rumble¡ª¡±


    Hearing the thunder crack overhead, the two of them fixed their gaze on Zixiu, full of horror, thinking that the sudden thunder of a sunny day was an ominous sign.


    After a moment of dead silence, Zixiu suddenly cried out, ¡°Karupin!¡±


    As if a flower had blossomed on a rock, his bleak eyes suddenly lit up, shining with vitality.

 Chapter 72

    In rage, Zixiu gave each of the two guys a punch, which shocked everyone present. Even Yueying, who kept his cool no matter what happened, was stupified and forgot to guard his master. As no sooner had Zixiu put on his shoes and walked a few steps than he not only felt pain in his back, stomach but also was dizziness and nausea, he had to give up the idea of looking for his cat.


    ¡°Urgh¡ª¡± Unable to hold back the urge to vomit, he held against the table and started retching. ¡°Shit! Yan Lingxiao, you¡¯d better tell me the truth. What the hell is going on?¡± ¡°Urgh¡ª¡±


    Despite his upset stomach, Zixiu roared while staring at Lingxiao furiously, his eyes darting fire.  In a violent mood, he was much like a pregnant woman at the moment.


    Being punched and scolded, Lingxiao felt so wronged. As he was still worried about Zixiu, he reached out and was about to help him back to the couch to rest, but when he saw the rageful look in his eyes, he withdrew his hand. After taking a few deep breathes, he said cautiously, ¡°Xiuxiu, don¡¯t¡­¡±


    ¡°Shut up!¡± hearing Lingxiao¡¯s disgusting form of address for him, Zixiu grew even more furious. He had warned Lingxiao many times, but this damned quack still addressed him in this way!


    Unfortunately, Lingxiao didn¡¯t realize why Zixiu was mad at him. After hesitating for a while, he continued, ¡°Relax, Xiuxiu¡­¡±


    ¡°Ah¡ª¡± Burning with fury, instead of waving his fist to Lingxiao as he had done just now, Zixiu bellowed while rushing over to him. With a grim look, he grabbed Liangxiao by the collar and said in a threatening tone, ¡°You brat, are you playing a trick on me deliberately? You¡­¡±


    However, before he could finish his words, Lingxiao suddenly pulled him into his arms. What maddened Zixiu even more was that just as he was about to lash out, this quack gagged him with a single finger! ¡®Damn it! Does he think he can bully people at will just because he¡¯s a martial arts practitioner?¡¯ he thought resentfully. ¡°Mmm¡­ Mmm¡­¡±


    ¡°Calm down, Xiuxiu! If you go on like this, you¡¯ll hurt yourself.¡± Looking down at him gently, Lingxiao tried to comfort Zixiu, who was struggling hard in his arms. He had loosened his grip on Zixiu as much as he could to avoid making him uncomfortable, but unfortunately, he failed to realize how much Zixiu hated the way he addressed him. Being so rageful, Zixiu seemed as if he might explode at any moment like a bomb. As Lingxiao was daring enough to hold the ¡°bomb¡± in his arms, he must not be afraid of being blown up! Actually, he didn¡¯t care being punched or cursed by Zixiu as long as the latter was safe and sound.


    ¡°Mmm¡­¡± Zixiu tried to say something, but couldn¡¯t utter a single word. Having been fooled twice, he now had serious doubts about the honesty of this damned quack! Anyway, he was a straight man of normal sexual orientation, so even though he couldn¡¯t break free from Lingxiao¡¯s grip no matter how desperately he struggled, he wouldn¡¯t allow himself to be held obediently in a man¡¯s arms. It was just too embarrassing! Needless to say, he dared to stamp hard on Lingxiao¡¯s foot because he was certain the latter wouldn¡¯t do anything to him and he would never have the guts to treat Nangong Du the same way. ¡®Er¡­ wait!¡¯


    Zixiu had been struggling with Lingxiao and only then did he realize that he had done something that he had never dared to do since he ¡®married¡¯ into the Prince Mu¡¯s Mansion. ¡®OMG! I punched that pervert just now¡­ It¡¯s not part of my dream, is it?¡¯


    Even with the martial artist, Yan Lingxiao, as his backing, Zixiu still grew tense. After all, his fear of this grumpy prince had gone deep into his bones, so he couldn¡¯t help but feel nervous as soon as he saw him. Moreover, he had just given that fierce ¡®tiger¡¯ a punch¡­


    Weighing the pros and cons, Zixiu finally released his grip on Lingxiao¡¯s foot. If he injured this quack¡¯s foot, once that pervert suddenly went mad and was about to kill him, he would have nobody to protect him! ¡®Forget it! Being held by a man is no big deal! Anyway, I¡¯m in a woman¡¯s attire now!¡¯


    As Zixiu stopped struggling fiercely, Lingxiao took a sigh of relief, thinking that his comfort worked. Like a triumphant cock, he raised his head high while looking defiantly at Nangong Du, who was standing behind Zixiu with a sullen look. The moment he got a punch from his ¡®fianc¨¦e¡¯ just now, Lingxiao was very depressed and felt humiliated in front of his rival in love. However, he cheered up instantly when he saw Zixiu wave his fist to Nangong Du next. ¡®Humph! Nangong Du, you asshole, see whose arms Xiuxiu is in? Don¡¯t try to take him from me!¡¯ Lingxiao thought.


    However, to their surprise, Nangong Du neither blew up at Zixiu nor did he pick a fight with Lingxiao. ¡°Puff!¡± He suddenly spat out a mouthful of dark blood.


    Lingxiao froze on the spot. It was obvious that Nangong Du had expelled the last bit of toxic blood! ¡°Damn it! How come this pervert is so lucky?¡±

 Chapter 73

    From the beginning of this morning, so many things had happened to Zixiu¡ªbeing diagnosed as pregnant, falling into a coma could be life-threatening, and finally bursting into life and even cursing and punching people, which left even the most undisturbed guard, Yueying, dumbfounded. Nangong Du hadn¡¯t recovered from his illness yet, so it was no wonder that he coughed up a mouthful of blood after a serious of mental blows!


    From the pitch-dark blood, Yueying could tell that Prince Mu had gotten rid of the toxins accumulated in his body, but as the latter didn¡¯t seem to be getting any better, Yueying decided to help him to go back to the bed. However, to his surprise, Nangong Du only waved his hand slightly, gesturing him to leave.


    The room went silent at once.


    Seeing Yueying step away from Nangong Du a few paces with a look of awe, Zixiu followed his suits and moved to Lingxiao¡¯s behind from his arms as slowly and quietly as he could. To his surprise, Lingxiao made no objection. ¡®That pervert is not going to die soon, is he?¡¯ As Zixiu had never expected that Nangong Du would have suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood, when he looked at the dark blood on the floor with a wary look, he was seized with an impulse to ask Lingxiao in a low voice.


    However, he finally forced back his question. Lingxiao didn¡¯t look in a good mood at this moment, his face as livid as that of Prince Mu across from them. Besides, although Zixiu wasn¡¯t a martial arts cultivator and had no internal force at all, he had sensed the tension in the air. He didn¡¯t want to trigger a fight between the two, especially because of him.


    After a while, Nangong Du broke the silence with a grim look. ¡°Liu Zixiu, is this the Prince of Tennis you were talking about?¡± His words sounded completely unthreatening, and it was more like he was saying it merely to satirize Zixiu.


    The Prince of Tennis? Zixiu looked at him in a daze. After a while, he suddenly remembered what he had blurted out before he blacked out a month ago when he ¡®married¡¯ into the Prince Mu¡¯s Mansion the first day. ¡°My name is Mark Lira, and I¡¯m twenty years old. My favorite Cartoon is The Prince of Tennis!¡± If Nangong Du didn¡¯t mention it, Zixiu would have completely forgotten about it. But what made Nangong Du think Lingxiao was the Prince of Tennis?


    Propping his chin with his hand, Zixiu eyed up and down Lingiao with his brows knitted, as if he were seriously thinking about something. Actually, as he was aware that he would definitely have a headache if he tried hard to recall something, there was nothing on his mind at this point. He had suffered a lot today, and he didn¡¯t want any more headaches!


    Needless to say, Lingxiao knew well that he had nothing to do with the Prince of Tennis. As Zixiu gave no explanation or response to what Nangong Du said, Lingxiao was full of doubts, but he still looked at Nangong Du with a defiant look. ¡°Nangong Du, don¡¯t try to stir up trouble and sow discord! If it weren¡¯t for Xiuxiu, I¡¯ve already chopped you into pieces!¡± he said scornfully.


    ¡°Really?¡± Nangong Du sneered. Instead of looking at Lingxiao, he stared at Zixiu with a grim look, which made the latter¡¯s flesh creep. Shivering, Zixiu couldn¡¯t help but move a little closer to Lingxiao in tension.


    Lingxiao was even more surprised when he sensed Zixiu trembling. ¡®Xiuxiu has always been defending Nangong Du. How come he¡¯s so afraid of him?¡¯ he wondered. If people could end someone¡¯s life by the killing intent in their eyes, from the way Nangong Du looked at Zixiu, Lingxiao was sure he was going to¡­


    As if having wised up in an instant, Lingxiao suddenly turned and pressed Zixiu¡¯s hand against his chest gently. ¡°Xiuxiu, no worries! You have your Brother Xiao to protect you! I won¡¯t allow anyone to bully you again!¡± No matter whether Nangong Du intended to kill Zixiu or he was just threatening him, Lingxiao was determined not to let Zixiu get hurt again.


    ¡°Hm!¡± Zixiu nodded, still looking frightened. He was honestly afraid that Nangong Du would kill him with a punch, so he had to count on Lingxiao for the moment.


    ¡°Nangong Du, stop frightening others with your terrible smile! If you dare to lay a finger on Xiuxiu, I won¡¯t show mercy!¡± Lingxiao turned around and warned Nangong Du. He, Yan Lingxiao, had never been a pushover!


    However, to his surprise, instead of flaring up, Nangong Du put away his sneer and even revealed a poised look. ¡°Physician Yan, calm down!¡± he said slowly.


    Lingxiao was clear that this prince had changed his attitude toward him not because he was afraid of him. With a sullen look, he said coldly, ¡°Prince Mu, I¡¯ve made up my mind to take Zixiu away today. I¡¯m not that patient, so you¡¯d better let us go, or it will be your death anniversary at this time next year!¡±


    ¡®Death anniversary? The two are not human beings, but a vicious wolf and an aggressive hawk!¡¯ Zixiu thought helplessly.


    ¡°Physician Ling, I like your straightforwardness!¡± Nangong Du continued. He remained calm, showing no sign of being annoyed by Lingxiao¡¯s threats. Next, he turned to walk to a chair. ¡°Take a seat, please!¡±


    ¡°Humph!¡± With a snort, Lingxiao pulled Zixiu to the chairs opposite Nangong Du and sat down, wanting to see what kind of trick he was going to play.


    Zixiu hesitated, wondering why Lingxiao didn¡¯t leave with him right now. The longer they stayed here, the more dangerous they would be! However, seeing the cocky air on Lingxiao¡¯s face, he didn¡¯t want to disappoint him, so he finally sat down as well.


    ¡°Physician Yan, I¡¯m grateful that you spared no effort to cure me!¡± Nangong Du said.


    Lingxiao rolled his eyes, showing no interest in his crap.


    Nangong Du didn¡¯t seem to be offended. He then stopped beating around the bush and got to the point. ¡°¡¯A Thousand Years of Intoxication¡¯ is a rare strong poison and it¡¯s hard to find someone who knows the method of detoxification. Without Physician Yan, I might have died. But I¡¯ve never expected you¡¯re my darling¡¯s acquaintance. What a coincidence! Maybe you¡¯ll feel offended, but I have to say you two might have schemed all this!¡±


    With a sneer, Lingxiao narrowed his eyes angrily. However, he didn¡¯t think he needed to explain the whole story to Nangong Du, so he only shot back with a few words. ¡°A gentleman is always open and aboveboard, while a vicious man always has an ax to grind!¡±


    ¡°A gentleman is always open and aboveboard¡­¡± Repeating the words in a low voice, Nangong Du revealed a faint smile, as if trying to cover up for his awkwardness. However, next, the bone-chilling look that Zixiu feared most came back into his eyes. ¡°Yan Lingxiao, how can you brag yourself as an aboveboard gentleman? You flirted with my darling, and even peeped at him bathing! Look what you¡¯re doing now! You¡¯re really open and aboveboard!¡±


    Hearing that, Zixiu suddenly noticed that his hand was still in Lingxiao¡¯s. In a panic, he tried to withdraw it, but this only made Lingxiao tighten his grip!


    ¡°Darling?!¡± Lingxiao muttered the word he hated most. Completely offended by Nangong Du¡¯s insulting remarks, he suddenly raised his hand, which was clasped tightly with Zixiu¡¯s. This bastard had taken Zixiu¡¯s chastity, but now he was even insulting him. He had really gone too far! ¡°Nangong Du, listen! Liu Zixiu and everything about him, including the baby, are all mine! You bastard, you can never¡­¡±


    ¡°Yan Lingxiao, you damned brat!¡± Before Lingxiao could finish venting his anger, he was suddenly interrupted by a roar. Next, a man in black rushed in and grabbed him by the ear. ¡®What happened?¡¯ Everyone in the room popped their eyes out in surprise.


    The intruder was none other than Lingxiao¡¯s father, Yan Ke! When Lingxiao was quarreling with Nangong Du, Yan Ke, Liu Wuyi and Luo Huali had sneaked into the mansion and they heard clearly what Lingxiao said in the midst of his righteous indignation!


    ¡°Yan Lingxiao! You¡­ I can¡¯t believe you have become such a scum!¡± What had he heard just now? His son had gotten his future daughter-in-law pregnant before marriage! Yan Ke was incoherent with anger and trembling all over. ¡°You bastard, you, you¡­¡± He didn¡¯t know what to say. After all, as Lingxiao¡¯s father and master, he had only himself to blame for his negligence in disciplining his son. ¡°You brat, you¡¯re so monumentally screwed!¡±


    ¡°Master Yan, calm down please! Master Yan¡­¡± Following behind Yan Ke closely, Luo Huali tried to comfort him. Actually, as Zixiu¡¯s admirer, he was even more furious than his master at Lingxiao¡¯s words.


    Nangong Du and Yueying were stupefied. ¡®What the hell is going on? There are hundreds of guards in the mansion. How come these people broke in so easily?¡¯


    The last intruder who landed by Zixiu¡¯s side quietly was none other than his father, Liu Wuyi!


    ¡°Ah¡­ Mmm?¡± Before Zixiu could let out a cry of joy, Liu Wuyi had covered his mouth with one hand and pulled him out of the room with the other in the blink of an eye.

 Chapter 74

    Running desperately, Liu Wuyi and his son escaped from the capital city overnight. As they didn¡¯t take the state road, they didn¡¯t arouse the attention of the soldiers guarding the city. When the day broke, with mosquito bites all over, the two of them walked into a ruined temple to rest.


    Being dragged all the way by his father, though Zixiu was both sleepy and hungry, he didn¡¯t feel tired. However, no matter how skillful Liu Wuyi was in Qing Kung, he had lost his cultivation base in martial arts and had no internal force at all. After traveling for days to find Zixiu and running dozens of miles the night before, he was exhausted now.


    Scanning around the shabby small temple, Zixiu found no chair, so he had to help his panting father to a pile of straw at the corner to rest.


    After quite a while, Liu Wuyi caught his breath. He then took out a paper bag and handed it to his son. He had heard Zixiu¡¯s stomach growl on the way, but it was a pity that to avoid arousing the suspicion from Yan Ke and Luo Huali, he had come out of the hotel with very little food the night before.


    Taking the paper bag, on which his father¡¯s temperature still lingered, Zixiu felt like crying. He bit his teeth for a while and managed to calm himself down before a wind of a fragrant aroma rushed into his nostrils. He immediately opened the bag and took a bite of the pancake in it. He hadn¡¯t had anything around the clock since the morning before.


    Seeing his son gobble the pancake, Liu Wuyi felt a twinge in his heart. It had been a month since Zixiu disappeared, and now he looked pale and it was obvious that he had lost a lot of weight. While Liu Wuyi was lurking on the roof with Yan Ke and Luo Huali the night before, he heard most of the conversation between Lingxiao and Nangong Du. From Lingxiao¡¯s bitter condemnation of Nangong Du, Liu Wuyi could tell Zixiu had suffered a lot these days. However, at any rate, he couldn¡¯t figure out how come his son got into the Prince Mu¡¯s Mansion. Though it was nothing new that the rich and powerful kept young men or even boys in their mansion for their sexual pleasure, Zixiu seldom left home, and every time he went down the mountain, he only stayed in the nearby town for a few days, so there was no chance that he would have met Prince Mu, let alone attract his attention! Though he was filled with doubts, Liu Wuyi didn¡¯t ask Zixiu any questions after pondering for a while.


    ¡°Take your time! Or you may be choked on the pancake!¡± Liu Wuyi said while smoothing his son¡¯s hair and brushing a straw away from it. As they escaped the prince¡¯s mansion in such a hurry that Zixiu had no time to get changed, and he only ripped off the expensive jewelry pinned to his hair and he put on a man¡¯s robe he had stolen up from Nangong Du¡¯s bedroom on their way out.


    ¡°Dad, let¡¯s share it!¡± After he had eaten up half of the pancake, Zixiu suddenly remembered that his father hadn¡¯t had anything yet, so he handed Liu Wuyi the remaining half of the pancake.


    ¡°I¡¯m not hungry. Take a good rest after you finish the pancake,¡± Liu Wuyi said gently before he closed his eyes to rest. For fear that he would stress his son out, he decided not to ask Zixiu what he had been through until the latter was in better health.


    After hesitating for a while, Zixiu wrapped up the remaining half pancake carefully and put it into his pocket, feeling at ease. Before, whenever he went out to pick herbs with his father, Liu Wuyi would remind him to tuck some packed food in his pocket, just like what he had done a moment ago. In the beginning, Zixiu was a little confused, but now, this gesture, which he had done so many times before, made him feel at home. It seemed he was not dreaming, and he had really gotten out of that pervert¡¯s mansion! However, though his experiences at the Prince Mu¡¯s Mansion were the last thing he wanted to talk about, Zixiu was surprised that his father didn¡¯t ask him any questions. ¡®How come I look exactly like the princess of the Wen Kingdom? What kind of place is the Valley of Fallen Blossoms? Did I really know Yang Lingxiao and Luo Huali before? Where¡¯s Karupin?¡¯ Zixiu wondered.


    ¡°Dad, how did you know I was in the Prince Mu¡¯s Mansion?¡± Unable to hold back his curiosity, Zixiu asked. He had so many questions for his father.


    Liu Wuyi opened his eyes. Sure enough, his son was extremely curious and by no means sentimental, or he wouldn¡¯t have been in such a hurry to ask questions as soon as he had escaped from that dangerous place. However, Liu Wuyi didn¡¯t want to bring up the past to anyone, especially his son, whom he had nearly lost.


    ¡°It¡¯s all over. You don¡¯t have to care about those irrelevant people!¡± he answered calmly.


    Irrelevant people? Zixiu rolled his eyes in surprise and was more certain that his father was hiding something from him. As Liu Wuyi didn¡¯t seem to be annoyed, Zixiu was about to ask more questions when his father suddenly grabbed him by the wrist.


    ¡°Don¡¯t move!¡± Placing two fingers on his son¡¯s wrist gently, Liu Wuyi started feeling the pulse for Zixiu. What Lingxiao had said about Zixiu¡¯s baby the night before suddenly popped into his mind. It seemed only the simple-minded Yan Ke would believe that Zixiu was pregnant! As Yan Ke was reluctant to accept the fact that Zixiu was a boy, Liu Wuyi didn¡¯t want to waste his time on explaining to him anymore. He had never been a busybody, so he wouldn¡¯t bother even if Yan Ke and Yan Lingxiao were kept in the dark all the time!


    ¡°Do you feel sick to your stomach?¡± With that, he gestured his son to reach out the other hand. After a while, the look on his face grew even more serious.


    ¡°A little bit! Sometimes I feel like¡­ vomiting.¡± At the thought of the diagnosis given by Lingxiao, Zixiu still felt kind of ashamed. However, his awkwardness was soon replaced by surprise. He had never seen his father feel the pulse for anyone else and even during the half-year he spent in bed after the accident, Liu Wuyi only bought and decocted the medicinal herbs as per the physician¡¯s prescription. Therefore, Zixiu had been thinking that his father knew nothing except how to pick medicinal herbs and he was so shocked when he saw his father diagnose his illness in person. ¡®Obviously, dad is far more than a medical herb collector!¡¯


    Feeling his son¡¯s hand tremble slightly with excitement, Liu Wuyi was a little helpless, but instead of answering Zixiu¡¯s question, he slapped him on the palm and pretended to get mad by putting on a grim look. ¡°Don¡¯t think too much! Stay away from people from the Valley of Fallen Blossoms!¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± driven by curiosity, Zixiu blurted out.


    Liu Wuyi couldn¡¯t help but frown slightly. It seemed he had to find a way to prevent his son from asking too many questions! After pondering for a while, he continued with an earnest look, ¡°Zixiu, you must have known Lingxiao has feelings for you, right?¡±


    Zixiu immediately shut his mouth. Though he could tell that it wasn¡¯t because of Lingxiao¡¯s gayness that his father didn¡¯t want him to associate with people from the Valley of Fallen Blossoms, as Liu Wuyi was reluctant to tell him the truth, he had to stop asking questions. At the thought that his father had heard what Lingxiao said, he felt very depressed.


    ¡°Dad, your Qing Kung is really awesome!¡± Zixiu then shifted the topic and said with admiration.


    ¡°Awesome?¡± Liu Wuyi shook his head slightly with a sullen look. ¡°This is just a trick, not worth mentioning. If it weren¡¯t for the chaos, I wouldn¡¯t have been able to get you out!¡±


    He was telling the truth. As he could no longer use martial arts, if it weren¡¯t for the fact that Yan Ke was cursing his son in rage and Prince Mu¡¯s guard didn¡¯t dare to leave his master alone, who was still very weak after his illness, Liu Wuyi wouldn¡¯t have gotten his son out of the mansion by merely using his Qing Kung. However, they were not really out of danger yet. Though people from the Valley of Fallen Blossoms wouldn¡¯t do anything harmful to them, they were just too annoying! Moreover, it was obvious that Prince Mu would definitely send people to hunt them, so if they met his attendants, Liu Wuyi could do nothing but surrender. ¡°Alas!¡±


    Zixiu also wanted to ask his father about Princess Liuxu, but when he heard Liu Wuyi sigh slightly, he forced back his words. It seemed unwise to mention the Prince Mu¡¯s Mansion and the Valley of Fallen Blossom! After pondering for a while, he finally recalled something cheerful. ¡°Dad, I remembered that I used to have a cat!¡±


    ¡°A cat?¡± Liu Wuyi looked at him blankly, wondering how come his son shifted the topic all of sudden.


    ¡°Its name was Karupin! It had big eyes and small ears¡­¡± Zixiu described to his father, like a child, how lovely the kitten was.


    As Liu Wuyi was still feeling the pulse for Zixiu, he didn¡¯t take what he said seriously. There were so many wildcats in the mountains, so he thought his son might be talking about some wildcat that wasn¡¯t afraid of people and often appeared on his way to collect medicinal herbs. ¡®Poor kid! He didn¡¯t think of anyone but of a cat!¡¯ Zixiu had been living in the mountains since his childhood and he had no friends of his age at all. Three years ago, he not only lost his mother but also his memory in an accident, and this time he even disappeared for more than a month! At the thought of this, Liu Wuyi couldn¡¯t help but feel guilty. ¡°Zixiu, I won¡¯t force you to pick medical herbs with me in the future.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± Zixiu was talking about his cat excitedly when he suddenly heard this. ¡®How come dad suddenly said something like that? Am I really suffering from some incurable disease?¡¯


    It wasn¡¯t until he saw his son¡¯s face turn pale that Liu Wuyi realized he was talking with a worried look. He immediately put on a confident look and pattered his son on the shoulder, trying to comfort him. ¡°No worries! As you were poisoned, you¡¯re showing some signs of pregnancy. Though we don¡¯t have the antidote, all these symptoms will go away automatically ten months later!¡±

 Chapter 75

    As Zixiu and his father raced to the mountains day and night, Luanzhou was in chaos.


    It was said that Princess Liuxu was kidnapped by a masked man the day she was diagnosed with pregnancy. As he was severely traumatized, Prince Mu¡¯s illness even worsened and he might die at any time.


    Officials from the Ministry of Justice and the administrative office of Luanzhou hurried to the Prince Mu¡¯s Mansion on the night of the princess¡¯s abduction and searched the mansion carefully before they found a bracelet broken in two in the grass in the back yard. After the appraisal, experts believed that the bracelet was made of fine white jade unique to the Ning Kingdom, which was too expensive for ordinary people to afford. Except for Pince Mu, his personal guard, Yueying, and the physician who had come to check Prince Mu¡¯s conditions, Ling Xiao, witnessed the abduction of Princess Liuxu as well. None of the guards, servants in the mansion, or even the imperial guards sent by the emperor had noticed when the assassin sneaked into the mansion and no soldiers had ever found anyone suspicious enter or leave the gate of the city. Apart from the above information, the officials got no clue.


    Three days later, the news reached to Linyang, the capital city of the Wen Kingdom. Everyone was shocked and the new emperor, Yuwen Weixia, flared up in an instant. Only a month after his younger sister had married the prince of the Nan Kingdom, so many things had happened to her! First, her maidservant was killed, and then she was almost assassinated, and now she was kidnapped as soon as she was found to be pregnant! Who would be so daring that he didn¡¯t even take the great Wen Kingdom and its emperor seriously!


    Burning with rage, Yuwen Weixia sent an emissary to the Nan Kingdom with a letter he wrote in person, urging the emperor of the Nan Kingdom to find Princess Liuxu and punish the kidnapper asap. Otherwise, he might send his troops to cross the border to find his sister!


    Under pressure from all sides, officials of the Ministry of Justice and the governor of the city sped up their investigation. However, though they had asked the local officers to put up notices in their jurisdictions, offering a handsome reward to anybody who could give information about Princess Liuxu, they still had no leads. The princess and the masked man seemed to have vanished into thin air!


    As the three people who had broken into Nangong Du¡¯s bedroom that night didn¡¯t masks at all, it was no wonder that nobody had ever seen the masked man! Actually, Prince Mu, who claimed himself devastated, was just talking nonsense. If Princess Liuxu had really been kidnapped, it would have been the night before their wedding a month ago. So if the relative departments started seeing into the case now, it was like looking for a needle in a haystack! As for the broken white jade bracelet, it was actually a gift Lingxiao was about to give Zixiu. He broke the bracelet in two, intending to give Zixiu half and keep the other half for himself, but it was a pity that he had never found a chance to give it to his ¡®fianc¨¦e¡¯. As his father had been lecturing him furiously that night, he didn¡¯t notice when the two halves of bracelets fell out of his pocket into the grass. To everyone¡¯s surprise, through investigation, it was found that the white jade bracelet was related to another case: the theft of the state Treasury of the Ning Kingdom!


    A month later¡­


    The theft of the Treasury has been solved, but Princess Liuxu¡¯s whereabouts were still unknown, which caused sudden tension between the two countries, and just as before the intermarriage, the war was on the verge of breaking out. As Prince Mu¡¯s health was ¡®deteriorating¡¯, following Physician Ling¡¯s suggestion, he asked the emperor for permission to return to his fief and recuperate. With the emperor¡¯s approval, Nangong Du left the capital city, and for fear that she might be heartbroken to watch his son go, the empress dowager didn¡¯t see him off.


    Prince Mu¡¯s fief lay in the south of the country. Though it was far from the border between the Wen and the Nan Kingdom, for the sake of the tension between the two countries, even if there were no spies came to make trouble, everyone in the Nan Kingdom was in a state of panic. Anyway, Nangong Du¡¯s journey to his fief was likely to be dangerous. However, the emperor granted his request so easily. Therefore, it was obvious that the relationship between the royal brothers wasn¡¯t as close as rumored. Needless to say, Nangong Du did conceal his actual physical condition from the emperor, and he was out of Luanzhou for another purpose.


    Lingxiao wasn¡¯t interested in speculating on the intrigue between the royal family at all. If his father hadn¡¯t been so reckless and lashed out to punish him with their family rules before he could explain to him, and even forced him to stay at the Prince Mu¡¯s Mansion to go on treating that asshole, without allowing him to look for Xiuxiu, he would have gotten Xiuxiu back and led a happy life with him now! ¡®What was wrong with dad and Senior Brother? How come they even forgot the common sense that men can¡¯t get pregnant? Dad chased me and beat me in front of Xiuxiu and Uncle Liu¡­ How embarrassing!!¡¯


    After spending a day with a heavy heart on horseback, Lingxiao left Prince Mu¡¯s team the next morning when they were out of Luanzhou. Anyway, Nangong Du had recovered, which meant Lingxiao had not only lived up to his word but also fulfilled the task his father assigned him, so it had nothing to do with him to take care of that asshole anymore!


    As soon as he left, Nangong Du, who was resting in a spacious, luxurious carriage, got the news. However, he only nodded without a word.


    ¡°Your Highness, do you want me to send someone after him?¡± Xingyi asked in confusion. She thought Prince Mu wouldn¡¯t spare Liu Zixiu easily, so she didn¡¯t understand why he gave up the opportunity of finding him through Lingxiao.


    Nangong Du shook his head with a snort. He knew well that Yan Lingxiao was not only a skillful physician but a great martial artist as well, so he would be asking for humiliation if he sent anyone to follow behind him. Moreover, as Zixiu punched Lingxiao as well the other day, he was certain that even if Yan Lingxiao found Liu Zixiu before he did, Liu Zixiu wouldn¡¯t go anywhere with him.


    ¡°Liu Zixiu, how dare you punch me and leave me without my permission! Seems I¡¯ve been too kind to you!¡± With a sneer, Nangong Du clenched his fists gradually.

 Chapter 76

    Zixiu and his father trekked back to Yu¡¯s Village under Mount Windward in September, the season of sweet-scented osmanthus. Though it was surrounded by mountains on three sides and was relatively remote, Yu¡¯s Village wasn¡¯t far from Luanzhou. If people rode fast on the state road, they could get there in a day. The two of them had no horses and dared not take the state road, so they could only detour on foot. Besides, on their way back, they had to stay in the ruined temples and caves in the mountains for a few days from time to time because of the poor health of Zixiu, who always broke out in rashes, ran a fever, and had heatstroke. Moreover, as Zixiu was ¡®pregnant¡¯, to keep him from being overtired, Liu Wuyi had to let him rest for some time every distance. Therefore, it took them nearly two months to come back!


    As Zixiu had once told Nangong Du about the Cirrus Valley in Mount Windward, to prevent that pervert¡¯s men from finding them, Liu Wuyi and Zixiu didn¡¯t choose to go home from the nearby town. They hadn¡¯t intended to stay in Yu¡¯s Village, but as it would take another day to get to the Cirrus Valley and it was getting dark outside, they had to spend the night here. Moreover, they had no food at home, so even if they went back, they had to dig wild vegetables, pick mushrooms, and hunt wild rabbits here and there in the mountains. The two of them had been eating these for two months in a row and they looked pale from malnutrition.


    When they were resting behind a haystack outside the village, they ran into an old hunter, Yu Laosan, who had just returned from shopping in town. Years ago, Yu Laosan fell into a hole and broke his leg while hunting. Fortunately, Liu Wuyi happened to see him on his way to town to sell medicinal herbs and carried him off the mountain. Since then, the two families began to associate. The moment he saw the one who had saved his life, Yu Laosan was so excited that he immediately invited Liu Wuyi and his son to visit his family. Liu Wuyi didn¡¯t turn him down and before night fell, they came to Yu¡¯s house.


    It wasn¡¯t until they got into the house that Zixiu knew Yu Laosan was the grandpa of the Yu Xiaohu who was about his age his father had told him about. A few days ago when the baby was a month old, Yu Laosan had been complaining about the absence of Liu Wuyi and his son from the celebration.


    From his features and profile, Zixiu could tell his father didn¡¯t lie to him, and this Yu Xiaohu was really about his age. It was incredible that a baby-faced teenager was already a dad! What shocked him even more was the girl sitting opposite, who looked no older than 14, turned out to be Yu Xiaohu¡¯s wife! When Zixiu saw the reddish, wrinkled face of the baby in the girl¡¯s arms, he couldn¡¯t help but feel creepy. Lowering his head, he started digging the noodles in his bowl!


    ¡°Take your time. There are still noodles in the wok!¡± Yu Laosan laughed and the wrinkles on his face became even more obvious. He liked kids who ate like a horse. ¡°Shiliu, refill the bowl for your Brother Liu!¡± he told his grandson¡¯s wife.


    ¡°Wait a minute!¡± Yu Xiaohu¡¯s wife answered without hesitation. After coaxing the baby for a short moment, he gave it to her husband and walked into the kitchen.


    It reminded Zixiu of what he himself would look like holding a baby in his arms. Widening his eyes, he put down his bowl and thumped his chest a few times before he finally swallowed the noodles stuck in his throat. ¡®Gosh! What have I been thinking!¡¯


    After dinner, it was completely dark outside. Holding the oil lamp, Yu Xiaohu led the guests to the wing he had cleaned up. After a while, he knocked on the door again with two sets of clean clothes in his hands, saying that the hot water was ready for Liu Wuyi and Zixiu to bathe.


    Zixiu almost sprang up with joy. As he hadn¡¯t bathed in two months, he already stank! It was unbelievable that the Yu family could even stand the terrible smell and eat with them! He immediately took off the robe which was no longer distinguishable in colour and rushed out with the clean clothes in his hand. However, the next second, he was grabbed by his father from behind and pulled back to the room.


    ¡°Why are you in such a hurry? Let¡¯s not bath until we get home!¡± Liu Wuyi reprimanded with a serious look. As his son smelled of ¡®the Swirling Clouds¡¯, he didn¡¯t want him to take a bath here.


    Zixiu wasn¡¯t sensitive to his own body odour, and he knew nothing about ¡®the Swirling Clouds¡¯. Now he felt itchy all over, so he couldn¡¯t help but wonder why his father didn¡¯t let him bathe. ¡°Dad, your son stinks!¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter!¡± Liu Wuyi would rather his son stank than take a bath so that those ¡®flies¡¯ from the Valley of Fallen Blossom wouldn¡¯t find them following the scent of ¡®the Swirling Clouds¡¯.


    ¡°If I go to bed without a bath, I¡¯ll stain the quilt!¡± Leaning against the door, Zixiu was reluctant to go to bed as if he couldn¡¯t bear the itch anymore.


    Liu Wuyi was rendered speechless. He was aware that the two of them were indeed very dirty, so he gave up the idea of preventing Zixiu from taking a bath here.


    ¡°If you want to take a bath, just go ahead. But don¡¯t blame me for not reminding you once you bring Lingxiao here!¡±


    Hearing Lingxiao¡¯s name, Zixiu looked around instinctively but found nothing abnormal. ¡®How come I¡¯ll bring Lingxiao here by merely taking a bath?¡¯ Zixiu wondered. ¡°Dad, what do you mean?¡±


    ¡°You have the fragrance of ¡®the Swirling Clouds¡¯ on you, and everyone from the Valley of Fallen Blossoms can smell it miles away!¡±


    ¡®Fragrance? They can smell it from miles away?¡¯ Zixiu looked at his father in a daze, and he immediately grabbed the forepart of his clothes and sniffed hard before a sickening, sour smell rushed into his nostrils.


    ¡°Urgh¡ª¡± Zixiu vomited from the smell.


    Liu Wuyi¡¯s face darkened in an instant, and it took him quite a while before he continued, ¡°As your mom had no breastmilk after giving birth to you, she had been feeding you with the soup made from ¡®the Swirling Clouds¡¯, so over time, you got the smell of that herb!¡±


    ¡°This is incredible!¡± Zixiu widened his eyes in disbelief.


    Liu Wuyi had figured out what his son might ask next, and he immediately put on a disdainful look. ¡°¡®The Swirling Clouds¡¯ is made from a kind of herb only found in the Valley of Fallen Blossoms, so if people from the valley can¡¯t identify it, nobody else can tell what it is!¡±


    Zixiu nodded, and now he was aware how come Luo Huali had shown up in Nangong Du¡¯s mansion. According to his father, ¡®the Swirling Clouds¡¯ was unique to the Valley of Fallen Blossoms, and Luo Huali addressed himself as Zixiu¡¯s senior brother, saying that they had been apart for thirteen years, so Zixiu was sure he had spent some time in the valley as a child. However, from the way his father spoke, he could tell that he didn¡¯t like the Valley of Fallen Blossoms. ¡®Dad has never told me about this place before. There must be something behind this!¡¯ Zixiu thought.


    ¡°Don¡¯t think too much!¡± Seeing his son lost in thought, Liu Wuyi felt so helpless that he decided to tell the truth.


    ¡°Your dad is a loser. He lost to Lingxiao¡¯s dad in both the medical and martial arts competitions, so he had to leave the Valley of Fallen Blossoms years ago!¡± With that, before his son could react, Liu Wuyi picked up a clean suit from the bed and went to the bathroom.

 Chapter 77

    Zixiu couldn¡¯t stand the terrible smell that came from his body, so as soon as his father came back from the bath, he rushed out with the clean clothes in his hand without talking anything about the Valley of Fallen Blossoms. Needless to say, his father must be in a bad mood at the moment after telling his son what a loser he used to be!


    Liu Wuyi didn¡¯t stop him this time. As it had been two months since they left Prince Mu¡¯s Mansion, Liu Wuyi thought Yan Ke and his son must have calmed down. If they did come to find Zixiu, he could take the opportunity to make things clear so that they would have nothing to do with the Yans in the future. Actually, he had only told Zixiu part of the story. There were things he never wanted to bring up again.


    It had been two months since he bathed last time! Sitting in the wooden bathtub, Zixiu was in such a good mood that it felt as if every pore of his body was singing because of comfort. He had a spur to hum a song, but for fear that he might wake up the Yus, who had already fallen asleep, he gave up the idea.


    After all his muscles had completely relaxed, Zixiu started rubbing himself. He was so dirty that his fair skin had changed color. As soon as he touched his arm, dirt trickled down, and when he had just finished rubbing his arms, the water already darkened, which looked so¡­ disgusting!


    After quite a while, he finally finished cleaning up his limbs. He then started rubbing his chest and belly.


    Zixiu crossed his hands over his lower abdomen and found in surprise that it not only hardened but also bulged a little! Burning with anger, he couldn¡¯t help but curse the asshole who poisoned him and made him have a growing belly like a pregnant woman. How embarrassing!


    Unfortunately, it began to rain and got cold the next day!


    Considering that the slippery wet road would make his son¡¯s journey more difficult, Liu Wuyi accepted Yu Laosan¡¯s offer to stay a few more days and settled down with Zixiu.


    After breakfast, Shiliu was doing the laundry when her baby suddenly began to cry in the room. When she saw Yu Xiaohu walk out with the baby in his arms a moment later, she immediately stopped what she was doing, wiped her hands, and took the child from his husband.


    Zixiu, who was in a daze in his bedroom, turned pale in an instant when he accidentally saw the scene through the window. He had thrown all the dirty clothes he took off in the bathtub the night before. ¡®Gosh! Could the woman¡¯s attire I took off last night be in the pile of clothes Shiliu is washing?¡¯


    Disregarding this young couple¡¯s surprised looks, Zixiu rushed to the eave at an incredible speed and picked out a pile of dirty clothes from the washtub in a hurry before he turned to run to his bedroom. He didn¡¯t look back until he arrived at the door. ¡°Er¡­ These clothes are too dirty. Let me do the laundry by myself!¡± he explained with an awkward smile.


    ¡°Brother Liu, you don¡¯t have to stand on ceremony! If the clothes aren¡¯t dirty, why do we wash them?¡± Unlike those prudish villagers, Shiliu was bold and straightforward, so Zixiu thought she would wear the pants in the Yu¡¯s family sooner or later.


    Yu Xiaohu grinned without a word, looking a little bit silly. Actually, he seemed to have seen that in the clothes Zixiu had just taken away, there was a red¡­ bellyband style undergarment!


    Zixiu had never done housework since the accident. It wasn¡¯t because his father coddled him, but because whatever housework he did, his father had to do it all over again in the end! Liu Wuyi had been quite confused about it for a long time. He had never expected that he who had lost his memory could not even do the housework that he knew so well. No matter how hard he tried to teach Zixiu, the latter would make a mess of everything! That would be fine if his son just couldn¡¯t do the technical chores, like making fires and cooking, but he couldn¡¯t even do the laundry, clean the floor, or make the bed! Every time he thought about this, Liu Wuyi felt so helpless that he really wanted to ask God what he had done wrong that would deserve this!


    Needless to say, he had to wash the clothes Zixiu had taken back.


    As Liu Wuyi felt ashamed to be seen doing the laundry, he asked Zixiu to find a basin for him and fetch some water with a barrel, so that he could wash the clothes in the room.


    Apart from the man¡¯s robe Zixiu had stolen from Nangong Du¡¯s bedroom, the rest of this pile of clothes was women¡¯s wear, including the bellyband style undergarment that Yu Xiaohu had seen. His eyes didn¡¯t deceive him, and the underwear was indeed red, dazzling red!


    Liu Wuyi was a little bit dizzy at the sight of the undergarment. To be frank, he almost didn¡¯t recognize his son the moment he saw him in the Prince Mu¡¯s Mansion. ¡®That prince is such a pain in the ass! Who the hell poisoned Zixiu? Is someone trying to keep Zixiu in the Prince Mu¡¯s Mansion forever? Seems I have to do something! After Zixiu¡¯s symptoms disappear, I must get him a wife! Hope the Li girl hasn¡¯t gotten married!¡¯ Liu Wuyi thought.


    The medical evidence about Zixiu¡¯s false pregnancy is as follows:


    False pregnancy is also called ¡°imaginary pregnancy¡±.


    There are two different emotional tendencies due to individual differences: some people are worried about their pregnancy without long-term contraceptive measures, whereas most people who develop false pregnancy symptoms because of certain neurological and humoral changes that result from years of infertility and intense mental stimulation. In addition to amenorrhea, these people will feel abdominal distension, fetal movement, breasts swell, and even lactate, but actually they are not pregnant at all! Abdominal distension is caused by abdominal fat accumulation and flatulence and the fetal movement was caused by bowel movements and contraction of abdominal muscles. Moreover, some patients who regularly take phenothiazine antipsychotics may also suffer from the above symptoms, and in a few cases, they may even have a positive urine test for pregnancy!


    Given Zixiu¡¯s situation, his false pregnancy was caused by medication.

 Chapter 78

    It wasn¡¯t until the laundry was ready to hang out that it occurred to Liu Wuyi and Zixiu that they had made things too complicated. ¡°No one will ever wear these clothes again, so why don¡¯t we just destroy them?¡±


    ¡®How stupid I was!¡¯ Zixiu pulled out a large pair of scissors at once and cut these gorgeous clothes to pieces!


    From the way his son acted and the furious look on his face, Liu Wuyi was certain that vicious Prince Mu must have done something unforgivable, or Zixiu, a careless kid who born no grudges, wouldn¡¯t have been so rageful. It was said that Nangong Du was notorious for his insolence, lasciviousness, and cruelty, so it was a miracle that Zixiu was still safe and sound after being tortured by him for a month!


    Shaking his head slightly, Liu Wuyi remained calm though he was a little worried. Like all fathers, he loved his son dearly and didn¡¯t want him hurt anymore. However, he knew well that if they left the mountains and entered into the world in turmoil outside, he couldn¡¯t ensure his son¡¯s safety. Zixiu was young and as simple as a blank sheet of paper on which nothing had been written, but Liu Wuyi would rather he was inexperienced and lived his life in peace. He hoped Zixiu would take this experience as a lesson and stop thinking about going out. If his son stayed in the mountains and learned to pick herbs from him, though he couldn¡¯t make a fortune, he would lead a simple and happy life at least.


    Making up his mind, Liu Wuyi rose to his feet and walked to the window, as if nothing was on his mind. It seemed the rain had abated a little outside.


    ¡°Zixiu, don¡¯t forget to pick up the rags on the floor and wrap them up!¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± Zixiu was venting his anger when he suddenly heard that. Wondering what his father meant, he looked down and saw rags all over the floor. As Liu Wuyi was facing away from him, Zixiu couldn¡¯t see his expression. ¡®How come dad is so calm? Doesn¡¯t he feel offended that his son was¡­ Er¡­ Dad doesn¡¯t seem to know what that jerk has done to me!¡¯


    ¡°It won¡¯t work even if you cut them into pieces. If you don¡¯t want to be found by Nangong Du, you mustn¡¯t leave any clue to him!¡± Liu Wuyi turned and took away the scissors from his son calmly. ¡°It takes the least effort to burn them with fire!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right, dad!¡± Zixiu nodded with a smile. ¡®If dad had told me earlier, I wouldn¡¯t have wasted my efforts!¡¯ Zixiu complained inwardly. He then squatted down and picked up the bits of clothes swiftly.


    Liu Wuyi placed the scissors back on the table and continued after hesitating for a while, ¡°I have to remind you that the more you hate someone, it¡¯s harder to forget him. It¡¯s not worth living in agony for such a person!¡±


    ¡°!!¡± Zixiu trembled, which made the rags he had picked up slip out of his hands again.


    Liu Wuyi added with a frown, ¡°Whatever Nangong Du did to you, I don¡¯t want you to punish yourself with the mistakes of others! So I hope you can put everything that happened there behind.¡±


    ¡°Nothing¡­ He did nothing¡­¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re still irritated, aren¡¯t you?¡± Merely from the look on his son¡¯s face, Liu Wuyi could tell that Zixiu was unwilling to let it go. However, he still interrupted him in a resolute voice. ¡°The law of jungle is the law of nature. Given our current competence, we are no match for Nangong Du at all! Otherwise, I wouldn¡¯t have to go through so much trouble to bring you back!¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡± Zixiu couldn¡¯t find a reason to retort. He agreed with his father and as it had never occurred to him to fight Nangong Du to the death, he¡¯d better hide in the mountains before he was capable enough to take on that asshole!


    ¡°I won¡¯t force you to give up the idea of revenge. There will be ample time, so take it easy. Clear up these rags and go with me to visit your mom this afternoon.¡±


    ¡°Mom?¡±


    With the drizzle, the bleak mountain village was shrouded in a white mist.


    Holding an oiled-paper umbrella, Liu Wuyi and Zixiu walked to the tomb miles away slowly.


    Zixiu¡¯s mother died lonely in the accident three years ago when her son was still in a coma. By then, her husband was still in the mountains and it wasn¡¯t until half a month later when Liu Wuyi went down to the town that he learned this piece of grievous news. As some warm-hearted villagers had paid for the burial of his wife, and his son¡¯s illness remained serious, Liu Wuyi couldn¡¯t find time to carry his wife¡¯s coffin back to the Cirrus Valley. It was half a year later when Zixiu recovered, and to avoid disturbing his wife¡¯s soul, he gave up the idea of moving her grave.


    The last time they had visited Zixiu¡¯s mother¡¯s tomb was on Tomb-Sweeping Day, and now, just a summer later, it was bursting with weeds again!


    Liu Wuyi crouched down and started pulling up the weeds one by one in earnest. Instead of asking his son to help him with the work, he only had him to rest under the tree nearby.


    Zixiu was really tired, so he didn¡¯t protest. Hammering his lower back slightly, he felt more like a pregnant woman.

 Chapter 79

    After weeding the tomb, it was getting late, but thankfully, the rain had stopped.


    Liu Wuyi immediately woke up his son, who was napping under the tree. The two of them went down on their knees and lit an incense stick. Next, they placed some joss paper and a plate of honey steamed buns in front of the tombstone. The honey steamed bun was Mrs. Liu¡¯s favorite food, so Liu Wuyi had prepared some in person especially for her, without asking Shiliu for help.


    ¡°Mom, your son is here!¡± Zixiu banged his forehead three times in front of the gravestone. Though he had no memory of his mother, he was full of grief at the moment.


    After that, he lit the dark yellow joss papers, which he had asked the Yus to buy in town. He spread out two or three sheets of joss paper at a time, and in a few minutes, the pile was reduced to ashes quietly in the orange flames.


    Though with heavy hearts, after the simple ceremony, the two of them didn¡¯t forget that they had another important thing to do.


    Walking to the tree where Zixiu had been dozing, Liu Wuyi opened the bag, poured down all the rags onto the ground, and threw the burning joss paper at them.


    As a plume of black smoke slowly rising, the two of them caught a whiff of a pungent smell, like burnt fur. That was why they didn¡¯t dare burn the rags in Yu¡¯s house.


    Though Zixiu had stuffed cotton in his nostrils, he still couldn¡¯t stand the terrible smell and started vomiting with his hand against the trunk of the tree.


    The corner of Liu Wuyi¡¯s mouth twitched unconsciously. Though he didn¡¯t want to think about it, from the conversation between Prince Mu and Lingxiao, he could tell they had been fighting over Zixiu that night.


    When the rags had burned out, it grew darker. Zixiu¡¯s face was pale from vomiting and he was in a daze, barely able to stand firmly. Having no choice, Liu Wuyi had to tuck the umbrella under his arm and helped his son to Yu¡¯s Village with difficulty, trudging along the muddy field path.


    It took them nearly two hours to travel a few miles! Zixiu felt a little better when he saw the candlelight shining through the windows of those houses near the entrance to the village. He then used the umbrella as a walking stick and moved cautiously forward on his own.


    When they were about to enter the village, they suddenly heard dogs barking and babies crying. As Liu Wuyi used to be a martial arts cultivator who was more vigilant than those common people were, he was certain that some outsiders must have come into the village. Without hesitation, he wrapped around his son¡¯s waist with his arms, and leaped to behind a haystack in the field, using his Qing Kung skills.


    Sure enough, after a while, they heard the sounds of regular footsteps echoing nearby while a line of torches closed in on them like a dragon. Next, they saw a group of soldiers in blue uniforms!


    Looking at each other, Liu Wuyi and Zixiu felt their hearts sink at once. Thankfully, they didn¡¯t leave any clue in Yu¡¯s house before they came out, and the clothes Zixiu was wearing when he escaped from the Prince Mu¡¯s Mansion had been destroyed in time!


    Seeing nobody there, the soldiers ran away along the road.


    ¡°Thank God! Mom, thank you for blessing us!¡± Zixiu muttered in the direction of his mother¡¯s tomb with his eyes closed before he crossed himself.


    Liu Wuyi looked at him in confusion, but he didn¡¯t ask any questions. His son had always been pretty weird, so he had been used to it.


    The two waited outside the village until the moonlight poured down on the ground through the thick clouds and the village fell into silence.


    Though the dogs had stopped barking, they suddenly heard several wolf howls! Zixiu was so scared that he couldn¡¯t help but shiver behind the haystack, and only then did Liu Wuyi find in surprise that his son was running a fever again!

 Chapter 80

    ¡°Uncle Liu, how come you returned at such a late hour?¡± It was Yu Xiaohu who opened the door. With a robe dangling on his shoulders, Yu Xiaohu lifted the oil lamp and moved closer, but next, he suddenly cried out, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with Zixiu? Come on in!¡±


    Hearing the noise at the door, Yu Laosan walked out of his room as well. When he saw Liu Wuyi and Yu Xiaohu helping Zixiu to the wing, he asked in surprise, ¡°What happened?¡±


    ¡°Grandpa, Zixiu seems to be ill.¡± From his temperature and the abnormal flush on Zixiu¡¯s face, Yu Xiaohu could tell he was running a fever. He immediately helped Zixiu to the bed and after the latter lay down, he turned while speaking anxiously, ¡°I¡¯m going to town right now and sending for the physician¡­¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t bother!¡± Liu Wuyi immediately stopped him. If the physician came, he would find out Zixiu¡¯s ¡®pregnancy¡¯! Therefore, Liu Wuyi had to lie to the Yus. ¡°We have just come back from the clinic. The physician said Zixiu caught a cold and some medicine and a sound sleep would get him alright the next morning.¡±


    ¡°Really? I felt much relieved!¡± Yu Laosan and his grandson took a sigh of relief.


    ¡°Where¡¯s the medicine? Just give it to Xiaohu and let him decoct it!¡± Yu Laosan urged.


    Liu Wuyi had to keep lying. ¡°No worries. Zixiu already took the medicine at the clinic. It¡¯s time for bed. Just leave us alone and go back to rest!¡±


    ¡°Did you have your dinner?¡± showing no sign of leaving, Yu Laosan asked with concern.


    Only then did Liu Wuyi feel that he was really hungry, and he thought his son must be hungry too. ¡°Not yet!¡± He shook his head.


    Hearing that, Yu Xiaohu immediately walked out. ¡°Uncle Liu, wait a minute! I¡¯m warming the dishes up!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t bother! Let me do it. You¡­¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re our guest. How can we have you do it in person!¡± Yu Laosan interrupted him and shouted, ¡°Xiaohu, ask Shiliu to cook some gruel for Zixiu!¡±


    An hour later, Yu Laosan went back to his bedroom. As soon as Liu Wuyi finished his meal, Yu Xiaohu brought in a bowl of steaming gruel.


    ¡°Give it to me. It¡¯s late at night. Come on, just go back to rest!¡± Liu Wuyi felt very guilty for troubling the Yus. Actually, if it weren¡¯t for Zixiu¡¯s sudden illness, they would have spent the night on the haystack outside the village.


    As warm-hearted as his grandpa, Yu Xiaohu didn¡¯t leave but walked to the bed. He took the wet towel from Zixiu¡¯s forehead swiftly, washed it in the water basin by the bed, and placed it on Zixiu¡¯s forehead again after wringing out the excess water in the towel. ¡°Uncle Liu, no worries! Zixiu will be alright soon,¡± he said, trying to comfort Liu Wuyi.


    Liu Wuyi was a little surprised at Xiaohu¡¯s thoughtfulness. Touched, he unfurled his knitted brows a little bit. ¡®It¡¯s obvious that Yu Xiaohu is much more mature than Zixiu and as a father, he knows better how I feel!¡¯ Liu Wuyi thought.


    ¡°Uncle Liu, I¡¯m going back to my room. Don¡¯t stay up too late!¡±


    ¡°Hm!¡± Liu Wuyi nodded, watching Yu Xiaohu step out when he suddenly remembered those soldiers they had seen near the entrance to the village, so he immediately stopped the kid who had already crossed the threshold. ¡°Wait!¡±


    ¡°Anything else, Uncle Liu?¡±


    ¡°Er¡­ Xiaohu, did anything happen in the village?¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± Yuxiao Hu widened his eyes and looked at Liu Wuyi blankly, wondering what he meant.


    ¡®Didn¡¯t those soldiers come to get us?¡¯ Liu Wuyi wondered in surprise. After a while, he continued, ¡°We saw a team of soldiers on our way back. It seemed they just came out of our village¡­¡±


    ¡°Oh! So you¡¯re talking about them!¡± Yu Xiaohu took a sigh of relief and before his elder could finish his words, he answered, ¡°Those soldiers came to Mount Windward for medicinal herbs!¡±


    ¡°For medicinal herbs?¡±


    ¡°Prince Mu in the capital city was sick. It was said there was a magic herb in the Cirrus Valley in Mount Windward that could cure his disease, so those soldiers were sent here. They¡¯ve been looking for the herb for two months. They came to the mountains almost every few days, and some of them even stationed in the mountains! Seems they haven¡¯t found what they want yet. I¡¯d love to know what the magic herb is¡­¡±


    It suddenly came to Yu Xiaohu that the elder in front of him was a senior medicinal herb collector in Mount Windward. He then asked curiously, ¡°Uncle Liu, do you know where the Cirrus Valley is? What the hell the¡­¡±


    Yu Xiaohu stopped talking when he suddenly found that his amiable Uncle Liu¡¯s face had turned livid.


    ¡°Uncle Liu!¡± he was a little worried, wondering if Liu Wuyi was ill as well. ¡°Uncle Liu! Are you alright? Uncle Liu¡­¡±


    Liu Wuyi came back to his senses at Yu Xiaohu¡¯s anxious cries. He put on a calm look in haste and shook his head slightly. ¡°I¡¯m fine. You go back to rest!¡± he answered, sounding very tired.

 Chapter 81

    About one o¡¯clock in the morning, Zixiu gradually came out of his coma and finally had his fever abated. Picking up the bowl from the table, Liu Wuyi scooped up a spoonful of gruel, which was still warm, and move it to Zixiu¡¯s lips.


    After finishing the gruel, Zixiu felt much better. He scanned around and was surprised to find himself in Yu¡¯s house.


    ¡°You had a fever!¡± Liu Zixiu put down the bowl and reminded him.


    ¡°Oh!¡± Zixiu nodded. It was no wonder that he couldn¡¯t remember how he had gotten back. If it weren¡¯t for his father¡¯s reminder, he would have thought that he had amnesia again!


    ¡°How are you feeling now? Is there anything wrong with you?¡± Liu Wuyi asked.


    Zixiu put his hand on his belly habitually and sensed carefully. ¡°I¡¯m fine! Thank you, dad!¡± Seeing the silver needles on the table, Zixiu was aware that his father had brought down his fever by acupuncturing.


    ¡°Good!¡± Liu Wuyi patted his son on the shoulder with a nod, feeling much relieved. However, he was very upset when he saw Zixiu in a typical pregnant pose.


    Liu Wuyi turned to wash his hands and then put away the silver needles. A moment later, he said, ¡°It¡¯s still early. You can sleep a while longer.¡±


    Zixiu turned to the window and saw that it was still dark outside, so he slipped under the quilt again. When he had just closed his eyes, he suddenly remembered the soldiers they saw outside the village. He then bounced up and jittered to asked, ¡°Dad, didn¡¯t those soldiers come to get us?¡±


    ¡°Ha!¡± Liu Wuyi put down the sliver needles with a snort. ¡°Zixiu, don¡¯t be silly! Though we¡¯re trying to hide from Nangong Du, those soldiers didn¡¯t come to get you, the fake princess!¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± Zixiu didn¡¯t understand what his father meant, but seeing the latter¡¯s calm, fearless expression, he regained his composure.


    After putting away the silver needles, Liu Wuyi continued, ¡°Those soldiers came to Mount Windward for an herb!¡±


    ¡°For an herb?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s funny! Don¡¯t you think so? I thought Prince Mu would secretly send people to get you, but to my surprise, he asked his men to come to the Cirrus Valley conspicuously in the name of looking for some magic herb! Hahaha¡­¡±


    Zixiu wasn¡¯t amused at all, and he only twitched the corner of his mouth slightly. Maybe because he seldom heard his father make sarcastic remarks about others, or maybe because he was also part of the ¡®joke¡¯, Zixiu felt a little uneasy. ¡®No matter what excuse those people have for coming here, it¡¯s me they¡¯re after!¡¯


    Liu Wuyi didn¡¯t notice how his son reacted. Putting away his smile, he continued with a thoughtful look, ¡°As far as people are concerned, Nangong Du is only an arrogant, lascivious prince who will attack a tiger unarmed and cross a river without a boat. But if he schemed all this himself, I can tell there¡¯s more to him than meets the eye!¡±


    Hearing no response from his son after quite a while, Liu Wu looked at him and asked, ¡°Don¡¯t you see what I mean?¡±


    ¡°Er¡­ Dad, what do you mean by ¡®attack a tiger unarmed and cross a river without a boat¡¯?¡± After hesitating for a while, Zixiu plucked up and raised the question.


    Liu Wuyi¡¯s face darkened. His son should just forget what had happened in the past. How come he even forgot what he had learned? Feeling so depressed, he said grumpily, ¡°Simple-minded! Foolhardy!¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡± Zixiu immediately lowered his head and fell silent.


    Liu Wuyi grew even more depressed. ¡°I¡¯m not talking about you. I¡¯m talking about Nangong Du!¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Hearing that, Zixiu instantly recalled what Nangong Du had done to him and the freezing look in his eyes. ¡®What makes dad think Nangong Du is simple-minded?¡¯ Zixiu was so surprised that he even thought he must have heard it wrong.


    ¡®Er¡­ Seems I got it wrong!¡¯ ¡°Dad, you mean Nangong Du is playing dumb?¡± Zixiu asked, but he was still confused. ¡®Is dad hinting that Nangong Du is scheming because he sent his men here conspicuously? But why?¡¯


    ¡°It¡¯s none of our business whether he¡¯s playing dumb or not. Those soldiers have been here for two months, so it¡¯s obvious that Nangong Du believed what you said without a doubt. Such being the case, we shouldn¡¯t ¡®let him down¡¯!¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± Zixiu turned pale with astonishment at the thought that his father might turn him over to Nangong Du¡¯s men. Actually, he had been on edge and ill ever since his father decided to take him back to the Cirrus Valley. However, as his father had made up his mind, he couldn¡¯t help it!


    ¡°No worries! Though your dad is a loser, he won¡¯t put you in danger!¡± Liu Wuyi was still sticking to his guns. He was aware that even if they could hide for a while, they couldn¡¯t hide for a lifetime. So he would rather stay at home than keep changing places to hide. Anyway, the terrain of the Cirrus Valley was so complicated that nobody could find it without a guide. And most importantly, he was reluctant to confront Nangong Du didn¡¯t mean he was afraid of him!

 Chapter 82

    The green woods, the tinkling spring, the small thatched hut, and the solid mound on which grew an unknown bunch of weeds and a number of purple and white flowers¡­


    ¡®This must be a dream!¡¯ When they returned to the Cirrus Valley in Mount Windward, Zixiu stood in front of their house and watched the familiar scenery with his eyes widened in disbelief. However, although he was excited, he didn¡¯t tremble as he had when his father had climbed up the cliff hundred meters high effortlessly with him on his back! He had never expected that there was a shortcut to the Cirrus Valley, and what shocked him even more was that his father was a great rock climber!


    ¡°OMG! Dad, you sure are awesome!¡± Zixiu cried out when he lifted his right hand unconsciously and put it on his father¡¯s shoulder. Unfortunately, the moment he touched his father, the latter had just pushed the door open, which made Zixiu lose his balance all of sudden and throw himself onto the door. At this point, a word suddenly popped into his mind. ¡°Spider-Man!¡± he blurted out.


    ¡°It¡¯s been vacant for months. Of course there are spiders!¡± Liu Wuyi didn¡¯t hear clearly what his son said, and now, he was staring at the cobwebs all over the house with his brows knitted, wondering where to start cleaning the room.


    ¡°The sun hasn¡¯t set yet. Go take the quilts out and dry them!¡± Liu Wuyi said.


    Zixiu was in no mood to dry the quilts. He had just found that his father was even more brilliant than the sunshine and more dazzling than gold! ¡®Dad is incredibly charming! How come such a talented person spent so many years in the mountains? What a waste! How blind I was not to have noticed that I had such a powerful dad!¡¯ Zixiu couldn¡¯t help but blame himself. ¡°Dad, you¡¯re amazing! You¡¯re even more awesome than Spider-Man¡­¡±


    ¡°Spider-Man?¡± Liu Wuyi took it for granted that Zixiu was talking nonsense again. However, when he turned around, he saw his son looking at him with admiration, so he got straight to the point. ¡°You wanna learn?¡±


    A few seconds later, the slow-witted Zixiu nodded with his eyes shining brightly, like an excited puppy.


    ¡°Good!¡± Liu Wuyi was gratified, thinking that his son had learned a lesson from what he suffered recently and he was willing to study on his own initiative. Now he finally found an opportunity to lecture his lazy and ambitious son!


    ¡°How good are the basic skills I taught you two years ago?¡±


    ¡°The basic skills?¡± Zixiu was left muddleheaded. His father had indeed taught him some skills two years ago, but they didn¡¯t seem to have anything to do with Qing Kung that made people leap onto roofs and vault over walls easily!


    ¡°Qing Kung is by no means easy, so without a solid foundation, don¡¯t expect to learn it overnight! When I was young, I¡­¡±


    As his father and master, Liu Wuyi thought he must bring Zixiu under strict control, so he lectured him harshly. It wasn¡¯t until near sunset that he decided to end his sermon. ¡°From today onwards, you have to practice the basic skills hard! If you want to leave the valley, you¡¯ll have to be strong enough!¡±


    ¡°Oh!¡± Having had enough of Liu Wuyi¡¯s nagging, Zixiu nodded listlessly.


    ¡°Can you be a little more serious?¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡±

 Chapter 83

    Liu Wuyi and his son¡¯s lives were back to normal. The only thing that changed was instead of sleeping at home while his father was collecting herbs in the mountains, Zixiu was practicing the basic skills of Qing Kung. Those soldiers who had come for the ¡°magic herb¡± didn¡¯t leave, but surprisingly, though they were sometimes very close to their house, Zixiu had never seen them. Several times as he stood by the gate, he even heard people talking loudly and dogs barking, but still, he saw nobody. Only then did he understand why his father was so confident that no one could find them! However, he still couldn¡¯t see what Liu Wuyi was up to! What was so magical about the Cirrus Valley?


    The better part of a month had passed. As the next day was the 15th of the month, Liu Wuyi was preparing the herbs for sale in the town. Unable to hold back his curiosity, Zixiu finally poured out his questions at the risk of being lectured and criticized by his father. ¡°Dad, are you serious that you¡¯re going to town?¡±


    ¡°Why not?¡± Liu Wuyi counted the medicinal herbs intently without looking up. ¡°It¡¯s getting cold. I need to buy some thick clothes for you. Moreover, we¡¯re running out of salt.¡±


    ¡°Dad, what if you meet those soldiers there?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s anything to worry about. I¡¯ve been picking medicinal herbs under their noses every day, but none of them has ever found me! Seems they have no brains!¡±


    ¡°But the town is not like the mountains where there are many trees to hide from¡­¡±


    ¡°No worries! As I dare to go down the mountain, I¡¯m not afraid that Nangong Du will make trouble! Besides, we can¡¯t stay at home forever just to avoid meeting him! ¡±


    ¡®What dad said is reasonable, but¡­¡¯


    Zixiu still felt restless, so after hesitating for a while, he continued, ¡°Dad, are you sure that no outsiders can find us in the Cirrus Valley?¡±


    ¡°Of course! Years ago, I¡­¡± Liu Wuyi suddenly checked his tongue halfway into his words, as if he had just swallowed a mosquito. Seeing that his son didn¡¯t sense anything wrong, he immediately corrected himself subtly. ¡°I¡¯ve blocked off the paths into the valley, so no outsiders can find us unless they risk their lives by climbing the cliff!¡±


    ¡°I see!¡± Zixiu nodded. At this point, he suddenly remembered the portrait of the Princess Liuxu, so he continued, ¡°Dad, why do we live in such a secluded place?¡±


    ¡°A secluded place?¡± Liu Wuyi froze for a few seconds with a trace of complex look crossing his eyes. However, he regained his composure soon and answered, making an understatement, ¡°The Lius have lived here for generations. The terrain of the valley may be a little complicated, but it¡¯s not so secluded!¡±


    ¡°Er¡­ Do we have any relatives?¡± Zixiu thought as the princess and he looked so much alike, they must be related by blood.


    ¡°You still have some maternal relatives, but we¡¯ve been out of touch with them for years!¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    Being bombarded with questions, Liu Wuyi became even more suspicious that his son had known something, but he didn¡¯t show anything special on his face. ¡°Your grandparents were not satisfied with me, their son-in-law!¡±


    ¡°Er¡­¡± To avoid his father¡¯s embarrassment, Zixiu stopped asking questions.


    The next day, given how well he knew those soldiers in recent days, Liu Wuyi chose to go down the mountain by the way he used to take to sell medical herbs. After a day in the town, he not only returned safe and sound but also learned that because of the missing of Princess Liuxu, Prince Mu had been banished to his fief in the name of convalescence.


    A month later, Liu Wuyi went to the town on the 15th again, but still, nothing happened.


    Therefore, the two were certain that they had overestimated Nangong Du, and those useless soldiers would get nothing in the end no matter how hard they searched the mountains, so there was nothing to worry about!


    In the peace of life, Zixiu¡¯s belly grew bigger day by day. ¡®Heavens! Is it really a FAKE pregnancy?¡¯

 Chapter 84

    Behind Liu¡¯s house was a long strip of field winding to the edge of the cliff. Liu Wuyi and Zixiu had planted some medicinal herbs in the field in the spring and though they left them alone all summer, the herbs were growing well.


    It was harvest season. One day, Liu Wuyi pulled his son out of bed in the early morning. After a brief breakfast, the two came into the field with their hoe and dustpan. Considering that Zixiu¡¯s belly was so big that he couldn¡¯t stand bending or squatting for too long, Liu Wuyi let him only do the simplest work¡ªpicking flowers!


    They had finished picking sweet-scented osmanthus the month before and it was time to pick chrysanthemums this month. Holding a huge bamboo dustpan with his left hand, Zixiu kept on plucking the flowers with his right hand. In the midst of the chrysanthemums, he felt like a flower god!


    Liu Wuyi was busy digging red ginseng when he saw his son in a trance again. He couldn¡¯t help but shake his head helplessly. If he could do all the work by himself, he wouldn¡¯t have asked his ¡®pregnant¡¯ son to come to help. It snows early in the mountains. The temperature had dropped sharply these days, so it might snow before the winter. Once the paths were blocked off by the heavy snow, they couldn¡¯t go down the mountain in the following three months. Therefore, they had to prepare as many herbs as possible to get enough food for the winter.


    For fear that his son might be too tired, Liu Wuyi stopped what he was doing and rose to his feet.  ¡°Zixiu, rest for a while if you feel tired!¡± he said, looking at his son with loving eyes.


    ¡°Huh?¡± Hearing that, Zixiu came back to his senses. When he looked down, he found that the flowers he had just picked were not in the dustpan, but all on the ground! He was aware that these herbs would help them get food and clothes back, so he squatted down carefully and picked them up one by one.


    Liu Wuyi revealed a gratified smile. It seemed his nagging in the past three years had finally worked, and now his son had realized what the herbs meant to them. However, he couldn¡¯t help but grow tense when he saw his son crouch with difficulty. For fear that Zixiu might get injured, he stopped him in haste, ¡°Come on, let me do it! You go take a rest¡­¡±


    ¡°Ah!!¡± Before he could finish his words, Zixiu suddenly let out a deafening scream.


    Taken aback, Liu Wuyi threw the hoe away and rushed to his son, who almost fell back on the ground, and caught him in time. ¡°What¡¯s up?¡±


    ¡°Caterpillar! Dad, caterpillar! A big one! Ah¡ª Dad, run¡­¡± Zixiu tugged at his father¡¯s clothes in horror, as if the caterpillar were going to swallow him.


    Since then, Zixiu never dared to go to the field again, and it wasn¡¯t until one morning some days later when the ground was frozen with frost, and his father told him that the caterpillars had all been frozen to death that he came reluctantly to the back of their house, full of suspicion.


    After more than half a month¡¯s hard work, the two finally finished harvesting the medicinal herbs. On the 15th, Liu Wuyi went down the mountain in the early morning, carrying two huge baskets of herbs with a pole on his shoulder.


    He walked very fast. Without his son by his side, he covered the distance that would take ordinary people a day in just four hours! That was one of the reasons why those soldiers had never run into him in the mountains.


    Needless to say, in any case, he wouldn¡¯t have arrived earlier than the villagers who lived around the town. At this point, the fair was crowded with people, and the street was already lined with all kinds of goods on both sides. However, Liu Wuyi was in no hurry. After all, he had been selling herbs here for about ten years, so though he wasn¡¯t sociable, he still had a few fellow peddlers.


    Sure enough, after walking a few steps through the crowd, he heard someone shout, ¡°Hey, Wu! Come here! I¡¯ve got a place for you!¡±


    It was pock-faced Song from Song¡¯s Village who was speaking. Just like Liu Wuyi, he was a medical herb collector as well. Though he was pock-faced and skinny, which made him look mean, he was indeed a warm-hearted person. Those peddlers next to them were all from the nearby villages who always picked herbs in Mount Windward. As they were acquaintances for long, they set up their stalls next to each other every time so that they could look out for each other. Because of the word ¡®Wu¡¯ in Liu Wuyi¡¯s name, everyone called him ¡®Wu¡¯ over time.


    Watching Liu Wuyi walk over with two huge baskets, a few peddlers rose to their feet to help him.


    ¡°Hey, Wu! These herbs must be a few hundred pounds, huh?¡± When Pock-faced Song tried to move the baskets, he found them extremely heavy.


    ¡°Wow! Did you carry them down the mountain on your own?¡± Someone said in response to Song¡¯s words. ¡°I really admire young people! When I was young¡­¡±


    Liu Wuyi widened his eyes when he heard the praise of his youth. But it was indeed that he was the youngest among these people. Though his son was already sixteen years old, he was not yet forty. If Zixiu had married the Li girl months ago, he would have been a grandpa soon!


    ¡°I have no choice! I have to get enough food before it snows,¡± he said while placing the herbs on the ground.


    Then the others started talking about snow and how to spend the winter. Instead of joining them, Liu Wuyi only listened in silence. Everyone knew that he didn¡¯t like gossip, so no one tried to strike up a conversation with him.


    At noon, most of the people who came to the fair had gone to lunch, so the street was suddenly empty. Just then, a few rent-collecting officers showed up.


    Before the officers moved closer, Liu Wuyi saw a few peddlers run about carrying their goods. Feeling something wrong, he immediately broke in on the small talk of those around him and began to clear up his herbs in haste.


    ¡°Hey, stop! Stop¡­¡±


    As soon as he had just put away the herbs, a few officers ran over in rage.


    As Liu Wuyi had brought so many herbs this time, it took him quite a long time to put all the rest herbs back into the baskets. When he was about to run, the other peddlers who had been chatting around him were all gone.


    ¡°Stop! Didn¡¯t you hear me? Hey, you!¡±


    Those officers ran after him while yelling. Needless to say, they couldn¡¯t possibly catch up with him.


    After a while, Liu Wuyi got rid of those people and found himself in a long, deserted lane. He seldom hung about in the town, so he was only familiar with the main roads of this place and had never been the lane before. Thankfully, he wasn¡¯t a direction idiot!


    As he walked back along the road he had just come from, he saw a half-opened door on his left.


    Instead of looking into the yard, he walked past the door quickly.


    However, to his surprise, the door was opened from behind and someone stopped him. ¡°Hey, are you selling these herbs?¡±

 Chapter 85

    Liu Wuyi was surprised to find that the door actually led to the backyard of Li¡¯s Clinic! However, he learned from one of the shop assistants, namely, the guy who had just stopped him, that Physician Li had gone back to his hometown with his granddaughter after selling the clinic a few months ago. It suddenly came to Liu Wuyi that when he had visited Li¡¯s house late the year before, Physician Li once told him about going back to his hometown. That was why he had been so eager to find a matchmaker to discuss with the Lis about the marriage between his son and the Li girl. Unfortunately, so many things had happened this year, and Zixiu couldn¡¯t come out to visit anyone because of his ¡®pregnancy¡¯, so Liu Wuyi thought his son had no chance of marrying the virtuous girl. What a pity!


    ¡°Alas¡­¡± He couldn¡¯t help but let out a long sigh at the thought of his childish son, who was neither good at herb collecting nor Qing Kung! Who would like to marry a timid lazy bone who feared even small worms?


    When he was worrying about his son¡¯s future, the shop assistant came back with the manager of the clinic.


    After examining the herbs carefully, the manager said, ¡°I want all of them. What do you say?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s great!¡± Needless to say, Liu Wuyi was delighted if he could sell all the herbs without being exposed to the cold wind outside.


    The two sides agreed on the price soon. After weighing the herbs, the manager showed Liu Wuyi the way to the accountant to get money.


    Liu Wuyi had been here three years ago after his wife and his son fell into the water and were sent to the clinic by the villagers. However, as he had never been to the backyard, he wasn¡¯t familiar without its layout. To his surprise, the terrain in the backyard of a small clinic would have been so complicated! Following the manager along the winding paths, he walked through some archways and corridors before he found himself in a spacious, bright room.


    ¡°Wait a minute, please!¡± The manager suddenly became very deferential, and he even lowered his head slightly when he spoke. However, before Liu Wuyi could say anything, he had walked into the inner room.


    Liu Wuyi was instantly alarmed, but it was too late. With a bang, the doors behind him were shut from outside, leaving him no time to rush out. Next, a bunch of men in black jumped from the ceiling and guarded the door and the window respectively.


    Since he couldn¡¯t possibly get out, Liu Wuyi had to manage to calm himself down. ¡®Seems Nangong Du has no idea that to get someone like me, he doesn¡¯t need to arrange for so many people!¡¯


    Liu Wuyi dusted off the hem of his robe and sat down, waiting calmly for his opponent¡¯s arrival.


    ¡°Mr. Liu, please forgive me for my abruptness!¡± With that, Nangong Du walked out of the inner room.


    Though Liu Wuyi had expected that these people were Nangong Du¡¯s men, he was surprised that this prince wound have come in person. However, he didn¡¯t show any emotional fluctuation on his face. ¡°Your Highness, I¡¯m flattered. I¡¯m just a humble villager. How could you address me as ¡®Mr.¡¯?¡±


    ¡°Mr. Liu, you¡¯re being too modest! The Great Medicinal Herbsyou wrote has been hailed as the definitive work in medicine. Moreover, everyone knows that Mr. Yan is superb in medical skills whereas Mr. Liu is adept at using medicinal herbs!¡±


    ¡°Your Highness, I didn¡¯t expect you to take an interest in medicine after a serious illness!¡± Liu Wuyi said with a sneer. Nangong Du not only schemed all this to get him but also knew his background very well. Sure enough, he was by no means a foppish dandy liked he looked!


    Instead of answering him, Nangong Du gestured his men to leave.


    ¡°Let¡¯s put it straight. What do you want?¡± Liu Wuyi continued with a snort.


    ¡°I just want to see Zixiu!¡±


    ¡°My apologies! But as my son is ill, he doesn¡¯t want anybody to visit him!¡±


    ¡°My darling¡­¡±


    ¡°Your Highness, you must have made a mistake! My son, Liu Zixiu, is not Prince Liuxu!¡± On hearing the word ¡®darling¡¯, Liu Wuyi immediately thought of his son¡¯s clumsy look with his big belly. What Zixiu had done wrong? Why did God let him meet such a vicious guy? ¡°Your Highness, I appreciate you for your concern. My son was poisoned by someone and developed symptoms of the false pregnancy, but he¡¯ll be fine months later. If there¡¯s nothing else I can do to help, please ask the accountant to pay me for the herbs!¡± Liu Wuyi added.

 Chapter 86

    ¡°Mr. Liu, Prince Mu apologizes for having offended you and Childe Liu because of the misunderstanding!¡± Instead of asking the accountant to pay Liu Wuyi, Nangong Du suddenly humbled himself and apologized. However, from the way he addressed himself and Zixiu, Liu Wuyi could tell he was full of anger. Actually, since his darling left secretly, this prince had been in a bad temper!


    Narrowing his eyes, Liu Wuyi stopped mocking at Nangong Du and put on a serious look. ¡°Your Highness, since it¡¯s a misunderstanding, my son will have nothing to do with you in the future. I accept your apology and I¡¯ll pass it on to my son as well.¡±


    ¡°Mr. Liu, aren¡¯t you curious about who replaced Princess Liuxu with your son?¡±


    Liu Wuyi froze for a moment. He hadn¡¯t asked his son how he had gotten into the Prince Mu¡¯s Mansion. It was Luo Huali who had told him that everyone thought Zixiu was Princess Liuxu for no reason, but he had never told him why Zixiu would have shown up in Nangong Du¡¯s mansion.


    Seeing Liu Wuyi hesitant, Nangong Du tried to probe into more. ¡°Mr. Liu, it¡¯s said you¡¯re not only skillful in medicine, but also are highly accomplished in martial arts. I wonder why you suddenly retired to seclusion thirteen years ago¡­¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Liu Wuyi had come back to his senses. ¡°Your Highness, you think it has something to do with me?¡± he asked with a faint smile.


    ¡°Are you trying to deny it?¡± Nangong Du asked back. How come the well-known King of Medicine had suddenly vanished from public sight and was willing to become a peddler in such a remote place? There must be a skeleton in the cupboard!


    ¡®This brat is trying to trick me into telling my secret! Humph! No way!¡± Liu Wuyi sneered secretly. ¡°I don¡¯t care if it might have something to do with me. Your Highness, you¡¯re smart and powerful, so I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll get to the bottom of it soon!¡±


    ¡°Mr. Liu, you¡¯re overestimating me! I¡¯m not a scheming person, but I¡¯m not willing to be manipulated by others. By the way, do you want Childe Liu to hide in the mountains for the rest of his life?¡±


    ¡®Hide?¡¯ Hearing the word so clearly meant to belittle them, Liu Wuyi was a little annoyed. Frowning slightly, he said with a grim look, ¡°Your Highness, do you know why my son is hiding?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what I want to ask!¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Liu Wuyi¡¯s face darkened. Nangong Du was more canning than he had expected, so his chances of escape seemed slim. However, Liu Wuyi wasn¡¯t easy to mess with either! After pondering for a while, he continued, ¡°Your Highness, since you think my son is hiding from someone, I guess those soldiers you sent to Mount Windward for the magic herb are actually looking for Liu Zixiu!¡±


    ¡°Hahaha! Mr. Liu, is this some kind of a joke? How could I possibly think of a living person as a medicinal herb? What¡¯s more, in addition to this team on Mount Winward, I also sent some people to other places to look for the herb. Mr. Liu, I wonder what makes you think in this way. Seems you¡¯ve taken me as a devil who eats human flesh and drinks human blood?!¡±


    When Liu Wuyi heard that Nangong Du had sent other teams to look for the herb elsewhere, he felt his heart skip a beat. His experience and intuition told him that this prince was doing this not to expand his search for the herb or to distract someone, and his real purpose was probably beyond his guess. Liu Wuyi couldn¡¯t figure out what this crafty prince was going to do and why he was telling him this. Sure enough, people who could make Zixiu hold a grudge were by no means good! ¡°Your Highness, you know well if you¡¯re a devil or not!¡± Liu Wuyi immediately shot back.


    ¡°Er¡­¡± Hearing that, Nangong Du felt a little lost with a flicker of melancholy in his eyes.


    What the hell? Liu Wuyi was stupified. ¡®Did I really overestimate this brat?¡¯


    ¡°Mr. Liu, so you¡¯re still unwilling to accept my apology! I guess Zixiu won¡¯t forgive me either¡­¡± Without trying to hide his disappointment, Nangong Du continued in a tone of sadness, and to show his sincerity, he addressed himself as ¡®I¡¯ instead of ¡®Prince Mu¡¯. ¡°I should be blamed for being so drunk and doing such a thing to Zixiu. It¡¯s all my fault! He must have hated me to the core and didn¡¯t want to see me. I admit I was too dissolute and uninhibited before, but except for Zixiu, I¡¯ve never fallen for anyone else. In any case, I won¡¯t abandon him. Now that the wrong is done, as the prince of the Nan Kingdom, I promise I¡¯ll take care of him for the rest of his life. So father, please allow me to be with Zixiu¡­¡±


    ¡°Fa¡­ Father?!¡± Hearing the way Prince Mu addressed him, Liu Wuyi almost cried out in surprise. Though he had figured out why this prince had spared his son¡¯s life, he couldn¡¯t accept him to be his¡­ It was just too ridiculous!


    ¡°I¡¯m serious that I like Zixiu. Father, I beg you to grant my request!¡±


    ¡°What?! Nangong Du, you¡¯d better leave me alone!¡±


    ¡°Father!¡±


    ¡°Get lost!¡±

 Chapter 87

    ¡®Sure enough, Liu Zixiu didn¡¯t have the guts to tell anyone the details of what happened on our wedding night!¡¯ Nangong Du laughed inwardly. After succeeding in irritating Liu Wuyi, he walked out of the room, leaving those men in black spy on him secretly. However, to his surprise, Liu Wuyi only sat there with his eyes closed, showing no intent to get into a fight or force his way out. Unable to figure out what he was thinking of, Nangong Du became even more alert. Actually, the ¡®martial artist¡¯, Mr. Liu, remained here merely because he had lost his cultivation base years ago, but nobody else knew this apart from people from the Valley of Fallen Blossoms.


    Liu Wuyi was only feigning his composure. Like a Taoist priest, he once thought that nothing could disturb his mind anymore and was even indifferent to his own life. However, since the accident three years ago, he found his son, who had turned from a rigorous, diligent, and intelligent boy to a reckless, lazy, and slow-witted good-for-nothing had become his Achilles¡¯ heel. Weighing the pros and cons, he gave in after only one day¡¯s stand-off with Nangong Du.


    Nangong Du was surprised on hearing what his attendant reported him in the morning. He had put a lot of effort into getting Liu Wuyi on the hook, so it was far out of his expectation that the latter would have granted his request so easily! ¡®Is he cooking tricks?¡¯ Nangong Du wondered.


    He then stepped into the room warily.


    At the sight of him, Liu Wuyi immediately said, ¡°I can let you see Zixiu!¡±


    The eagerness in his voice made Nangong Du even more suspicious. However, sensing no killing intent from Liu Wuyi, he sat down leisurely. ¡°Mr. Liu, I¡¯m a little surprised that you suddenly changed your mind!¡±


    ¡°Whatever you think!¡± Liu Wuyi said coldly, unwilling to waste his time on playing games with this asshole!


    ¡°Let me out here right now! Or you¡¯ll never see him!¡± he added.


    Nangong Du chuckled with a hint of a crafty look crossing his eyes. ¡°Mr. Liu, relax! Actually, you don¡¯t have to go back in person. Just give me the array diagram of the Cirrus Valley.¡±


    ¡°You¡­¡±


    ¡°Mr. Liu, you¡¯re a person of great wit, so I have to be cautious!¡±


    ¡°Sure enough, you¡¯re a mean person!¡± Liu Wuyi said angrily, clenching his teeth.


    Nangong Du didn¡¯t seem to be annoyed. After picking up the teacup and taking a sip of the tea, he continued, ¡°Mr. Liu, whatever you think. But you have my word. I¡¯ll never hurt Zixiu again!¡±


    ¡°Why should I believe you?¡±


    ¡°Mr. Liu, seems you¡¯re unwilling to give me the array diagram?¡±


    ¡°Nangong Du, stop pushing your luck!¡±


    Nangong Du didn¡¯t answer. He was certain that Liu Wuyi would compromise again, or he would have forced his way out right now.


    Another day passed.


    To Nangong Du¡¯s surprise, in the early morning, Liu Wuyi showed him an array diagram he had drawn!


    ¡®It¡¯s unbelivable that Liu Wuyi was willing to give me the array diagram! Is he really going to turn over his son?¡¯


    At this point, three people who were hiding on the roof were all filled with righteous indignation.


    ¡°How come Uncle Liu gave it to that asshole? No, I must get the array diagram back!¡±


    ¡°Calm down! Let¡¯s wait for a little bit longer!¡±


    ¡°Dad, I can¡¯t wait anymore! Xiuxiu is going¡­¡±


    ¡°Shut up! Are you implying your Uncle Liu is an idiot? I¡¯m sure he has his own reason!¡±


    ¡°Master Yan, you mean the array diagram is fake?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure yet. You two go follow behind Nangong Du. If he really finds Zixiu according to the array diagram, you must take Zixiu back safe and sound! I¡¯ll remain here to help your Uncle Liu!¡±


    ¡°Yes, Master Yan!¡±


    ¡°By the way, Nangong Du is accomplished in martial arts, so you must be careful in case he finds you. Or your Uncle Liu¡¯s plan will be ruined!¡±


    ¡°Got it!¡±


    ¡°Huali, you go first. I have something else to talk to Lingxiao!¡±


    ¡°Dad, please go ahead!¡±


    ¡°I remember Zixiu liked osmanthus cake when ¡®she¡¯ was a child, so buy some for ¡®her¡¯ before you head for the mountain. By the way, be smart and not to piss ¡®her¡¯ off again!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve never pissed him off!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s uselss to try to deny it! If ¡®she¡¯ isn¡¯t mad at you, how come ¡®she¡¯ is hiding in the mountains? You damned brat, Zixiu will marry you sooner or later. Why were you in such a hurry to get ¡®her¡¯ pregnant¡­¡±


    ¡°Dad, Zixiu is a boy!¡±


    ¡°Bullshit! How could a boy get pregant? You little brat, you¡¯re still trying to deny it!¡±


    ¡°Dad, I¡¯m not lying! Though Zixiu developed symptoms of pregnancy, he wasn¡¯t preg¡­¡±


    ¡°Shut your mouth! If you dare talk about false pregnancy again, I¡¯ll definitely break your legs! At any rate, you must marry Zixiu! If you can¡¯t get her back, you¡¯ll know how I¡¯m going to teach you a lesson!¡±


    ¡°Dad, don¡¯t go back on your word! I, Yan Lingxiao, am not going to marry anyone else except for Liu Zixiu!¡±


    ¡°Good! You may leave now!¡±

 Chapter 88

    When Nangong Du stepped into the Cirrus Valley without difficulty following the directions on the array diagram, Zixiu was squatting on the mound in front of the door, waiting anxiously like a statue for his father to return.


    As the night fell, it was getting even colder. Zixiu tightened his clothes, shrank his neck, crossed his arms in front of his chest, and warmed his hands under his armpits.


    ¡®Dad would return within a day and a half whenever he went to the town. But this time, he has been away for three days. How come he hasn¡¯t come back yet? Could something have happened to him?¡¯


    With his eyelid twitching, Zixiu had a growing sense of foreboding that something bad had happened. However, he was too feeble to think about anything for the moment. The evening two days before, he had eaten up all the food his father had prepared before he left. After that, Zixiu rummaged through the house and ate everything he could eat! Since the night before, he had to relieve hunger by drinking the water he fetched from the mountain spring with a barrel. As he didn¡¯t know how to make a fire, he could only drink cold water all day long. At this point, not only was he dizzy from hunger but his stomach freezing as well, which made him feel very sick!


    ¡®How come I¡¯m so stupid that I can¡¯t even tell the difference between poisonous and non-poisonous mushrooms, nor can I tell weeds from wild vegetables no matter how hard I try? How come I can¡¯t get even a rabbit after practicing Qing Kung for a few months? How come I still don¡¯t know how to make a fire and cook? How come¡­ Gosh, if dad doesn¡¯t come back soon, I¡¯ll be starving!¡¯


    In the midst of his constant self-reflection and self-criticism, the last bit of the sunset glow sank into the clouds, and it grew even darker.


    Helplessly, Zixiu took another gulp of the cold water, feeling chill to the bone. Unable to stand the coldness outside, he decided to go back to the room.


    However, when he was about to stand up, he found his feet numb. At the thought that he had accidentally burned up the paper roll he was using to start the fire the night before when he was trying to light up the oil lamp, he hated himself even more. ¡®Seems I¡¯m really a good-for-nothing¡­¡¯


    ¡®Fire?¡¯ As if he had just found out a new world, Zixiu suddenly raised his head and saw a blaze in the path in front of their house.


    ¡°Dad!¡± In spite of his numb feet, he threw away the barrel in his hands and rushed to the torch excitedly.


    ¡®Dad?¡¯ Nangong Du had just lit up the torch when he suddenly heard someone cry out in the valley of silence. Following the sound, he lifted the torch, tilted his head backward 90 degrees, and found in surprise that a thatch-roofed hut perch high on the hillside! If it weren¡¯t for the cry, he wouldn¡¯t have looked up and seen it. ¡®Who could that be?¡¯


    Holding the torch high, Nangong Du saw someone, who was as portly as a burlap bag with his hair as messy as a bird nest, run to him clumsily. That person was running increasingly faster as if the next second he was going to rush over and throw himself into his arms!


    ¡°Darling?¡± Nangong Du called tentatively.


    ¡®What?¡¯ Hearing the voice very similar to that of the pervert and the intimate form of address for him, the overjoyed Zixiu was scared out of his wits and halted in urgent. Without a second thought, he turned to run instinctively.


    ¡°Hey, watch out!¡± Seeing the clumsy look of that person, Nangong Du couldn¡¯t help but feel sorry for him. ¡®Er¡­ Wait! Is that the pregnant Liu Zixiu?¡¯


    Seeing that person¡¯s swollen belly, Nangong Du felt his heart skip a beat. He was so thrilled that he immediately strode to that figure.


    ¡°Ah!¡± Zixiu let out a shriek while running desperately. ¡°Heavens! Here comes the damned pervert! The bastard has finally come to me!!¡±

 Chapter 89

    ¡°Open the door! Liu Zixiu! Open the door¡­¡±


    Standing outside, Nangong Du shouted with his hands on his hips, managing to hold back his anger. To his surprise, though Liu Zixiu looked clumsy, he moved much faster than when he had been in his mansion. Nangong Du was regretted not having used Qing Kung because he underestimated Zixiu, or he wouldn¡¯t have been shut out of the door!


    Before Nangong Du could get him just now, Zixiu had rushed into the room at an incredible speed. He immediately closed and bolted the door before pressing the dinner table against it. After that, he leaned against the table, gasping for a while. As he finally caught his breath, he realized that the basic skills of Qing Kung he had practiced for months had worked! Though not as fast as a rabbit, he could at least get away from his enemy. At the thought of this, Zixiu felt a surge of confidence at once. ¡®Seems I¡¯m not that stupid and useless! Dad is right! I have to make progress little by little and there¡¯s no way to master Qing Kung overnight! But dad told me that no outsiders would be able to enter the valley. How come that damned pervert suddenly showed up here? What the hell is going on?¡¯


    ¡°Liu Zixiu, open the door! Did you hear me? Open the door¡­¡± Nangong Du wondered why he lost his temper so easily whenever he faced Zixiu, and especially when he had just accidentally put out the torch, he grew even more impatient. ¡®It¡¯s damned cold in the mountains! How dare Liu Zixiu shut me out!¡° Actually, what annoyed him most was that to find Zixiu, he went to great lengths not to arouse the suspicion of others and came all the way from his fief, but the latter even ran away at the sight of him! ¡®Damn it! Am I that scary?¡¯ Nangong Du thought resentfully. ¡°Liu Zixiu, open the door! You coward, if you keep the door shut, don¡¯t blame me for tearing down your house!¡±


    ¡®Coward?!¡¯ ¡°Damn it! You..¡± ¡®Er¡­ Wait! He must be trying to get me out by provoking me! Liu Zixiu, relax! You must keep calm!¡¯ Zixiu told himself.


    Taking a few deep breaths, he managed to calm himself down and stopped talking with his teeth clenched. After a while, he wiped the cold sweat off his forehead with his mind spinning. ¡®That jerk means what he says. He might really tear down my house! Besides, destroying a door is much easier than demolishing a house! Seems I have to do something to keep him from getting me! What¡¯s more, I can¡¯t let any outsider see me look like a pregnant woman! It was so dark, so that pervert must not have seen me clearly just now!¡¯


    ¡°Liu Zixiu, do you think you can hide from me forever? Listen, it was your dad who told me¡­¡±


    ¡®Dad?¡¯ Hearing that, Zixiu felt his heart sink and he grew even more alarmed. It had been three days since his father left. However, instead of seeing him come back, he saw Nangong Du suddenly appear in front of their house! Obviously, Nangong Du didn¡¯t get here by climbing the cliff. ¡®Could dad have been¡­¡¯ ¡°You bastard, what did you do to my dad?¡±


    ¡°Humph!¡± Irritated by Zixiu¡¯s swear words, Nangong Du deliberately answered in an enigmatic tone, ¡°No worries, darling. As Liu Wuyi is my father-in-law, I should treat him well!¡±


    ¡®¡®Father-in-law?¡¯ As far as he knew of Nangong Du, there was no way the latter meant what he said just now literally. ¡®What did he mean by ¡®treat dad well¡¯?¡¯ Zixiu wondered with his fear turning to fury instantly. ¡°You f*cking asshole!¡± he couldn¡¯t help but curse again.


    ¡°Whatever you say! Come on! Come out and teach me a lesson!¡±


    ¡°!!¡± Though Zixiu was in a towering rage, he hadn¡¯t lost his mind yet. He had known well that he was no match for Nan Gongdu months ago!


    ¡°You don¡¯t dare come out, do you?¡± Nangong Du said sarcastically, trying to goad Zixiu to open the door.


    However, to his surprise, someone else¡¯s voice suddenly rang from behind. ¡°Prince Mu, seems you¡¯re in a good mood. Are you here so late to watch the sunset or enjoy the moonlight?¡±

 Chapter 90

    Taken aback, Nangong Du stopped playing a prank on Zixiu and put on a grim look again before he turned around. ¡°It¡¯s you!¡± Next, he saw two men by the light of the torches in the hands of the newcomers.


    In front of him were Luo Huali and Yan Lingxiao, who had followed him here. The array Uncle Liu had set up was so complicated that the two almost got lost just now!


    ¡°Nangong Du, no one wants to see you. You¡¯d better leave right now!¡± Instead of making any sarcastic remarks as Lingxiao had done, Luo Huali put it straight.


    Nangong Du stared expressionlessly at the man who was speaking. He was aware that it was Yan Lingxiao¡¯s senior brother, the Medical Sage, Yan Ke¡¯s disciple whom he had seen in his bedroom the night Liu Zixiu escaped. However, he didn¡¯t know that Luo Huali had once disguised himself as a guard and sneaked into his mansion. As he had just left the Valley of Fallen Blossoms and hadn¡¯t been out practicing medicine for long, Luo Huali was still unknown to most people. That was why Nangong Du had never heard of his name. ¡®Anyway, as he¡¯s Yan Ke¡¯s disciple, he must be skillful in both medicine and martial arts. Otherwise, I wouldn¡¯t have failed to sense him approaching just now! Seems it¡¯s unwise to confront them head-on. But Liu Zixiu may not want to see his senior brothers! Who knows?¡¯


    ¡°I guess you two are no more popular than I am!¡± After pondering for a while, Nangong Du shot back grumpily.


    Luo Huali was rendered speechless. He wasn¡¯t that eloquent, and he was clear that he and Lingxiao were not welcomed either, or Zixiu would have opened the door to greet them long ago! He wondered what Lingxiao had done to Zixiu, which made the latter keep avoiding him like this! Besides, why was Ling Xiao so certain that Zixiu was a boy? What the hell was going on?


    ¡°Zixiu, open the door! Here comes your Brother Xiao¡­¡± Unlike Luo Huali, Lingxiao instantly lost his temper at Nangong Du¡¯s provocation. He walked to the door and knocked on it hard. He was certain that Zixiu was hiding from Nangong Du, not him, but after banging the door for a while, he heard no response.


    ¡°Zixiu, no worries! You have your Brother Xiao to protect you and Nangong Du won¡¯t dare to do anything to you!¡±


    Still, nobody answered yet. The mention of ¡°Brother Xiao¡± didn¡¯t seem to work!


    ¡°Xiuxiu! Xiuxiu¡­¡± Unwilling to give up, Lingxiao slapped the door again, whereas Nangong Du stood beside him with his arms folded in front of his chest as if he were just an onlooker.


    Lingxiao couldn¡¯t hold back his anger anymore. ¡®If it weren¡¯t for that damned asshole, Nangong Du, Xiuxiu wouldn¡¯t have been so scared that he had shut us all out!¡¯ At the thought of this, he suddenly turned with the killing intent flashing in his eyes. ¡°Nangong Du, I told you to stay away from Zixiu! How dare you come here? You¡¯re digging your own grave!¡± he roared in rage.


    Luo Huali popped his eyes in surprise. He had never seen the uninhibited Lingxiao so serious and furious! Though he was filled with anger as well, Luo Huali thought it was more important to get in and check if Zixiu was alright than to argue with Nangong Du outside! Since Uncle Liu was willing to give the array diagram to Nangong Du, he must have his reason.


    Unfortunately, when he was about to gesture Lingxiao to stay calm, the two who had been hostile to each other for long had grappled with each other.


    Lingxiao had long wanted to teach Nangong Du a good lesson, especially when he sensed that Zixiu was indeed very afraid of him, he had a spur to kill that bastard with a punch! On the other hand, Nangong Du had never been grateful to Lingxiao for treating his illness. Moreover, as he had been burning with anger for being shut out, he vented all his anger on Physician Ling. Therefore, the fight between the two was extremely fierce!


    After watching on for a while, Luo Huali could tell that as his master had said, Nangong Du was really good at combating skills. It seemed the two were neck to neck, and it was hard to tell who would win. While Nangong Du was busy dealing with Lingxiao, Luo Huali slipped into the backyard quietly. The house must have a window at least!


    Needless to say, the house had windows. And at this point, Zixiu, who had been hiding in the room in terror, was ready to run away through the window on hearing what seemed to be a fight outside!


    He scanned around nervously while climbing onto the windowsill. To his surprise, he saw the flickering light of fire move to him.


    Zixiu went stiff in an instant when he saw the familiar face in the light of the torch. ¡®Senior Brother?¡¯


    Luo Huali happened to see someone crouching on the windowsill. As the shadow of the big tree behind the house was reflected in the window, he couldn¡¯t see him clearly, so he cried in a soft voice, ¡°Zixiu?¡±


    Hearing that, Zixiu came back to his senses. However, in a panic, he had no idea whether to return to the room or jump out of the window. When he was hesitating, he suddenly missed his footing and fell heavily to the ground. ¡°Ah!!¡±

 Chapter 91

    Watching Zixiu fall to the ground, Luo Huali was scared out of his wits. Though he had dashed over as fast as he could, he failed to catch Zixiu in time. In a panic, he had left the ritual that physical contact between men and women was considered inappropriate behind. ¡°Zixiu, how are you feeling? Where does it hurt? Come on, say something!¡±


    Curving up on the ground, Zixiu groaned in pain and couldn¡¯t utter a word. Even though he felt like his butt was splitting, what was killing him was the pain in the belly. He had never suffered so much pain, which was even hundreds of times worse than the last time he had been kicked by Nangong Du! Therefore, the next second, he burst into tears again!


    ¡°Zixiu! Zi¡­¡± The moment his fingers touched Zixiu¡¯s swollen belly, the flustered Huali froze on the spot. ¡®Heavens! Zixiu is really pregnant!¡¯


    Hearing someone shriek, Nangong Du and Yan Lingxiao stopped fighting at once. However, when they rushed to the backyard, they saw a pile of hay burning! Luo Huali had been in such a hurry and he had thrown the torch onto the haystack by accident! As it hadn¡¯t rained for days and everything was very dry, the fire spread quickly in all directions.


    The two of them were all stupified. They had noticed that the roof of Zihu¡¯s house was covered with thick thatch when they were fighting. Needless to say, if they let the fire spread, not only would the house burn to ashes, but it would also start a mountain fire!


    Anxiously they looked through the burning flames for the one who had just screamed.


    When he finally saw Zixiu in his senior brother¡¯s arms, Lingxiao heaved a sigh of relief. Though he felt lost and jealous, he was clear that it wasn¡¯t the right time to argue with Luo Huali. Moreover, his conservative and upright senior brother had been thinking that Zixiu was a girl, so he would never take the opportunity to harass him. Anyway, it was better to leave Xiuxiu in Luo Huali¡¯s care for the time being than to let him fall into the hands of that pervert! At the thought of this, Lingxiao felt less jealous and he immediately said loudly, ¡°Senior Brother, please take care of Xiuxiu for me!¡±


    He then turned to Nangong Du, thinking that if this asshole insisted on making trouble, he would kill him before putting out the fire! However, to his surprise, Nangong Du turned to leave without a glance at him.


    ¡°Humph!¡± With a snort, Lingxiao rushed to the front yard following Nangong Du and secretly took out the fan from his sleeve. However, when he was about to shoot the silver needles from his fan, he saw Nangong Du bend over and pick up the barrel on the ground. ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°Humph!¡± Nangong Du snorted as well. ¡®Yan Lingxiao must be thinking that I¡¯m a useless dandy! Without his father¡¯s protection, I would have gotten the brainless Liu Zixiu with no sweat!¡¯ From the terrible scream, he was certain that Zixiu was in trouble again. ¡®You deserve it! Why did you shut me out? You coward, if you opened the door earlier, nothing would have happened!¡¯ he thought resentfully. Zixiu was lucky enough to have two senior brothers proficient in medicine by his side, so Nangong Du was sure he would be fine. However, he was worried that Zixiu might blame him in the future once the Cirrus Valley was burned down. Though he hadn¡¯t set the fire, for the sake of the King of Medicine, Mr. Liu, he decided to get off his high horse as the prince and put out the fire in person.


    ¡°Fi¡­Fire! 112¡­ No¡­ 122? Er¡­ Hurry up! Dial 119¡­¡±


    The ¡®coward¡¯ was muttering from behind again, but in a lower voice as if he was dying. Looking back, Nangong Du saw Zixiu¡¯s senior brother had come to the front yard with Zixiu in him arms as if he were holding a rare treasure.


    ¡°Humph!¡± With another snort, he broke in on Zixiu¡¯s muttering and asked grumpily, ¡°Where can I fetch some water?¡±


    Lingxiao, who had just come back to his senses, flared up again when he heard Nangong Du yelling. ¡°What are you yelling for? Don¡¯t you see Xiuxiu¡¯s very sick..¡±


    At the mention of this, he suddenly turned back to Zixiu, as if he had just remembered something. Zixiu was covering his belly with his hands, and though under thick clothes, his belly bulged noticeably! Could it be¡­


    The blood drained from Lingxiao¡¯s face in an instant. At the thought of the miserable shriek, he rushed to Luo Huali in horror. ¡°Senior Brother, what¡¯s wrong with Xiuxiu? How come he suddenly had a pain in the belly? What the hell happened?¡±


    ¡°119¡­ Fire¡­¡± Zixiu muttered in a state of semi-consciousness with his face twisted in pain. Luo Huali didn¡¯t answer Lingxiao. Judging by Zixiu¡¯s pulse, he could tell Zixiu was very likely to lose ¡®her¡¯ baby.


    ¡°A sign of miscarriage?¡± From his senior brother¡¯s expression, Lingxiao immediately figured out what had happened.


    Hearing that, Nangong Du, who had been wearing a poker face couldn¡¯t help but sneer. ¡°This is ridiculous! There¡¯s no way Liu Zixiu¡­¡±


    ¡°You bastard!¡± With a roar, Lingxiao suddenly turned around. Staring at Nangong Du furiously, he went on cursing, ¡°You scumbag! If it weren¡¯t for you, Zixiu wouldn¡¯t have suffered so much! If it weren¡¯t for you, he wouldn¡¯t have nearly died in an assassination attempt and been poisoned! How could you make sarcastic remarks like this?! I¡¯m going¡­¡±


    ¡°Enough!¡± Luo Huali¡¯s heart sunk when he heard that Zixiu had been poisoned, and he suddenly interrupted his junior brother. Given the circumstances, Lingxiao couldn¡¯t have lied! It seemed he and his master had got it wrong. If it was really false pregnancy, Zixiu¡¯s life was on the line!


    Realizing that Zixiu¡¯s condition was even worse than he had imagined, with a physician¡¯s excellent psychological quality, Luo Huali calmed himself down soon. He then placed his hands on Zixiu¡¯s belly, trying to ease his abdominal pain. Meanwhile, he ordered the two, who were staring at each other in rage, ¡°What are you standing here for? Go put out the fire! We have to move Zixiu to a warm place!¡±


    ¡°119¡­¡± Zixiu was still muttering the number, which didn¡¯t make any sense to other people.

 Chapter 92

    In the guest room of Li¡¯s Clinic under Mount Windward, Liu Wuyi was reading a medical book after dinner. Though he had given the array diagram to Nangong Du in the morning, the latter didn¡¯t let him go and there were still some guys in black guarding outside. Before leaving, Nangong Du gave him the book as a quid pro quo, or as a reward.


    Liu Wuyi was shocked the moment he saw the ancient medical book, which had been lost for years since the previous dynasty. As he was once a huge fan of medicine, to be frank, he was pleased by the unexpected acquisition of the book. Needless to say, it didn¡¯t mean he was less worried about his son. However, he would rather let Zixiu make it clear to Nangong Du to his face, so as this prince would not come to harass him again than watch him starve to death. Moreover, Yan Ke and his disciples must be looking for Zixiu everywhere, and they wouldn¡¯t sit by if they knew he was in trouble. Given the situation, Liu Wuyi could only try to look on the bright side.


    Shaking his head slightly, he shifted his attention back to the book.


    Having just read a few lines, Liu Wuyi suddenly smelled a hint of fragrance. As he knew it was the smell of hypnotic smoke, he held his breath instinctively.


    ¡®Is someone trying to assassinate me?¡¯


    Putting down the book, Liu Wuyi leaped to the window swiftly. To his surprise, when he opened the window, he saw his senior brother, Yan Ke, standing outside!


    What the hell? Liu Wuyi frowned in silence.


    Seeing Liu Wuyi¡¯s sullen look made Yan Ke even uneasier. The two of them had grown up together, so he knew well what would happen if he annoyed his junior brother. Anyway, the consequences could be serious! At the thought of this, he leaped into the room and offered to open the rest of the windows.


    As soon as the smoke of the house was completely gone, he immediately apologized and explained to his junior brother before the latter could question him. ¡°Brother Liu, my apologies! I was trying to knock out those men in black with the hypnotic smoke, but unfortunately, a strong wind came up and blew it into your room! Er¡­¡±


    Looking at Liu Wuyi with an awkward smile, Yan Ke hoped that his junior brother could give him an out. However, Liu Wuyi remained silent expressionlessly, so he had to go on explaining, ¡°You know me well. I had never used such disgraceful means against others, so I made a mistake just now. I didn¡¯t mean it! Hope you inhaled no smoke!¡±


    ¡®You know better than anyone else if it was an honest mistake!¡¯ Liu Wuyi almost blurted out. However, after all, Yan Ke was not only his senior brother but also was known as Medicine Sage. Besides, he just wanted to get him out of here by using the hypnotic smoke. Therefore, it would be inappropriate to choke him verbally. Moreover, they were not young and their sons had grown up, so he just couldn¡¯t lose his temper with this senior brother as he used to. At the thought of this, he shifted the topic. ¡°Brother Yan, I¡¯m not surprised having seen you here!¡±


    ¡°Er¡­¡± On hearing that, Yan Ke was a little surprised and he didn¡¯t know what to say. After pausing for a short moment, he promised with a solemn expression, ¡±Brother Liu, you have my word! Lingxiao will definitely marry Zixiu!¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Liu Wuyi didn¡¯t know whether to laugh or cry. Yan Ke still thought Zixiu was a girl! Was it because his senior brother was too stubborn or because Yang Lingxiao was too unconvincing? ¡®Forget it, I¡¯d better let the kids sort this out for themselves!¡¯ Liu Wuyi thought helplessly.


    After quite a while, he continued, ¡°So Lingxiao had got into the mountain following Nangong Du?¡±


    ¡®Nangong Du?¡¯ Hearing the name, Yan Ke felt his heart skip a beat with the look on his face growing even more solemn. Though he wasn¡¯t so thoughtful as his junior brother, he was a person of insight. When he had just mentioned the marriage between Lingxiao and Zixiu, Liu Wuyi fell silent at once and didn¡¯t respond to this, which upset him more. Unable to contain his doubts anymore, he decided to bring up the question that had been bottled up in his mind for months. ¡°Brother Liu, you¡¯re not happy with Lingxiao, are you?¡±


    ¡°What?! Brother Yan, what makes you think this way?¡±


    ¡°Brother Liu, you took Zixiu away that night without even telling us! Lingxiao has been looking for him for a few months and lost a lot of weight recently! But you gave the array diagram to Nangong Du! I can¡¯t think of any other reason why you did this except that you had a prejudice against Lingxiao!¡± Yan Ke asserted. Though he was angry that Lingxiao had got Zixiu ¡®pregnant¡¯ before they got married and he had rebuked him abusively, in front of his future daughter-in-law¡¯s father, he had to stand up for his son and fight for his chance. Unfortunately, he wasn¡¯t aware that he had got the whole thing wrong!


    Liu Wuyi grew even more helpless! Unwilling to waste his time and effort on convincing his senior brother, who seemed to be the stubbornest man in the world, that Zixiu was a boy and he hadn¡¯t got pregnant at all, after pondering for a while, Liu Wuyi asked back, ¡°Brother Yan, since you¡¯ve known that I gave the array diagram to Nangong Du, you must have been here for a few days. Then why didn¡¯t you come to me earlier and ask me for the array diagram? You didn¡¯t have much faith in Lingxiao, right?¡±


    Yan Ke was rendered speechless. For fear that his Brother Liu might slip away silently as he had done last time, he had been hiding outside for a few days. Liu Wuyi was much better than him in Qing Kung and the art of array, or he wouldn¡¯t have had no trace of him for so many years. But Lingxiao had gone to Mount Winward, how come he still worried that Liu Wuyi would leave without saying good-bye? It seemed he still had doubts about whether his son could find Zixiu!


    ¡°Brother Yan, you¡¯d better ask Lingxiao for advice! Actually, Zixiu isn¡¯t the right person for your daughter-in-law! Don¡¯t get me wrong! I¡¯m not siding Nangong Du, but¡­¡± Liu Wuyi was clear that if Zixiu was left unattended for a few days, he would definitely starve to death! Now that he couldn¡¯t find a better way to help his son, he had to assent to Nangong Du¡¯s request to see him. As he was ashamed to tell the outsiders about his son¡¯s imbecility, he didn¡¯t know how to explain to Yan Ke.


    ¡°Brother Liu, what do you mean?¡± There seemed to be alternative meanings behind his junior brother¡¯s words. Obviously, he was partial to the wealthy and powerful Prince Mu!


    From the way Yan Ke spoke, Liu Wuyi had briefly figured out what he was on his mind, so he immediately shifted the topic again. ¡°Brother Yan, why are you so upset about me giving Nangong Du the array diagram? Anyway, Lingxiao has already got into the Cirrus Valley following him.¡±

 Chapter 93

    It was already midnight when the fire was finally put out! The exhausted Nangong Du and Yan Lingxiao were panting with buckets in their hands. Though they had done their best, nearly half of the roof was burned out. In addition to some fluttering in the sky, most of the ash with sparks fell into the house. Fortunately, though the walls were blackened with smoke, the only few pieces of furniture in the house survived the fire.


    By the light of the torch, Luo Huali rushed into the house and placed Zixiu in the room with the unburned roof.


    The first aid proved to work. It was also because the heat from the fire warmed Zixiu up, he stopped raving deliriously and his paleness was fading. After checking his pulse, Luo Huali could tell there was nothing seriously wrong with Zixiu.


    A moment later, the two who had finally caught their breath walked in.


    ¡°Xiuxiu, does your belly still hurt? Nor worries, you have us here to protect you¡­¡± Lingxiao dashed to the bed and grabbed Zixiu by the hand with excitement.


    Seeing that he was about to hold Zixiu in his arms, Nangong Du couldn¡¯t help but flare up with his brows knitted. However, when he was going to find fault with Lingxiao, he suddenly heard Luo Huali roar.


    ¡°Don¡¯t touch him!¡± Huali had a hard time stanching Zixiu¡¯s abdominal pain, so he was afraid that the latter would suffer the same from Lingxiao¡¯s tugging. For some time¡­ No! Until Zixiu was ten months pregnant, he should be kept in bed as much as possible!


    Seeing Luo Huali¡¯s grim look, Lingxiao froze on the spot. As a physician, he realized what his senior brother meant soon, so he gave up the idea of hugging Zixiu. However, he had a feeling that there seemed to be a trace of disgust in his senior brother¡¯s growl! ¡®Is Senior Brother still carrying the torch for Xiuxiu?¡¯


    At the thought that Huali had been his rival since childhood, Lingxiao immediately grew alert. Though he thought highly of himself, and he was indeed an excellent young man, Lingxiao had to admit that his senior brother was superior to him in talent, medicine and martial arts! ¡®Xiuxiu loved to play with Senior Brother when he was a child. Now Senior Brother has grown into a handsome young man. Though he¡¯s a little reticent, it may make him more attracted to Xiuxiu. Who knows? No way! I won¡¯t let him take Xiuxiu away from me!¡¯


    ¡°Ah!¡±


    A miserable cry interrupted Lingxiao¡¯s thoughts, and at the same time, Nangong Du shifted his furious gaze from Lingxiao while Luo Huali came back to his senses.


    The three of them synchronously turned to the sweating Zixiu, their eyes full of anxiety and concern, though someone was trying to hide his true feelings and someone hadn¡¯t realized how much he cared about this ¡®coward¡¯ yet.


    ¡°Xiuxiu, how are you feeling? Does it still hurt?¡± Lingxiao, who made no secret of his admiration for Zixiu responded first. However, as if overreacting, he lifted the quilt and was about to check Zixiu¡¯s belly. Though Zixiu was feeble, he instantly pushed his hand away.


    Zixiu hadn¡¯t had anything for a whole day, so he was very weak for the moment. Moreover, the terrible pain in his belly almost killed him and that pervert¡¯s sudden appearance, as well as the fire on the roof almost scared him to death. Therefore, it was no wonder that he broke out in a cold sweat. ¡°You quack! It hurts because you pinched me too hard!¡± Zixiu complained resentfully.


    Though he still sounded feeble, as a patient, the utterance of a whole sentence in one breath meant he was no longer in danger!


    His three admirers felt much relieved.


    Despite being scolded again, Lingxiao was overjoyed, like a bear that had just eaten honey!


    Seeing his smiling face, Zixiu felt he was a little silly, so he shot a glare at this damned quack and turned aside. However, as soon as he caught sight of Nangong Du¡¯s gorgeous robe, he grew tense again, so he immediately shifted his gaze. When he looked up, he suddenly saw his senior brother looking at him with a complicated look!


    Luo Huali came back to his senses earlier than Zixiu did, so he turned aside slightly to avoid Zixiu¡¯s gaze. However, though their eye contact lasted only a few seconds, he had figured out that Zixiu was about to say something. ¡°Zixiu, what¡¯s up?¡±


    ¡°Rumble¡­¡± Zixiu¡¯s stomach answered even quicker than his mouth. Yes, he was starving!


    ¡°Oh, so you¡¯re hungry!¡± To keep his senior brother from ¡®pleasing¡¯ Zixiu, Lingxiao immediately chimed in with a look of triumph on his ¡®silly¡¯ smiling face. ¡®Dad was so prescient to have asked me to bring the osmanthus cake to Xiuxiu, haha!¡¯


    He immediately took out a paper bag excitedly. However, when he opened it, he found the osmanthus cakes had turned into powder!


    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t eat too much sweet food when you¡¯re sick!¡± Nangong Du immediately protested, trying to pick a fight again. Anyway, he couldn¡¯t help but feel annoyed whenever he saw Yan Lingxiao!


    ¡°It¡¯s none of your business!¡± Zixiu retorted grumpily while stuffing a handful of osmanthus cake powder into his mouth.


    Holding the bag, Lingxiao grinned from ear to ear while Nangong Du was gritting his teeth with a grim look. Luo Huali was the mildest among the three. ¡°Since you¡¯re not feeling well, you¡¯d better not eat too many sweets. I¡¯m cooking for you right now!¡±


    ¡®Cooking for me?¡¯ As if he had heard some kind of sensational news, Zixiu stopped shoving the cake powder with his eyes widened. Staring at Luo Huali, who seemed to be thinner in these months, for quite a while, he continued with a sigh, ¡°Senior Brother, it¡¯s very kind of you!¡±


    Zixiu meant what he said and he was about to ask Huali for help before the latter had figured out his intention. After all, among the three, this senior brother was the only one who had left him with a very favorable impression. ¡®Unlike those two, Senior Brother¡¯s not gay and he¡¯ll never think about marrying me! It¡¯s unbelievable that he can even cook! Wow! He¡¯s as awesome as dad!¡¯


    Disregarding the complicated look in the other two¡¯s eyes, Zixiu watched his senior brother out of the room with admiration while various kinds of delicious dishes popped into his mind. He was sure Luo Huali was a good cook, but¡­ there didn¡¯t seem to be any cooking materials in his house!

 Chapter 94

    Striding into the kitchen where the roof had burned down in haste, Luo Huali heaved a sigh of relief. So many things had happened tonight, which made him very confused and upset.


    Zixiu¡¯s false pregnancy was a certainty, or the mere appeasing of his abdominal pain wouldn¡¯t have prevented him from ¡®miscarrying¡¯. Actually, what Huali found hard to accept was that Zixiu was indeed a boy! How come a girl wore a man¡¯s clothes? How come a girl put up with being so untidy and messy? Besides, Zixiu showed no sign of resisting when Lingxiao had tried to hug him. Most of all, he had Adam¡¯s apple! What the hell? Sixteen years ago, Huali had seen in person that the newborn naked baby was a girl! How come Zixiu turned out to be a boy? ¡®Maybe Master Yan and I are both wrong? No, it can¡¯t be!¡¯


    ¡°Senior Brother!¡± He came back to his senses when Lingxiao¡¯s voice suddenly rang from behind.


    Turning around, Luo Huali saw the two jealous men, who had been in the bedroom just now, standing by the door with a sullen look. Overwhelmed by a wave of restlessness again, he couldn¡¯t help but frown while asking Lingxiao, ¡°Is Zixiu asleep?¡±


    ¡°Not yet!¡± Lingxiao shook his head. From his stiff voice and expression, Huali could tell that he had just been scolded by someone, but didn¡¯t dare to show his displeasure.


    ¡®Needless to say, it must be because of Zixiu!¡¯ Luo Huali thought, waiting for him to go on.


    After hesitating for a while, Lingxiao continued, ¡°Xiuxiu felt cold and he wanted to sleep on the warm brick bed!¡±


    ¡®The warm brick bed?¡¯ Luo Huali was a little surprised. As it was as warm as spring in the Valley of Fallen Blossom all year round, there was no need for brick beds. However, he had also seen brick beds and slept on them during his medical practice outside the valley in recent months. Huali was in a trance before the other two walked in, so he hadn¡¯t checked the kitchen carefully. Scanning around in a hurry, he found the oven connected to the bed was under the wok. That was great! He could make the brick bed warm while cooking! He then answered, ¡°I¡¯m heating it up right now!¡±


    ¡°Liu Zixiu¡¯s waiting for the meal!¡± Nangong Du suddenly chimed in.


    ¡°It will¡­ Er¡­¡± Huali was about to say it would be ready soon when he suddenly found that there was no wood for cooking. ¡®Heavens, seems I have to get some firewood first!¡¯ Next, he thought of the cooking materials. He then immediately opened the only cupboard and urn in the kitchen. Unfortunately, there was neither raw cooking materials nor water. Having no choice, he had to go out to get some bushmeat back!


    ¡®Should I go to cut the firewood or to get some game first?¡¯ Huali was in a dilemma. If he was in charge of both, even if Zixiu waited until dawn, the meal might still not be ready!


    Thinking of this, he shifted his gaze to Lingxiao and Nangong Du.


    As the only son of Master Yan, Lingxiao was the apple of his mother¡¯s eye. He had servants to help him in his daily necessities, so he had never done the rough works, such as chopping firewood and hunting! As for Nangong Du, housework was out of the question.


    ¡°Senior Brother, you go on cooking. Just leave it to me to heat up the brick bed!¡± Seeing Huali in a daze, Lingxiao offered to help while snorting contemptuously at Nangong Du. Like his senior brother, he also thought that Nangong Du knew nothing about housework. Though he himself had never heated up a brick bed, he once saw people do it at least. He bet Nangong Du had never been in the kitchen and didn¡¯t even know what the stove looked like!


    It would be nice to have someone help him, but when Luo Huali saw the smug, arrogant look on his junior brother¡¯s face, he felt not assured, so he reminded, ¡°Lingxiao, there¡¯s no firewood in the house. Please find some dry wood outside, or you may check if there¡¯s any woodshed in the yard.¡±


    ¡°Humph!¡± Hearing that, Nangong Du snorted at Lingxiao in return and walked out of the kitchen. As Lingxiao and Huali expected, he didn¡¯t know how to do housework and had never been in the kitchen. Princes had many servants and they never had to worry about food and clothing, so he had never done any household chores. As far as he was concerned, cooking, making a fire, cutting wood were all servants¡¯ jobs. There was no way he would do such a job for Liu Zixiu! Only those two stupid guys in the kitchen would be willing to serve Liu Zixiu just because he praised them as nice guys, which was ridiculous!


    Huali and Lingxiao walked out of the house and set out their work accordingly. Pacing around the house, Lingxiao saw a woodshed, which fortunately hadn¡¯t been destroyed by the fire. On his way back to the house with a bunch of dry wood in his arms, Lingxiao glanced into Zixiu¡¯s bedroom from time to time to prevent Nangong Du from swooping in. At the thought of what had happened in the room, he couldn¡¯t hold back his anger and hated that shameless asshole even more!


    It turned out that Zixiu gobbled up the powder of the osmanthus cakes soon after Luo Huali left the room. As he had some food in his stomach, his physical senses gradually returned to normal, and he felt chilly under the quilt, which made him can¡¯t help but tremble. Seeing that, Lingxiao asked with concern, ¡°Xiuxiu, do you feel cold?¡±


    ¡°Hm!¡± Zixiu curved up with a nod.


    As he couldn¡¯t bear to see Zixiu suffer, Lingxiao blurted out without a second thought, ¡°Let me warm up the bed for you!¡±


    ¡°Er¡­¡± Zixiu froze on the spot in an instant. ¡®Did this damned quack make a deliberate excuse to approach me?¡¯ he wondered. However, when he saw the serious look on Lingxiao¡¯s face, he felt ashamed to curse him, so he only shook his head slightly. ¡°I don¡¯t think this is necessary!¡±


    ¡°Then let me warm your feet up!¡± Lingxiao didn¡¯t want to give up and with that, he was about to lift the quilt.


    Actually, he just didn¡¯t want Zixiu to get cold. However, to his surprise, Nangong Du, who had been standing behind him, suddenly blurted out, ¡°Drop the act! You must be trying to molest Liu Zixiu!¡±


    Hearing that, Lingxiao immediately shot back. The two were argued so fiercely that Zixiu couldn¡¯t help but roar angrily, ¡°I want someone to heat up the brick bed! Get out! Both of you!¡±

 Chapter 95

    As it turned out, though Lingxiao had once seen someone do it, heating up the brick bed wasn¡¯t as easy as he had imagined.


    He wondered why the fire broke out before midnight with such ease, but now after burning out a bunch of pine torches, instead of lighting up the dry wood in the stove, he left the kitchen full of smoke! Thankfully, the roof had been burned down, or he might have choked to death on the smoke!


    In the end, at that asshole, Nangong Du¡¯s sarcastic remarks, he poured almost half a bottle of oil on the wood and finally set it alight.


    How come Nangong Du showed up in a place he thought only servants would come to? Because he didn¡¯t want to miss any chance to challenge his rival! The two, who regarded each other as an eyesore, kept attacking each other in the kitchen until Zixiu shouted loudly in the bedroom, ¡°It¡¯s so damn hot!¡±


    After a while, Luo Huali rushed back with two pheasants in his hands. However, before he could get into the house, he heard the three arguing furiously.


    ¡°You asshole, get your f*cking hands off me! Let go of me!¡± Zixiu shouted grumpily.


    ¡°Shut up!¡± Next, Nangong Du¡¯s voice rang loudly.


    ¡°Nangong Du, did you hear me¡­¡± Before Lingxiao could finish his words, Zixiu interrupted him. ¡°Yan Lingxiao, my brick bed! My dad built it specially for me¡­¡±


    ¡°Liu Zixiu, do you mean that bed is even more important than your life?¡± Nangong Du cut in on him.


    ¡°Nangong Du, how dare you yell at Xiuxiu!¡± Lingxiao roared again.


    ¡°Cut the crap! Yan Lingxiao, are you an idiot? You¡¯d better stop nagging here and put out the fire right now!¡± Nangong Du immediately talked back.


    ¡®Put out the fire?¡¯ Hearing that, Huali instantly grew tense. ¡®Had Lingxiao accidentally set the kitchen on fire while heating up the brick bed?¡¯


    As soon as he rushed in anxiously, he saw Nangong Du stand in the middle of the bedroom angrily with Zixiu, who was wrapped in the quilt, in his arms. Opposite him was Lingxiao, whose bloodshot eyes were bursting with fury.


    ¡°What happened?¡±


    ¡°Go put out the fire in the kitchen!¡± Nangong Du said in a resolute tone as if he were giving orders to his servant.


    He had caught sight of a large piece of the mat on the bed had been burnt and there seemed to be flames and smoke coming out from the cracks. Could it be because Lingxiao had filled so much firewood in the oven that the bed was overheated and cracked? In spite of his displeasure, Huali rushed into the kitchen in an instant.


    Sure enough, when he got into the kitchen, he saw the stove, which was filled with dry wood, reddened by the blazing fire, from which the heat stung his face and made his eyes tingle!


    ¡®Lingxiao could boil medicinal herbs for patients, but how come he didn¡¯t even know how to heat up the bed?¡¯ At the thought of this, he couldn¡¯t help but complain secretly. Next, he put down the pheasants, picked up the fire poker and the shovel in the corner, and began to get the burning wood out of the stove.


    While Huali was busy putting out the fire, the struggle among the three in the bedroom went on!


    Now that his senior brother had gone to put out the fire in the oven, Lingxiao could concentrate on fighting Nangong Du. ¡°Let go of Xiuxiu right now, or I won¡¯t show mercy!¡± he yelled.


    ¡°Ha!¡± With a sneer, Nangong Du shot back in a scornful tone. ¡°If you hadn¡¯t cracked the bed, I wouldn¡¯t have gotten this dumb ass out of it!¡±


    ¡®Dumb ass?¡¯ Zixiu grew even angrier at his words. ¡°F*ck! Nangong Du, how dare you address me in this way? If you¡¯re a tough guy, just put me down! I¡¯ll definitely¡­¡±


    ¡°Shut your mouth! How could you blurt out such curse words so easily? Who did you learn that from?¡± Annoyed by Zixiu¡¯s foul language, Nangong Du shot an angry glare at Lingxiao. It was obvious that he thought it was under Lingxiao¡¯s influence that Zixiu had developed such a bad habit. Anyway, before Lingxiao came to his mansion, Liu Zixiu had never cursed him like this!


    ¡°Why are you looking at me like that?¡± Lingxiao shot a glare back but felt a little bit unconfident. After all, people who spoke rudely were considered ill-bred or even cowardly, and a gentleman would never behave in this way. Actually, Lingxiao learned to swear from Zixiu by accident. ¡®But whom Xiuxiu learned that from? Uncle Liu doesn¡¯t seem to be a rude person¡­¡¯


    Unlike Lingxiao, Zixiu didn¡¯t take what Nangong Du said seriously, and without a second thought, he started cursing again, ¡°Damn it! Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s unfair that you call me a dumb ass but don¡¯t allow me to swear¡­¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t think of a better word to describe you than ¡®dumb ass¡¯!¡± Nangong Du said with a disdainful look in his eyes. Burning with anger, Zixiu waved a punch at this pervert¡¯s face with all his might.


    ¡°Seems you disagree with me!¡± Grabbing his hand without difficulty, Nangong Du put on a grim look. ¡°If you were any smarter, you wouldn¡¯t have risked your life at this moment!¡±


    ¡°You¡­ What do you want?¡± Taken aback, Zixiu suddenly realized that he had been too reckless. Though he had Lingxiao as his backing, this brat was in a trance at such a critical moment and left him in the pervert¡¯s arms. It would be a piece of cake for Nangong Du if he wanted to take his life! Moreover, even Lingxiao was good at Qing Kung, he had no eme to save Zixiu before Nangong Du strangled him!


    While Zixiu was worried about his life, Nangong Du suddenly whispered in his ear, ¡°Liu Zixiu, seems you¡¯re really funny!¡±


    ¡°Huh?!¡± ¡®What did he mean?¡¯ Zixiu wondered.


    ¡°I told you I would never find fault with you again!¡±


    ¡°You¡­ You liar! I don¡¯t believe you!¡± Zixiu blurted out on impulse. However, no sooner had he said this than he regretted it, because Nangong Du¡¯s face grew even grimmer. ¡°Listen, I don¡¯t have time to play such a stupid game with you!¡±


    ¡°Nangong Du, what are you doing?¡± When Lingxiao finally came back to his senses, he suddenly saw Nangong Du whispering in Zixiu¡¯s ear. Feeling both furious and anxious, he almost coughed up a mouthful of blood! However, for the sake of Zixiu¡¯s safety, he didn¡¯t dare act rashly.


    With a defiant smile, Nangong Du gave a peck on Zixiu¡¯s lips.


    ¡°Pah!¡± Luo Huali got into the room quietly like a ghost and slapped him in the face. Whether Zixiu was a boy or a girl, he wouldn¡¯t allow anyone to bully him!


    Before Nangong Du could tell what was going on, Luo Huali had snatched Zixiu from his arms and rushed out.

 Chapter 96

    There were only two bedrooms in Liu¡¯s house. Zixiu¡¯s room, where the kang had been burned, was on the left side, and Liu Wuyi¡¯s room was on the right side. Although the roof had been burned out, Luo Huali still carried Zixiu into Liu Wuyi¡¯s room. As soon as he stepped in, he saw the tablet of Zixiu¡¯s mother on the table next to the window.


    Huali was seized with a pang of grief in an instant. He remembered more than ten years ago, Uncle Liu¡¯s family was still living in the Valley of Fallen Blossoms. Every sunny autumn afternoon, Uncle Liu and Zixiu¡¯s mother would take Zixiu to the garden to get some sunshine. Then he and Lingxiao would run over and try to hold Zixiu. Although Zixiu¡¯s mother was in poor health back then, Huali didn¡¯t expect that she would have died so early! As the saying goes ¡®life is full of uncertainties¡¯. Fortunately, Zixiu had grown up healthy¡­ But maybe this Zixiu was not the former one?


    ¡°Zixiu, take a nap first. The meal is going to be ready soon!¡± He put Zixiu in bed and tucked the quilt for him carefully. Thinking of Zixiu¡¯s tantrum just now, Huali couldn¡¯t help but feel worried. How come Uncle Liu and Lingxiao had never told Zixiu that it was very dangerous for a man to take a false pregnancy drug, and a tiny mistake would lead to his death? After a moment of hesitation, he decided to remind Zixiu that for the sake of his ¡°baby¡±, he mustn¡¯t get angry! However, before he could say something, Zixiu suddenly chimed in.


    ¡°Senior Brother!¡± Zixiu¡¯s tone had never been so serious. He pulled up the quilt, covering most of his face except for his eyes. ¡°You don¡¯t think I am gay, do you?¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± Huali was confused. He didn¡¯t understand what Zixiu was talking about.  What was¡­GAY?


    Hearing no response from his senior brother, Zixiu thought for granted that he had really mistaken him for gay. He hurriedly pushed the quilt away and shouted, ¡°Senior Brother, you must have got me wrong! This is not the case at all! I am the victim! That jerk, Nangong Du, called me a dumb ass for no reason! He had really gone too far! If it weren¡¯t for the fact that I was no match for him, I would have knocked his teeth out!!¡±


    Though Huali was still muddleheaded, he seemed to have caught something vaguely. When he saw Zixiu was so angry that he was about to bounce up, he immediately pressed him back to the bed and said gently, ¡°Come on, don¡¯t think that much. Nothing is more important than your health! Lie down, or you¡¯ll catch a cold!¡±


    Without the warm kang, Zixiu felt so cold that he slipped under his quilt at once. However, the calm look on his senior brother¡¯s face made him feel uneasy. ¡°Don¡¯t misunderstand me, Senior Brother!¡± he added. ¡°I really have no homosexual orientation! Both of those two have problems. I can¡¯t get rid of them, so I¡¯m counting on you! Senior Brother, please do help me!¡±


    Both of those two had problems? Now Huali had figured out what Zixiu meant. ¡®It turned out that Zixiu was afraid I might be under the delusion that he had fallen for Nangong Du or Lingxiao!¡¯ To be honest, before he learned the truth, Huali had really mistaken Zixu for marrying Nangong Du of ¡®her¡¯ own free will. Needless to say, now he had known that Zixiu was a boy, so if he still thought Zixiu had feelings for Nangong Du, it would be a humiliation to him. However, the love for Zixiu he had accumulated over the years was deep down in his heart. Even though it was just the affection between children in the beginning, it had deepened and sublimated unconsciously over the years. The first time he saw the grown-up Zixiu, he had believed that ¡®she¡¯ was the one he wanted to hold hands with for life! Was he in love with ¡®her¡¯ in his memory? Or did he fall for ¡®her¡¯ at first sight when they met in the Prince Mu¡¯s Mansion? Why did it come to this? He had no idea what he liked about Zixiu, but every time he saw ¡®her¡¯, he was seized with an impulse to protect ¡®her¡¯. Even now he had known that Zixiu was a boy, his feeling for him remained the same. He was a calm person, but he couldn¡¯t even restrain his rolling emotions whenever he saw Zixiu, which made him feel so upset and conflicted! Moreover, Zixiu¡¯s confidence in him made him even more nervous. He didn¡¯t know what kind of feeling he had for Zixiu who had ¡°turned into¡± a boy from a girl. Was it the sense of familiarity he didn¡¯t want to let go of or was it Zixiu?


    ¡°Senior Brother!¡± Zixiu grew anxious. How come his senior brother hesitated for so long? Was he reluctant to help him? Or did he not be able to protect him?  Um, impossible! He even slapped Nangong Du in the face just now! ¡°Senior Brother, although we haven¡¯t seen each other for over ten years, for my dad¡¯s sake¡­¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t let anyone bully you!¡± Huali regained his wits and looked at Ziu seriously. No matter how he felt about Zixiu, protecting him was his responsibility as his senior brother! With this in mind, Huali felt a little bit relieved. He then continued, ¡°Zixiu, listen! You need a good rest. Try to stay calm. If your belly hurts again, you will be in danger! No worries, I won¡¯t let Lingxiao and Nangong Du in to disturb you. I will let you know when the meal is ready!¡±


    With that, he hurried out to cook. To his surprise, the two who were left in the other room did not make a sound!


    Nangong Du remained his pose as if he were holding someone in his arms! Caught off guard, he was suddenly slapped. No one could tell his face had turned livid from the impact of the slap or from anger, or maybe from both! Anyway, Yan Lingxiao¡¯s senior brother had become his No. 1 enemy! If he couldn¡¯t get back, he would become other people¡¯s laugh stick! As for Liu Zixiu¡­ ¡®Damn it!  How come I kissed that little brat again? Liu Zixiu is a scourge! A bitch who seduces around! A shameless dumb ass!¡¯


    Lingxiao had been ready to pick a fight with Nangong Du before Huali rushed in. However, when he saw his senior brother take Zixiu away without difficulty and leave Nangong Du freeze on the spot with his face livid, he was so shocked that he had no idea what to do next! Standing there in a daze, Lingxiao looked like an idiot. ¡®I did nothing when Xiuxiu was kissed by Nangong Du! But Senior Brother rushed over to rescue him and even gave that asshole a slap! Gosh! How useless I was! What will Xiuxiu think of me in the future? A love rat? A scumbag? Or a coward?¡¯

 Chapter 97

    Luo Huali¡¯s cooking skills were pretty good, plus, Zixiu was so hungry that he ate like a horse. A short moment later, he had eaten up a bowl of rice in chicken soup, leaving a pile of chicken bones on the tray, like a small hill.


    Burping with satisfaction, Zixiu scratched his head awkwardly while putting the empty bowl back to the tray in the hands of his senior brother, who had been watching him by his side. After all, they hadn¡¯t seen each other for over ten years, plus, Zixiu suffered from amnesia and had no memory of their past, so they were not familiar with each other at all! But now Luo Huali not only served him as a guard but also as a servant, which made him feel so guilty. Therefore, when Huali asked him to stay in bed and was about to feed him, Zixiu turned down his offer without hesitation. His senior brother was really a nice guy and he looked after him even more carefully than his father did! But there was one thing Zixiu didn¡¯t like about him¡ªhe was too neurotic! Although Zixiu had difficulty moving because of the bulge in his belly, he was not paralyzed, and his hands and feet could move freely. Moreover, having a man to feed him was too embarrassing and it would remind him of what he had suffered in the Prince Mu¡¯s Mansion. ¡®Damn it! Nangong Du, you asshole! You damned pervert! I¡¯ll definitely make you pay for what you did, or I¡¯ll change my surname!¡¯


    At the thought of how Nangong Du had treated him when he fed him soup in his mansion, Zixiu was burning with anger. Thankfully, he still remembered that his senior brother had warned him to stay calm. So after cursing everyone in Nangong Du¡¯s family inwardly, he quickly focused on thinking about how to revenge that prince who came to the Cirrus Valley alone. His senior brother had told him that his dad was with Lingxiao¡¯s dad. As Lingxiao¡¯s dad was a skillful martial artist and he would be able to escort his dad back safely, Zixiu didn¡¯t need to worry about Liu Wuyi¡¯s safety anymore. Now everything seemed to be in his favor, so Zixiu intended to make good use of the advantages to teach Nangong Du a good lesson and get revenge!


    As they were in his house, and Nangong Du didn¡¯t bring any guards with him, Zixiu thought it would be the right time to use Lingxiao and Huali to deal with that pervert. Maybe it was a little mean, but he just didn¡¯t want to miss such a good chance. He knew himself well, so he was aware that a person like him who had neither martial arts cultivation base nor high IQ was no match for Nangong Du at all. To him, the old saying ¡®revenge is a dish best served cold¡¯ was just a lame excuse when one couldn¡¯t retaliate. His patience began to grow thin. As he was so intent on revenge, Zixiu had totally forgotten that his dad didn¡¯t want him to have anything to do with people from the Valley of Fallen Blossoms!


    Overeating tended to make people sleepy. Just as he was thinking about it, Zixiu couldn¡¯t help but yawn lazily when his senior brother came in with another bowl of rice!


    ¡®Well, how much soup did my senior brother cook?¡¯


    Luo Huali had stewed both the pheasants he caught, so there was a big pot of chicken soup.


    Watching Zixiu gobble up a big bowl of rice, as the cook, Huali was overjoyed and a little bit proud of himself. However, he was worried that Zixiu hadn¡¯t had enough. Pregnant people usually ate a lot, and Zixiu looked like he had been hungry for a long time, so Huali went to the kitchen and brought him another bowl of rice. As soon as he stepped into the room, he saw Zixiu yawning. ¡°Are you full?¡± he asked with concern.


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m full!¡± Zixiu touched his big belly with a nod. After having a decent meal, he felt much better, so he grew more talkative. ¡°Senior brother, it¡¯s very kind of you! If it weren¡¯t for you, I would have starved to death¡­¡±


    ¡°With me by your side, you won¡¯t be hungry anymore!¡± Huali quickly interrupted him with a trace of panic crossing his face. He didn¡¯t want to see Zixiu suffer from hanger and cold anymore, and he couldn¡¯t help but feel frightened when he heard the word ¡°death¡± slip out of Zixiu¡¯s mouth. ¡°Zixiu, no worries. You¡¯ll have me to protect you and take care of you in the future!¡±


    ¡°Er¡­¡± Shocked by his senior brother¡¯s emotional words, Zixiu didn¡¯t know what to say. His senior brother treated him so sincerely, but he was still thinking of taking advantage of him¡­


    ¡°Senior brother, you¡¯re treating me like your own brother! How about we become sworn brothers?¡±


    ¡°Sworn brothers?¡± Huali was stupified.


    The room went quiet in an instant, and only occasionally the wind blew in from the tattered roof could be heard. Zixiu blinked and waited for his senior brother¡¯s reply with a sincere look. For a moment, he felt as if the familiarity he had lost for years had come back. What flashed in his mind was a little boy¡¯s smiling face, which was very similar to that of his senior brother. Er¡­ That must be his brother when he was a child! ¡°Achoo¡ª¡±


    A sudden sneeze dispersed the scene in Zixiu¡¯s mind and brought Huali back to his senses.


    ¡°Are you feeling chilly? How about you go back to the other room to sleep?¡± Huali ran his fingers along Ziju¡¯s forehead in tension and took the opportunity to avoid the topic of becoming his sworn brother. He didn¡¯t want to be Zixiu¡¯s brother!


    ¡°No need.¡± Shaking his head, Zixiu turned dwon his suggestion. He didn¡¯t want to bother his senior brother. The other room was quiet for so long and the two dead enemies were not making noise anymore. Even he wasn¡¯t that smart, he could tell there was something wrong.


    Sure enough, as Zixiu expected, those two in the other room were fighting quietly with their internal force for nearly two hours! Actually, some jealous guys had already begun to fight for him openly and secretly, so Zixiu didn¡¯t have to rack his brains to figure out how to use anyone!


    ¡°Do you have any extra quilts at home?¡± As the wind kept blowing in through the burnt-out roof, Huali couldn¡¯t help but worry that Zixiu might catch a cold. Although Zixiu¡¯s current temperature was normal, a sneeze was enough for Huali to worry about him. According to his previous diagnosis, Zixiu was still very weak for the moment.


    Unfortunately, the only few quilts in Liu¡¯s house were already on Zixiu. Huali could think of no other way but to warm Zixiu up with his own body temperature.


    Without thinking that much, Zixiu offered to move into the bed and make room for Huali. Though his senior brother didn¡¯t seem to be tired, he had been busy for quite a while, so Zixiu wanted him to take a good rest as well.


    So, when the two jealous men stopped fighting and rushed into the room on hearing Zixiu sneeze, they saw the latter was lying next to another man!


    ¡°Senior Brother! I¡­I really didn¡¯t expect you to be like this! How can you covet your brother¡¯s fianc¨¦e¡­¡±


    ¡°Liu Zixiu! How dare you make me a cuckold? Move your ass here!¡±


    ¡°Nangong Du! How dare you yell at Xiuxiu? Believe it or not, I¡¯m going to¡­ ¡±


    ¡°Cut the crap! Liu Zixiu is my legal wife¡­¡±


    Liu¡¯s house was in chaos again! Needless to say, it was Nangong Du and Yan Lingxiao who made a scene. The two who were lying in bed could not even get a word in edgeways!

 Chapter 98

    The intense quarrel quickly turned into a fight, which was the third face-to-face fight between Yan Lingxiao and Nangong Du this evening. This time, the battle was even fiercer than the last two. Without using internal force, the two ¡°martial artists¡± grappled with each other, like two kids!


    On the revenge side, Zixiu was happy to see them fighting, because even though the two sides were equally matched, and Lingxiao could not gain the upper hand, Nangong Du would be beaten hard at least. However, after a few rounds, the two still tied, which discouraged him from going on watching the big show.


    Nangong Du and Lingxiao had completely lost their mind and they seemed to try to kill each other with every punch they threw. Zixiu did not want anyone to be killed. Besides, just like how he felt about his senior brother, he felt guilty about Lingxiao as well. He did not want to use Lingxiao to avenge him anymore, because it was unfair to the latter. He knew well why Lingxiao had picked a fight with Nangong Du. Moreover, the curses from both sides also proved that they fought because of him. Therefore, even though Zixiu was innocent and unintentional, he had the responsibility to stop the dispute. It was better for everyone to calm down and made things clear!


    Making up his mind, Zixiu plucked up and roared, ¡°Cut it out!¡±


    ¡®What?¡¯ Luo Huali, who had a keen sense of hearing, had sat up at this moment. However, though he was very close to Zixiu, he did not hear clearly what he was shouting about, or maybe he did not understand what ¡®cut it out¡¯ meant at all.  This was the third time this evening that Zixiu had blurted out something which did not make any sense! In addition to ¡°cut it out¡±, he also said something sounded like ¡°give¡± and ¡°Fetch the medicinal wine right now!¡±[1] ¡®gay¡¯ sounds like another Chinese word, meaning ¡®give¡¯, and 119, the fire alarm number in modern China, sounds like ¡®medicinal¡­ medicinal wine¡¯ in Chinese. When Zixiu had asked Huali to dial the fire alarm number just now, the latter had no idea what he was trying to express at all.


    Similarly, the two who were locked in a fierce fight did not understand what Zixiu was talking about either. As in his mansion in Luanzhou, Liu Zixiu had talked nonsense from time to time, Nangong Du was used to it, and he only took what he said as slang. As for Lingxiao, he thought whatever Zixiu said was reasonable and good for him, so even though he did not catch Zixiu, he took it for granted that the latter was rooting for him. Besides, they were focusing on fighting and had no time to think about anything else for the moment.


    Therefore, though it took Zixiu a long time to pluck up the courage to make them stop fighting, he received no response other than an inquiring look from his senior brother, which made him feel so frustrated! ¡°Cut it out! Did you hear me?¡± he roared again. ¡°Achoo! Achoo!¡±


    The two loud sneezes brought the fight between those two jealous men to a sudden halt. In spite of their seemingly swollen heads, they rushed to the bed in the blink of an eye. ¡°Xiuxiu! Darling!¡±


    Seeing that, Zixiu reached out and stopped them at once when the two almost threw themselves onto him. ¡°Don¡¯t move any closer! Keep your distance!¡± he shouted.


    He finally realized that just like his dad, everyone could not understand what he was saying sometimes. Things were getting increasingly complicated, and he grew even more puzzled. Was this really just amnesia? Then where did he learn those words which did not make any sense to other people? He was suspicious of everything around him: the mountains, the hut, herb collecting, and even those complicated clothes, as well as the missing Karupin¡­There were too many things that made him suspect.


    After a moment of silence, Zixiu said nothing more. Huali coughed slightly to remind him, which immediately drew angry glances from the other two.


    Fortunately, Zixiu came back to his senses soon. Looking at the aggressive and anxious two guys in front of him, he said seriously, ¡°Stop wasting your efforts! Sit down! I¡¯m going to make things clear with you!¡±


    ¡°!?¡± The other three froze on the spot when they heard Zixiu suddenly speak like a serious elder.


    Seeing neither of them sit down, Zixiu thought it for granted that they did not take what he said seriously, so he could not help but complain angrily, ¡°It¡¯s not a big deal! What¡¯s so great about you guys? Humph!¡±


    Needless to say, he could do nothing except for complaining like a mosquito humming. After a while, he returned to the topic and put on a solemn look again. ¡°Listen, if I say something wrong, just take it as if I¡¯m flattering myself!¡±


    ¡®?!¡¯ The audience was even more confused.


    ¡°But you can neither curse me nor make trouble! Otherwise¡­¡± Zixiu suddenly stopped with a thoughtful look and then shifted his gaze to Mu Huali, as if to imply that he had his senior brother as his backing, and anyone who dared to mess with him would be beaten up!


    Unfortunately, Luo Huali failed to catch on to what Zixiu was saying, and he was surprised when the latter suddenly gave him a strange look. On the contrary, Nangong Du and Yan Lingxiao immediately figured out that Liu Zixiu had regarded his senior brother as his companion, but regarded them as outsiders, even as enemies!


    ¡°There is no need for you guys to fight over me. It¡¯s just meaningless!¡±


    Nangong Du could not help but snort at his words. To him, it was totally unacceptable to find his consort in bed with another guy. If that stupid Yan Lingxiao had not tried so hard to stop him, the first thing he would have done was to teach Liu Zixiu a good lesson! This unruly ¡®woman¡¯ kept cuckolding him, and seriously ruined the reputation of Prince Mu¡¯s Mansion! However, Liu Zixiu seemed to feel so good about himself, and he even joined hands with the ¡°adulterer¡± to deal with him!


    ¡°I¡¯m not in love with either of you!¡± Before Nangong Du could hit the ceiling, Zixiu got to the point straight. Yes! He would not fall for Lingxiao or Nangong Du, because he was not gay!


    His words made the two in rage even more furious!


    ¡°Liu Zixiu, you can never get rid of me!¡± The angrier Nangong Du became, the harsher his tone became, which made people cannot help but shiver. However, even so, Zixiu thought it was much better than being stared at with his murderous eyes!


    That was why he could still keep his composure. ¡°Nangong Du, don¡¯t be too bossy! I can only blame my bad luck with what happened. Now we¡¯re even. Don¡¯t come to me again!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t come to you again?¡± Nangong Du snorted. ¡°Liu Zixiu, don¡¯t forget you are my lawful wife and we¡¯ve already had a formal wedding!¡±


    Zixiu had no idea whether to laugh or cry. Nangong Du had said he was not interested in him at all. Then how come he was so persistent now? He was such a liar! However, for fear that he might fall into that pervert¡¯s trap again, Zixiu did not lay bare his trick. Who knew what Nangong Du was scheming? As Zixiu had learned the lesson from the past, he was aware that he had to be cautious in front of this guy.


    However, while Zixiu was weighing his wording, Lingxiao could not hold back his rage anymore. ¡°Nangong Du, you despicable and shameless villain! Liu Zixiu was betrothed to me since we were young. As a distinguished prince of the Nan Kingdom, how could you force him to marry you? Everyone has the right to kill a scum like you. Now I¡¯m going to kill you for the sake of justice!¡±


    ¡°Kill me?¡± Nangong Du curved up his lips into a sneer. ¡°Yan Lingxiao, what an idiot you are! Can¡¯t you see that Liu Zixiu likes your senior brother?¡±


    ¡°Senior Brother?!¡± It was Zixiu who cried out in surprise first. At the same time, he turned to Luo Huali and stared at him blankly. He had never said that he liked his senior brother! It must be because he had told Nangong Du and Lingxiao that he liked neither of them, those two gays thought for granted that he liked Luo Huali! How come the two thought he and his senior brother were gays like them? This¡­ This was ridiculous! ¡°Nangong Du, don¡¯t shoot your mouth off here. I take my senior brother as my buddy! Don¡¯t think everyone is the same as you. I admit that I like him, but not in the way you think!¡±


    ¡°Really? I¡¯m afraid that the feeling¡¯s not mutual!¡± With that, Nangong Du cast a cold glare at Luo Huali. He used to hate him, but now, he really felt sorry for him! Buddy? So funny! Liu Zixiu was a fool!


    ¡°¡­¡± Under Zixiu¡¯s gaze, Huali replied to him with a period of long silence.


    Although silence did not imply acquiescence, it at least meant that he was hesitant and did not dare deny Nangong Du¡¯s assumption! At the thought of this, Zixiu was at a loss. Damn it! What he had done wrong in his previous life that would deserve this? Being loved was great, but being loved by three people of the same sex did not seem so great! ¡®Heavens, are you blind, or are those three guys blind?¡¯


    For the first time, Zixiu, who had always felt so good about himself, had doubts about himself, and even started to find himself disgusting! To be frank, aside from his comely and adorable appearance, he was a good-for-nothing! He was neither a scholar nor a martial artist! He tried to learn everything but accomplished nothing! He was a lazy bone, who could not even comb his hair neatly, let alone take care of himself! He had been living in the mountains and knew very little about the outside world, which made him particularly fond of going to crowded places. He was short-tempered and wanted to curse whenever he was a little upset. He was an evil coward who tended to bully the weak and fear the tough! What¡¯s more, he would even be frightened out of her wits by a caterpillar! His mom was dead and his beloved cat was lost. He had no money and his health was poor. Because of his nosiness, he was drugged and became a ¡°pregnant woman¡±¡­ God! What was the point of his life? How come the three powerful handsome guys, who were adept with both the pen and the sword, took a fancy to him?

 Chapter 99

    After a thorough self-analysis and reflection, Zixiu could not help but raise his question to the three guys. ¡°What do you like about me?¡±


    Nobody answered him and the room instantly became unusually quiet. None of the three had expected Liu Zixiu¡¯s reaction being so calm when he learned that his buddy had a crush on him! How could an inexperienced person behave so calmly in front of three guys who had become rivals because of him? Except for that dandy, Nangong Du, who had already had a bunch of consorts and concubines, Yan Lingxiao and Luo Huali had never been in a relationship with anyone, and from the very beginning, they had secretly taken a fancy to their beloved younger brother (or sister), Zixiu. To some extent, the two of them were both green hands in love. On the contrary, Zixiu, who was younger than them, spoke and behaved much more sensibly and maturely than his peers. At least, none of the other three had ever heard something like ¡°sexual orientation¡±, so they only looked at each other, without knowing what to say!


    However, it was hard to judge by what he said and how he behaved whether a person was mature and rational.


    At this point, what was on Zixiu¡¯s mind was how come he had attracted three gays¡¯ attention at the same time! If he had done something wrong and offended the gods, he would like to reflect on himself and turn over a new leaf.


    Whether he thought this out of self-irony, inferiority, or narcissism, it was embarrassing to get no response from others after asking such a question!  After all, no one wanted to be treated as a shameless and amorous clown, and Zixiu was no exception! Besides, even though he was not quick-witted, he was not an idiot. At least, it was obvious that Lingxiao had feelings for him!


    With a thoughtful look, he added, ¡°You don¡¯t even know, right?¡±


    The sophisticated way he spoke made him look like a romance expert!


    At least, Nangong Du was thinking in this way. He had been wondering how come Yan Lingxiao and his senior brother were so crazy about Liu Zixiu that they were even ready to be his servants. Now he knew the answer¡ªLiu Zixiu was experienced in seducing guys! If this little brat had not announced in advance that if he said something wrong, they could just take it as him flattering himself, even though he was ¡°pregnant¡±, he would beat him up! ¡®Don¡¯t think you¡¯re already my favorite consort only because we have gone through the wedding process! I had a formal wedding with each of my consorts and concubines! I like you? Hum! You wish!¡¯


    As Zixiu expected, though Nangong Du had figured out that he was not on his side, he had never regarded himself as an outsider. As for the angry warning, it was because¡­ Prince Mu would never allow others to touch anything that belonged to him. Liu Zixiu, his other consorts, and male concubines, and anything else in Prince Mu¡¯s Mansion, were all his belongings! How dare Liu Zixiu try to get rid of him? No way! If it were not for Lingxiao and his senior brother, he would have kicked Liu Zixiu down the mountain, bound him up, and brought him back to his fief! Now that his plan had been disrupted, he had to seek other means!


    Nangong Du was a domineering controller and a predator. Even though the innocent Zixiu had been unluckily kidnapped and sent to his mansion for no reason, as long as he had ¡°married¡± him, Nangong Du had taken him as his private property. He was angry about Zixiu¡¯s ¡°frivolity¡±, but he was in no hurry to teach him a lesson because he would have plenty of chances in the future! Similarly, he turned a blind eye to Zixiu¡¯s ¡°flirtation¡± with other guys for the moment. Therefore, instead of losing his temper at once, he only looked on indifferently.


    Yan Lingxiao and Luo Huali remained silent.


    Lingxiao was in a trance without knowing it. He had no idea when he had become so sentimental that he always looked at the sky and lost in thought, thinking of Xiuxiu¡¯s every move, his every twinkle and smile¡­


    As for Huali, he really could not tell what he liked Zixiu about. He had been rendered speechless just now, which added to his already uneasy feeling. He could not deny that he had feelings for Zixiu and he thought Zixiu must be very disappointed with him! Zixiu had been taking him as his buddy, but like Nangong Du and Lingxiao, he also became what Zixiu called a lunatic! He lied to Zixiu. What would Zixiu think of him in the future¡­


    Zixiu had never expected that the three of them would have turned a deaf ear to his question in a tacit agreement. How embarrassing! ¡®They had been yelling and fighting for me just now. How come they all became mute after I had barely spoken a few words?¡¯ Zixiu thought resentfully. After all, he had a hard time making up his mind to make things clear and put an end to the complicated relationship between the four of them!


    ¡°Cough! Cough!¡± Zixiu suddenly realized that he was absent-minded, so he immediately cleared his throat to cover up his restlessness. Putting on a solemn expression again, he continued, ¡°It¡¯s no wonder that you don¡¯t know!¡±


    Huh? The other three grew even more confused.


    ¡°Because you must have known him well before you fall for someone! I don¡¯t even know myself, let alone you guys!¡±

 Chapter 100

    ¡®Knowing someone well before falling for him?¡¯ Once again, the three ¡°spectators¡±, especially Yan Lingxiao and Luo Huali, were struck dumb! They knew nothing about love, and they did not even know since when their care for Zixiu as siblings had turned into another emotion, which was completely strange and passionate! Driven by some mysterious power, they unnoticeably fell in love with Zixiu, who had been away from them for years. When they realized it, they had already been fascinated by him! What kind of power was it? They had no idea how to describe it and they had never given it much thought. To be more precise, they had never thought of finding a reason for their love for Zixiu! Therefore, they were all stupefied when the philosophical remarks came out of Zixiu¡¯s mouth. It was unbelievable that Zixiu had seen through the emotional issues they had neither tried to explore nor understood!


    Now Nangong Du was more certain of his own assumption¡ªLiu Zixiu¡¯s comments were a summary of his own experience! Even though he had been lingering among women every day, Nangong Du had never felt the way Zixiu did. In other words, he did not care about love at all, let alone making conclusive comments about the development of emotions like Liu Zixiu had done! However, after uttering a bunch of ¡°obscene¡± words in front of three guys, far from feeling ashamed, Liu Zixiu looked pleased with himself! It seemed he had underestimated Liu Zixiu! This little brat was not only brainless but was much more dissolute than he had expected! Liu Zixiu looked like a pure, inexperienced lad, but actually, he was a shameless romance expert! Xingyi once reminded him that Liu Zixiu was a bitch, who not only flirted with a guard in his mansion and sang obscene songs at midnight! Liu¡ªZi¡ªXiu!


    ¡°All of you haven¡¯t been with me for long, so your feelings for me are probably just a part of your illusion!¡± Seeing the three of them acting like they were listening carefully, Zixiu continued, ¡°A favorable impression doesn¡¯t mean love! The so-called ¡®love at first sight¡¯ is just an unrealistic fantasy of some people and the excuse to create a romantic atmosphere in novels and movies¡­¡± Novel? Movie? Speaking of this, Zixiu paused for a moment, wondering how come these two strange words suddenly popped into his mind. He had noticed himself always blurt out ¡°nonsense¡± in such a situation! However, to avoid the splitting headache, he did not intend to see into the origin of the two words even though he had unconsciously associated them with another word ¡°cartoon¡±. This also reminded him that perhaps the three listeners did not understand what ¡°novel¡± and ¡°movie¡± meant either. He then asked patiently, like a teacher who was giving a lecture to his students, ¡°Do you understand what I mean?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± Still, no one responded.


    Gradually, Yan Lingxiao and Luo Huali began to look embarrassed and even blushed! It was not because of the two strange words, but because what Zixiu had said suggested that they were being self-sentimental. Moreover, it seemed there were too many frivolous words in Zixiu¡¯s remarks. For example, ¡°love at first sight¡±!  Even Lingxiao, who was relatively more open-minded and had never hiden his affection for Zixiu, could not accept Zixiu being so bold that he even talked about love in public! The ancient people tended to be conservative, so as far as they were concerned, he was really too bold and even kind of flirtatious!


    Nangong Du, who had been aware of this long ago, just stood aside and listened with a poker face. Love at first sight? He had never heard such words before.  It reminded him of the moment when Zixiu held his arm naturally at the banquet in the Imperial Garden. Liu Zixiu was really unique! Nangong Du wondered how come the son of an indifferent, proud person like Liu Wuyi would have been so ill-mannered! Well, it seemed that Liu Zixiu and his father¡¯s personality was a world of difference!


    Zixiu did not expect that the serious topic he had been thinking about for a long time was regarded as frivolous, offensive, and even ill-mannered by others. He thought everyone just did not understand what he meant, so he decided to illustrate his point with specific examples.


    After thinking for a while, he decided to start with Lingxiao, who was more easygoing. ¡°I¡¯m going to explain it with an example. Lingxiao said I was engaged to him before I was even born!¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± Hearing Zixiu suddenly talk about him and their engagement, Lingxiao felt his heart skip a beat and he grew tense in an instant. Leaving those rituals and rules behind, he pricked his ears and listened carefully.


    Zixiu was satisfied with Lingxiao¡¯s reaction. After all, the three of them had been silent for a long time. However, he became indignant when he continued. Of course, he just wanted to give an example to prove his point, and did not mean to blame anyone. ¡°I don¡¯t doubt what Lingxiao said, but this is just too shocking! I always thought that this would only appear in history books, but I didn¡¯t expect parents to do this in real life. This is inhuman! How could they get the two babies engaged before they even knew their sex¡­¡±


    Lingxiao¡¯s eyes popped out in surprise. He was in no mood to hear Zixiu go on. Zixiu had made it clear, but he could not accept it. He would never accept it!  ¡°Xiuxiu, you can¡¯t break off our engagement!¡±

 Chapter 101

    ¡°Breaking off our engagement?¡± Zixiu frowned when his indignant speech was suddenly interrupted by Lingxiao. He had to admit that he was not a good speaker, because Lingxiao did not understand what he was trying to explain at all! It was totally unacceptable that all his previous efforts were in vain!


    ¡°Ok!¡± Zixiu took a deep breath and managed to suppress his rising restlessness. At the same time, he raised his right hand and pressed it down in the air. Of course, he was not implying that he would not call off the engagement but was trying to calm Lingxiao down. Zixiu needed some time to reorganize his thoughts. And he was confident that he was able to convince the three diehards with his silver tongue!


    ¡®Ok?¡¯ Lingxiao looked up at Zixiu blankly. But when he saw the gesture Zixiu made, he was aware that he was trying to comfort him. Needless to say, he also saw Zixiu frown. He did not want to piss Zixiu off. What¡¯s more, as Zixiu was ¡°pregnant¡±, the consequences of making him upset could be serious. Therefore, after a moment of hesitation, in spite of his grievance and disappointment, Lingxiao looked down silently and forced back the rest of his words.


    Zixiu failed to notice the change in Lingxiao¡¯s expression, and everything on his mind for the moment was how to convince him. Soon, he got a new idea.


    Given the current situation, he decided to interact with Lingxiao. With a nod of self-approval, he shifted his attention to him and asked solemnly, ¡°Lingxiao, tell me honestly, if I were a fat, pock-faced dwarf wax gourd weighing 300 pounds, would you still like me?¡±


    This question was also suitable for his senior brother and Nangong Du, so Zixiu quickly glanced at them with an inquiring look. The other two lowered their heads. As their faces were in shadows, there was no way he could see their expression clearly.


    ¡°A dwarf¡­ wax gourd?¡± Lingxiao murmured, feeling a little lost. He did not understand what it meant, but as a quick-witted young man, he immediately associated the words ¡°dwarf¡± and ¡°wax gourd¡± with the context and drew the conclusion that it was a derogatory term similar to pock-faced and fat. Zixiu was tall, slim, and had no pock on his face, why had he made such a strange assumption?


    From his silence and puzzled expression, Zixiu took it for granted that if he really looked like that, Lingxiao would not fall for him. So before Lingxiao could answer, he asserted, ¡°You wouldn¡¯t, right? Obviously, you only like my appearance!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not the case!¡± Lingxiao had come back to his senses and he immediately denied loudly. Although he could not tell what he liked about Zixiu, he was certain that he liked more than his appearance! He was not a superficial and vulgar person who only valued beauty! ¡°Don¡¯t get me wrong! Xiuxiu, listen to me¡­¡±


    ¡°Come on!¡± Zixiu interrupted him with a gesture. This was just an unrealistic hypothesis and he did not need a seemingly decent answer or explanation. Lingxiao¡¯s reaction was not hypocrite at least. This was enough!


    ¡°Actually, there¡¯s nothing wrong with focusing only on appearance, other than being a little superficial!¡± Zixiu said, trying to comfort Lingxiao. He did not ignore the aggrieved look on Lingxiao¡¯s face, but that was what on his mind at the moment. After all, everyone loved beauty and few people would be bored enough to challenge the laws of nature! Actually, Zixiu did not think that Lingxiao liked him only because he was attracted by his appearance. So after a while, he changed the topic. ¡°I believe you are not a superficial person. But if you don¡¯t care about my appearance, does that mean you will fall for anyone whose name is Zixiu?¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± Lingxiao had not recovered from the mental blow yet, and he did not know how to answer Zixiu¡¯s question. Besides, he had never thought too much about why he had a crush on Zixiu.


    Actually, this question also confused Zixiu himself.


    Zixiu froze on the spot when he blurted out his own name because it reminded him of Mark Lira. Who was that guy? How come this name popped into his mind from time to time? Did he have anything to do with Liu Zixiu? Er¡­ It was not the right time to think about this!


    Zixiu shook his head hard, managing to stabilize his wild state of mind, and returned to the point. As Lingxiao was looking at him in a daze, Zixiu guessed that he could not give the answer, so he came straight to his conclusion. ¡°The person you like is actually the one you are engaged to! So you like someone not because of love, but because of the engagement!¡±


    ¡°The one I¡¯m engaged to?¡± Lingxiao grew even more puzzled.


    Zixiu continued, ¡°In other words, whether the person, who is standing in front of you, is a man or a woman, beautiful or ugly, tall or short, fat or thin, as long as it¡¯s someone you are engaged to, you will like it! Engagement is the motivation of your love!¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Lingxiao stared at Zixiu blankly. ¡®Did I really fall for Xiuxiu because of the engagement between us?¡¯ he asked himself.


    ¡®No! I had a crush on Xiuxiu before I learned that I was engaged to him!¡± Lingxiao finally thought of a piece of convincing evidence. He remembered clearly that he had agonized for a long time because of his gayness until his parents told him that they had engaged him to his sweetheart, Xiuxiu!


    ¡°I had a crush on Xiuxiu years ago!¡± he announced loudly in a triumphant tone, and completely forgot those conservative rules of etiquette he had cared about before. As soon as he finished his words, his senior brother turned to him with a complex look, while Nangong Du shot him a disdainful glare. To make matters even worse, it also aroused Zixiu¡¯s dissatisfaction.


    Yes! Zixiu was very depressed now because of Lingxiao¡¯s sudden ¡°counter-attack¡±. It meant he still had a long way to go if he wanted to convince the three guys. God knew how sleepy he was now!


    ¡°Yan Lingxiao, don¡¯t tell me you already fell for me when I was only three years old!¡± ¡®Bro, how come you were so precocious!¡¯


    ¡°Er¡­¡± Lingxiao was keenly aware of the dissatisfaction in Zixiu¡¯s words, thinking that he had annoyed Zixiu because of his high profile. He then lowered his voice and shook his head cautiously, ¡°No! It was later when¡­¡±


    ¡°So your love is only based on your memories of the year I was three years old. You didn¡¯t take my character, knowledge, experience, and financial situation into consideration, am I right?¡± With that, Zixiu glanced at his senior brother again. He guessed his senior brother had never thought about this either.


    ¡°¡­¡± Sure enough, neither Lingxiao nor Huali responded.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you think this kind of love is too illusory and unrealistic?¡± It was even more incredible than love at first sight! ¡°If I were a foppish dandy, would you still like me?¡±

 Chapter 102

    ¡°Humph!¡± Nangong Du, who had been listening expressionlessly, suddenly snorted at Zixiu¡¯s hypothetical question. He was no longer interested in enjoying this farce, especially when he saw some shameless guy was pouring out his romantic experience like an eloquent speaker!


    ¡°Don¡¯t you think you are a dandy?¡± With a sarcastic remark, Nangong Du finally raised his head. He glanced scornfully at Yan Lingxiao and Luo Huali, who had been struck dumb by Zixiu¡¯s question, and then fixed his gaze on Liu Zixiu, burning with anger. It was no wonder that he was pissed off. Leaving aside what had happened before he went up the mountain, his consort, Liu Zixiu, kept on making a fool of himself smugly tonight! He had given him a chance, but it was useless! The cheeky brat had lost all sense of shame and even despised his majesty! This was totally unacceptable! He should lay bare Liu Zixiu¡¯s childish, dirty tricks as early as possible! Yes, that would be a wise decision! ¡°Liu Zixiu, cut the crap! I guess you must be worried that the two of them will abandon you for someone else, and then they won¡¯t make a fire and cook for you like your servants!¡±


    ¡°Abandon me for someone else¡­ make a fire and cook for me¡­servants?¡±  Zixiu was astonished. He had forgotten to ask why Nangong Du thought he was a dandy, and now he was repeating these keywords which grated on him. Although he was mentally prepared, and even put himself in the other three guy¡¯s shoes, he did not expect that Nangong Du would have suddenly said something completely irrelevant to the topic he had just been talking about. As Nangong Du had shifted the topic suddenly, Zixiu could not figure out what was his mind for the moment. ¡®Does Nangong Du mean I¡¯m too avant-garde? No, he must be hinting at something else! Cut the crap?! Damn it! How dare this pervert dismiss my rigorous argument which combined theory and example as crap? How come he thought my senior brother and Lingxiao were serving me like servants by making a fire and cooking for me? I¡¯m worried that they will abandon me for someone else?! Bullshit!¡¯ ¡°Nangong Du, seems you¡¯re deliberately picking on me! How can you take it a servant¡¯s job to make a fire and cook? My senior brother is not only highly skilled in martial arts and in medicine, but also good at cooking! He¡¯s diligent, gentle, and considerate, a good man of our time!¡±


    ¡°!!¡± Huali came back to his senses from his ¡°self-reflection¡± when he suddenly heard Zixiu talk about him. From what Zixiu said, he thought he was criticizing him and Lingxiao for having unrealistic expectations of him. Zixiu seemed to be very annoyed and even disgusted with them. How come he thought so highly of him? He not only praised him but also defended him! Huali was confused. What was on Zixiu¡¯s mind£¿Could it be that Zixiu appreciated him or had feelings for him?


    Like his senior brother, Lingxiao got muddleheaded as well. He thought Zixiu hated him as well as Huali, but now he was praising and defending their senior brother! What did a senior brother who could cook and take care of other people mean to Zixiu? What did a good man mean?


    Zixiu did not notice Lingxiao¡¯s reaction to what he said and he was just thinking about how to refute Nangong Du¡¯s insulting words. As if he had found an outlet, the anger and resentment he had accumulated for a long time suddenly broke out. Glaring at Nangong Du, he went on shooting back. ¡°Even though my senior brother and Lingxiao can¡¯t tell what they like about me, I won¡¯t look down on them or detest them, because both of them are gentlemen who respect themselves as well as me! But you¡­ Nangong Du, do you know how disgusting you are? You are a barbarian, a bully, and a sex maniac! I guess it must be you who will abandon me for someone else! What¡¯s the big deal about a prince? You already had a bunch of consorts and concubines, but you still went to whore! Oh! You even got poisoned in the brothel! If Lingxiao hadn¡¯t saved your life disregarding the personal grudge between you two, you would have rotted in hell! However, instead of returning favors, you even said he was a servant!  Damn it! Didn¡¯t your mother ever teach you how to be a decent man? How come you discriminated against the working people like that! You never work, so you don¡¯t contribute anything to this country! I was just thinking of giving you a bowl of chicken soup with rice for the sake of your help in putting out the fire, but I have changed my mind now!¡± Zixiu paused for a moment and then cast a glance at Lingxiao. ¡°Lingxiao!¡± he shouted.


    ¡°I¡¯m here!¡± Shocked by the ¡°impassioned speech¡± and the overwhelming momentum of Zixiu, Lingxiao reflexively answered loudly.


    Hearing his positive response, Zixiu calmed down a little, but his eyes were still full of provocation as he glared at Nangong Du.


    He told Lingxiao calmly, ¡°There¡¯s chicken soup with rice cooked by our senior brother in the kitchen. Go eat all of them up right away! Come to me when you¡¯re done. I¡¯m going to share the same bed with you and our senior brother tonight!¡±


    ¡°Liu Zixiu, how dare you!¡± Nangong Du, who remained calm and silent even when he was being scolded by Zixiu, suddenly roared.


    ¡°Whatever you think!¡± With his senior brother around, Zixiu was fearless. What¡¯s more, he had finally gotten the chance to teach Nangong Du a lesson. ¡°Nangong Du, I have been putting up with you for a long time! Who¡¯s your darling?  You make me feel disgusting! If you dare to find faults with me again, my senior brother won¡¯t go easy on you! I can do whatever I want in my own home. It¡¯s none of your business!¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Nangong Du sneered. Liu Zixiu was threatening him with his senior brother again! It was unforgivable! ¡°Liu Zixiu, don¡¯t forget, every inch of land in the country belongs to the emperor!¡±


    ¡°The emperor?¡± After thinking for a moment, Zixiu sneered as well. This asshole was just giving himself airs! ¡°Your Highness, it¡¯s a pity that you¡¯re only a prince, not the emperor. Are you plotting to usurp the throne?¡±


    ¡°Liu Zixiu, you¡­¡± How could Liu Zixiu become so quick-witted and eloquent in a few months? And he even dared to retort and challenge him! Being choked by his words, Nangong Du had no idea what to say. He could not help but suspect that Zixiu might really be a spy!


    Zixiu did not think that much, and now all on his mind was how to crush Nangong Du in words. Therefore, he just blurted out whatever came to his mind. ¡°In all times, no emperor could coexist with their brothers peacefully, and there were few princes who had never thought of taking the throne! The emperor of the Nan Kingdom has only a mentally retarded son, er¡­ wait! Perhaps this son is just playing dumb! Ha-ha, Your Highness¡­¡±


    ¡°Liu Zixiu, you rebel!¡±


    ¡°Drop the act! Your Highness, you¡¯re just pretending to be a foppish childe. Actually, you¡¯re shrewder than anyone else! I know too many stories of usurpers and regicides, all the same, so boring! All the emperors tended to be suspicious and all the princes tended to be ambitious. Oh! There were also some high-rank officials, who caused the emperor to worry because they contributed too much to the country. And those women in the harem intrigued against each other every day¡­ Er¡­¡± Zixiu was suddenly stunned by his own words. What the hell was he talking about?

 Chapter 103

    Lingxiao, Huali, and even Nangong Du were all caught dumbfounded! Though the three of them had different backgrounds, experiences, and temperaments, their understanding of Zixiu was only based on his outstanding appearance and his lively personality (as far as Nangong Du was concerned, Liu Zixiu was childish and ignorant). Therefore, they had never thought that a sixteen-year-old country boy would have made some shocking remarks so casually. What¡¯s more, he did not seem to think it was a big deal!


    Even though they had been obsessed with medicine since childhood and had never been interested in politics, Lingxiao and Huali could not help but feel worried because of Zixiu¡¯s recklessness and boldness. As for the undisguised remarks he had just made about love, they might assume that he said so because he was young and passionate. And now he was talking about royal infighting in the presence of a prince! What he had just said was enough to get him sentenced to death! It was not because they were afraid of Nangong Du, but because of their reverence for the supreme imperial power! This reverence stemmed from the belief in the divine right of kings which was deep-rooted in everyone¡¯s mind for generations! Zixiu¡¯s words were blasphemy to God!


    As the prince of the Nan Kingdom, Nangong Du, who had grown up in a place where everyone intrigued against each other, and witnessed the succession of the crown (his brother Nangong Ao ascended the throne five years ago after the death of the previous emperor), had to admit that Liu Zixiu¡¯s analysis about the struggle for imperial power was quite accurate. What shocked him more was Liu Zixiu had found out that he had been acting all the time, trying to make people think he was just a foppish dandy. As far as he was concerned, Liu Zixiu was a clumsy, eccentric, contradictory creature, often raving, sometimes timid, sometimes arrogant, sometimes weak, and sometimes tough!  How did he suddenly become so intelligent and sharp? However, it was unlikely that a spy would have uttered such a penetrating remark in front of his enemy. When he talked about the dark, bloody, inhumane court battles and political intrigues, he looked so calm, and even indifferent, as if these were just part of some boring dramas and he was just an audience!


    How come Liu Zixiu behaved as if he were someone who was not of their time was talking about history? How could he show a transcendent look in history?  What did he mean by ¡®I know too many stories of usurpers and regicides¡¯? What was on his mind? Who the hell was Liu Zixiu?


    ¡°Ah!¡±


    A miserable scream broke the silence. Zixiu finally realized that he had got himself into trouble because of what he said. He was so anxious that he held his head with one hand and stroked his belly with the other. He cried out as if he were in great pain. ¡°Ah! My head¡­ Ah! My belly¡­ Senior Brother¡­¡±


    Hearing Zixiu calling him, Huali immediately threw the divine right of kings and the faith of his ancestors to the wind, and immediately shifted his attention to Zixiu. Although as a skilled physician, he had found out that Zixiu was acting, he asked anxiously about his condition and carefully tucked him in.


    ¡°Xiuxiu, don¡¯t worry. It won¡¯t hurt after you fall asleep!¡±  Lingxiao also figured out that Zixiu was acting, but he would not lay bare his tricks. He then tucked the quilt for him carefully. After all, Zixiu was weak, and he did suffer a lot from a killing pain a few hours ago!


    ¡°Hm!¡± Hearing that, Zixiu immediately wrapped himself even tighter with the quilt ¡°feebly¡±.


    However, Nangong Du was not that stupid!


    ¡°Liu Zixiu, don¡¯t try to fool me!¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± Disregarding what he said, Zixiu buried his face in the quilt. He had known what kind of person Nangong Du was¡ªIf he yelled and made a lot of threats, he would not really do anything to him in the end, but if he remained silent, the consequence could be serious!


    Sure enough, Nangong Du¡¯s voice rang loudly again. ¡°If you dare to sleep with other guys, I¡¯ll definitely break your legs!¡±


    ¡®What?¡¯ Zixiu made a face under the quilt. He felt sorry for Nangong Du because of his strange way of thinking! He had been with Nangong Du for a few months. To be frank, In spite of his personal affections and hatred, Nangong Du impressed him as a cruel, fierce, and intelligent guy, but whenever he lost his temper, he was just like a hysterical lunatic, which completely ruined his image in the eyes of other people.


    ¡°Nangong Du, shut up!¡± Lingxiao immediately chimed in. He always spared no effort in defending Zixiu. ¡°If you dare to lay a finger on Xiuxiu, I won¡¯t spare you! Come on, let¡¯s go out and fight again! I¡¯m not going to leave you a chance to live through tonight!¡±


    What he said crept Zixiu out! As a physician, how come Lingxiao did not even know it was against the law to kill?


    He then popped his head out of the quilt and said earnestly, ¡°Come on! Can you two just stop trying to cripple or kill people? Fighting doesn¡¯t solve problems, and it¡¯s unwise to kill! You went up to the mountain, put out the fire, and had been in a fight for a few rounds, so I think you must be tired. Just do me a favor! Don¡¯t try to pick a fight tonight. Both of you haven¡¯t had dinner yet, so you must be hungry. I¡¯ll ask my senior brother to bring you two warm rice as compensation. What do you say?¡±


    ¡°Humph!¡±  Before Lingxiao could respond, Nangong Du snorted disdainfully.


    Failing to distract them, Zixiu was filled with resentfulness. He continued grumpily, ¡°There are only two beds in my house. I need my senior brother to take care of me at night. Nangong Du, if you don¡¯t mind, you can share the same bed with us¡­¡±


    ¡°No way!¡± Before Zixiu could finish his word, Lingxiao protested loudly. Though he was reluctant, he could not find an excuse to stop his senior brother from taking care of Zixiu. But in any case, he would not let the pervert, Nangong Du, share the same bed with them!


    Nangong Du was not satisfied with Zixiu¡¯s suggestion either. ¡°Liu Zixiu, I¡¯ll make it clear once again. Except for me, you¡¯re not allowed to sleep with anyone!¡± he said coldly. In addition to him, who had the right to share the same bed with Liu Zixiu?


    How come he was so stubborn? This blockhead!


    Irritated by Nangong Du¡¯s attitude, Zixiu pulled his senior brother under the quilt. At the same time, he angrily cursed, ¡°Nangong Du, it¡¯s up to you whether to share the same bed with us! I¡¯m not begging you! You ungrateful asshole, don¡¯t try to push your luck! You¡¯re such a pain in the ass! You deserve to freeze to death! You deserve it! Humph!¡±

 Chapter 104

    ¡°Ha-ha!! Ha-ha-ha¡­¡±


    From under the quilt, which was crumpled up like a big stuffed dumpling, came a burst of laughter. Though the person was trying to suppress it, the laughter of schadenfreude still rang loudly. Meanwhile, one could hear the rhythmic sound of ¡°thumping¡± of the bed!


    Beside him, Luo Huali grabbed a corner of the quilt, looking both helpless and embarrassed. He had never done such a disgraceful in his life! To be honest, he thought it was a lousy idea! How could a gentleman plot against others like this?  If it weren¡¯t for Zixiu, he would not have agreed to this. Er¡­ maybe this was the so-called ¡°even a tough man can¡¯t resist the lure of beauties¡±!


    Yes! It was Zixiu, who was laughing with one hand covering his big belly and slapping the bed with the other hand. Though he tried not to laugh loudly by biting his lip, this was just in vain!


    If anyone thought he had been persuading Nangong Du to have dinner and share the same bed with them out of pity or love, he was all wet! If anyone thought he had lost his temper when Nangong Du refused to eat or sleep was an argument between lovers, he must be an idiot! Liu Zixiu was not that stupid. Though he was a handsome, charming and vivacious young man, he was aware that the three gays were even better than he was in these respects. Why had he suddenly said that he did not even know himself and strongly ¡°advised¡± those gays to think it twice about whether they really liked him or not? It was because he suddenly found himself a petty, vindictive person. Yes, he would make anyone who bullied him pay for it! As the saying goes, ¡®it¡¯s now or never¡¯, he had used the most effective tool, the laxative, against his enemy, joined hands with his senior brother and sacrificed Lingxiao¡¯s benefits, successfully took the first step of his revenge, and slipped the laxative in the chicken soup!


    With his senior brother¡¯s cooperation, he had finally got Nangong Du on the hook by provoking him and pretending to care about him! It was no wonder that he was so excited. ¡°Ha-ha! Ha-ha-ha! Ha-ha¡­¡±


    ¡°Cough! Cough!¡± Hearing someone push the door, Huali immediately coughed in a low voice to remind Zixiu to behave himself. After all, he had been laughing for nearly an hour!


    A moment later, Lingxiao, the innocent victim of Zixiu¡¯s revenge plan, staggered back from the outhouse. Hearing the laughter, he felt extremely depressed! He had been trying to comfort himself, thinking that his senior brother secretly slipped the laxative into the chicken soup out of jealousy, but when he heard Zixiu¡¯s unscrupulous laughter, he immediately figured out what had happened! If Luo Huali wanted to deal with him, he would never beat around the bush and play tricks! It was Xiuxiu who was behind all this! But why did he treat him like this? Could it be that in Xiuxiu¡¯s eyes, he and that damned pervert, Nangong Du, were the same? How come Xiuxiu hated him so much?


    Seeing his junior brother, who had always been in high spirits and full of vigor, so listless now, Huali could not help but feel guilty and ashamed. He stopped coughing and turned to ask Lingxiao, ¡°Are you all right?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± Lingxiao shook his head after a long silence. He paced to the bed, staring at the quilt that shook with laughter. He was really pissed off! Xiuxiu had said that he would not look down on him or hate him, but why did he play such a prank on him?


    After a good while, Zixiu finally sensed the tension outside the quilt!


    He quickly stopped laughing and stretched out his limbs. As soon as he popped his head out, he saw Lingxiao was looking at him aggrieved with a questioning look in his eyes.


    ¡°!!¡± Zixiu sipped his lips with guilty, unknowing how to explain to him. After quite a while, he apologized, ¡°My apologies, Lingxiao! How are you feeling?¡±


    ¡°¡­I¡¯m fine. I took the antidote!¡± Lingxiao paused for a long time before replied grumpily. ¡°I¡¯m sleepy. Let¡¯s rest!¡±


    ¡°Oh!¡± Zixiu was keenly aware that Lingxiao was still mad at him, so he did not say anything more. Now that it was done, an explanation might just make Lingxiao misunderstand him even more. Besides, he had apologized. Lingxiao did not seem to be a narrow-minded person. To be honest, he had once done something disgraceful as well!


    After pondering for a while, Zixiu thought he had done nothing wrong! Feeling much relieved, he closed his eyes. A short while later, he fell a sound sleep with Huali and Lingxiao on either side of him.


    Seeing that Zixiu and Lingxiao were both at peace, Huali blew out the oil lamp and fell asleep soon.


    The aggressive prince, who became so feeble from diarrhea that he could hardly even stand up, was left alone outside in the cold wind.


    The noise died down before dawn. The next afternoon when Liu Wuyi rushed back to the Cirrus Valley in a hurry, he almost blacked out at the sight of the devastated thatched house! Fortunately, ¡°Zixiu¡± and his senior brother Yan Ke held him up in time.

 Chapter 105

    ¡®Could it be Zixiu accidentally set the house on fire when he was trying to light the oil lamp?¡¯


    Liu Wuyi guessed, trying to calm himself down. Because of the same reason, his son had burnt many things, like paper rolls, books, clothes, and even curtains. If he had not returned home and put out the fire in time, their house must have been burnt out many times!


    The second hypothesis that popped into his mind was Nangong Du deliberately set the fire in rage.


    It was not impossible! In addition to Nangong Du¡¯s notorious cruelty and evilness, there was another reason that was more likely to cause him to lose his temper, and that was what Liu Wuyi had given him was only the formation map of how to get into the valley. Since the accident three years ago, Zixiu had become a direction idiot who could not even remember the way he had just taken. He might lose his way in front of his won house, let alone leading the way out of the valley! In other words, once Nangong Du entered the Cirrus Valley, there was no way that he could get out of it. Liu Wuyi was certain that even if Nangong Du got Zixiu, he could not take him out of the valley. That was why he was willing to take the risk and give the formation map to him. But this risk was built on the bet that Nangong Du would not hurt Zixiu. Anyway, it was better than watching Zixiu starve or freeze to death!


    Was Zixiu still alive? The house had been badly damaged. Where had he gone? Didn¡¯t Lingxiao and Huali follow Nangong Du in the valley? Where were they?


    Full of anxiety, Liu Wuyi pushed away the hands of the two, who were supporting him, with his trembling hands and shambled into the room with butterflies in his stomach.


    ¡°Squeak!¡± The moment the door was pushed open, Lingxiao and Huali, who were lying in bed on cloud nine, stabilized their wild state of mind and became alarmed at once.


    Actually, they had been awake for a long time. As Zixiu was still sleeping soundly, they did not want to disturb him. Moreover, they would like to take the opportunity to enjoy the coziness of being so close to Zixiu. Therefore, instead of talking with each other, the two of them had been half-closed their eyes, as if they were sleeping. And at this point, what was on their mind was the ¡°intruder¡± Nangong Du, who was supposed unlikely to regain his strength and yell at anyone else in a day after having diarrhea all night. So they had never expected that their master and Uncle Liu would have come so soon after them.


    When they finally realized something wrong and sensed the familiar aura which belonged to their master, their Uncle Liu had pushed the door open and stepped in!


    ¡°!!¡± After a short moment of silence, people on the huge romantic bed were suddenly seized with panic.


    ¡°Un¡­ Uncle Liu¡­¡± They instantly bounced up in tension, without knowing what to do. After a while, they stammered and greeted Liu Wuyi. When they lifted the quilt in haste as if holding hot potatoes and were about to jump out of the bed, they suddenly noticed that the three of them were dressed in a mess. So they hurried to dress and brush their hair with their fingers. The two of them were so tense and flustered that it was as if they were caught red-handed in adultery!


    Compared with them, the one lying between them seemed very calm. He did not move, or maybe he did not notice anyone coming in at all!


    When a corner of the quilt was lifted, someone, who had been sleeping soundly like a baby pig, finally reacted, but he did not open his eyes. Mumbling something, he turned around, quickly grabbed the lifted quilt corner and covered his face with it. After a few seconds, he suddenly stretched his legs and banged the bed with a kick and then went still again.


    His son was still alive!


    Seeing that, Liu Wuyi felt much relieved. He knew well that his son had the habit of sleeping in. He had even cursed and attacked people before when he was dragged out of bed by force. After a year of strict discipline from his dad, he finally got rid of those habits!


    ¡°Xiuxiu, get up. Your dad is back!¡± Lingxiao, who was fastening his belt in a hurry with his head lowered, did not forget to remind Zixiu in a low voice.  First, it was already afternoon, and they could be considered too lazy not to get up at this late hour. Usually, his dad, who was as stern as what his name suggested, would teach him a good lesson with his fists or a stick if he got up too late. [1] Yan Ke, sounds similar to the other two Chinese characters, which means sternness. But it was ten years ago when he had been last beaten up for this. Second, because of what he blurted out in Prince Mu¡¯s Mansion, his dad mistakenly thought that he had made Zixiu pregnant and gave him a bashing! Now that he was seen sleeping next to Zixiu, there was no way he could explain himself. He just hoped that his dad would be a little more rational and not at least, for the sake of his future daughter-in-law, rush over and slap him in front of so many people!


    ¡°Huh?!¡± Out of the corner of his eye, Lingxiao caught a glimpse of someone, which made his mind in turmoil suddenly go blank! When he regained his wits and looked up, he could not help but widen his eyes in astonishment and fix his gaze on that person behind Uncle Liu and his dad. He could not tell it was a man or a woman. It was not only because that person¡¯s clothes were so ragged and dirty that no one could tell their original style and color, but also because he or she looked exactly like Zixiu in bed, and even had a bulging belly as well! ¡®Who¡­ Who¡¯s that?¡¯


    At the same time, Huali in bed, and Yan Ke, who came after Liu Wuyi, were also stunned.


    Like Lingxiao, Huali was astonished and could not help but wonder who it was that came with Uncle Liu and Master Yan. On the other hand, Yan Ke was stupefied when he saw the half-awakened guy who was kicking the board of the bed. He had absolute confidence in his eyes and believed that he would not make a mistake. The pregnant young woman he met at the foot of the mountain, who addressed his junior brother as ¡°dad¡±, followed them into the mountain, and now was standing behind him, was his daughter-in-law, Liu Zixiu! So, who was the one sleeping with Lingxiao and looking exactly like Zixiu? What was going on?


    The atmosphere in the room suddenly became odd. Not only did Yan Ke and his disciples look surprised and confused, but also Liu Wuyi was puzzled. The inexplicable emotions surging in his heart almost made him out of his breath. He was not worried about Zixiu, because Zixiu was safe now.


    Actually, when he met that ¡°Zixiu¡± down the mountain, Liu Wuyi immediately recognized that she was not his son. Although they were astonishingly similar in age and appearance, the unique temperament that belonged to Zixiu was inimitable. Besides, Zixiu smelled of ¡°the Swirling Clouds¡±. In addition to his laziness, he was a direction idiot as well, so he could not be willing or able to walk out of the valley! However, when Yan Ke took the young woman as Zixiu without giving it much thought, and the latter called him ¡°dad¡± with tears in her eyes, instead of laying bare her tricks, Liu Wuyi brought her back! If the young woman had been sent by his enemy, he was able to catch her without going through all this trouble. Then, what was on his mind? Why did he do this?


    Liu Wuyi was full of suspicion about the young woman who could almost be regarded as his son¡¯s spitting image. He was certain that she did not disguise herself with some kind of skill that could change one¡¯s appearance. Then who the hell was she? How come she addressed him as ¡°dad¡±?


    Since he met the young woman at the foot of the mountain, Liu Wuyi had been wrestling with himself. It took him over ten years to bury what had happened in the past, but now everything became vivid in his mind again! His former doubts seemed to be coming true. Gritting his teeth, he finally turned around and looked at the young woman behind him with complicated looks in his eyes. ¡°Miss, now can you tell us who you are?¡±


    The young woman could not hold back her tears anymore. After quite a while, she cried out with her lips trembling, ¡°Dad!¡±


    ¡°!!¡± Lingxiao and Huali were struck dumb again. They looked at each other, wondering what was going on. Didn¡¯t Uncle Liu only have one child?


    ¡°Dad!¡± Though the young woman was crying herself hoarse, her voice sounded surprisingly similar to that of Zixiu. ¡°I am your daughter, dad!¡±


    ¡°My daughter?¡± Liu Wuyi was stunned, his eyes full of alarm and surprise under his sword-like eyebrows. His daughter? Did he really have a daughter? No! It was impossible! Zixiu had already¡­


    ¡°Daddy!¡± Liu Wuyi¡¯s thoughts were interrupted by a loud cry. It was Zixiu who was speaking. After being woken up, he popped his head out of the quilt reluctantly. When he suddenly saw Liu Wuyi, he could not hold back his excitement and blurted out ¡°daddy¡± instead of ¡°dad¡±, just like he had done before.


    Hearing that, Liu Wuyi came back to his senses and turned around slowly. As soon as he saw his son was smiling at him, his heart skipped a beat and he was seized with a pang of grief. This was his son! Liu Wuyi had never doubted that this was his birth son! He was aware that he had been played like a fool! But why did that woman give their son to him? Wasn¡¯t it better not to have anything to do with each other in their rest life? By the way, how come he suddenly had a daughter?


    ¡°Ah!¡± Zixiu let out a cry in surprise when he finally saw the pregnant woman who looked exactly like him. He bounced up and scanned around the room as if he was looking for someone.


    ¡°Nan¡­ Nangong Du!¡± Yes, he was looking for Prince Mu who had once shown him the portrait the other day, ¡°Prince Mu, she is Princess¡­ Princess Liuxu!¡±


    ¡°Princess Liuxu?!¡± Everyone in the room, including Liu Wuyi, was stupified again. If his ¡°daughter¡± was a princess, then that woman must have become¡­

 Chapter 106

    ¡°Oh! No!¡± Zixiu let out an exaggerating cry again when he finally realized that something was wrong! It seemed he should not be in a hurry to tell Nangong Du that his wife, the princess of the Wen Kingdom, had finally been found just to get rid of that asshole. At least, he should find out first if this young woman was indeed Princess Liuxu. How come an unmarried princess was pregnant and looked like a pauper? What was a princess doing in the mountains?


    ¡°Dad, who¡­ who is this young lady?¡± Zixiu asked tentatively, tilting his head. As it was so noisy in the room, he had been hiding under the quilt and did not hear clearly what the others were talking about at all. The doubts that had been building up for months came to his mind again. He had been guessing that his dad had hidden something from him, but for fear of upsetting Liu Wuyi, he had never mentioned it.


    Liu Wuyi did not reply. He turned aside stiffly and shifted his gaze to the blackened lattice beside the bed, waiting for his ¡°daughter¡± to tell the truth.


    It was obvious that Yan Ke and his disciples had not recovered from the shock yet. They stared at the ¡°princess¡± blankly, without knowing what to say.


    Because Zixiu had suddenly chimed in, the atmosphere in the room grew even weirder. Whether from cold or excitement, the young woman¡¯s shoulders kept shaking while tears streaming down her face. After quite a while, she said chokingly, ¡°Dad, I¡¯m your daughter¡­Xu¡­ I¡¯m Liuxu¡­¡±


    ¡°Liuxu! Are you really¡­¡± Zixiu was the first to respond, but he suddenly turned pale halfway into his words. Stunned by his own bold assumption, he covered his mouth with his hand in disbelief. ¡®Gosh£¡ What happened? Did this princess address my father as ¡®dad¡¯ just now?¡¯


    ¡°Xu, Liuxu¡­¡± Liu Wuyi repeated the name of his ¡°daughter¡± coolly. No one could tell what was on his mind.


    However, the young woman could not stop crying. ¡°Dad, I¡¯m Liuxu. My family name is Liu. I¡¯m your daughter. I don¡¯t want to go back to the imperial palace again! I just don¡¯t want to! Boohoo¡­¡±


    The imperial palace? Yan Ke, who had been in a daze for a long time, suddenly wised up. Compared with the three juniors, he knew Brother Liu¡¯s past better and still remembered the incident that destroyed his junior brother¡¯s future! The doubts of the past were all present. This Liuxu looked exactly the same as Zixiu! What did this mean¡­ Damn it! That woman had gone too far! It was obvious that she had plotted against his junior brother years ago!


    Yan Ke was burning with anger. At the thought that he had mistakenly taken Liuxu as his daughter-in-law and brought her to the valley, he almost coughed a mouthful of blood. Next, disregarding the presence of his junior brother and his disciples, he pointed at the crying pregnant woman and asked coldly, clenching his teeth, ¡°You¡¯re Wang Ning¡¯s¡­¡±


    ¡°Enough!¡± Hearing the name that nobody had ever mentioned in the past seventeen years, Liu Wuyi suddenly lost his temper and let out a deafening roar.


    Zixiu had never seen his dad so angry before, so he was stunned for a moment. He was so scared that even when he suddenly saw Nangong Du standing by the door, he dared not to show his surprise. Lingxiao and Huali had not expected that Yan Ke would have given a pregnant woman a hard time, so they froze on the spot and did not know what to do.


    Yan Ke was a highly respected physician, but he was eccentric and short-tempered. Even if he got berated by his junior brother, he just stopped cursing at Liuxu. Moments later, he pointed his finger at Liu Wuyi. He should have woken up his stubborn junior brother earlier! ¡°Liu Wuyi, you already knew this girl was not Zixiu before we came back, right? Then why did you bring her here? Are you an idiot? You are already down-and-out like this because of the Wang Family, how come you¡­¡±


    ¡°Zip it!¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you want me to go on? Are you still regarding me as your senior brother? Why are you so easy on that woman? You lost to me on purpose back then because you wanted to leave the Valley of Fallen Blossoms, right? Did you think it was an honor to waste your brilliant talents for a woman? Our master was so angry that he even coughed up blood because of you! You disabled your own martial arts skills and lived in seclusion in the mountains. Well, you should be happy now. That woman gave birth to a princess for you! How lucky you are! Humph! Your daughter was so filial that she even came all the way to visit you when she was already pregnant¡­ ¡±


    ¡°Yan Ke, shut up! Whether she¡¯s my daughter or not, it¡¯s none of your business!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s none of my business? Humph! Even you don¡¯t take me as your senior brother, Zixiu will be my daughter-in-law, so what¡¯s relevant to ¡°her¡± is also relevant to the Yans! If you admit that the girl is your daughter, it will be unfair to Zixiu as well as his mother!¡± The tablet was just in the room and Yan Ke had seen it as soon as he stepped in. He couldn¡¯t help but let out a sigh when he remembered the days when Ziyan had lived in the Valley of Fallen Blossoms. ¡°Ziyan suffered so much after she married you. If you still have any sense of conscience, you mustn¡¯t ¡­¡±


    ¡°Please don¡¯t blame my dad! He didn¡¯t know I was coming!¡± Liuxu suddenly raised her voice in tears. She bent down her knees and knelt on the floor with difficulty. ¡°It¡¯s all my fault. I came to find my dad on my own initiative!¡±


    ¡°Find your dad?¡± Yan Ke snorted. ¡°Who told you he was your dad? Your mom? It was funny. Do you know what she did years ago¡­¡±


    ¡°Liuxu, get up!¡± Liu Wuyi roared again, interrupting his senior brother¡¯s sarcastic remarks. Hearing that, Zixiu and the others came back to their senses as well. However, instead of getting up, Liuxu collapsed on the floor. As a pregnant woman, going up the mountain already exhausted her, so she could not stand too much mental stimulation anymore.

 Chapter 107

    ¡°Liu Wuyi, don¡¯t forget the oath you made to our master!¡± Seeing a trace of panic cross his junior brother¡¯s face, Yan Ke immediately reminded him grumpily. Actually, he was not forcing Liu Wuyi to keep his oath, and he just did not want him to apply the medical arts of the Valley of Fallen Blossoms to the daughter of a woman he hated to the core, even though this damned princess was also his junior brother¡¯s daughter!


    Liu Wuyi almost reached out to feel the pulse for Liuxu when he heard his senior brother¡¯s warning. he came back to his senses and withdrew his hand stiffly. He then held up his unconscious daughter and walked out of the room expressionlessly.


    ¡°Dad!¡± Before Liu Wuyi walked out of the room, Zixiu cried out in a low voice. Although he had not figured out what was going on, he guessed his dad was going to move this princess to another room. At the thought that the brick bed had been burn out the night before, he decided to come clean before his dad lost his temper. ¡°The bed is burned out¡­ and all the quilts are here¡­¡± With that, he crawled out of the bed while winking at Lingxiao and Huali who were still in a daze. Following his suit, the two got out of the bed as well.


    When he turned around and saw his clumsy son, Liu Wuyi had no idea what to say, and he only walked to the bed and placed Liuxu on it silently.


    ¡°Come out with me, you two bastards!¡± Yan Ke suddenly roared again. He shot a glare with a grim look at Nangong Du, who was standing by the door, and then went out of the room furiously.


    The two ¡°bastards¡± Lingxiao and Huali walked out of the room obediently following behind Yan Ke. When they reached the door, they did not forget to cast a murderous look at Nangong Du.


    Nangong Du maintained a gloomy sneer on his face. However, as soon as Yan Ke and his disciples left the room, all the disguises were suddenly removed!


    It was not exaggerating at all to describe Nangong Du¡¯s slipping into the meltdown mode as a sudden landslide, although Zixiu did not remember where he had seen a landslide. And his ashen face was the same as if everything had become dull and lifeless after a landslide!


    No one was likely to be in high spirits after a night of diarrhea in the cold wind.


    While his dad was tucking the princess in, Zixiu plucked up and moved closer to Nangong Du. ¡°Think about how you treated me before you get mad. I didn¡¯t treat you that violently at least. Now we¡¯re even!¡± he stopped a meter away from Nangong Du and said in a low voice with a gloating look.


    ¡°¡­¡± Nangong Du lowered his head and said nothing. He leaned against the wall feebly, looking listless, so different from his usual swagger and arrogance.


    Zixiu couldn¡¯t help but curve his lips up. It seemed he was no better than this evil prince! After all, the temperature in the mountains at night was at least a few degrees below zero. He was really inhuman to have shut him out and left him in the cold wind with diarrhea all night. Moreover, Nangong Du must have been very tired back then after going up the mountain and putting out the fire¡­


    Thinking of this, Zixiu couldn¡¯t help but feel sorry for Nangong Du. He then stopped gloating and put on a look of sympathy. ¡°Looks like the princess is pregnant. I think you can¡¯t marry her¡­¡±


    However, before he could finish his words, those three suddenly came back. The first one who came in was Yan Ke. He was so angry that he almost jumped into the room. As it was very cold, Zixiu even saw his heavy breath turn into a white mist!


    Scared, Zixiu subconsciously moved aside to make room for them. When he was about to lift his foot, he suddenly found that Uncle Yan was still grabbing Lingxiao¡¯s ear!


    ¡°Ah! Dad, don¡¯t exert that much strength! It hurts¡­¡± Being dragged into the room, Lingxiao looked a total mess. He was hunched with his butt up, his hair as messy as a bird nest, just like that of Zixiu. As he felt a tearing pain in his ear, he could only shake his head desperately and beg for mercy.


    ¡°You bastard, stop screaming! Or I¡¯m going to kill you!¡± Yan Ke blushed and applied more strength to his hand while cursing. Zixiu was so scared that he lost his balance and bumped against Nangong Du.


    Lingxiao happened to see this when he turned aside. He immediately shifted his attention to Zixu. ¡°Xiuxiu! Xiu¡­ ¡± he shouted, feeling both anxious and angry.


    ¡°You scum, shut up!¡± Yan Ke slapped his son heavily again. He was a stubborn person who could not bear to be questioned or cheated. He had just given his two disciples a dressing-down outside just now because the two young guys even shared the same bed with a ¡°girl¡±! To his surprise, instead of admitting his mistake, his son retorted! In rage, Yan Ke dragged him back to the room to make things clear. ¡°You damned brat, I¡¯m so ashamed of you! Now that your Uncle Liu is also here, tell us whether Zixiu is a boy or a girl!¡±


    ¡°Dad, Zixiu is indeed a boy! A Boy!¡± After a slap in the face, Lingxiao had to shift his attention back to protecting his head.


    ¡°You¡¯re still lying!¡± Yan Ke still did not believe it. ¡°How could a boy get pregnant?¡±


    ¡°Dad, I swear that Zixiu is not really pregnant! He¡¯s indeed a boy! I¡­I saw his nuts when I was four!¡±


    The room fell silent in an instant!


    A few seconds later, Zixiu, who had been struck dumb, suddenly waved a punch at Lingxiao out of rage. ¡°Yan Lingxiao, you voyeur! How could you be so nasty when you were only four years old!¡±


    ¡°Ah! Xiuxiu, stop! Stop! Listen to me¡­¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe you did such a dirty thing! Don¡¯t try to defend yourself anymore! Listen, I¡¯m going to sue you for an invasion of privacy!¡± Zixiu showed no intent to stop punching.


    ¡°It¡¯s not what you think! I saw you crying because you wanted to pee but didn¡¯t know how to untie your pants, so I helped you¡­ ¡±


    Everyone fell silent again and only the birds¡¯ twittering could be heard.


    The look on Yan Ke¡¯s face had never been so solemn. When Lingxiao was four, Zixiu was only three. If Lingxiao did not lie, who was lying?


    He loosened his grip on his son¡¯s ear and looked blankly at his junior brother, Liu Wuyi.


    ¡°I told you that Zixiu was a boy!¡± Liu Wuyi said calmly. After all, he had repeated this many times.


    ¡°Don¡¯t try to fool me!¡± Yan Ke did not want to give up. He had his own reasons for being so insistent. Although everything seemed unreasonable, he was certain there must be a reasonable explanation for the whole story, but his junior brother was trying to hide it from him!


    ¡°If Zixiu was a boy, why did you agree to the engagement between them?¡± he asked.


    ¡°I asked you to call it off!¡±


    ¡°You¡­ What do you mean? So you¡¯ve been making fun of my son all along?¡±


    ¡°My apologies!¡±


    ¡°Humph!¡±


    ¡°Zixiu is a boy. I should be blamed for making a drunken blunder years ago!¡±


    ¡°You¡­¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the way it is! Zixiu is a boy. Despite the symptoms of pregnancy, he¡¯s not pregnant! Brother Yan, I¡¯ve told you to ask Lingxiao for advice!¡±

 Chapter 108

    Seeing that his senior brother was rendered speechless, in spite of the unconscious Liuxu in bed and Zixiu, who had the strength to punch someone, but still looked feeble, Liu Wuyi strode out of the room without even looking back.


    Thirteen years ago, when he cut the tie with his master and left the Valley of Fallen Blossoms with his wife and son, he had sworn that he would never practice medicine for the rest of his life! His master had never forced him to do so, but as he had lost his passion to travel the world and practice medicine, he voluntarily gave up his medical skills and even the cultivation base of his martial arts. As he had gone back on his word for Zixiu¡¯s sake months ago, it didn¡¯t matter whether he had done this because of what his senior brother had said. He did not diagnose Liuxu¡¯s illness not because of his oath, but because he was too restless and he was in no mood to take care of the two kids for the moment. He needed to be alone to calm himself down!


    This daughter who had suddenly shown up from nowhere and what his senior brother had brought up not only reminded him of the past, but also led him to a startling deduction that even he himself could not believe!


    If it was true that he had mistakenly taken Ziyan as Wang Ning and committed an unforgivable sin years ago, he expected no forgiveness from anyone. It was him who had defiled Ziyan¡¯s chastity and hurt Wang Ning¡¯s feelings, so he deserved to be punished, and he would never complain even if he was spurned for the rest of his life. However, watching the kid he had picked up by the lake growing up and becoming more and more like the person he could not possibly look like, he kept telling himself that this was merely an illusion, a coincidence! And now, his ¡°daughter¡±, who was not supposed to exist, suddenly came to him in tears! The two kids looked so alike as twins! All this made him wonder what had happened that night seventeen years ago. If Wang Ning did not lie, how could the two kids look so much like him? What did Wang Ning take him and the kids for?


    The more he thought about it, the more disappointed he felt. In the beginning, to atone for it, and also because he felt ashamed to see Wang Ning again, though reluctantly, he deliberately distanced himself from her. After marrying Ziyan, he left the Wang family and the Wen Kingdom. A few years later, he even cut off his contact with everyone from the Valley of Fallen Blossoms and came to the remote mountains. He would rather Wang Ning hated him for the rest of her life and she had done all this only to take revenge on him, but obviously, it was not that simple. Even if everything was just a coincidence, how could Liuxu find Mount Winward, a place that even his senior brother did not know? How come she suddenly showed up after so many things had happened to Zixiu? Wait¡­ Since the only thing that connected Zixiu to Prince Mu¡¯s Mansion was the princess of the Wen Kingdom, Liuxu must have been involved in all this before Zixiu was kidnapped!


    Yan Ke did not chase after Liu Wuyi. It took him a lot of effort to suppress the impulse to rush out and punch his junior brother. If it were seventeen years ago, he would have done so. Yes, seventeen years ago, he had beaten up this junior brother a lot in rage because the latter gave up on himself for a woman. And at their master¡¯s request, he even disabled his senior brother¡¯s martial arts base in person! Now things were different. As his junior brother was no longer a martial artist, if he still picked a fight with him, he would be regarded as a bully!


    ¡°Yan Lingxiao, move your ass out of here and stand attention outside!¡± Yan Ke vented his anger on his son naturally.


    As far as Yan Ke was concerned, taking care of his junior brothers was the duty of a senior brother. So, his first disciple, Luo Huali, had been asked to face the wall outside and ponder about his misdeed for his failure in disciplining his junior brother, just like years ago, Yan Ke had been locked up for a year by his master as punishment because of his junior brother¡¯s mistake. Since Zixiu was a boy, it was not a big deal that the three kids shared the same bed. However, he still could not hold back his anger, because Yan Lingxiao already knew that Liu Zixiu was a boy, but he still had a crush on him! This¡­ This was just ridiculous! ¡°You damned brat, if you can¡¯t explain yourself, I¡¯m going¡­¡±


    As discomfited as the moment he had been dragged in, the poor Lingxiao was hustled out of the door.


    Looking blankly at the complicated expression in Lingxiao¡¯s eyes, Zixiu was left alone in the room again. What had happened just now made him even more confused. Someone even took him as a girl, and this person was his dad¡¯s old acquaintance! What¡¯s more, his dad¡¯s explanation was too far-fetched! How could a dad mistake the gender of his own child? Even if he was drunk as a skunk, such a thing could never happen! Zixiu believed that his dad would not have made such a silly mistake, but he did not intend to get to the bottom of it.


    It did not mean that he was not curious about the past, but since he had grown up, he should learn to understand his dad. Everyone has a skeleton in the closet!  He was already sixteen years old, and he should not act like a three-year-old boy who knew nothing except for playing cute in front of his dad, and could not even unzip his pants when he was going to pee! Although he was not a mind reader, he was sensitive sometimes. From the conversation between his elders and his dad¡¯s abnormal attitude, he could tell that something bad must have happened in the past, which made his dad reluctant to hear anyone mention it! Dad must be painful at the thought of the past, just like him, every time he caught a little memory in his mind, he would feel a splitting headache. He was afraid of pain and did not want his dad to suffer the same. So he would try to understand his dad, respect his dad, and never ask what his dad did not want to talk about!

 Chapter 109

    After pondering for quite a while, Zixiu gradually cleared up his mind and shifted his attention to the guy squatting against the wall. Struck by the fierce way Yan Ke had treated his son, Zixiu lost his balance and accidentally bumped against Nangong Du. Though this prince stood nearly a head over him, he almost fell to the floor under the impact of the bashing attack. To Zixiu¡¯s surprise, Nangong Du neither yelled at him nor said a word. Anyway, Zixiu did not believe that the domineering pervert would have been too afraid of Yan Ke and his disciples to speak. But how come he looked so feeble? Could it be that Nangong Du was poisoned by the ¡°small doses of¡± laxative he had slipped into his food the night before?


    ¡°Hey! Nangong Du, what are you still squatting here for?¡± With butterflies in his stomach, Zixiu tentatively wigged his foot in front of him. As all his ¡°guardians¡± were not in the room at this moment, Zixiu did not dare to move closer to this ¡°bomb¡±! Because with his knowledge of Nangong Du, this moody prince¡¯s anger might have accumulated to such an extent that it could erupt at any moment by some insignificant trigger!


    However, after a good while, Nangong Du still lowered his head in silence!


    ¡®How strange! Has this devil turned over a new leaf?¡¯ Zixiu wondered in surprise.


    After hesitating for a moment, he mustered his courage and reached out a hand. When he waved it under Nangong Du¡¯s nose, he did not forget to mock at him. ¡°Hey! Don¡¯t you feel embarrassed to be here when a girl is sleeping in bed?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± Nangong Du neither spoke nor moved.


    The foreboding in his mind grew intense and Zixiu was panicked in an instant. It reminded him of the way Nangong Du had been lying in bed when he was seriously ill months ago. ¡®Gosh! Could it be that Nangong Du hasn¡¯t fully recovered from his last serious illness yet?¡¯


    ¡°Hey! Your Highness, are you all right? You¡¯re not dying so soon, are you?¡± In a panic, Zixiu blurted out without giving it much thought. Disregarding the possibility that he might detonate this ¡°bomb¡±, he placed his hands on Nangong Du¡¯s shoulders and shook him desperately. ¡°Hey, just say something! Bro, don¡¯t act like this. ¡±


    ¡°Shut up!¡± The one who was squatting on the floor suddenly interrupted him. ¡°Who¡­ is your bro!¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­¡± Hearing Nangong Du¡¯s voice, Zixiu forced back the rest of his words excitedly and let out a long breath of relief, secretly felicitating that no one had been killed by the laxative he had been developing for months! Needless to say, though he had no keen sense of hearing and was kind of slow-witted, he could tell that even though Nangong Du was now very feeble and less fierce than usual, he was mad at him. So it would be unwise to contradict him and make him even more upset. He then asked in the way Nangong Du might favor, ¡°Your Highness, I¡¯m your legal wife. Are you okay?¡±


    Maybe it was because of what Zixiu said, or maybe it was because of his discomfort, Nangong Du paused for a while before he looked up and said weakly, ¡°Help me up!¡±


    ¡°All right!¡± Seeing Nangong Du¡¯s pale face, Zixiu agreed without hesitation. However, with his big belly, he had a hard time even to bend over!


    Nangong Du was so helpless that he was even in no mood to feel depressed!  He felt dizzy and weak. Otherwise, he would not have been knocked to the ground so easily, let alone talk to Liu Zixiu ¡°gently¡±!


    ¡°Eh-hem!¡± Zixiu cleared his throat, trying to cover up his embarrassment. He then asked without a second thought, ¡°Your Highness, where are you going?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± Instead of answering him, Nangong Du gasped with difficulty. He felt even dizzier and his heart beat even faster when he rose to his feet.


    Sensing his unusual warm breath, Zixiu, who was experienced in fever, was certain that Nangong Du¡¯s conditions were not optimistic. Feeling even guiltier, he suggested with a sincere look, ¡°Nangong Du, how are you feeling? How about¡­ Er¡­¡± He was about to ask Lingxiao to come in and diagnose Nangong Du¡¯s illness, but at the thought that Uncle Yan was even unwilling to treat the pregnant princess in a coma, he was unlikely to have Lingxiao treat this evil prince, so Zixiu changed his mind. ¡°How about you rest for a while on the bed?¡±


    Nangong Du, who felt a little better now, nodded feebly and leaned against Zixiu, almost throwing all his weight on the latter. He was so tired that he could not hold on anymore.


    Zixiu was a little alarmed when he saw Nangong Du show the white feather in front of him. Just now, when his dad, Yan Ke, and Yan Ke¡¯s disciples had been here, Nangong Du was still sneering viciously, so it was unbelievable that he would have collapsed all of sudden! He only exposed his vulnerability and true color to him. What did this mean?


    Had Prince Mu really taken a fancy to him, a useless nobody? Impossible! It was unreasonable and unrealistic! Nangong Du was not a simple-minded and superficial person. Now, Zixiu only prayed that this prince would not kill him after he recovered. At least, his selfless help to him could prove that he was a nobleman!


    Needless to say, it was improper to have Nangong Du and the princess share the same bed. After pondering for a while, with all his might, Zixiu helped Nangong Du to the damaged brick bed in his own room uneasily. He had even slept on a haystack in the shabby temple when he got sick a few months ago, so he thought as long as he did not heat the bed up with fire, it would be all right to sleep on it.


    Now both his dad and Uncle Yan were missing. Yan Lingxiao and Luo Huali were facing the wall and self-reflecting outside, and they did not seem to have sensed anything wrong in the room. Zixiu was certain even they had seen what was happening in the room, they would not dare to come in. Thinking of how strict and fierce Uncle Yan was, he could not help but shiver!


    Seeing Nangong Du lie down, Zixiu went back to the room where the princess was and got him a quilt. Nangong Du fell asleep soon, or maybe he just blacked out! Zixiu then tucked him in carefully. Look! How benevolent and tolerant he was!

 Chapter 110

    Nangong Du was really very sick. His face was pale, his forehead was in a cold sweat, and he shivered even under the quilt! To make matters worse, a moment later, he started vomiting!


    As he had diarrhea all night, now he could vomit nothing except for his gastric acid.


    Zixiu lost his composure again. His clumsy body suddenly became as swift as a swallow¡¯s. He rushed to the kitchen and fetched a basin of water in the blink of an eye!


    Unfortunately, his lack of ability to do housework now became a hinder. There was no way to suddenly turn a lazy, careless guy into a diligent and careful ¡°housewife¡±! Now Zixiu¡¯s hair remained knotted after a few careless brushes, and just like the night before, he looked like a gunny bag in the messy thick clothes, as if he had never known how to dress. How could people expect someone who could not even do the simplest work well to take care of a patient?


    Because Zixiu was in a hurry, most of the water in the basin spilled onto the floor as he walked. When he was about to reach the chair by the bed, something unexpected happened! But given the situation that Zixiu was not good at doing housework, it was not that surprising.


    As he did not lace up his shoes, when he strode forward in haste, one of his feet suddenly slipped out of his shoe and stepped on the wet and slippery floor. Next, he fell forward like a small hill with the basin in his hands!


    However, instead of banging the floor as expected, the basin hit and covered the head of Nangong Du, who was leaning out of bed and vomiting. Needless to say, the remaining half basin of water was poured over his head.


    Nangong Du was so sick that he had no strength to make a scene, and as a tough guy, even he were safe and sound at this point, he would not let out a cry. As for the trouble-maker, Liu Zixiu, he instinctively covered his belly with his mouth opened the moment he was about to fall as if he was going to scream. Before he came back to his senses, he had fallen to the floor with his knees on the vomit of the patient while his front teeth hit the edge of the bed heavily and went numb.


    After a few minutes, everything remained quiet inside and outside! Zixiu, who had expected someone to rush in and help him out, could only cover his mouth with his face twisted in pain. When he looked up and saw the basin on Nangong Du¡¯s head, he was almost scared out of his wits!


    ¡°Your¡­ Your Highness, my apologies! I¡­¡± He really felt sorry for Nangong Du.


    ¡°I sincerely apologize to you. I, I didn¡¯t mean it. I just tried to help you get rid of the fever¡­ This was an accident! An accident!¡± Zixiu explained humbly, hoping to get Nangong Du¡¯s forgiveness. He then began to wipe the water from the front of Nangong Du¡¯s clothes with his sleeve, but he had no guts to touch that damned basin. He guessed even if Nangong Du spared his life, he would beat him half to death! ¡®God, are you going to destroy me?¡¯


    ¡°Your¡­ Your Highness? Can you¡­¡¯ He really wished Nangong Du would say something instead of sulking like this. ¡°I¡¯m not lying. I didn¡¯t mean it. You must have seen that I almost fell down just now, right? Don¡¯t get mad at me. I¡¯ll dry off your clothes right away!¡± Bending over, he grabbed Nangong Du¡¯s clothes at the front of his chest, trying to wring them out. He worked very hard and wiped each layer of the clothes with all his strength!


    ¡°¡­¡± Nangong Du remained silent. As his face was covered with the wooden basin, Zixiu could not see his expression, but he could hear him breath heavily.


    Damn it! How hapless!


    After a few minutes of silence, Zixiu could not bear the tension in the air and the reproach of his conscience anymore, and he finally plucked up and put up a fearless look. ¡°Nangong Du, I know I made a mistake! I already apologized to you. Can you just say something?¡±


    While repenting, he stood up as fast as he could and took the basin off Nangong Du¡¯s head in the blink of an eye! Next, he turned around and even used his poor skills in Qing Kung, trying to flee. However, when he realized that he was still barefoot and the floor was wet, he had lost his balance again.


    ¡°Watch out!¡± Nangong Du, whose pale face had turned red in rage, cried out anxiously. To stop Zixiu from running away, he had grabbed his clothes secretly just now. However, when he was about to hit the ceiling, Zixiu suddenly lost his balance. Seeing that, he immediately exerted the internal force he had gathered in haste, pulled Zixiu into his arms and held him tightly. However, he was surprised that he had blurted out the two words ¡°Watch out!¡±


    Wasn¡¯t he going to get Liu Zixiu and vent his anger on him? How come he was worried when he saw him was about to fall?  Nangong Du was so confused that he felt even dizzier.


    Before he could let out a cry of surprise, Zixiu had safely ¡°landed¡± on Nangong Du¡¯s chest. He crossed his heart with a sigh of relief, muttering, ¡°Thank God! Amen!¡±


    Zixiu did not open his eyes and checked what was going on until he had finished his pious prayer. However, next, he grew tense again. Gosh, his cheeks were pressed against the warm chest and arm of Nangong Du! At the thought that the prince might strangle him at any time£¬Zixiu racked his brain and came up with an idea to get rid of his grip. ¡°Your Highness, my apologies. I sincerely apologize to you! I¡¯m going to get you some dry clothes right now, so please¡­ let go of me first.¡±


    ¡°Let go of you?¡± Nangong Du, who was still wrestling with himself, grew sober at once when he heard Zixiu misinterpret his kindness. This ungrateful asshole! Anyway, it was true that Liu Zixiu had poured cold water over him, and he would not let it go easily!


    ¡°Your Highness! Your Highness! Calm down! You need to get changed right away, or your cold will get worse!¡± With his ear pressing against Nangong Du¡¯s half-naked chest, Zixiu heard clearly the latter¡¯s heart beating fast, so he tried to convince Nangong Du on the pretext of his health. He believed that even a strong skillful martial artist could not be much of a threat to others when he had not only a cold, fever and diarrhea, but also kept vomiting. And now he had no time to think about whether Nangong Du had been trying to kill him or save him.


    Needless to say, Nangong Du did not want his illness to get worse. He felt as if he were freezing, so he also thought the priority for the moment was to change his wet clothes.


    Feeling the grip on his head loosen gradually, Zixiu was overjoyed. However, he did not dare to show his delightfulness on his face anymore. After withdrawing from Nangong Du¡¯s arms, he carefully bypassed the water stains on the floor, walked barefoot to the corner of the wall and plunged into the huge wardrobe.


    As he had never tided his wardrobe up, the clothes inside were as messy as a pile of garbage!

 Chapter 111

    Zixiu fumbled in the wardrobe and he almost crawled into it before he finally found a garment that looked neat and Nangong Du could barely fit into. He went back to the bed and showed it in front of Nangong Du, faking a flattering smile.


    Nangong Du had already taken off his wet clothes, and he was now wrapped in the quilt, with his head askew, trying to wring out his hair, which was obviously even wetter than his clothes! Liu Zixiu was so stupid! Until now he had not thought of getting him a towel to dry his hair yet! The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. He grabbed the garment in Zixiu¡¯s hands grumpily and started to wipe his hair with it.


    Zixiu froze on the spot. When he came back to his senses, he reached out at once, trying to get the garment back. ¡°Hey, what¡¯s wrong with you? This is a garment, not a towel¡­¡± Er¡­ He seemed to have forgotten to get Nangong Du a towel.


    When he finally noticed that the patient looked like a drowned rat, Zixiu did not dare to protest but watched helplessly while Nangong Du was using the garment he had a hard time finding as a towel.


    Nangong Du was satisfied that Zixiu no longer contradicted him, so he gradually calmed down. As he felt so cold, he sped up wiping his hair when he caught a glimpse of the ¡± towel¡± in his hand accidentally¡ªit was a garment with the same strange style as the one Liu Zixiu was wearing.


    ¡°Is this your¡­ garment?¡± He looked up suspiciously at the guy by the bed.  The night before, the moment when Liu Zixiu ran up the steep mountain road like a clumsy duck, he had noticed his strange outfits. As far as he knew, the average people and the royal family of the Wen, the Nan, the Ning, and the Rong had never dressed like this. Even Liu Zixiu¡¯s dad, Liu Wuyi, was dressed in the ordinary clothes of the Nan people. How come Liu Zixiu dressed like someone from a savage tribe?


    Seeing Nangong Du¡¯s curious expression, Zixiu was very pleased. Now he finally found something to show off to others. God knew how many times he had been sentimental about his own worthlessness!


    ¡°It looks good, huh? I designed it in person! I¡¯m sure it¡¯s more convenient, practical, concise and elegant than any of your clothes£¡Look! The cuffs and neckline are much smaller than that of ordinary clothes. Besides, there are two pockets, which can be used to hold¡­¡± Zixiu excitedly introduced the uniqueness of the garment. He kept pointing at different parts of his own clothes as if the next second he would spin around like a model. If it were not for his plump figure, he would definitely do this!


    Nangong Du looked at him without a word. From his joyful and even smug look, he could tell that Zixiu was very proud of his wacky designs! He wondered how come this guy always thought so differently and he was even in the mood to talk about clothes at this moment! Even if he wanted to talk about this, he did not have to nag for so long about the collar, the scuffs, and the extra pockets! ¡®I¡¯m not blind!¡¯


    ¡°Needless to say, I don¡¯t know how to make clothes myself. My dad modified the ordinary clothes according to my design drawing¡­¡± Without noticing the impatient look on Nangong Du¡¯s face, Zixiu was still trying to show off his strengths. Three years ago, because he failed to learn how to put on his clothes after many attempts, his dad could not stand it anymore, so he altered his clothes according to the design he had drawn. Now, almost all his clothes were made by his dad from the ordinary clothes he bought at the market. As his dad had been instrumental in this, Zixiu felt obliged to highlight it. Otherwise, Nangong Du would think he was bragging! ¡°What do you say, Nangong Du? You¡­ ¡±


    ¡°Zip it!¡± Nangong Du¡¯s patience began to grow thin. How could Liu Zixiu become so talktive in just a few months? It was so annoying! ¡°Liu Zixiu, are you a fly?¡±


    ¡°Huh?!¡± Suddenly interrupted, Zixiu looked at him in confusion. He was a person who could not focus on two things at the same time, so his attention was still on the clothes at this point. A moment later, he finally realized Nangong Du was talking about a fly. ¡°Where¡¯s the fly?¡± he asked in a daze.


    ¡°Don¡¯t try to play dumb!¡±  Nangong Du took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down again. He did not want to talk to Liu Zixiu anymore. After quite a while, he continued in a calm tone, ¡°Liu Zixiu, you¡¯re getting smarter.¡±


    ¡°Smarter?¡± Zixiu was even more confused. ¡®What does he mean by ¡®you¡¯re getting smarter¡¯? I¡¯ve always been smart! How dare Nangong Du belittle me like this! Damn it!¡¯


    ¡°You know I won¡¯t kill you, right?¡± Ignoring Zixiu¡¯s resentfulness, Nangong Du continued in a ¡°leisure¡± way.


    ¡°Oh?¡± Zixiu clenched his teeth angrily. ¡®You damned pervert, you¡¯re so sick that you can¡¯t even protect yourself. How come you¡¯re still thinking about killing me?¡¯ He had never seen anyone who was even more ungrateful than Nangong Du, and now he began to regret feeling sorry for him! If he had known that he was such a mean bastard, he would have thrown him out and let God destroy him! Yes, he deserves to be destroyed!¡¯


    ¡°What¡¯s up? Are you mad at me because I laid bare your tricks? I¡¯ve seen you through and now you can¡¯t pretend to be nice to me anymore. Are you going to ask Yan Lingxiao in and kill me? Or maybe Luo Huali! Anyway, it¡¯s a rare opportunity!¡±


    Hearing that, Zixiu felt his hair stand on end in an instant. Sure enough, Nangong Du was a jerk who would feel uncomfortable all over if he did not bully others! Fine! Since this ungrateful asshole had a death wish, he was willing to give him a hand!


    ¡°Your Highness, you¡¯re getting to know me better!¡± Clicking his tongue, Zixiu started shooting back. ¡®Humph! Since you said I became smarter, I¡¯ll show you how smart I am!¡¯ he thought. ¡°Your Highness, I wonder why you suddenly said that. I think you must have been trying to imply something. You¡¯re worried that I might kill you, right?¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Can you let me finish? Although Princess Liuxu¡¯s relationship with my family is still unclear, I think you have figured it out briefly. Your Highness, it¡¯s obvious that someone sabotaged your wedding, so I guess you must be anxious to go back to get to the bottom of it. Unfortunately, the Cirrus Valley is not the garden in your Mansion, so you can¡¯t expect to come and go at will! Besides, even if my dad doesn¡¯t care that you once locked him up, Uncle Yan won¡¯t let you go easily! What¡¯s more, Your Highness, you¡¯re so sick now that you can only be at the mercy of others¡­¡±


    ¡°Are you threatening me?¡±


    ¡°No! I¡¯m not threatening you. Your Highness, you¡¯re trying to use me, right?  Actually, I hate killing the most. I can protect you, but¡­ ¡±

 Chapter 112

    Zixiu suddenly stopped talking. He rolled his eyes exaggeratedly as if he were a cunning Fox. Next, he continued disdainfully with a snort, ¡°But why should I protect someone who may kill me at any time? Your Highness, I¡¯m not Mr. Dongguo¡­¡±[1] In a fable, Mr. Dongguo is a kind-hearted scholar who saves a wounded wolf. However, instead of being grateful to him, the wolf almost eats him up.


    ¡°Kill you?¡± Nangong Du could not hold back his anger anymore. He had repeated many times that he would not find fault with Liu Zixiu again. How dare this bold rebel take advantage of his illness and behave so presumptuously in front of him! To be exact, he was not ill. Liu Zixiu must have slipped the laxative in his food, which caused him to have diarrhea all night and made him in such a mess! ¡°Liu Zixiu, how dare you! You not only turned a deaf ear to what I said but also secretly plotted against me!¡±


    ¡°So what? I already showed mercy for not keeping you hungry, just like what you did to me!¡± Interrupted a few times, Zixiu felt a little irritated, especially when he saw the arrogant look on Nangong Du¡¯s face as if he were talking to a servant! ¡°Why should I remember every word a pervert says? What¡¯s more, that damned pervert has no right to control my behavior and decide what I should remember! As the saying goes ¡®even a dog dares to provoke a tiger in plain£¬and even a shrimp dares to tease a dragon in a shallow pool¡¯ What¡¯s the big deal about a prince? Humph!¡±


    ¡°Why are you so angry?¡± Maybe because of the cold water over him, Nangong Du felt even soberer. He did not flare up because Zixiu addressed him as a ¡°damned pervert¡±, instead, he felt surprised that Liu Zixiu was showing off his ¡°literary talent¡±. However, if he compared him to a tiger that left the mountains and a dragon that left the sea, what did he compare himself to? ¡°Liu Zixiu, are you a shrimp or a dog?¡±


    What? Zixiu did not notice his own offensive words, so when he heard Nangong Du compare him to a dog, he thought he was making personal remarks about him. Since Nangong Du was trying to pick a fight, he decided to teach him a good lesson. Anyway, he would not lose to a sick villain verbally.


    He immediately started cursing, ¡°Nangong Du, you sex maniac! You blind dog!    No, even a dog is better than you! At least, it¡¯s grateful and won¡¯t bite the hand that feeds it and even try to plot against others!¡±


    ¡®Bite the hand that feeds it?¡¯ This made Nangong Du even more furious than calling him a blind dog. Who was ungrateful? Who was trying to plot against others? He felt his blood boil at the thought that instead of being grateful for stopping him from falling, Liu Zixiu was even cursing him! However, as the temperature outside the quilt was very low, to keep his illness from getting worse, Nangong Du finally held back the urge to jump up and beat Zixiu. ¡°Liu Zixiu, seems you know yourself well!¡± he said sarcastically.


    ¡°Huh?!¡± Zixiu was struck dumb, wondering what Nangong Du meant. After a while, he briefly figured out what the latter was implying. He widened his eyes and clenched his teeth with his hands on his hips. ¡°Nangong Du, what do you mean? Do you still remember how did you treat me? How could a man be so mean like you? I had never eaten my full in your mansion! You pretended to be nice to me in front of other people, but when there was nobody around, you showed your true color! What the f*ck were you acting for? You threw me against the wall, and you also kicked me in the stomach. I still have bruises here¡­¡± With that, Zixiu pressed somewhere on his stomach and still felt a dull pain. ¡°If I can¡¯t get rid of these bruises soon, I won¡¯t go easy on you! With you as her backing, that ugly shrew, Xingyi, always bullied me! She scolded me, pinched me and even tried to scald me with hot water! As I didn¡¯t want to fight with a woman, I had been putting up with her. What the f*ck did I do to her that she hated me so much? If she had a crush on you, what was it got to do with me? Moreover, that guard, who always showed up with a poker face like a ghost, knocked me out with a blow! I was running a f*cking high fever back then, but you guys just left me alone on the freezing floor for a day!¡±


    Zixiu poured out all the abuse and torment he had suffered in Prince Mu¡¯s Mansion at one stretch. He was so irritated that it took him quite a long time before he caught his breath and continued, ¡°Prince Mu, you¡¯re now lying on the bed, covered with a quilt, with no bruises on your body. Don¡¯t you feel ashamed to accuse me of ungratefulness? You damned pervert! You bastard! Have you ever done anything to my advantage?¡±


    ¡°Liu Zixiu, merely because you¡¯re still alive now, you should be grateful to me!¡±  Nangong Du answered without hesitation.


    Judging from what he said, without even looking at him, Zixiu could tell that the prince did not feel even the slightest guilt, which made him can¡¯t help but flare up in an instant. In spite of the vomit on his pants, he managed to climb on the kang with his right shoe still on before he kicked Nangong Du heavily. ¡°You bastard, you¡¯ll know what it¡¯s like to get kicked!¡± he shouted angrily. However, when he was about to kick gain, his leg suddenly froze in midair and could not move. ¡°Huh?¡± Zixiu was a little panicked. His legs had been cramping occasionally in the past few days. After a few attempts, he still failed to move.


    Though Nangong Du got kicked, he did not lose his temper at once. ¡°Don¡¯t think I can do nothing to you just because I¡¯m sick!¡± He said slowly, his tone full of sarcasm!


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Zixiu could not even speak now! Actually, his leg did not cramp. He suddenly went stiff because Nangong Du had struck his acupoint!


    ¡°Humph!¡± With a snort, Nangong Du slowly laid Zixiu down onto the bed. When he stroked the bed sheet, he suddenly found a small oblate bead, which was the button on Zixiu¡¯s garment that he was proud of!


    ¡°Hmm¡­ Hmm¡­¡± Zixiu was so angry that he really wanted to curse, but unfortunately, all the swear words turned into the single syllable of ¡°hmm¡­¡± It seemed he had only himself to blame. He was even more stupid than Mr. Dongguo! How could a man try to get close to a wolf! ¡°Hmm¡­ Hmm¡­¡±


    ¡°Listen!¡± Now that Nangong Du had regained the upper hand, he intended to defend himself against the accusation Zixiu had just made against him. Otherwise, someone might not even know who the real evil guy was until he was dying! ¡°Anyone caught breaking into my mansion will be tortured to death! Since I asked you to disguise yourself as a princess, you should behave like a princess. Do you think every woman is as gluttonous as you? Besides, how come a princess wandered about all day, flirted with others, and even sang lewd songs at midnight¡­ ¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ Hmm¡­¡± ¡®Damn it! Who sang lewd songs? You damned pervert!¡¯ No matter how hard he tried, Zixiu just could not utter a word.


    Disregarding his struggles, Nangong Du continued, ¡°No matter what she has to do with your family, since the princess of the Wen could find your house, that means you were not kidnapped and sent to my mansion by accident! The person behind all this is the one who¡¯s trying to kill you! To me, you¡¯re just a tiny ant, not worth killing at all!¡±


    Zixiu was listening, but he was surprised that this jerk would have responded to his complaint with patience. Therefore, he stopped trying to cry out and merely scolded Nangong Du inwardly. ¡®An ant? You¡¯re an ant! A huge, vicious ant!¡¯


    However, as soon as he quieted down, Nangong Du suddenly reached out and started taking off his pants! ¡°Hmm¡­ Hmm¡­¡± ¡®You pervert! Let go of me! You damned pervert! Help!¡¯


    Nangong Du was amused when he saw the look on Zixiu¡¯s face. ¡®Liu Zixiu is a self-righteous fool who has never learned from a lesson! What does he think I¡¯m going to do to him? Doesn¡¯t he know how sloppy he is now?¡¯


    Ripping off Zixiu¡¯s dirty pants and throwing them to the floor, he said coolly, ¡°Liu Zixiu, no worries! I¡¯m not into you at all!¡±


    ¡°What?!¡± Zixiu, who was both flustered and angry, was stupefied at his words. How come his words sounded so familiar? He then remembered that Nangong Du had said the exact same thing to him when he had been in his mansion months ago! The same tone of contempt! Watching him put on airs, Zixiu was seized with an impulse to beat him up! ¡°Nangong Du, you¡­¡±


    ¡°Er¡­¡± Zixiu suddenly found himself regain the ability to speak. He was so surprised that he even forgot to curse Nangong Du.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with me?¡± Nangong Du flicked his finger that had just struck Zixiu¡¯s acupoint with an enigmatic smile. He wanted to hear what kind of absurd statement Liu Zixiu was going to make next! He was so curious that he even forgot to put on airs as a prince!


    Zixiu was fearless at this point. Moreover, he had had enough of Nangong Du¡¯s vicious provocation. This asshole had gone too far! He just regarded him as a clown!


    Without asking Lingxiao and Huali in to help, Zixiu started cursing again, ¡°Nangong Du! You don¡¯t f*cking deserve to be a man! You¡¯re a coward! You¡¯re afraid to admit what¡¯s on your mind! If you were not into me at all, why did you keep me in your mansion? Why did you come to my house? Why were you jealous last night? What¡¯s more, you just took off my pants!¡±


    ¡°Are you complaining?¡± Nangong Du was not infuriated at all. Instead, he smiled disdainfully. As he expected, Liu Zixiu was indeed worried that he would be abandoned by him!


    ¡°Complaining? Stop flattering yourself! ¡± Zixiu blushed with anger. He found it hard to communicate with this pervert! ¡°You sex maniac, don¡¯t think marrying a bunch of men is a big deal! Obviously, those ugly guys were either forced on by you or married you for the sake of your money! Compared with them, my senior brother and Yan Lingxiao are much better! They have no interest in vulgar people without a unique temperament!¡±


    ¡°A unique temperament?¡± Nangong Du laughed even more disdainfully. It was funny that Liu Zixiu thought so highly of himself. It seemed this guy was narcissistic than he was! ¡°Liu Zixiu, you¡¯re dirty and messy now. Do you think Yan Lingxiao will like the way you look now?¡±


    ¡°Dirty? Messy? How dare you¡­¡± Zixiu checked his tongue halfway into his words when he suddenly remembered that his pants were soiled with vomit. Wait! ¡°Nangong Du, you vomited in my room and stained my pants. How dare you say that I¡¯m the dirty one?¡±


    ¡°Then who the hell slipped the laxative in the food? Who tried to persuade me to have dinner? How did I get into such a mess?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s me! So what? You can only blame yourself for being so stupid! What¡¯s so great about a martial arts practitioner? When I¡¯m successful in studying medicine, I¡¯ll treat you to taste all kinds of poison!¡±


    ¡°Oh? I¡¯m really looking forward to it! But I wonder how a fool who can¡¯t even hold a basin of water steadily can become a medical expert!¡±


    ¡°Nangong Du, you lunatic! Can you just stop making sarcastic remarks? Damn it! If you dare to belittle me again, I¡¯ll shut you up forever!¡±


    Sitting by the cliff in the cold wind for a long time, Liu Wuyi finally calmed down a little. When he looked up and saw the bright sun had already hidden in the clouds, he suddenly remembered that his son might not have had lunch yet, so he immediately rose to his feet and hurried to his home.


    At the door, Lingxiao and Huali were standing straight, facing the wall.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Liu Wuyi walked over and asked surprisingly. He had never seen how Yan Ke punished his disciples.


    ¡°¡­¡± The two remained silent, staring at the wall in a daze.


    ¡®Did somebody strike their acupoints?¡¯ Liu Wuyi guessed with a doubtful look. Thinking of how furious his senior brother was before he went out, he had briefly figured out what happened. It seemed that Yan Ke was still as short-tempered temper as before! As Liu Wuyi had cut ties with people from the Valley of Fallen Blossoms, he knew it was inappropriate to get involved in their internal affairs. After thinking for a moment, he patted their shoulders and said in a low voice, ¡°You should follow your master¡¯s words. Don¡¯t come to Zixiu again!¡±


    With that, he turned to walk to the room. However, when he had just taken a step forward, he heard someone shouting in the room.


    ¡°You damned pervert! What¡¯s so great about you? You¡¯ll know how I¡¯m going to teach you a lesson!¡±


    ¡°Ah!¡±


    Was Zixiu cursing someone? The scream¡­ Liu Wuyi turned around in shock and started questioning the two behind him, ¡°What happened? Where¡¯s Yan Ke?  How come you left Zixiu alone in the room?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± Lingxiao and Huali could only look at him helplessly. They were eager to know what was going on in the room as well!


    ¡°Zixiu! Zixiu!¡± It was obvious that he could not get an answer from the two. Though he had lost his martial arts cultivation base, Liu Wuyi rushed into the room in panic without giving it much thought.


    Zixiu still felt irritated and he did not notice someone speaking outside. Now that he could move freely again, he opened his mouth and bit Nangong Du on the neck with all his might, like a hound. He was going to kill this damned pervert, who had repeatedly insulted and provoked him!


    So, when Liu Wuyi rushed into his son¡¯s room, he saw his son and Nangong Du pressing against each other on the bed, one without pants, and the other with his upper body bare¡­


    ¡°!!!¡± Liu Wuyi was so shocked that he did not even think to check if his son was biting or licking. He could not utter a word with his lips trembling. So his son and Prince Mu were¡­


    ¡°Ah!¡± Nangong Du deliberately let out a groan again. He had seen through Liu Zixiu to be a soft-hearted person. Besides, even Zixiu tried hard, he could hardly injure him with his teeth. So Nangong Du did not scream from pain at all! In the beginning, as it was so damn cold, he wanted to have Zixiu warm him up, so he struck his acupoint, but later, he changed his mind when he suddenly heard Liu Wuyi talking outside. He then struck Zixiu¡¯s acupoint again to make him restore the ability to speak and move. When Liu Wuyi saw what his son was doing with him, he would know exactly what kind of relationship he had with Zixiu!  ¡°Don¡¯t exert that much strength¡­ Darling¡­¡±


    ¡°Darling?¡± Immersed in the pleasure of revenge, Zixiu still did not notice that his dad was in the room! He stopped biting and started cursing loudly, ¡°Damn it! Call me uncle!¡±


    ¡°Ah¡ª¡± Nangong Du was certain that Zixiu had no way to explain himself later, so he could not help but laugh inwardly.


    Liu Wuyi could not hold back his fury anymore! He had been worried about his son¡¯s safety. But look what his son was doing now!


    ¡°Liu¨CZi¨CXiu!¡±


    ¡°You little brat! Now you must have known what¡¯s going to happen if you fight me!¡± Nangong Du could not help but gloat. ¡°Ah!¡± Hearing his dad¡¯s voice suddenly ring from behind, Zixiu froze on the spot.

 Chapter 113

    After putting on a pair of clean pants, Zixiu stepped out of his room. Seeing his dad sit in the hall with a grim look, he walked over respectfully, trying to explain to him. ¡°Dad, I wasn¡¯t cursing you. I was cursing Nangong Du!¡±


    ¡®Nangong Du?¡¯ His intimate form of address for Prince Mu made his dad grow even more suspicious. However, unlike his senior brother, the short-tempered Yan Ke, Liu Wuyi would not slap his son before he made things clear. As Huali and Lingxiao were still outside, given his son¡¯s reputation into consideration, he clenched his fists hard, managing to hold back the urge to hit the ceiling. Staring at his son with sharp eyes, Liu Wuyi said seriously, ¡°Zixiu, Nangong Du is a crafty man, so we have to be careful. Do you understand?¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± Zixiu was muddleheaded. He had been thinking that his dad lost his temper because he was cursing just now. Anyway, Nangong Du was indeed a cunning pervert as his dad said, so he nodded approvingly. ¡°Got it!¡±


    Liu Wuyi was more resentful because his son did not, as before, feel aggrieved and even reveal a murderous look at the mention of Nangong Du, but merely calmly answered that he had got it. At the thought of the face-to-face talk in Li¡¯s clinic between him and Nangong Du, especially the moment that prince called him ¡°father¡±, and what had happened just now, Liu Wuyi could not help but feel worried. Could that be Zixiu had also fallen for that evil prince? Was he mad at Nangong Du only because they had a fight like any other couple? How ridiculous! Had he ever thought of his dad when he did such a disgraceful thing?  ¡°Zixiu, tell me the truth! What did Nangong Du come for?¡±


    Not as quick-witted as his dad, Zixiu wondered how come his dad suddenly changed the topic. ¡°I don¡¯t know!¡± he answered honestly. He had no idea what Nangong Du had come for. First, Nangong Du had never mentioned it to him. Besides, as this pervert was so moody, Zixiu was reluctant to waste his time speculating on his purpose of coming here. But if Nangong Du had really come here to take him back to his mansion, Zixiu would have nightmares!


    ¡°You don¡¯t know?¡± Observing his son¡¯s expression carefully, Liu Wuyi thought it seemed too arbitrary to draw conclusions based on what he had just seen.  Zixiu was not as strong as Nangong Du. How come he had pinned Nangong Du under him? Obviously, Nangong Du had been playing tricks! No matter if he was really a dandy, with his romantic rivals outside the door, a man as smart as he would not have risked his life and made out with Zixiu in the room only because he was a superb martial artist. Moreover, he had caught a cold, so he would be asking for trouble if he had dared to provoke the two outside!


    Thinking of what had happened in the room just now and the obvious sour smell of vomit, Liu Wuyi, who was worrying that his son might have a crush on someone of the same sex, finally realized that he was tricked. Needless to say, whether he was tricked or not, he would never allow Zixiu to be together with that prince of the Nan Kingdom! If he had not given Nangong Du the formation map, the latter would not have got into the valley, so he would try to find a way to get rid of that asshole. What¡¯s more, he would make those guys, including Lingxiao, give up the idea of marrying Zixiu!


    ¡°Zixiu!¡± Looking at his son, who was obviously childish and even a little bit stupid, he said resolutely, ¡°I¡¯ll find a way to get rid of Nangong Du and get you a wife when your pregnancy symptoms go away next spring!¡±


    ¡°Get me a wife?¡± Zixiu was again shocked by his father¡¯s sudden change of topic!


    ¡°It¡¯s settled!¡± Before his son could protest, Liu Wuyi had shifted the topic again. ¡°Are you hungry? I¡¯m going to cook for you right now!¡±


    Sure enough, this stunned listener was hungry, so he stopped thinking about the connection between Nangong Du and his future wife.


    Having lived in seclusion for many years, Liu Wuyi was used to his peaceful and ordinary life, so the sudden arrival of a bunch of uninvited ¡°guests¡±, especially someone of who was even connected with one of his old acquaintances, had stirred a turmoil in his mind! Over the years, he had become a person who was indifferent to everything except for his son, so he instinctively racked his mind, trying to pull himself together. Even though he could no longer be as calm as before, at least he should not lose his mind and even get innocent people involved in trouble.


    His thoughts had been running wild when he was at the cliff. Though his senior brother still hated Wang Ning, Wang Ning indeed had never done anything to him, and he was just taking up the cudgel for his junior brother. Liu Wuyi was clear about that and he was very grateful to Yan Ke. However, it was between Wang Ning and him, and no one else could help. Now that his senior brother had known that Lingxiao could not marry Zixiu, he did not have to stay in the Cirrus Valley anymore!


    The lunch was done quickly, and Yan Ke, who had been missing, suddenly reappeared from nowhere. Lingxiao and Huali, who had been self-reflecting for a long time outside, were asked in to eat. The three of them sat down at the dinner table and started eating, each having something on his mind.


    Zixiu realized that he was really smarter and more sensitive than before. He could sense the tension in the air even when everyone was gobbling food! To avoid causing trouble, he decided to go on observing quietly.


    Liu Wuyi did not think that much. After the three outsiders had finished eating, he got to the point straight and asked them to leave.


    ¡°Bang!¡±


    Hardly had Liu Wuyi¡¯s voice faded away, Yan Ke threw his chopsticks at the table angrily without a word.


    Zixiu was startled and almost choked on the rice in his mouth.


    ¡°Uncle Liu, I¡¯m not leaving!¡± Lingxiao was the first one to respond. He put down his chopsticks and shot to his feet with an anxious and determined look. After hesitating for a short while, he announced loudly, ¡°Unless you allow me to take Zixiu away. Or I won¡¯t leave the Cirrus Valley!¡±


    ¡°You bastard, don¡¯t you think it¡¯s embarrassing enough?¡± Without hesitation, Yan Ke jumped up in anger and slapped his son¡¯s head hard. He was irritated not only because of what Liu Wuyi had said, but also because he had realized that it was a waste of time to self-reflect! His son was still thinking about marrying Zixiu after hours of self-reflection, and his junior brother was still as stubborn as before! He should have thought of it! It had been over ten years, but he still fantasized about his junior brother¡¯s forgetting that woman completely. What a nosy fool he was!


    Beaten and cursed by his dad, Lingxiao did not scream and run about in the room as usual. He understood the meaning of his dad throwing chopsticks in silence. As a man of high self-esteem, his dad would not stay here any longer after Uncle Liu had asked them to leave. Lingxiao was worried that if he left with his dad, he would never have a chance to meet Zixiu again, so he could give in to any unreasonable demands his dad made, except for asking him to leave Zixiu. He had never been so persistent before he met Zixiu months ago. But now, he did not dare even to imagine a life without him! Before yesterday, in the months of searching for Zixiu¡¯s whereabouts, he felt that the pain of missing someone was more unbearable than any torture. He knew well that he could not live without Zixiu! ¡°Dad, I swore I would not marry anyone else except for Liu Zixiu¡­¡±


    ¡°Shut up!¡± Yan Ke flared up at his son¡¯s words in an instant. He picked up a bench and smashed it on Lingxiao. ¡°You little brat, how dare you fool me? How could you even think of marrying a man? I¡¯m going to¡­ ¡±


    This was the Yan family¡¯s business, and Liu Wuyi was aware that his senior brother was so furious partly because of him, so he chose to keep silent.


    Luo Huali was silent as well because he had no idea what to do. Like Lingxiao, he did not want to leave Zixiu so hastily. If it was as Zixiu said that his love was illusory and unrealistic, Zixiu¡¯s understanding of his own feelings was kind of arbitrary and even prejudiced like most people. Since love was built on understanding, he hoped that he could have more time to get along with Zixiu so that they could get to know each other better and know exactly how they felt about each other. Then even if this feeling between them was not love, he had nothing to regret. However, Master Yan already lost his temper like this because of Lingxiao, and if he knew that his first disciple, who had great respect for his master and had never caused any trouble, had taken a fancy to a man, too, he would not be able to stand such a blow!


    In hesitation, he did nothing to stop his master from punishing his junior brother either!


    Zixiu was astonished when he saw that the two who were close to Yan Ke and his son all turned a blind eye to the brutal domestic violence in front of them. How come his usually benevolent dad and friendly senior brother became so indifferent? What absurd excuses had they given themselves?


    Since he was kidnapped, Zixiu had become increasingly suspected that he did not belong to the same world or era as the people around him. Compared with Lingxiao¡¯s personal safety, no excuse could hold water! This was not the first time that Lingxiao had been beaten hard by Uncle Yan. Though Lingxiao himself should bear part of the blame for the beating, Uncle Yan would at least have been less violent if others had stopped him in time! Could it be that no one even knew that although parents had the duty to bring up their children, they definitely had no right to beat or abuse them? Obviously, these people were lack of law awareness!


    Finally, Zixiu could not bear it anymore. ¡°Stop!¡± he suddenly shouted.


    Although his voice was not that loud, the one who had lost his mind stopped short when he saw Zixiu suddenly step over and shield Lingxiao behind him.


    ¡°!!¡± The bench almost fell on Zixiu¡¯s big belly. Yan Ke looked at him in astonishment. He had never expected that Zixiu would have begged for mercy for Lingxiao. He remembered his son had never won Zixiu¡¯s favor! Er¡­ There was no need to look into it. Liu Zixiu was a boy, so there was no way he could become his daughter-in-law. He would never allow an outsider to interfere in the domestic affairs of the Yan family!


    ¡°Uncle Yan, if you keep doing this, Lingxiao will have the right to accuse you of domestic violence and abuse of a minor!¡± Seeing that Yan Ke was about to beat his son again, Zixiu continued. He was taking a risk, but fortunately, Lingxiao¡¯s dad was not really mad.


    ¡°Domestic violence? Abuse of¡­ a minor?¡± Everyone present, including Lingxiao, who had already suffered some bruises, and Liu Wuyi, who had been used to his son¡¯s nonsense, froze on the spot. What was he talking about?


    As he had been used to it, Zixiu was not at all surprised by their reaction. He believed that as a nobody, it was not his business to popularize knowledge of the law. So, disregarding the puzzled look in others¡¯ eyes, he turned around swiftly, held Lingxiao up, and carefully checked his wound.


    Yes! He would like to put on airs to frighten those bullies on such occasions.  He was not naive enough to hold even a trace of hope for those in power, like Nangong Du. ¡®Alas, how hapless to live in such a chaotic time!¡¯


    As his son was fighting for Lingxiao out of a sense of justice, Liu Wuyi decided to give him a hand. Moreover, he did not want his senior brother to stay in the valley for too long. He then asked Zixiu to help Lingxiao into the room and apply some ointment to his wound. Now the fierce conflict between Yan Ke and his son finally came to an end. Liu Wuyi cleared up the dinner table alone silently and walked into the kitchen with bowls and chopsticks. He was certain that his senior brother would leave!


    Zixiu and Huali helped Lingxiao into the room. Though Nangong Du, was still sprawling on the bed, no one was in the mood to pay attention to him.


    ¡°Don¡¯t get me wrong. To be frank, your dad is too merciless!¡± Meeting Lingxiao¡¯s enchanting eyes, Zixiu explained at once, as flustered as a cat with its tail trodden on! Sure enough, someone misunderstood him! It was really annoying!


    ¡°¡­¡± Looking at Zixiu¡¯s anxious look, Lingxiao fell silent. He gritted his teeth and finally lowered his head without a word.


    Realizing what he said might have frustrated Lingxiao, Zixiu felt a little guilty. He then added, trying to comfort him, ¡°Don¡¯t think too much. You may drop in on me when you have time¡­¡± But his words seemed far-fetched. If the two families would still keep in touch in the future, how could his dad have driven them away? Having no idea what to say, Zixiu could only force a bitter smile. ¡°He-he¡­¡±

 Chapter 114

    Liu Wuyi and Yan Ke had been together for more than twenty years. As disciples in the same sect, they knew each other very well. Although it had been thirteen years since they parted last time, their temperament did not change much. Yan Ke was clear about this. The moment Liu Wuyi had suddenly shown up by the lake outside of the Valley of Fallen Blossoms, he could tell that his junior brother was still as stubborn as before. If anyone thought him an opinionated smart ass, his junior brother could be considered as stubborn as a mule!


    He still tried to persuade his junior brother not to have anything to do with that woman anymore, but if he turned a deaf ear to the latter¡¯s words and went on staying in the Cirrus Valley, instead of being grateful to him, his senior brother might make him cough up a mouthful of blood with anger, just as he had done to their master a decade ago! Actually, the result could be even more serious than this. Therefore, he left the valley without hesitation with his son and his disciple. Meanwhile, he did not forget to take away the trouble-maker, Nangong Du! This asshole had once locked up his junior brother and bullied Zixiu! Though Zixiu could not be his daughter-in-law, he was at least his nephew, so Yan Ke would not spare Nangong Du easily, especially when he thought about the fact that Zixiu almost lost his life because of him!


    Under Liu Wuyi¡¯s guidance, the three of them got out of the valley before dark, jostling the blindfolded Nangong Du along the way.


    Nangong Du was really very sick, and there was no way he could fake it in front of three medical experts. His condition was very unstable. He felt much better after vomiting in Zixiu¡¯s room, but the chill water over him aggravated his illness, and after taking a long way, he felt like vomiting again.


    As much as he wanted to retain his prince¡¯s dignity and presence, he could not calm his upset stomach. Soon, this distinguished, arrogant prince crouched down on the desolate mountain road and began to retch. As he had nothing all day, he could not throw up anything.


    Lingxiao stopped as well, but it was not because he felt sorry for that patient! They had stepped out of the Cirrus Valley now and he was reluctant to move a step forward! He was not that stupid, and from what Zixiu said, he could tell he was driving him away. Since Zixiu showed no intention to keep him in the valley, what was the point of taking him away at the risk of his dad breaking his legs? This would only embarrass Zixiu and make him hate him even more! Therefore, Lingxiao decided to make a concession and wait outside the valley.


    Huali thought in the same way. He was going to spend more time with Zixiu so that their relationship could move a step further! Therefore, following Lingxiao¡¯s suit, he stopped his pace as well.


    Their master, Yan Ke, who was leading the way, immediately sensed something wrong behind him. He stopped and turned around, with a look of anger and disappointment on his face. He wondered how come his two disciples who had grown up under his strict discipline had turned into two idiots when they fell in love, just like their Uncle Liu!


    ¡°I know what you¡¯re thinking about!¡± Needless to say, as their master who had watched them grow up, Yan Ke was clear what was on their mind. Lingxiao was a person who had never known how to hide his feelings. But to his surprise, Huali was also not himself today! Every time he had punished Lingxiao before, Huali would beg for mercy for his junior brother. However, he remained silent all along when he was beating Lingxiao just now! At the thought that two of his disciples had become gay overnight, Yan Ke was seized with an impulse to slap someone! But would it work to curse or beat them? As a physician, he knew well that serious corporal punishment could do nothing in changing their desire for a loved one, even if the loved one was of the same sex. Now he had to use a milder way to refrain them from fantasizing about Zixiu.


    Actually, there was no need to lash out at the two. As an insightful onlooker, Yan Ke had seen through these silly boys. So all he needed to do was tell the truth. ¡°Don¡¯t be silly! Liu Zixiu doesn¡¯t like men at all!¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­¡± Lingxiao and Huali were both stunned when they suddenly heard what Yan Ke said. Had Zixiu ever said that he had no feelings for guys? They couldn¡¯t help but recall what Zixiu had said the night before, but from the beginning to the end, Zixiu had only stressed that true love was based on understanding. What they should take into account included character, education background, experience, and money, but not gender, right?


    Looking at their puzzled faces, Yan Ke felt very frustrated. It looked as if he were asking for humiliation! However, he firmly believed in his own judgment. He caught a glimpse of the fierce confrontation between Zixiu and Nangong Du this afternoon. From their conversation, he could tell that although Liu Zixiu was bold, he was not an open-minded person. So even if he really fell in love with any of the three in the future, he would not dare to face it. That was the so-called ¡®character determines fate¡¯! Such being the case, Yan Ke thought he did not have to be in a hurry, so he said in conclusion, ¡°You¡¯d better think what I said twice!¡±


    Lingxiao and Huali looked at each other in a daze, feeling so confused about Yan Ke¡¯s sudden ¡°tolerance¡±. ¡®Does Master Yan mean we¡¯re not leaving?¡¯


    Yan Ke showed his stance in action. Needless to say, he agreed to stay here did not mean he supported his disciples becoming gay! Now that they had left the boundaries of the Cirrus Valley, his junior brother could not accuse him of going back on his word!


    The night fell soon with wind swooping up. Each with his own thoughts, the three of them collected some dry wood and made a bonfire to warm themselves up.


    They had a clear conscience. They played tricks because the Liu family forced them to!


    In the dim light of the oil lamp, Liu Wuyi and his son were eating warm porridge when the faint music which was obviously produced with a leaf came from a distance.


    Needless to say, Zixiu was aware of who was playing the tune.


    With the corner of his mouth twitching unconsciously, he recalled the moment when he was singing a song and his senior brother was blowing a leaf on the other side of the lake as well as of their meeting in the moonlight¡­ ¡®Could it be that Senior Brother thought I was singing to show my love?¡¯


    ¡°You look haggard and lonely with tears in your eyes


    The pale crescent reminds you of the good old times


    It was a long frosty night


    You¡¯re leaning against the rail in the attic when despair strikes


    Hearing the knock on my red window lattice when the drizzle dropped by


    I lamented for having to be apart from you


    My dream morphed into a touch of fragrance far behind


    And I seemingly see you with it wafting in the wind


    Chrysanthemums withered, scattering on the ground


    Your smile has faded, nowhere to be found


    Seeing the fallen petals all over, I indulged myself with a broken heart


    Listening to the north wind whistle outside


    I can¡¯t help thinking of you throughout the endless night


    Alone by the lake, I was overwhelmed by sorrow¡­¡±


    With a soft leaf between his lips, Luo Huali blew out the melody when the image of Zixiu singing by the lake popped into his mind¡ªthe moonlight, the attic, the red window lattice¡­


    ¡®This must be Zixiu¡¯s favorite song,¡¯ he thought. That night, he listened carefully while Zixiu was singing to the moon by the lake. When Zixiu finished singing, he had memorized the melody of the whole song. It was not only because of his remarkable sense of hearing but also because of his special attention to everything about Zixiu. Until now, he still remembered what he had promised when he was playing a game with Zixiu. And he was only five back then! Zixiu seemed to have forgotten all this and he even treated Lingxiao¡¯s wounds with the ointment he had given him!


    Lingxiao was squatting at the bonfire and roasting hares. He was annoyed with his dad for making him prepare their dinner while his senior brother was standing on the tree and playing a tune with a leaf! Luo Huali was mature, calm and taciturn, but he had been in a daze all the way since they left Liu¡¯s house. It was quite unusual! Moreover, even though Lingxiao knew nothing about music, he could tell that his senior brother was playing a tune he had never heard before. There must be something wrong! Why was his senior brother acting so strangely?  Could it be that he was taking the opportunity to show his love to Xiuxiu?


    Looking at his two distracted disciples, Yan Ke, who had calmed down a little, was burning with anger again! But he was aware that it was not the right time to lecture them!


    Yan Ke did not curse Huali who was playing a melancholy tune. He squatted down as well, took a string of nearly burnt hare meat from his son, and roasted it skillfully.


    After a while, he suddenly put on a grim look and said slowly, ¡°Everyone, you¡¯d better show up before getting frozen!¡±


    Lingxiao and Huali were both stunned.


    The two, who were filled with resentfulness and suspicion, came back to their senses and became alarmed in an instant.


    They were certain that the people hiding around were not those ordinary soldiers who came to the mountains for some kind of ¡°precious herb¡±. It was not only because no rustling sound could be heard from some nearby shrubs, but also because they had witnessed the departure of those soldiers from the town before Nangong Du came the day before. Moreover, during the day, everything in the mountains was quiet except for the occasional bird twittering. Anyway, Lingxiao and Huali were never afraid of meeting those so-called ¡°martial artists¡± who could not even hide their own breaths.


    A black shadow suddenly popped out of the darkness. By the light of the moon and the fire, they saw a woman¡¯s slim figure.


    ¡°So it¡¯s you!¡± As soon as he saw her face clearly, Lingxiao blurted out. It was no other than the maidservant he had seen in Prince Mu¡¯s Mansion!


    ¡°Physician Yan, I appreciate you for saving my life! I¡¯ll never forget your kindness!¡± When she recognized the person in front of her, Xingyi walked over and bowed her thanks to Lingxiao. Xingyi meant what she said. She was not an ungrateful person, and she did feel indebted to Lingxiao for saving her life. Actually, she had only been lurking here for a short moment, or the other three who had been here for so long would have found her out much earlier!


    The sincere gratitude relaxed her nervous mind a little. She came to find her master, but she had found something was wrong soon after she entered the mountains. How come Yan Lingxiao was in Mount Windward? Then where was Prince Mu?


    She was clear that Prince Mu and Yan Lingxiao could never get along peacefully!  Prince Mu got into the mountains alone, so once he encountered the Yans, he might¡­


    Realizing that something might have happened to Prince Mu, she looked around anxiously before she finally fixed her gaze on the person, who was lying under a big tree not far from the bonfire.


    ¡°Your Highness!¡± she cried out in a panic while rushing to her master in haste.


    Nangong Du was already in a coma, so there was no way he could respond. Yan Ke and his disciples turned a blind eye to what was happening and continued to work on roasting the hare.


    Needless to say, Huali and Lingxiao were confused. From what Yan Ke said, they could tell there were a number of people hiding around. How come they only saw one person? Moreover, after probing around with their internal force, they could only sense one intruder¡¯s breaths.


    In case Yan Ke got annoyed again, after pondering for a while, they exchanged glances with each other and finally chose to remain silent. After all, the inability to perceive more intruders¡¯ breaths suggested that their skills were far from perfect!


    Even a layman in medicine could tell that Prince Mu was seriously ill, let alone Xingxi, who had a smattering of medical knowledge. Unfortunately, she only took some poison with her, so she could not find any medicine to cure her master for the moment.


    Watching the three medicinal experts eating leisurely in front of her, though she was burning with anxiety and feeling sorry for her master, Xingyi could do nothing. It was obvious that Yan Lingxiao would not lend a hand. She was clear that the Yan family would do nothing to help even if his master died! In spite of her grief and anger, clenching her teeth, Xingyi picked up some dry firewood and built a bonfire to warm Prince Mu up.

 Chapter 115

    At dusk, Yan Ke had asked his disciple, Luo Huali, to play a tune with a leaf, intending to hint some stubborn guy in Liu¡¯s house that he was determined to stay out of the valley. However, to his surprise, Prince Mu¡¯s maidservant, and a bunch of martial artists, whose cultivation base was not lower than his, came following the melody! Although Yan Ke looked calm, his mind was spinning fast.


    He had been living seclusion in the Valley of Fallen Blossom for years, but he was still as insightful as before. After thinking for a while, he had figured out something briefly. Liu Wuyi and his son posed no threat to anyone. And that damned princess went all the way from Linyang of the Wen Kingdom without a hitch, so it was unlikely that she had given away her whereabouts by getting into the mountains. Besides, if they were being followed on their way going up the mountains, he must have sensed. So, most likely, those people had come for Nangong Du!


    Could it be that simple?


    He gave Nangong Du and his maidservant a glance of false carelessness. From the girl¡¯s worried look, he could tell that she had not noticed that she was being followed.


    As Yan Ke expected, Xingyi knew nothing about this. She was confident about her own cultivation base, thinking that even if a bunch of guys were fighting her at the same time, they would not have the upper hand. Given the urgent situation, she had to come in haste to Mount Windward from Prince¡¯s Mu¡¯s fief, Muzhou, to find her master. However, to her great concern, Prince Mu was so sick that he was even unconscious! He had just recovered from the poisoning and was still very weak. How could he stand the cold wind?


    It was getting colder in the faint moonlight. Xingyi had a hard time feeding Prince Mu a sip of water and a little bit of food softened with water. Having no time to think about the presence of outsiders, she held Nangong Du, who was trembling with cold, in her arms tightly.


    Yan Ke was very disgusted with this. How could a maidservant hold her male master in her arms?! With a snort, he decided to kill Nangong Du with a borrowed sword! So what if he refused to give Nangong Du a hand and watched him get killed by someone else? He, Yan Ke, had never been a person who would return good for evil like a soft-hearted woman!


    When Xingyi was wiping the cold sweat from Prince Mu¡¯s forehead with her handkerchief, the stalkers got even closer.


    Seeing the fire burn about, she helped her master lean against the trunk of a tree carefully. When she rose to her feet and was about to get more dry wood, she suddenly felt something wrong!


    Yan Lingxiao and Luo Huali just sensed the killing intents around a little bit earlier than Xingyi did. Now they had known what Yan Ke mean by ¡°everyone¡±. There were indeed a lot of masked people in black hiding in the surroundings!


    Yan Ke blinked at his disciples, hinting them to stay out of other people¡¯s business. Unfortunately, Lingxiao and Huali failed to understand what he meant and as soon as they saw those people, they instinctively rushed over and soon were locked in a fierce fight.


    Reluctantly, Yan Ke joined the battle as well a moment later!


    When a poisonous flying dagger whizzed past his ear, Yan Ke realized that his deduction was not entirely correct. In the darkness, who had time to distinguish Nangong Du from others? Moreover, there was no way that those people could tell they were not Nangong Du¡¯s accomplices. Obviously, those men in black were determined to kill Prince Mu, and they would not spare the life of anyone with him!


    An hour later, the sound of fierce fighting died away in the pitch-dark, maze-like jungle.


    Liu Wuyi had set formation here to protect the grain he had grown. Obscured by thick, towering trees, it was dark in the woods even during the day. At night, it was pitch-dark even under some bare branches. Wild animals often died of thirst and starvation when they entered the formation by accident and became the main source of meat for the Lius.


    Lingxiao and Huali retreated into the formation as they fought. They had run for a long time in the dark before they finally got out of the chase! Picking their ears warily, they listened carefully to any sound around them. For the first time, they realized that they were only physicians who learned from the Medical Sage, not famous martial artists!


    At this point, Yan Ke, the Medical Sage and well-known martial artist, was fighting with two men in black, who were both on par with him. One could imagine how hard it would be to win!


    To their surprise, none of those people showed intent to attack their real target, Nangong Du, who was lying still under the tree!


    Perhaps it was because of the death of the bonfire, the dim moonlight, the poor eyesight of those men in black and the weak breathing of Nangong Du, nobody had even noticed his presence!


    Xingyi heaved a sigh of relief. She took out all the poison from her pocket and threw it at her enemies while wrapping her master with a piece of red silk and running away. Before getting into Mount Windward, she had first gone to Li¡¯s clinic in town, so she knew the existence of the formation in front of Liu¡¯s house.


    Zixiu, who was in the valley, had heard the sound of fighting, but he thought it was Lingxiao and Nangong Du fighting again!


    Liu Wuyi thought the same way. And now they were busy comforting Liuxu, who had just woken up. The Lius had their own domestic affairs to sort out!


    When she took the warm porridge bowl from Zixiu, the young woman started weeping again and her tears kept on falling into the bowl.


    Zixiu, who was standing by the bed with a tray in his hands, suddenly became restless. He could not bear to see a girl cry, especially when he knew that the princess was probably his sister! Apart from the period she lost consciousness, she had been crying ever since she stepped into the house! Her puffy and red eyes reminded Zixiu of Lin Daiyu (The heroine of the Chinese classic a Dream of Red Chamber, also known as The Story of the Stone, who is very sentimental and often weeps). She cried even more than Lin Daiyu!


    Zixiu scratched his head anxiously, without knowing what to do. After quite a while, he stammered a few words, trying to comfort Liuxu, but instead of stop crying, Liuxu felt even more grieved.


    Finally, Liu Wuyi, who did not want to say anything more, had to interrupt his son¡¯s words, which could not convey his meaning at all. ¡°Come on, have some porridge, or it will get cold!¡± he said gently.


    His words seemed to work! Holding back her tears, Liuxu took a few sips of the porridge chokingly.


    Seeing her trembling shoulders, Liu Wuyi could not bear to ask what she had been through. However, he would not allow himself to be kept in the dark all along. Now that Liuxu had come to him, he was certain that Wang Ning would show up soon. Therefore, he needed to make things clear so as to come up with countermeasures ASAP. As a girl was able to find him here alone without attracting attention from those lackeys of the royal families of both countries, Liuxu could not be vulnerable. Besides, Zixiu had already mentioned this topic just now. Thinking of this, Liu Wuyi threw all caution to the wind, and after Liuxu had finished her porridge and calmed down a little, he got to the point straight. ¡°What the hell happened?¡±


    ¡°Huh!?¡± Zixiu did not expect his dad to be so blunt, and he could not help but widened his eyes. Of course, he was eager to know how come that perverted woman had chosen him as the target of kidnapping, which made him suffer a lot!


    Liu Wuyi and his son stared at Liuxu, one with a heavy heart, and the other full of anticipation.


    Liuxu put down the bowl on the table, but instead of answering, she only covered her mouth with her hand while shaking her head. Obviously, there were things she did not want to bring up. After a while, tears shimmered in her beautiful eyes again.


    Seeing that, Zixiu felt both grieved and resentful. Needless to say, the princess must have suffered no less than he did! Once, he was bruised and hungry after being mistreated by Nangong Du in the latter¡¯s mansion, and if he had not clenched his teeth and cursed that asshole bitterly, he would not have been able to hold back his tears either! At the thought of this, even now he still felt sorry for himself! The princess was a girl, so it was no wonder she would cry after much suffering.


    Burning in rage, he was about to say something to comfort Liuxu again but was stopped by his dad with a gentle tug.


    As Liu Wuyi expected, Liuxu finally answered with her lips trembling, ¡°Dad, the empress of the Wen Kingdom, my mom, is forcing me to marry Prince Mu! I don¡¯t want to be Prince Mu¡¯s consort for the alliance between the two countries! I don¡¯t want to!¡±


    Getting more irritated, she suddenly loosened her grip on the quilt and grabbed Liu Wuyi by the sleeve. ¡°Dad, please don¡¯t drive me away! I want to live with you and my elder brother¡­¡±


    Elder brother? Zixiu¡¯s heart skipped a beat. He was Liuxu¡¯s brother, and Liuxu was the empress¡¯ daughter, so did that mean the express was his¡­ stepmother?


    ¡°You escaped from the imperial palace?¡± Disregarding the ambiguous inquiring look in his son¡¯s eyes, Liu Wuyi asked Liuxu calmly.


    The latter did not deny it.


    ¡°Then where¡¯s your baby¡¯s father?¡±


    ¡°My baby?¡± Liuxu shivered and lowered her head slowly. When she saw her own bulging belly, she suddenly turned pale and cried even more miserably.


    Realizing what might have happened to this girl, Liu Wuyi felt a twinge in his heart. People were morally bankrupt in this troubled world, and even Zixiu could not protect himself, let alone a weak girl like Liuxu!


    How shameless! Some people were utterly devoid of conscience! The furious father clenched his fists tightly.


    After a moment of silence, the girl gradually stopped weeping. Zixiu gently handed over the small handkerchief he had been taking with him to her. He felt very depressed. Such a thing must have hurt a girl a thousand times more than it hurt him! ¡®May all the perverts in the world die a violent death!¡¯ he cursed inwardly. He swore that he would tell Lingxiao and his senior brother to avenge Liuxu one day!


    Liuxu took the handkerchief with her shivering hands and wiped off her tears before she looked up at her elder brother with an aggrieved look. However, though the word had sprung to her lips, she failed to call him ¡°brother¡±.


    She stared at Zixiu in surprise. To be precise, she paid almost all her attention to Zixiu¡¯s big belly. ¡®Is he really my¡­ BROTHER?¡¯


    When Zixiu finally noticed that Liuxu was staring at him with a suspicious look, he awkwardly covered his belly with the tray in an instant. Ever since those outsiders entered the valley the night before, so many things had happened. With his mind in turmoil, he even forgot to cover his abnormal belly.

 Chapter 116

    On the other side.


    After all, the poison Xingyi had thrown out was not smoke bombs. When those men in black found out they were taken in, they quickened their pace in hunting them furiously.


    Even though she had met countless fierce enemies before, Xingyi was startled into a cold sweat. ¡®Those assassins must have been bewitched!¡¯ she thought. Having no time to check the wound on her arm, she clenched her teeth and grabbed Prince Mu¡¯s clothes tightly while rushing forward, in spite of the burning pain. She was just a servant, and it was not a big deal even if she died. But in any case, she must ensure her master¡¯s safety!


    Even though the wind was howling, she still could hear swords clashing behind her. Terrified, she felt the atmosphere around her in the darkness more eerie and terrifying, and the road ahead seemed endless.


    She thought Liu Wuyi must have set up the formation using the local materials. How come she did not even see a single tree after running for so long?


    Though she grew tense, Xingyi did not dare to slow down. She kept running desperately until the one she was holding tightly suddenly moved.


    As if she had seen a lamp suddenly lighted up in the darkness, the exhausted Xingyi was overjoyed and without giving it much thought, she cried out, ¡°Your Highness!¡±


    After a while, Nangong Du, who had just woken up, gradually came back to his senses. However, he was still very weak and his voice was hoarse. ¡°Xingyi?¡±


    Hearing her master¡¯s response, the loyal maidservant felt her heart skip a beat and she almost forgot to breathe. ¡®I was so stupid! Those people who were hunting us behind in darkness would know our whereabouts if they heard I call Prince Mu!¡¯


    Noticing Xingyi¡¯s nervousness, Nangong Du became alert. He managed to gather his internal force and immediately sensed the strong murderous aura around them, which made him grow tense in an instant. He remembered he had been with Yan Ke and his disciples on the way before he blacked out, so he instinctively thought that the Yans were going to kill him to avenge Liu Zixiu. But next, he denied his assumption. If the Yans wanted to get rid of him, they did not have to wait so long! Besides, there were more than three people behind them. Who could those people be? How come Xingyi suddenly showed up here¡­


    Because of his illness, the intelligent prince was not as quick-witted as usual. Hearing no more response from her master, Xingyi was more certain that she had revealed their whereabouts to the assassins by accident, so she tried even harder to get rid of the pursuers.


    After quite a while when he finally realized that Xingyi was just running around in a panic, Nangong Du gave the order decisively, ¡°Stop!¡±


    Xingyi was stupefied by this. But after hesitating for a short moment, she went on running. She had sensed an abnormal change in Prince Mu¡¯s temperature, so she only thought that her master said this because he was delirious with fever.


    In order to prove that he was still clear-headed, Nangong Du added, ¡°If you don¡¯t want to meet them, stop right away!¡±


    After realizing that his master was sober-minded, Xingyi stopped with butterflies in her stomach. To her surprise, as soon as she stopped, she touched the trunk of a tree! She widened her eyes, but before she could figure out what was going on, she suddenly saw a cluster of fire flickering before her eyes!


    Nangong Du had just lit a paper roll!


    ¡°Your Highness?¡± Again, she couldn¡¯t help but think that Prince Mu was delirious with fever!


    Without looking at her, Nangong Du took out a piece of paper from his pocket in the dim light of the burning paper roll. It was the formation map he had forced Liu Wuyi to draw the other day.


    ¡®Isn¡¯t Prince Mu worried that the assassins will follow the light and find us?¡¯ Xingyi wondered, full of doubt and worry.


    With a sneer, Nangong Du suddenly said, ¡°Someone from the imperial palace wants to kill me!¡±


    ¡°?¡± Xingyi froze on the spot. When she suddenly realized that Prince Mu had figured out why she hurried to Mount Windward, she couldn¡¯t help but widen her eyes again. How could Prince Mu know?


    Nangong Du looked at the formation map carefully with a calm look. A moment later, he said, ¡°Xingyi, you were too careless!¡±


    Knowing that her master was complaining that she had not noticed being followed, Xingyi felt very guilty. ¡°I should be blamed for that. Your Highness, please¡­¡±


    ¡°I should be blamed as well for my negligence!¡± Nangong Du interrupted Xingyi, showing no intent to blame her. ¡°Seems we have no choice but to put up a desperate fight!¡±


    ¡®A desperate fight?¡¯ Xingyi was stunned. ¡®Is Prince Mu going to confront the assassins head-on?


    Nangong Du had figured out what was on her mind. He waved the map in his hand and continued, ¡°It¡¯s inevitable to take risks, but not now!¡±


    As Xingyi expected, those assassins would follow the light to track them. However, in this dark jungle, unless both parties were walking on the correct path at the beginning, or even they had seen the light, those people could not get them. Even if the light was just around the corner, the distance between the two sides could not be surpassed. That was what was so great about the formation!


    Nangong Du also thought of this and that was why he was daring enough to expose his own whereabouts. With the help of the formation map, he could not only get out of danger without difficulty but also trap those assassins. Wouldn¡¯t it be nice to kill two birds with one stone?


    As the faint light was quite eye-catching in the darkness, at the same time, it also attracted the attention of the two defeated physicians who suddenly wised up! Though they did not remember the way into the valley because they had been so focused on Nangong Du, their Uncle Liu had personally instructed them how to get out of the valley!

 Chapter 117

    In Luanzhou of the Nan Kingdom¡­


    It was almost noon, but it was still very dark outside. The cold wind was blowing so hard that everyone felt their cheeks hurt as if they were being sliced by a knife!


    Without peddlers on both sides, the usually busy street was very quiet today. Even at the nearby streets, all the shops were closed, only leaving flags with black characters on white background flapping in the wind, which added an eerie touch to the already desolate atmosphere.


    How come the atmosphere was so eerie?


    Actually, citizens in Luanzhou were not grounded by the government and there were still many people gathered here.


    On a high platform and the empty space surrounding it, people were keeling, standing, or sitting, but none of them uttered a word! By convention, a group of prisoners would be executed after autumn!


    This high platform was the execution platform, people who were kneeling on it were criminals to be executed, those who were standing beside them were executioners, and the only one sitting here was Zeng Huazhou from the Ministry of Justice, who was overseeing the execution!


    Usually, there was no need for the minister to oversee the execution, and civilians would flock here to watch. Then why did Lord Zeng come here in person and civilians were all holed up in their homes? It was because these criminals were the ones who had poisoned Prince Mu! They were Peng Wancai, a rich businessman from Yuzhou and his guard, Peng Fugui, and people from the brothel, Land of Paradise¡ªthe procuress, Auntie Mei, the most famous prostitute, Yu Xiaoxiao, the maidservant, Chunhua, the middle-aged servant, Auntie Liu, and the guard, Li Gousheng!


    The cause of the incident was the affair between Peng Wancai and Prince Mu¡¯s mistress, Yu Xiaoxiao! Although the procuress, Auntie Mei, had known about it, she turned a blind eye to it because she had taken a bribe from Peng Wancai. However, they had never thought that Prince Mu would have caught them in the act of adultery! Knowing that Prince Mu would not spare them easily, Peng Wancai and Yu Xiaoxiao decided to get rid of him. Therefore, taking advantage of Prince Mu¡¯s drunkenness, the two, together with Chunhua, Auntie Liu, and Li Gousheng, put the poison into his wine!


    Although the murder of a prince over a prostitute sounded too ridiculous to be true, no one had ever doubted it. Because everyone knew that Prince Mu had a particular fondness for prostitutes and famous actresses and had even married some of them as his concubines! What¡¯s more, the case was personally investigated by the most well-known expert detective of the Nan Kingdom, Zhang Mingqi!


    The case had been tried for nearly half a year before it was settled and caused a lot of trouble. During this period of time, a lot of people had been arrested and interrogated by the government every day. For fear that they might accidentally be implicated, no one dared to come to watch on the execution. They could not afford to offend Prince Mu!


    Someone shouted, ¡°Time¡¯s up!¡±


    Zeng Huazhou immediately threw out a token for execution.


    Several executioners walked over and gulped down the three bowls of wine in front of them to build up their courage.


    ¡°It¡¯s snowing!¡± Under the execution stage, someone murmured in a low voice, which sounded unusually clear in the tense atmosphere.


    As it was not summer, Zeng Huazhou did not take it seriously. ([1] It¡¯s said that if it snows in June, there must be grievances.) When he was waiting for the executioners to finish their drink, he widened his puffy eyes, trying to get himself together. Because of this case, he had been living in fear for half a year, and now his pain was, at last, coming to an end¡­


    However, Lord Zeng seemed overly optimistic!


    Before the executioners could finish their third bowl of wine, people under the platform suddenly fell into chaos.


    ¡°Centipedes! There are centipedes! Ah¡ª¡± Many people shouted while running about.


    Centipedes? How could there be centipedes in this season?


    The minister immediately concluded that someone had broken into the execution ground and was about to rescue the condemned criminals. He roared calmly, ¡°Keep an eye on those on death row and don¡¯t let them escape!¡±


    Although those guards were afraid of being bitten by the centipedes, they were well trained and experienced in dealing with such emergencies. Regaining their composure soon, they moved in order and were ready to fight back.


    However, to his surprise, the intruders did not seem to have come for those prisoners.


    Feeling a chill on his neck, Lord Zeng was stupefied and dared not utter a single word.


    ¡°Move backward!¡± The masked man in black who was placing a blade against his neck roared at those guards angrily.


    Apparently, he had strong internal force. The execution ground returned to its silence in an instant, and only the sound of someone¡¯s teeth clashing as he trembled could be heard.


    Almost at the same time, the other men in black who had been fighting with the guards rushed to the prisoners in the blink of an eye.


    Seeing this, Lord Zeng was so anxious that he almost jumped up, but he did not dare to move at all. Now he suddenly realized how some officials had been dismissed from their posts! He had been working for the government for many years, but it seemed the credibility and prestige he had built over the years would be ruined today!


    However, if the emperor knew those prisoners on death row were taken away, the consequence could be serious! As this case was related to Prince Mu, though Lord Zeng was trembling with fear, he had to pluck up and negotiate with the man in black.


    However, before he could say anything, the man spoke first, ¡°Lord Zeng, I hope you¡¯re not offended!¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± The shivering minister was lost for a moment.


    Before he could figure out what was going on, the man in black suddenly grabbed him and took him out of the execution ground!


    ¡°Sure enough, it would be dangerous to come out to watch the execution!¡± some citizens who was peeping through the window of their houses said¡­

 Chapter 118

    The news that some people had broken into the execution ground and taken the prisoners away reached the emperor soon.


    At this point, the emperor, Nangong Ao, was playing chess with Xue Shili in the hall. Hearing the news, Xue Shili, who was holding a chess piece, shivered slightly. When he looked up and saw the look on the emperor¡¯s face remain calm, he put down the chess piece on the chessboard, showing no emotional fluctuation on his face.


    Nangong Ao did not seem to care about what had happened and he still fixed his gaze on the chessboard while asking Li Baojia, the associate minister of the Ministry of Justice who came to report, ¡°Where¡¯s Zeng Huazhou?¡±


    ¡°Lord Zeng was kidnapped and taken out of the city by the gangsters¡­¡± Li Baojia answered.


    However, before he could finish his words, Nangong Ao suddenly chimed in, ¡°Then they let go of him?¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± ¡®His Majesty had received the news before I came here?¡¯ Li Baojia wondered in surprise. He then nodded in a panic, ¡°Yes!¡±


    Nangong Ao did not flare up. He picked up a chess piece and placed it on the chessboard before he continued coldly, ¡°What¡¯s the crime of rescuing condemned prisoners from the execution ground? And what punishment does he deserve to have the condemned prisoners taken away from the execution ground? Let him decide what to do next!¡±


    ¡°Yes! Your Majesty, I¡¯m leaving!¡± With that, Li Baojia left in terror.


    As if nothing had happened, Nangong Ao and Xue Shili continued to play chess.


    After quite a while, after the maidservants had changed their tea and snacks, Nangong Ao suddenly gestured them to leave. Looking at Xue Shili, he asked, ¡°Lord Xue, who do you think is behind all this?¡±


    Without hesitation, Xue Shili put the chess piece into the chess box and rose to his feet in a panic. He then bowed to the emperor and answered, ¡°Your Majesty, I¡¯m not that smart and I don¡¯t dare to make wild guesses!¡±


    With a faint smile on his face, Nangong Ao beckoned him to straighten up. ¡°Calm down, Lord Xue! I¡­¡±


    He paused deliberately and tapped on the chessboard with his right index finger. Hearing the tapping in the dead silence, Xue Shili felt as if his heart were being hammered! A moment later, Nangong Ao continued, ¡°I won¡¯t let any of my subordinates die unjustly!¡±


    Xue Shili was clear about what he meant. He immediately knelt on the floor with a bang, almost tearful. He promised with a resolute look, ¡°Your Majesty, you¡¯re the wisest monarch in the world! I promise as long as I¡¯m still alive, I¡¯ll spare no effort in the performance of my duty!¡±


    ¡°Lord Xue, you may rise!¡± Though Nangong Ao was still smiling, the coldness flashing in his eyes could make anyone shudder!


    When Li Baojia rushed back to the Ministry of Justice in haste, Zeng Huazhou had just got over the shock. After decades of struggle in officialdom, he had finally attained his present position and glory. He was already over fifty, and he knew well that the consequences could be terrible, so after those kidnappers escaped from the city and set him free, though he was already scared out of his wits, in spite of the deep wound in his neck, instead of asking his subordinates to take him home to rest, he moaned and let them bring him to his office in a semi-conscious state.


    Lying on the bed in the backyard of the government office of the Ministry of Justice, where the officials would rest after lunch, though faint blood was still oozing from the thick gauze that the imperial physician had wrapped around his neck, Lord Zeng insisted on listening to Lord Li¡¯s paraphrasing of what the emperor had said. When he heard the sentence ¡°What punishment does he deserve to have the condemned prisoners taken away from the execution ground?¡± his eyes rolled upwards and his face became even paler.


    Lord Li was so frightened that he could not help but shiver. After taking a deep breath, he said, ¡°Lord Zeng, take care of yourself! Lord Zeng¡­ ¡±


    Thankfully, Lord Zeng did not pass out. He gradually regained his breath and started shivering as well. Running his fingers along his injured neck, he was filled with regret. As the saying goes ¡¯a single slip may cause lasting sorrow¡¯! If he had known that those condemned prisoners would have been rescued from the execution ground, he would not have offered to supervise the execution to claim credit! ¡®It¡¯s unfair!¡¯ though he complained inwardly, he had to admit that dealing with a case involving Prince Mu might be asking for trouble!


    ¡°Lord Zeng!¡± Lord Li did not complain as he did, and his brain was spinning fast. After a while, he suggested, ¡°Would you like to ask Lord Zhang, Zhang Mingqi, to come to discuss with you?¡±


    Zhang Mingqi? After pausing for a few seconds, Lord Zeng suddenly widened his puffy eyes and started pushing Lord Li, ¡°Go, go ask Lord Zhang, Zhang Mingqi to come! Hurry up! ¡±


    An hour later, the officer they had sent out came back. ¡°Lord Zhang is out for a visit!¡± he reported.


    ¡°Where did he go?¡± The two leaders of the Ministry of Justice were anxious. They did not have much time to waste.


    ¡°Qingzhou!¡± the officer replied.


    ¡°Qingzhou?¡± Lord Zeng looked at Lord Li but only saw the latter shake his head slightly. It seemed the officer of the Ministry of Justice did not have the right to inquire about what the governor of the city was doing in Qingzhou. At the thought of this, Lord Zeng asked him to leave.


    As soon as the officer left, Lord Ceng sighed anxiously. ¡°Heavens! What should I do?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Lord Zeng. The wanted posters were sent to the government offices in all provinces of our country. I believe we¡¯ll¡­¡±


    ¡°Wait!¡± Before Lord Li could finish his comforting words, Lord Zeng suddenly recalled the conversation he had with Lord Zhang a few months ago. Didn¡¯t Lord Zhang mention that Physician Ling, who had cured Prince Mu¡¯s illness, was from Qingzhou? Lord Zhang had always suspected that there was a connection between Princess Liuxu¡¯s assassination and Prince Mu¡¯s poisoning. Now that the assassin who tried to kill the princess had been put to death, and the criminals who poisoned Prince Mu had already confessed¡­ What did Lord Zhang go to Qingzhou for? Did he still want to investigate further?

 Chapter 119

    Zixiu had thought that he would never see that damned pervert again for the rest of his life, but to his surprise, he not only saw Nangong Du, but also saw that ugly shrew, Xingyi! This gave the ¡°pregnant¡± man an impulse to bite like a dog! With his hands on his hips, he glared at the man and the woman who had taken over his bed with a ferocious look, burning with anger!


    Zixiu was actually angry with himself! How come he was so softhearted? He had tried a few times, but knowing that if he did not lend a hand, that asshole and his damned maidservant would definitely die outside, he could not remain an onlooker. He always thought that he was a person who had a grudge against evil and was sure to take revenge on those who once bullied him, but how could he do such a foolish thing as to render good for evil?


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with me?¡± Zixiu began to mutter again, ¡°It¡¯s the subversion of human nature! It¡¯s totally out of character¡­¡±


    It went back to the night before. In their conversation with Liuxu, Zixiu learned that he was actually someone¡¯s elder brother, which made him very excited! As Liu Wuyi¡¯s ¡°single¡± child, he had always longed for a younger sister. Unfortunately, the first time they met, he struck his sister as sloppy and overstuffed! Zixiu did not sleep well at night. Tossing about in bed, he finally came up with an idea to change Liuxu¡¯s impression of him. The first step of his plan was to get up early and run for exercise every day. However, on the first day of his plan, it was ruined by two eye-catching ¡°corpses¡± in the snow! Damn it! If it weren¡¯t for the damn cold weather, he would have definitely turned a blind eye to what he saw!


    ¡°Get some clean water!¡± Liu Wuyi did not hear his son¡¯s ¡°self-remorse¡± at all, and he said without even looking up. He was treating the girl¡¯s wound in her arm from a toxic dart. Thick dark blood gushed from the wound as he cut away the black flesh infected with toxins around it bit by bit with a small sharp knife.


    He had not operated on anyone for thirteen years and he did not intend to save the girl at the beginning. However, when he found that the poison had entered her heart, but she was still breathing doggedly, he was shocked! The shadow in his heart that made him dare not to use the scalpel to save people again was suddenly dispelled by the indomitable vitality! As if he had suddenly wised up, he picked up his scalpel again.


    On the other hand, though Zixiu was still irritated, facing such a bloody scene, he still did dutifully what a ¡°nurse¡± should do.


    He fetched another basin of water soon.


    After a while, seeing that his dad was sweating, he wiped it off with a towel.


    He then got the tray, the tweezers, some cotton and medicinal powder, the bandage¡­


    As he was up to his neck in work, he suddenly discovered that his dad stopped what he was doing, holding the scalpel in midair!


    Zixiu looked at Xingyi¡¯s wound in confusion. The toxic dart had been taken out, but the wound had not been sewed or bandaged yet! When he looked at his dad¡¯s face again, Zixiu suddenly realized that something was wrong!


    Next, like his dad, Zixiu went stiff too. He knew himself well¡ªexcept for a few herbs, he knew nothing about medicine, so it seemed there was no way that he could help his dad to solve the problem.


    He suddenly began to regret that he had not stopped his dad from sending Yan Ke and his disciples away the day before. Now he had a mixed feeling in his heart. It would be great if the three physicians from the Valley of Fallen Blossoms were here! When he did not want to see them, they showed up! But when he needed them, they were gone! ¡®Xingyi¡¯s life is at stake. What should we do now? What to do¡­¡¯


    ¡°Ah!¡± When the ¡°temporary nurse¡± was scratching his head in anxiety, he suddenly came up with an idea! He clapped his hands excitedly. He remembered that his senior brother had been playing a tune outside of the valley to express his love the night before. Though he could not tell how Nangong Du and Xingyi had been injured, he thought Huali and Lingxiao must still be nearby!


    ¡°Wait!¡± Seeing that his son was about to rush out excitedly, Liu Wuyi immediately guessed what he was going to do. He cried out to stop him in a hurry.


    Astonished by his dad¡¯s stern shout, Zixiu froze on the spot. A few seconds later, he turned around nervously.


    Though Liu Wuyi grew tense, he managed to speak in a calm tone, ¡°Something must have happened outside! Moreover, they can¡¯t help me with this problem!¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Zixiu could not believe it, but he had to take the implication in his dad¡¯s words seriously. Could it be¡­


    Liu Wuyi lowered his head with a heavy heart. He had the same problem as thirteen years ago. ¡°She lost too much blood!¡±


    ¡®Huh?¡¯ Zixiu was spinning his mind fast. ¡®But¡­ is this a problem?¡¯ he wondered with a confused look and blurted out, ¡°Can¡¯t we give her a blood transfusion?¡±


    ¡°Blood transfusion?¡± Liu Wuyi stared at his son in astonishment. Why hadn¡¯t he ever thought of this?

 Chapter 120

    People could not survive without blood just like plants could not live without water. The loss of blood could be life-threatening! Usually, after a large amount of blood loss, one would take medicine or food to replenish it. But the blood transfusion¡­


    Liu Wuyi was sure that there was no information about ¡°blood transfusion¡± in the medical books and historical materials he had ever read.


    In other words, ¡°blood transfusion¡± was a completely new concept for him! At the critical moment when the life of the injured was on the line, could he really resort to this method, which he had never heard of?


    After a moment of rational analysis, he found his excitement and hope vanish. The huge psychological loss made him even more depressed and helpless.


    Next, the blood-stained small knife slipped out of his hand.


    He stared at the dazzling knife in a daze, feeling astonished, frightened and even heartbroken, as if it were not stabbing at the floor, but¡­ at a bloody little body!


    Memories suddenly flooded into his mind like a tsunami. He seemed to see a child lying alone in the grave quietly. The owner of the freezing little body would never call him¡­


    ¡°Dad?¡± Zixiu had called a few times, but heard no response from his dad, which made him grow tense in an instant. How come his dad could not even hold a scalpel! Could it be that even a blood transfusion¡­ would not save Xingyi?


    Hearing his son call him, Liu Wuyi finally came back to his senses. He suddenly realized how irresponsible he would be if he gave up halfway! Now that he had picked up the scalpel again, he must be held accountable. Having come up with the idea of a blood transfusion, there was no way they could know if they would succeed until they tried. If they did not do their best, how could they know that the injured had no hope of survival? Even the girl herself did not give up, he could not give up so easily!


    ¡°Dad¡­¡± After handing the small knife back to his dad, Zixiu was filled with unprecedented persistence. ¡°Is there really no other way?¡± he asked again.


    Liu Wuyi did not say anything, but he held the scalpel firmly and his hand was no longer trembling. He began to think about the possibility of blood transfusion.


    Seeing the hope of life, Zixiu reached out his right hand without hesitation. ¡°I can donate mine¡­¡±


    He suddenly checked his tongue halfway into his words. This impulsive young man finally realized that there were still many details to consider. At least, he should think about what if the blood types did not match.


    ¡°Blood type?¡± Liu Wuyi heard one more new phrase from his son. He had been full of doubts about his son¡¯s behavior, and now he was even more suspicious! However, he was in no mood to see into this for the moment. Now all he wanted to know was what ¡°blood type¡± was, and what it had to do with blood transfusion.


    Indulging in himself, Zixiu did not notice his dad¡¯s inquiring eyes. What if Xingyi¡¯s body rejected his blood? Nangong Du was running a fever, so he could not give blood. Liuxu was pregnant, so they could not ask her to donate blood. As his dad was performing the operation, needless to say, he could not be the blood donator¡­ Did they have any device to test blood type in their house?


    ¡°Blood type?¡± As if a streak of light flashed in his head, after pausing for a moment, he heaved a long sigh of relief. ¡°Oh! I remember my blood type is ¡®O¡¯, the universal blood group, so I can donate it to anyone!¡±


    ¡°O¡±? The universal blood group? Feeling that he did not have enough time to delve into any new terms, Liu Wuyi immediately asked his son the most critical question, ¡°How to transfuse blood?¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± Zixiu was puzzled by the question. What was his dad asking? How to transfuse blood?


    ¡°A blood transfusion¡­ is to draw blood from a person¡¯s body and transfer it into the injured¡¯s blood vessel¡­¡± he answered according to his own understanding. He had never suffered any injury that required a blood transfusion! Besides, as a physician, shouldn¡¯t his dad know better than him about blood transfusion?


    ¡°Draw the blood¡­ transfer it into¡­ blood vessel¡­¡± Disregarding the way the proposer, his son, looked at him as if he were a monster, Liu Wuyi began to mull over new knowledge, combining with what he had known.


    He then asked eagerly, ¡°Which tools can be used here?¡±


    ¡®What?¡¯ Zixiu was far more than confused. Actually, he was seriously shocked! ¡®OMG! Is this some kind of a joke? Or someone has just become a quack? How come dad does not even know what kind of tools can be used?¡¯


    ¡°Stop being in a trance!¡± Liu Wuyi, whose medical arts were questioned, looked serious. Of course, he was not joking. ¡°Let¡¯s focus on treating the injured!¡±


    Yes, saving the life of the injured was the most important thing at this point. They hadn¡¯t a moment to lose!


    Though he had not recovered from the shock yet, Zixiu realized that he was about to play an important role in the following process¡ªtechnical guidance!


    Having no time to think that much, Zixiu, who was almost a layman in surgery, rolled up his sleeve and threw himself into the life-saving rescue.

 Chapter 121

    Now Zixiu had a profound understanding of what it meant to make every possible effort!


    Though the toxin had entered her heart, Xingyi was still alive. Zixiu thought in addition to his dad¡¯s remarkable medical skills, it was also because Xingyi always used poison as a weapon and she was more resistant to it than ordinary people! As Xingyi had used poison to threaten him months ago, Zixiu was not surprised that she had such a strong tolerance to it!


    Zixiu also witnessed how to create conditions under difficult situations!


    He popped his eyes when he saw his dad use the hollow stem of the feather from a pheasant as a blood transfusion tube. It was incredible¡­ but it worked! Otherwise, there was no way that Xingyi could hold on till dusk!


    Of course, it was merely a coincidence that they had saved Xingyi by blood transfusion!


    He was not at all sure beforehand. But they made it! It was really a miracle!


    At the thought of the thrilling operation in the morning, Zixiu, who was carrying the thatch in the snow, couldn¡¯t help but let out a sigh. ¡°As long as you want, everything is possible!¡±


    At this moment, the snow had stopped and the setting sun was shining quietly on the wall. He looked up at his dad, who climbed up the roof to repair it as soon as he had finished the operation, and then at his pregnant sister, Liuxu, who was preparing dinner for the whole family, feeling both relieved and happy. It turned out that it was already a blessing to be free from sickness and disaster! Of course, if ¡°the sick man and the injured woman¡± lying in the room could recover and leave soon, that would be perfect!


    ¡°Brother, watch your step!¡± From time to time, Liuxu would pop her head out to have a look, and when she saw that her brother was losing his mind again, she immediately reminded him.


    Unlike the lazy, reckless Zixiu, who would make a mess of the house every time he did housework, Liuxu was a virtuous, diligent, and careful girl. When Zixiu and his dad were busy treating the injured, she not only prepared enough warm water for the operation but also got the lunch ready. Zixiu grew even more suspicious that his sister had been abused in the imperial palace. Otherwise, how could a princess know how to make a fire and cook?


    Before dark, the roof repair work was finally done!


    As soon as they walked into the room, they saw that a table of steaming food was ready. Zixiu was hungry and when he smelled the delicious food, his mouth began to water. In spite of the presence of his sister, he had left table manners behind and before his dad could even pick up his chopsticks, he had started chowing down.


    ¡°¡­¡± Liu Wuyi was rendered speechless. It seemed that the reason Zixiu always ate so little was not because of his poor appetite, but because of his dad¡¯s poor cooking skills!


    Liuxu only revealed a faint smile. As she had never been here before, she was a little shy and uneasy. As a sensitive girl, she could tell that her dad was a little alienated from her, though he did not show it.


    He had a calm nature and as an elder, Liu Wuyi could not get his way in front of Liuxu like his son. He needed time to accept his daughter who had suddenly come to him. To be frank, he was not happy about her appearance! It was not because he disliked Liuxu, but because he was irritated by what Liuxu¡¯s birth mother, Wang Ning, had done! He was reluctant to believe that Wang Ning was a selfish and merciless woman. What¡¯s more, he could not understand why Wang Ning had treated him like this. He needed time to accept what had happened seventeen years ago. To be precise, he needed time to calm down to face Wang Ning who had been separated from him for seventeen years!


    Therefore, though he was indeed very busy all day, he was also deliberately to avoid talking to Liuxu. Before he picked up the chopsticks and dug his food, he said nothing except for ¡°Let¡¯s start!¡±


    At first, nobody spoke and it was quiet in the room. After gobbling up half a bowl of rice, Zixiu put down his chopsticks, picked up the soup ladle, and was about to scoop up the soup when a muffled ¡°thump¡± suddenly came out from the bedroom.


    What happened?


    The curious, lively Zixiu rushed into the bedroom at an incredible speed. Holding the soup ladle, he couldn¡¯t help but laugh secretly. ¡®Ha-ha-ha! Another big show!¡¯


    A moment later, Liu Wuyi and Liuxu walked in as well. They saw that the pale girl was holding the edge of the bed and trying to stand up. Obviously, the ¡°thump¡± they heard just now was the sound of her falling off the bed.


    It would be against etiquette if men and women had physical contact! Seeing that her brother was still standing there, Liuxu thought he dared not to give a hand to the injured because of the etiquette, so she hurried to help Xingyi up carefully while asking her with concern, ¡°Concubine Xingyi, are you all right? Did you get hurt?¡±


    ¡°Pooo!¡± Zixiu almost laughed loudly. Fortunately, he covered his mouth in time and lowered his head, as if he were about to cough, but actually, he was laughing crazily in his mind, ¡®Ha-ha-ha! Concubine! Ha-ha¡­¡¯


    As she had sensed that Liu Zixiu was about to laugh, Xingyi¡¯s pale face suddenly turned livid. She was so annoyed that she almost lost her breath.  ¡°Cough¡­¡± she immediately coughed violently.


    However, Liuxu did not know that Xingyi was mad at Zixiu. At the thought that the condition of this ¡°Concubine¡± from Prince Mu¡¯s Mansion seemed to worsen after she fell heavily to the floor, she was more worried. She then pressed Xingyi gently against the bed. ¡°Madam, come on, go to bed to rest. The floor is very cold!¡±


    ¡°Cough¡­¡± The Sixth Concubine? Liu Zixiu! ¡°Cough¡­¡± The more furious Xingyi became, the more violent she coughed, and she could not even speak.


    Liuxu still did not see anything wrong. As it was so cold, while patting her back gently to help her regain her breath, she went on persuading the ¡°Sixth Concubine¡± not to stand on the floor for too long.


    Liu Wuyi had noticed his son¡¯s weirdness, but he did not take it seriously. He walked to the hall, poured a glass of water, and handed it to Liuxu. ¡°Give her some water.¡±


    Before Liuxu could pick it up, Xingyi suddenly grabbed the glass from Liu Wuyi and drank the water up in one gulp.


    She finally stopped coughing!


    However, now that the little bit of physical strength she had regained after the operation was almost exhausted, Xingyi was so weak that she nearly fell to the bed. She subconsciously grabbed the sleeve of the pregnant woman who looked very similar to Liu Zixiu and guessed she was probably the real Princess Liuxu!


    Though a number of questions popped into her mind, she was in no mood to think about them, and she just wanted to rest now. But as Prince Mu¡¯s maidservant and subordinate, she could not share the same bed with her master.


    ¡°Take me to another room!¡± With that, she closed her eyes feebly.


    ¡°¡­¡± With an awkward look, Zixiu hurried to help Liuxu. ¡®Well, this bitch is really conservative! Doesn¡¯t she have a crush on Nangong Du? Now that they are all patients, what¡¯s the big deal about sharing the same bed for one night?¡¯

 Chapter 122

    After helping Xingyi to the other bedroom and watching her lie down on the bed, the three of them came back to the hall.


    As the dishes were getting cold, Liuxu offered to take them to the kitchen and heat them up.


    Liu Wuyi sat down silently without stopping her.


    Instead of slacking off as usual, Zixiu lit up another oil lamp swiftly and was ready to follow his sister into the kitchen. How come he suddenly became so diligent? First, he wanted to change his sister¡¯s impression of him. What¡¯s more, he had noticed that his dad was kind of indifferent to Liuxu. Though he was certain that his dad must have his reason, he did not want his sister to feel wronged and upset. Therefore, he had been cautious all along, trying to cheer everyone up. He was a person who could not stand living in tense atmosphere. Now that his family was finally reunited, everyone was supposed to be cheerful and enjoy the time they were together!


    Thinking of the glory of labor, Zixiu couldn¡¯t help but grin. However, before he could even lift his foot, he suddenly saw his dad shoot him a glare!


    ¡°?¡± Looking blankly at the lamp in his hand that his dad seemed to particularly concern with, Zixiu thought Liu Wuyi was reminding him not to give his sister trouble. He then forced a smile and handed the oil lamp to Liuxu.


    He did not dare to protest, because his dad was up in arms about the house fire!  Liu Wuyi had been mad at his son before for accidentally burning clothes or curtains in their house, but this time he was much more furious than before. He even warned his son not to use fire anymore with a solemn expression, although this time, the fire was not caused by Zixiu¡¯s carelessness!


    Zixiu felt so wronged! However, he did not know that his dad had seen through his unscrupulous prank, and was about to lecture him again.


    As soon as Liuxu walked into the kitchen, Liu Wuyi¡¯s face sank. ¡°Do you think it¡¯s funny?¡± he asked, his tone had rarely been so stern.


    ¡°Funny?¡± Zixiu was still indulging in his own assumption, so he was a little confused when he heard this.


    Managing to hold back his rage, Liu Wuyi hinted, ¡°Is that girl really Nangong Du¡¯s concubine?¡±


    ¡°Nangong Du¡¯s concubine?¡± Now Zixiu had figured out what his dad was going to talk about. Though he knew that he was in the wrong, he still retorted, ¡°A personal maidservant and a concubine are almost the same!¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± For the first time, Liu Wuyi was seized with an impulse to slap his son. In a dilemma, he clenched his fists, but could not bear to beat Zixiu. After quite a while, he lowered his head and took a breath, trying to calm himself down, and then loosened his fists.


    When he looked up again, he remained grim. His son really pissed him off! ¡°Do you know that chastity is more important to girls than life?¡± he roared in a low voice.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it too exaggerated?¡± Zixiu blurted out without a second thought, ¡°Then Liuxu must have¡­¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­¡± Realizing that he had said something wrong, Zixiu hurriedly corrected himself, but still cynically, ¡°I¡¯m just making fun of her. It¡¯s no big deal! Xingyi is so psychologically strong that she will never¡­ ¡±


    ¡°Liu¡ªZi¡ªXiu!¡± His son was so mischievous that he had no sense of shame at all! Liu Wuyi was burning with fury again. Heavens! How did his son become like this?


    ¡°¡­¡± Hearing his dad call out his full name, Zixiu was aware that he was really annoyed. He swallowed hard nervously and shut his mouth in a panic. At the thought of the way his dad looked the day before when he lost his temper, Zixiu couldn¡¯t help but shiver.


    ¡°Go on!¡± Liu Wuyi, who was self-reflecting, seemed to suddenly think of something, which made him soften his tone again.


    As he could not tell if his dad meant what he said or he was just making angry remarks, Zixiu dared not to be too presumptuous. He thought he must have done something that might cause some chaste woman to commit suicide for defending her reputation, so he began to repent honestly, ¡°Dad, I was wrong! I was talking nonsense! Xingyi is not Nangong Du¡¯s sixth concubine at all and she is just Nangong¡¯s maidservant! I should be blamed for my slander and disrespect for her! I¡¯m ill-bred¡­ Er¡­ I mean I mustn¡¯t have made fun of her on this occasion, and it was against the feudal code of etiquette¡­¡±


    ¡°Wait!¡± When he heard the word ¡°feudal¡±, Liu Wuyi¡¯s anger was replaced by suspicion. The new medical breakthrough his son made today, the strange words his son blurted out from time to time, and the outrageous jokes his son made¡­ Everything suggested that Zixiu was different from ordinary people!


    Without noticing his dad¡¯s thoughtful look, Zixiu only thought he had used the wrong word, so he hurriedly shifted the topic. ¡°Dad, don¡¯t worry. I¡¯m going to apologize to Xingyi right now!¡±


    With that, he turned around instantly and rushed to Xingyi¡¯s room.


    ¡°Come back!¡± Liu Wuyi, who had regained his wits, grabbed his son by the collar from behind and yelled, ¡°How can a man get into a girl¡¯s bedroom without her permission?¡±


    ¡°¡­ I was wrong!¡± Apart from apologizing with his head lowered, Zixiu had no idea what to say. He did not think that much!


    ¡°That¡¯s all? You¡¯re only making a perfunctory effort! Men and women are forbidden to have physical contact! People will gossip even when they see a man and a woman share the same room! As that girl was not Nangong Du¡¯s consort, how could you let them share the same bed?!¡± At the mention of this, Liu Wuyi grew even angrier. In addition to his son¡¯s mischievousness, what irritated him so much was that he had suffered this before. Now his son not only plotted against other people in the same way but also showed no sign of regret at all! It was no wonder that he could not hold back his rage anymore.


    Burning with fury, Liu Wuyi raised his hand and slapped his son on the back heavily while scolding, ¡°Liu Zixiu! What the hell do you want? Even though you have lost your memory, you should at least know something about morality, right?! Is it funny to frame someone? Answer me!¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± Zixiu was completely stunned. His dad had never slapped him before!


    Seeing his son regain his daze, Liu Wuyi grew even more restless. He gave his son a few more punches, not out of anger, but out of grief. ¡°Liu Zixiu! How did you become like this? What the hell happened? Are you really¡­ ¡±


    ¡°Dad!¡± In the kitchen, Liuxu had heard some unusual noises a moment ago. frightened by her furious dad, she did not dare to come in to beg for mercy for Zixiu until now. ¡°Dad, stop! My brother already knew he was wrong! Don¡¯t beat him anymore! Dad!¡± she pleaded in a trembling voice.


    Hearing on Liuxu, Zixiu suddenly came back to his senses. However, instead of begging for mercy, he only stared at Liu Wuyi in a panic. ¡®Dad also sensed something wrong with me, didn¡¯t he?¡¯

 Chapter 123

    There was no more communication between the father and the son during the meal.


    After dinner, Liu Wuyi got into the room where the medicinal herbs were kept and did not come out again.


    Zixiu sat in the hall for a long time. He had to admit that he had gone too far having made fun of Xingyi like that. However, he had his own reason! At the moment of life and death, he had to push aside the secular etiquette! He said Xingyi was Nangong Du¡¯s concubine only to save time and avoid delaying the rescue. His dad was too merciless having slapped him only because of this! At the thought that his dad kept on punching him after giving him a slap, Zixiu felt even more grieved. He had no memories of the past, so he had no idea how much he had changed, let alone what had caused his change! From what his dad said, Zixiu could tell he had sensed something wrong with him. However, he felt that there was nothing wrong with himself, and it was the people around him and the world that had problems!


    He could not understand why clothes were designed so complicatedly! He honestly thought that giving birth to a child at the age of 16 was too early! He did not expect that such a thing as being betrothed to someone before birth, which could only be found in history books, would have happened to him (fortunately, it was just a misunderstanding)!  He had no concept of hierarchy! He ignored the imperial power and despised those damned princes who threw their weight about and had a bunch of consorts and concubines! He thought that ¡®men and women are forbidden to have physical contact¡¯ was just a remnant of feudal society! This was bullshit! He always felt that he had once raised a cat named Karupin¡­ Could it be that he felt this way because he was mentally ill and that was why his dad lived in seclusion with him in the mountains?


    ¡°Brother! Brother¡­¡± Seeing his elder brother suddenly hit the table with his head, Liuxu was terrified. ¡°Brother, don¡¯t act like this! Brother¡­¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± It was only then that he realized there was someone sitting beside him. Zixiu smiled awkwardly. He touched his aching forehead and said, trying to cover up his embarrassment, ¡°I¡¯m sleepy. It¡¯s getting late and you¡¯d better go to bed early!¡±


    ¡°Brother¡­¡± Liuxu was still worried, so she was reluctant to leave.


    Zixiu had to stand up. With a yawn, he continued with an apologetic look, ¡°Our house is small, so you have to share the same bed with Xingyi.¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter! I mean it!¡± Liuxu shook her head as if she was flattered.


    Actually, Zixiu was just being polite. Seeing that she showed no intent to leave, he had to say something more to assure her. ¡°Go to bed right now! I¡¯m fine! Trust me, dad will be alright as well!¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± Liuxu was still hesitating.


    It seemed she would not go to bed if he remained in the hall. Zixiu had to go to his own bedroom saying ¡°Good night!¡±


    As there were no more bedrooms in their house, in addition to asking Liuxu to share the same bed with Xingyi, Zixiu had to share the same kang with Nangong Du, who had been in a coma for a whole day. His dad was even more miserable! It seemed he had to spend the night with those medicinal herbs on the bench!


    ¡°Alas¡­¡± Zixiu heaved a long sigh. As he was depressed, he was in no mood to curse Nangong Du, and after taking off his robe, he blew the oil lamp out and slipped under the quilt.


    He had fed Nangong Du some medicine in the morning, so the patient¡¯s temperature had come back to normal. It was warm and comfortable under the quilt, but he had no drowsiness at all.


    Tossing about in bed for a long time, Zixiu still could not fall asleep.


    ¡°Alas¡­¡± He sighed again. Actually, he had no idea what he was sighing for. After pondering for quite a while, he found his mind blank!


    As it was overcast, no moonlight shone into the room, and even the white light from the heavy snow outside was also blocked by the thick curtain. Zixiu stared at the darkness without a blink. He wished he could shoot two beams of laser out of his eyes and pierce the darkness!


    ¡°What are you doing?¡±


    Hearing a hoarse voice suddenly ring from behind, Zixiu was startled and almost let out a scream. Fortunately, with his unusually sober mind, he immediately realized that it was Nangong Du who had woken up!


    Patting his chest, he managed to calm himself down while complaining as usual, ¡°You asshole! I was scared out of my wits by you! Do you know this could take years off my life?!¡±


    Nangong Du did not respond, as if he had not been fully awake.


    Zixiu kept nagging. He was not worried that Nangong Du would punch him. According to the diagnosis his dad gave, Nangong Du caught a cold soon after his serious illness and he hadn¡¯t had anything for a few days, so it would take him two or three days at least to recover! Needless to say, Zixiu was not picking a fight on purpose. As he could not fall asleep, he wanted to talk to someone.  Nangong Du was the one he had been with for the longest time except for his dad since he had lost his memory! Although the relationship between them was tense, perhaps Nangong Du could help him analyze his current situation?


    Thinking of this, he calmed down a little and shut his mouth obediently.


    However, after waiting for quite a while, he heard no response from Nangong Du, and his patience began to grow thin. He pulled the quilt while speaking crossly, ¡°Hey, say something!¡±


    ¡°¡­Water!¡± After a long time, the other party only replied with one word.


    Zixiu froze for a moment before he realized that Nangong Du was thirsty. ¡®I want to chat with him so that he can give me some advice, but instead of getting a single piece of advice, I have to serve him!¡¯ he thought resentfully.


    Zixiu couldn¡¯t help but complain again. However, while nagging, he still lit up the oil lamp, got out of the bed, and poured a glass of water for the patient.


    After finishing a glass of water, Nangong Du felt much better. When he saw it was Zixiu who was in front of him, he did not seem to be surprised. ¡°Where¡¯s Xingyi?¡± he asked.


    Humph! If he was not having an affair with Xingyi, how come he cared for her so much? Zixiu reflexively collected ¡°evidence¡± for his prank. ¡°Don¡¯t worry! She won¡¯t die!¡± he answered grumpily.


    Needless to say, Nangong Du had sensed the dissatisfaction in his words, but he had no strength to quarrel with Liu Zixiu at this moment. He handed the empty glass back to him and then slipped back under the quilt.


    Zixiu thought Nangong Du was putting on air, so he grabbed the quilt in haste and said, ¡°Don¡¯t sleep! I have something to talk to you!¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± It was the first time he had ever heard Liu Zixiu speak in such a serious tone, so Nangong Du couldn¡¯t help but look up in disbelief. Yes, the look on Liu Zixiu¡¯s face was quite solemn!


    Before Nangong Du could protest, Zixiu quickly put down the glass, went back to the bed, and blew the oil lamp out.


    Nangong Du was even more surprised. Was Liu Zixiu also delirious with fever?  ¡°What do you want¡­¡±


    Having figured out what Nangong Du was going to say, Zixiu came up with the words to respond soon. Rolling his eyes in the darkness, he went on speaking in a serious tone, ¡°I¡¯m not in the mood to play tricks with you!¡±


    Before Nangong Du could say a word, he got to the point straight. ¡°To be honest, what do you think of me?¡±

 Chapter 124

    ¡°Cough!¡± Nangong Du nearly choked on his own saliva. Was Liu Zixiu talking to him? Did Liu Zixiu still know who he was talking to? ¡°You¡¯re in no mood to play tricks?¡±


    ¡°Since you¡¯re the emperor¡¯s brother, you must have seen the world! Come on, don¡¯t pretend to be surprised! Just tell me the truth!¡± Zixiu pulled the quilt impatiently, not out of anger, but out of tension. He had always thought that caring about himself in other people¡¯s eyes was a sign of self-doubt, lack of confidence, and even self-denial! Therefore, he did not raise such a question to Nangong Du on impulse. Actually, he really started doubting himself! How could he, Liu Zixiu, a lively, cheerful charming young man accept the fact that he had mental problems?


    ¡°Don¡¯t try to set me up!¡± Nangong Du was still weak after being woken up, but his mind was much clearer. Though he was experienced, he could not figure out what Liu Zixiu wanted to do.


    It was no wonder that he could not see him through!


    ¡°I said I was not in the mood to play tricks with you! Don¡¯t you understand?  Dude, can you stop thinking of other people as vicious as you?¡± Feeling even more upset, Zixiu gave the quilt a few more tugs grumpily. It seemed he had made a mistake having asked Nangong Du for advice! There was much more to their relationship than tension. Actually, they hated each other as much as leaves hated caterpillars!


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say you didn¡¯t even know about yourself, let alone someone else?¡±  Nangong Du remained calm. He did not lose his temper, but only shot back with what Zixiu had said!


    Zixiu froze for a while before he remembered that this was what he had said the night before. He was so angry that he had an impulse to kick someone, ¡°Have I ever asked you to know me well? I want to know your impression of me! Your impression on me! Do you understand? Do you think I¡¯m any different from other people?¡±


    ¡°Bold and arrogant!¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± After a while, Zixiu realized that Nangong Du had already commented on him! But¡­


    ¡°What makes you think in this way? What have I done to make you think I¡¯m bold and arrogant?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you think so? Who do you think you are talking to now?¡±


    ¡°Nangong Du, are you insane? I¡¯m talking to¡­¡± When he suddenly remembered that he had a ¡°weird¡± tendency to despise the imperial power, Zixiu stopped roaring, but he still muttered disdainfully, ¡°Hum! What¡¯s the big deal about a prince!¡± Next, he resumed his usual tone. ¡°Go on!¡±


    Nangong Du showed nothing abnormal on his face when he spat out another word, ¡°Sinister!¡±


    ¡°What?!¡± Zixiu¡¯s face darkened again.


    Nangong Du argued with an example calmly, ¡°Dare you swear that you didn¡¯t complain secretly just now?¡±


    ¡°Complain secretly?¡± Zixiu¡¯s brain was spinning fast. ¡°Seems you have gone deaf before you got old! I never talk behind others¡¯ backs! Why should I complain secretly? I was denouncing you and criticizing you openly to your face¡­¡±


    ¡°Unreasonable!¡± Before Zixiu could finish his retort, Nangong Du had given another comment.


    ¡°I¡­¡± ¡®Fine! You win, you asshole!¡¯


    Zixiu knew he had no strong case to argue, but he did not want to lose verbally, so he said with a generous look, ¡°For the sake that you¡¯re a patient, I won¡¯t argue with you! Go on¡­¡±


    ¡°Wait!¡± When he finally realized that something was wrong, he grew even angrier. ¡°Nangong Du, you have been dishing the dirt on me! Don¡¯t I have any merit?¡±


    After a moment of silence, Nangong Du came up with some of Zixiu¡¯s advantages. ¡°You¡¯re soft-hearted! You don¡¯t bear grudges! You intend to stoop to compromise! You have a sharp tongue¡­¡±


    ¡°Wait! Are you talking about my merits?!¡±


    ¡°Different people have different opinions! Liu Zixiu, what the hell do you want to know?¡± Nangong Du¡¯s patience got worn out finally, but he still did not lose his temper. ¡°I¡¯m tired. Can we talk tomorrow?¡± He was not lying, and he really sounded very tired.


    As Nangong Du had never been so ¡°gentle¡±, Zixiu felt ashamed to yell at him again. Sensing that he had strayed from the topic, he unconsciously tugged the quilt one more time. After a while, he continued in a low voice, ¡°Nangong Du, I really don¡¯t want to have any conflicts with you. We have fought so many times. As the saying goes, ¡®the strongest enemy is also the best friend¡­¡¯¡±


    ¡°Come on, get to the point!¡±


    ¡°Well, I want to know what you think of me! Do you think I¡¯m¡­ kind of special? Zixiu felt it was hard to describe himself with such words as ¡°odd¡± or ¡°insane¡±, so he chose a euphemistic way to express what he meant.


    However, the meaning of ¡°special¡± seemed to be a little ambiguous¡­


    Nangong Du was a little surprised, but from Liu Zixiu¡¯s abnormal behavior, he could tell something must have happened to him. After pondering for a moment, he asked, ¡°Why did you suddenly ask that?¡±


    Needless to say, Zixiu did not want to reveal that he suspected he was mentally ill, so he put on a smile, feigning his composure. ¡°Nothing special. I had some trouble with my family last night. You know, I have no friends, so¡­¡±


    ¡°Are you trying to have a heart-to-heart with me?¡± Nangong Du looked at him in astonishment! He had never thought that Liu Zixiu¡¯s way of thinking was so different from others! It was¡­ unbelievable!


    He then blurted out, ¡°You¡¯re far more than special. Your behavior is just beyond comprehension!¡±

 Chapter 125

    Nangong Du seemed to have been infected by Zixiu¡¯s oddness. Hearing no response from the latter after waiting for a long time, he couldn¡¯t help but say the same thing as Zixiu had said, ¡°Hey, say something!¡±


    ¡°¡­ What to say?¡± Zixiu asked back after a while and tugged at the quilt again, obviously absent-minded.


    Nangong Du finally lost his temper. ¡°Are you trying to freeze me to death?¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°Why do you keep tugging at the quilt?¡±


    ¡°Oh!¡± When Zixiu realized what Nangong Du was complaining about, he suddenly found himself pulling almost the entire quilt over. He then slowly pushed part of the quilt back to Nangong Du, without complaining or yelling.


    ¡°Are you feeling upset because of what I said?¡± As soon as he pulled back the quilt, Nangong Du could not help but ask curiously. He found that he was getting more interested in Liu Zixiu. Even a heartless person like Liu Zixiu would feel depressed?


    Of course!


    Zixiu was not someone who could not take criticism. As what Nangong Du had just said confirmed his own suspicions, Zixiu was in low spirits for his ¡°mental disease¡±. ¡°Alas¡­¡±


    ¡®What¡¯s the big deal?¡¯ Nangong Du could not understand why Zixiu was so upset. Liu Zixiu was once infuriated and almost picked a fight to the death with him only because he called him ¡°a good-for-nothing¡±, and now he was in a slump and kept sighing only because he said his behavior was beyond comprehension! How come he was so sentimental? Besides, he did not mean to belittle him by ¡°beyond comprehension¡±!


    ¡°Nangong Du, have you ever seen anyone with amnesia?¡± Zixiu couldn¡¯t help but probe.


    ¡°Amnesia?¡± Nangong Du was confused.


    ¡°There are so many people in Luanzhou. Have you ever met anyone who doesn¡¯t remember his past?¡±


    ¡°Someone who doesn¡¯t remember his past¡­¡± Before he could dwell on what Liu Zixiu said, Nangong Du suddenly felt a twinge in his heart. His playful mood disappeared, and for no reason, he suddenly grew tense. ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°I had an accident three years ago. Since then I forgot everything about the past, and even forgot who I am!¡±


    ¡°So what?¡±


    ¡°Do you remember I told you that my name was Mark Lira, I was twenty years old, and my favorite cartoon was ¡®The Prince of Tennis¡¯?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Actually, I was not lying! I didn¡¯t even know what I was talking about!¡±  Thinking of what had happened that day, Zixiu touched his neck with lingering fear. ¡°I hope you won¡¯t feel offended about what I¡¯m going to say. I¡¯m just telling the truth, and I¡¯m not trying to go against you or find faults with you! You were really¡­ Wait a minute! Given the suffocating atmosphere back then, the word ¡®aggressive¡¯ is not enough to describe you! You were very¡­ ferocious! Yes, very ferocious! You stared at me with killing intent in your eyes and grabbed me by the neck as if a hawk grabbing a chicken with its claws! I felt you were going to kill me at any time, so I started talking nonsense¡­ Actually, that was not nonsense. I just blurted out what was on my mind instinctively when my life was on the line! Do you understand what I mean?¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± Although Zixiu had said that he did not mean to go against him,  Nangong Du still felt a little displeased when he was accused of violence, but instead of hitting the ceiling, he just listened to Zixiu go on.


    ¡°My dad said my constant delirium was a hangover from falling into the water!¡±


    ¡°Falling into the water?¡±


    ¡°Hey, didn¡¯t I just say that? It was the accident three years ago!¡± Seeing that Nangong Du showed no intent to lose his temper, Zixiu breathed a sigh of relief before he continued, ¡°At first, I also thought my dad¡¯s words were reasonable. Because two years ago, I only said something by accident that he couldn¡¯t understand! But since last time I went down the mountain and encountered a lot of people, after so many things happened to me, I found not only my words didn¡¯t make sense to others, but also my thoughts and behavior were out of line with others!¡±


    It seemed Liu Zixiu had an accurate sense of himself! Nangong Du asked in an encouraging tone, ¡°And then?¡±


    ¡°Then I accidentally pissed my dad off today!¡±


    ¡°?!¡± Nangong Du was a little shocked.


    Zixiu explained, ¡°My dad was mad at me! But I didn¡¯t mean to offend him! He was so furious that he even slapped me! He had never beaten me before! He even asked me¡­ ¡®How did you come to be like this?¡¯¡±


    ¡°How did you come to be like this?¡± After thinking for a moment, Nangong Du asked with a frown, ¡°So your dad thought you had changed a lot?¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡±


    ¡°So you asked me if I had ever seen someone who couldn¡¯t remember his past because you wanted to know if the temperament of those who had lost their memories would change dramatically?¡±


    ¡°Well¡­ Kind of!¡± Zixiu nodded, trying to comfort himself. Actually, he felt ¡°dramatic change in his temperament¡± was not enough to describe his problem.


    However, to his disappointment, what the ¡°useful¡± clue that Nangong Du provided was, ¡°You mustn¡¯t have asked me this question!¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you ask your dad?¡± Nangong Du was suddenly seized with a burst of impatience. ¡°Your dad, Liu Wuyi, used to be known as the ¡®King of Medicine¡¯. Don¡¯t you know or can¡¯t you remember?¡±


    ¡°The King of Medicine?¡± Zixiu reflexively remembered that his dad did not even know how to transfuse blood for the patient in the morning! However, the title ¡°King of Medicine¡± sounded so familiar! He seemed to have heard of it before.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you have any other doubts?¡± Nangong Du suddenly asked again.


    ¡°Other doubts?¡± Zixiu thought he had figured out what he was worried about, so he instantly grew tense. ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s not that your temperament has changed dramatically, but¡­¡± Nangong Du suddenly paused. The idea that had been on his mind for a long time suddenly became uncertain.


    Just as he was hesitating, a muffled sound suddenly rang outside.


    Though the sound was not very loud, Zixiu still slipped under the quilt instantly. He thought it was thundering!


    ¡°Calm down! It¡¯s a signal flare!¡± Nangong Du reacted quickly and pulled Zixiu out of the quilt. ¡°Go find your dad right away. We may be in trouble!¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± After a moment of daze, Zixiu asked, ¡°Are you being hunted down?¡±


    ¡°How do you know?¡±


    ¡°Really? I guessed!¡± Zixiu did not want to be killed even without knowing what had happened.


    ¡°Have I ever lied to you?¡±


    ¡°Damn it! Why didn¡¯t you say it earlier?¡± Letting out a scream, Zixiu rushed out of the door, without even putting on his robe!

 Chapter 126

    A minute later, Zixiu ran back in a panic, panting. ¡°My dad is gone!¡±


    ¡°Huh? Have you looked all over the house?¡± Nangong Du was still lying in bed calmly as if nothing had happened.


    Zixiu flared up in an instant. He rushed to the bed and lifted the quilt while yelling, ¡°Why are you still sleeping? It¡¯s all your fault! My dad must have been abducted as a meat coupon(In Chinese, ¡®meat coupon¡¯ is an informal synonym for ¡®hostage¡¯.)! ¡±


    ¡°A meat coupon?¡± Nangong Du looked at him blankly. ¡°What does it mean?¡±


    Zixiu was so anxious that he almost jumped up. He was in no mood to explain to Nangong Du, and he even forgot how aggressive this prince was.¡±Get up! I¡¯m not going to go easy on you if something happens to my dad! Get up! Get¡­ ¡± he shouted while trying to pull Nangong Du out of the bed.


    ¡°What are you doing?!¡± Infuriated, Nangong Du roared in a low voice with a sullen look.


    Zixiu¡¯s heart shuddered and he immediately fell silent.


    ¡°Get your hand off me!¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± Zixiu loosened his grip obediently.


    ¡°Your dad¡¯s formation isn¡¯t so easy to break! The signal flare only means those people are still trapped in the formation!¡±


    ¡°Really? How did you know?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s simple! It¡¯s unnecessary to send flares for help when dealing with a couple of people who were either sick or old or injured!¡± Nangong Du was tired of satirizing Zixiu for his slowness. He guessed that the ¡°meat coupon¡± Liu Zixiu said must be ¡°hostage¡±. Really¡­ how could this guy come up with such a completely impossible thing?  ¡°Now your dad is the most capable one among the five of us. What¡¯s the point they take him away and leave us here? For fun?¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­¡± Needless to say, Zixiu was not na?ve enough to think that those people would kidnap his dad for fun. However, a bunch of killers who had come for Nangong Du were hiding near his house and sending signal flares at midnight. Moreover, his dad was missing! It was no wonder that he was so anxious.


    ¡°Have you searched every corner of your house?¡± Nangong Du repeated. Actually, though he looked calm, he felt restless about Liu Wuyi¡¯s sudden missing as well.


    ¡°Yes!¡± Zixiu lowered his head with a worried look.


    The next second, he suddenly grew irritable, ¡°My house is not so big. If my dad is here, there¡¯s no way that I can¡¯t find him!¡±


    Nangong Du still looked calm. ¡°Are there any new footprints in the snow outside?¡± he asked.


    Hearing that, Zixiu rushed out of the room in the blink of an eye.


    A minute later, he ran back again, panting. ¡°No! All the footprints outside were left by me when I went back and forth between the woodshed and the kitchen during the day!¡±


    With his eyes half-closed, Nangong Du poked his brows with his fingers. After a while, he continued, ¡°Your dad is very skillful in Qing Kung.¡±


    His voice sounded so calm that Zixiu could not tell whether he was affirming or inquiring. As it was related to his dad¡¯s life and death, he had to keep as low-profile as possible. ¡°My dad said that was just a small trick!¡±


    A small trick? Nangong Du sneered, thinking of Liu Wuyi and his son escaping from under his nose that night. It turned out that Liu Wuyi had played this small trick more than once!


    Maybe because he was too worried, Zixiu did notice Nangong Du was sneering maliciously at all. He asked anxiously, ¡°What are you laughing at?¡±


    Of course, Nangong Du would not answer this question. He withdrew his hands under the quilt and said, ¡°Your dad doesn¡¯t want to expose his whereabouts!¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Go ask your dad!¡±


    After a while, hearing no response from Zixiu, Nangong Du grew impatient. ¡°If you don¡¯t trust me, just go outside and look for him! Why are you still standing there?¡±


    ¡°Nothing will happen to my dad, right?¡± After pondering for a while, Zixiu thought Nangong Du¡¯s speculation was reasonable, but he still could not relax. ¡°Those people won¡¯t kill the innocent, right? My dad has never offended them!¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± Nangong Du did not want to waste his time explaining anymore.


    Without noticing his impatience, Zixiu kept nagging until Nangong Du suddenly sat up and blew out the oil lamp because he could no longer stand his drowsiness.


    The sudden blackness around him made Zixiu forget what to say. He blurted out, ¡°Gosh! The power is off!¡±


    ¡°Zip it!¡± Nangong Du patted the bedside table hard. Liu Zixiu did not even see him get up. ¡®What a blind idiot! Wait¡­ Power is off?¡¯


    ¡°Why did you blow out the oil lamp?¡± Zixiu finally came back to his senses, but he was in no mood to think about what he had blurted out. While blaming Nangong Du, he fumbled in the darkness and was about to light up the oil lamp again. ¡°Those people are just around! How come you¡¯re still sleeping?! I don¡¯t want to die with you¡­ ¡±


    ¡°Why are you still nagging at this late hour?¡± Tired and sleepy, Nangong Du became more irritable. ¡°If you dare to nag next time, I¡¯m going to kill you!¡±


    ¡°Am I nagging?¡± He just wanted to find someone to pour out his troubles, but this asshole was complaining about his nagging! At the thought of this, Zixiu was burning with fury. ¡°Nangong Du, how could you blame me! You wanted to  pry into my privacy and kept asking me to tell you more, but now you¡¯re blaming me!¡±


    ¡°I asked you to go on, and then you went on? Since when have you become an ass kisser!¡±


    ¡°An ass kisser?! You¡­ ¡°Nangong Du! You have slept for a whole day! Are you a pig?¡±


    ¡°Liu Zixiu! How dare you curse me?¡±


    ¡°So what?¡± Zixiu shot back angrily and even forgot that he was in the darkness. Unfortunately, when he was holding his head high and challenging Nangong Du, he bumped against the edge of the kang and fell onto it. To be precise, it was his big belly that pressed against Nangong Du!


    ¡°You little brat, you want to pick a fight?¡± Nangong Du was so annoyed that he pulled Zixiu onto the kang and pinned him under his body.


    Needless to say, Zixiu¡¯s big belly could not bear the weight. He struggled hard while shouting, ¡°Let go of me! My belly is going to explode! Hurry up, you damned pervert!¡±


    ¡°Pervert?¡± Nangong Du¡¯s voice suddenly turned cold.


    Even in the darkness, Zixiu seemed to have seen the icy look in his eyes. He was so frightened that he stopped shouting and changed his attitude in an instant. ¡°Nangong Du, I¡¯m really uncomfortable. Let go of me¡­ I didn¡¯t mean to fight or argue with you. I was just too worried about my dad¡­ I promise I won¡¯t disturb your sleep anymore! Please let go of me!¡±


    To Zixiu¡¯s surprise, what he said worked! It seemed that Nangong Du was really sleepy and he almost fell asleep on him! But Zixiu did not know that Liu Wuyi had added some sedative to Nangong Du¡¯s decoction.


    So, when Nangong Du ¡°kindly¡± got off him and lay close to him, Zixiu kept his word and did not move or make a sound anymore!

 Chapter 127

    Zixiu could not find a loophole in Nangong Du¡¯s deduction for the moment. Besides, the latter looked both calm and confident. Therefore, he felt a little relieved. As he had acted not only as a blood donor but also as a technical instructor in the morning, got a good beating after moving the thatch all afternoon, and quarreled with Nangong Du for a long time at night, he was exhausted. Though he was still a little worried about his dad, he felt so sleepy that he fell asleep soon.


    After some time, he was awakened by a rustling sound.


    Startled, Zixiu subconsciously wanted to open his eyes to see what was going on. However, because of the drowsiness, he had not fully recovered his consciousness yet. After wrestling with himself for quite a while, he barely opened an eye.


    Though his mind was not very clear from sleep, from the dim light in the room, he could tell it was still dark outside! So, he fell asleep again, completely forgetting what he had opened his eye for.


    ¡®How come Liu Zixiu is so unwary?¡¯ Nangong Du thought helplessly. However, this didn¡¯t affect him, and instead, this encouraged his arrogant attitude when he looked with an innocent look at Liu Wuyi who was standing at the door. Again, Liu Wuyi witnessed that his son was clinging to Nangong Du in bed!


    ¡°Wake up, Zixiu!¡± Nangong Du went on acting. To look more real and not to provoke Liu Wuyi, he did not address Zixiu as ¡°darling¡± in front of his ¡°father-in-law¡±. ¡°Wake up, Zixiu, your dad is back! Wake up!¡±


    ¡°Huh? Um¡­¡± Half-awake, Zixiu turned his head unconsciously, muttered a few words, and became motionless again.


    After waiting for a moment, Nangong Du heard no response from Liu Wuyi, so he reached out and gently pushed the one who had his head on his shoulder and was going to sleep again. To be honest, although he had a few consorts, male concubines, and was a frequent visitor to the brothel, he rarely slept with others. To be more precise, he hated having physical contact with others! He used to be on the same bed with Liu Zixiu, which was what the situation needed. Besides, as each of them was under their own quilt, it was tolerable for him. However, the night before, he could not remember when Liu Zixiu had stuck to his shoulder.  Of course, what he hated more was that he had to wake him up like a servant!  And the most annoying thing was that Liu Zixiu was drooling!


    Beyond endurance, this arrogant prince secretly kicked Zixiu under the quilt while pushing him.


    ¡°Ah!!¡± Feeling the pain, Zixiu let out a scream and finally woke up. He was in the habit of sleeping in, so he was always a little annoyed whenever he was forced to get up early. Got kicked, he lost his temper and started yelling.


    ¡°Who¡­ cough¡­¡± As soon as he opened his mouth, he choked on his own saliva.


    ¡°Disgusting!¡± Nangong Du spat the word with disdain.


    Hearing that, Zixiu suddenly stopped coughing. He looked up, blinking his sleepy eyes, and gradually focused his attention on the person in front of him. It was Nangong Du who was hurling abuse at him!


    The next second, he turned his head and was about to bite Nangong Du, aiming at his shoulder, but at the thought of how aggressive this pervert was, he changed his mind. He moved his mouth closer and deliberately stained Nangong Du¡¯s clothes with his saliva while muttering, ¡°How dare you frown upon me like that? Damn it! You asshole, how dare you say I¡¯m disgusting¡­¡°


    Given the fact that Zixiu was making a crazy ¡°attack¡± on him with his mouth, it would be easy for this crafty prince to confuse Liu Wuyi by trying to turn black and white upside down. However, feeling like he was drowning in someone¡¯s saliva, he stopped acting. With a sullen look, he tried to push away the ¡°lunatic¡± who was hanging on his shoulder.


    Unlike him, Zixiu was not sick, and after a night¡¯s rest, he was very energetic at this moment, so there was no way that Nangong Du could get rid of him easily. Holding his arm tightly, Zixiu complained while rubbing his mouth against his clothes, ¡°You damned pervert! You made me so sick that I even threw up when I was in your mansion! Why didn¡¯t you think I was disgusting back then?¡±


    ¡°Cough! Cough!¡± Liu Wuyi wanted to watch the show while packing up, but as he felt ashamed to see his son become narcissistic again, he interrupted Zixiu in a hurry. ¡°Zixiu, get up and pack up your things. Go down the mountain with me!¡±


    ¡°Go down the mountain?!¡± Only then did Zixiu realize his dad was back!


    The reason for going down the mountain was very simple. Liu Wuyi briefly explained it to Zixiu. When he saw Nangong Du and Xingyi in their house the day before, he knew that those killers would get into the Cirrus Valley sooner or later. As he did not want to just await the doom, he decided to leave before those people found them.


    ¡°But dad, there are so many of us. How can we escape?¡± Zixiu asked while packing up. He couldn¡¯t wait to know what his dad had sneaked out for the night before. He was certain his dad must have known that there might be an ambush all over Mount Windward.


    ¡°I have arranged for everything. Just follow me!¡± Liu Wuyi was busy packing the quilts and bedsheets, so he had no time to explain in detail.


    Zixiu was confused. ¡°Are you going to take the quilts with us?¡±


    Liu Wuyi did not reply. Just then, Liuxu came in with a broom in her hand. ¡°Dad, it¡¯s all done!¡± she said.


    ¡°Good!¡± With a nod, Liu Wuyi took the broom and said to the two of them, ¡°Move all your quilts and bedsheets to the cellar!¡±


    ¡°The cellar?¡± Zixiu and Liuxu grew even more confused. Didn¡¯t their dad say they were going down the mountain? Why didn¡¯t he lead them away asap, but asked them to move these things to the cellar?


    Of course, despite their doubts, they did as their dad told them.


    When they came back from the cellar, they were stunned.


    ¡°Dad, what¡­ What are you¡­¡± Zixiu was so shocked that he could not find a word to describe it. The room was very clean a few minutes ago, but now it was full of dust, and the roof and windows were even covered with spiderweb, which reminded him of the scene he saw when he had just returned home months ago!  However, it didn¡¯t seem necessary to confuse the enemy with so much effort!


    ¡°I did this for your Uncle Yan. They will definitely come back, but I can¡¯t wait for them here!¡± After explaining briefly, Liu Wuyi picked up the bags that lay in the doorway, and gave the order, ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡±

 Chapter 128

    As Zixiu guessed, his dad led them to the cliff.


    Silence reigned in the snow-covered mountains. Zixiu recalled the thrilling moment when his dad had climbed on the cliff with him on his back months ago. As if his agitation had come back, he could not help but tremble all over. Actually, he was trembling out of fear and panic! ¡®OMG! Does dad want me to help the sick, the wounded, and the weak climb down the cliff?¡¯


    This was what Liu Wuyi meant. He clearly remembered that he had reminded his son a few months ago, but judging from Zixiu¡¯s cowardly appearance, he could tell that he had forgotten what he said!


    With a frown, Liu Wuyi walked to a wryneck tree by the cliff, grabbed a handful of dead leaves from the ground which had not covered by the snow, and threw them off the cliff. He then turned around and reminded his son, ¡°If you want to leave the valley, you¡¯ll have to be strong enough! Zixiu, do you still remember what I told you?¡±


    ¡°Huh? Er¡­¡± Zixiu wanted to pretend that he did not understand what his dad said, but his pale face betrayed his fright. It seemed his dad was determined to let him get out of here on his own merits!


    ¡°Dad, I¡­ Er¡­¡± Seeing his dad¡¯s serious look, Zixiu was even more frightened. He moved behind his sister with his trembling legs and kept shaking his head. ¡°No! Dad, I¡­ Er¡­ Liuxu doesn¡¯t know how to use Qing Kung!¡±


    Liuxu? Liu Wuyi couldn¡¯t help but frown again. How could his son use others as a shield at this critical moment? What a good-for-nothing!


    He dragged his son to the edge of the cliff and said, ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about Liuxu. I¡¯ll take her away! But the three of you have to climb off the cliff on your own!¡± With that, he shifted his gaze to Nangong Du and Xingyi.¡±Prince Mu, that¡¯s all I can do. It¡¯s up to God if you can keep yourselves out of danger!¡±


    Nangong Du was surprised when he saw the cliff¡ªit turned out that the Cirrus Valley had another hidden passageway to the outside world! It was no wonder that he could not find Liu Zixiu after getting into the mountains! Hearing Liu Wuyi¡¯s words, he came back to his senses and immediately expressed his gratitude for Liu Wuyi¡¯s repeated help. ¡°Mr. Liu, I¡¯m very grateful for your help!¡±


    Liu Wuyi did not care about this, and he had no time to stand on ceremony with Nangong Du for the moment. Next, he tugged at his son, who was backing away, with one hand, and pulled off two hemp ropes from the wryneck tree with the other.


    Seeing the stout ropes, Zixiu gradually stopped trembling. He had thought that his dad was going to ask him to climb off the cliff with his bare hands! It turned out that he had prepared the ropes beforehand!


    Seeing that his son had regained his composure, Liu Wuyi immediately started tying a rope around his waist.


    ¡°Ah!!¡± Caught off guard, Zixiu let out a scream in horror. Although he was less scared with the protection of the rope, it did not mean that he was ready for climbing off the cliff!


    ¡°Dad, wait a minute! Let me take a breath first¡­¡± Zixiu took a deep breath exaggeratively, trying to hide his embarrassment and buy time.


    Liu Wuyi was anxious and he could not tolerate his son wasting time anymore. ¡°If you linger any longer, you are sure to run over the cliff wall later! Now the wind isn¡¯t blowing hard! Hurry up!¡± he shouted with a resolute look.


    After fashioning a noose, he grabbed Zixiu¡¯s swinging arms and was about to put it on his son.


    ¡°Ah!!¡± In spite of his grace, Zixiu screamed again with his face turning livid. ¡°Dad, I can¡¯t do it! I¡¯m scared! I suffer from acrophobia and I dare not to climb off the cliff!¡± he finally told the truth.


    ¡°Are you a man? How come you¡¯re so timid?¡±


    ¡°Dad, don¡¯t try to convince me with that! I¡¯m still a minor and my nervous system is not fully developed yet, so if I get overly scared, I¡¯ll be stunted! I¡­¡±


    ¡°Zip it!¡± Liu Wuyi did not understand what his son was talking about, so he just stopped him. ¡°If you don¡¯t want to die, jump off now!¡±


    ¡°Dad¡­¡± Zixiu even tried to make a scene. Jumping off a cliff was almost like being killed, only the latter sounded a bit scarier!


    After hesitating for a while, he continued, ¡°I, I¡¯ll wait a little bit longer. Just let them jump off first!¡±


    He turned to Nangong Du and Xingyi, but the two did not answer. He then shifted his gaze to Liu Wuyi.


    Liu Wuyi had his own reason for letting his son go first. Though he saved Nangong Du and Xingyi¡¯s lives, he was still wary of them. Besides, he wanted to take this opportunity to get rid of that asshole with his son and his daughter! However, to his dismay, his son was scared out of his wits. ¡®Alas¡­¡¯


    ¡°You have to go down sooner or later. How come you¡¯re still hesitating like a maiden who¡¯s going to step into the bridal sedan for the first time? Can procrastination change anything?¡± Liu Wuyi was reluctant to make concessions. After all, the current wind speed was the lowest of the day! As he was not sure how long it would take for his son to climb down the mountain, he could not take the risk easily. It would be even more dangerous for him to carry his son down the mountain. Although it seemed easy the last time he had carried Zixiu up the cliff, he was aware of how much energy it would take to climb down the mountain. There was no way he could carry two ¡°pregnant women¡± off the cliff in a day!


    Zixiu was embarrassed by what his dad said. He shot an angry glare at Nangong Du, but still had no guts to jump off.


    He revealed a look of envy when he saw an eagle flying through the mist. ¡®God, why don¡¯t you give me a pair of wings? Or a chute?¡¯


    As soon as the ¡°new word¡± suddenly popped into his mind, his thinking was interrupted.


    ¡°Liu Zixiu, how about I take you down with me?¡± It was Xingyi who was suggesting.


    ¡°Take me down with you?¡± Zixiu immediately felt displeased and thought that Xingyi was deliberately provoking him. After all, with her injured arm wrapped in gauze, Xingyi had more difficulty in climbing off the cliff than he did!


    When he realized this, Zixiu blushed in an instant. It turned out that even an injured woman was braver than him!


    ¡°Have you ever heard that men and women are forbidden to have physical contact?¡± he protested. Whether Xingyi took him down or it was the other way around, people would think that he was even no match for a woman! After all, gossip was a fearful thing, right? Besides, the night before, his dad had repeatedly stressed that the consequences could be serious if a man and a woman were found alone even in the same room!


    Liu Wuyi was depressed to hear Zixiu use the words he had lectured him against Xingyi! How did his son turn out to be such a jerk!


    Glancing at him, Nangong Du broke the ice. ¡°How about I take you down with me?¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± Zixiu thought he had misheard, but the look on his face gave away what was on his mind. He took it for granted that he was offended. ¡®How come everyone said they were going to take me down, but not¡­


    ¡°Or you can take me down?¡± Nangong Du had figured out what Zixiu was thinking about, so he asked with a hint of sarcasm. However, as he did not want to argue with Liu Zixiu, without even looking at him, he walked to Liu Wuyi and asked for the ropes.


    Liu Wuyi agreed. Otherwise, what could he do?


    Seeing his dad¡¯s sullen face, Zixiu dared not grumble anymore.


    Though Zixiu was very unhappy about how to tie him and Nangong Du together and their posture, everything had been determined. A few minutes later, after tying the two of them together tightly, Liu Wuyi pushed them off the cliff without mercy.


    ¡°Ah!¡± Caught off guard, Zixiu let out a shriek again while struggling desperately. The sudden feeling of losing weight scared him out of his wits!


    ¡°Mommy! Help¡­ Hmm!¡± Before he could cry out more words, the one who was tied to his back covered his mouth with his hand.


    ¡°You might as well save your strength to hold on to the rope!¡± Nangong Du strained his legs as hard as possible and finally made his feet reach the cliff wall. Just now, as Liu Zixiu kept struggling, they almost bump against the cliff wall!


    Zixiu was so frightened that he could not make a sound. He looked up while blinking so as to calm himself down! His hands kept shaking for quite a while before he managed to grab the rope.


    Nangong Du removed his hand from Zixiu¡¯s lips. He tried to relax his muscles while slipping downstairs along the cliff wall.


    ¡°No¡­. No hurry¡­¡± As soon as he moved, Zixiu could not help but shake again, and his voice was trembling as well.


    ¡°Are you going to get to the bottom of the cliff after dark? Doesn¡¯t your dad need to come down?¡± Nangong Du asked back grumpily. He got flustered as well for fear that the two of them might get killed if they bumped against the rock on the cliff wall because Zixiu kept moving. The wind beneath the cliff was much stronger than he had expected. It was no wonder Liu Wuyi was so tense!


    Zixiu had never dared to offend Nangong Du easily. Now that he was in midair and his life was on the line, he was even more nervous. From Nangong Du¡¯s tone, he could tell that he was about to flare up, so he immediately stopped moving and straightened up, as stiff as a zombie. He was so scared that he had no guts even to take a look at the abyss beneath his feet!


    ¡°How can we move downwards when you are so stiff?¡± Nangong Du grew even angrier. Why did Liu Zixiu look like a cat afraid of water?


    ¡°Relax your limbs!¡± Helplessly, Nangong Du patted Liu Zixiu¡¯s ¡°zombie claws¡±.


    Zixiu did not struggle, and like a puppet, he moved his hands mechanically.


    ¡°Your legs!¡± With that, Nangong Du bent his knees and gave Zixiu a shove in the legs.


    Zixiu made another passive movement.


    After quite a while, the two of them, who were sweating heavily, finally adapted themselves to the high altitude and slipped downwards in a harmonious manner.


    As the cliff was curvy, plus the mist in the mountain, soon Liu Wuyi, who was standing on the cliff and watching, could not see his son.


    He looked calm on the surface, but in fact, he had never been so nervous. His son was the apple of his eye. How could he not be worried? Moreover, there was a river at the bottom of the cliff! When they had just come back in September, there was not much water in the river and he did not think it was dangerous. But now it was winter, and there was heavy snow the day before, he wondered if the river had surged or frozen over!

 Chapter 129

    It was not until he was less than twenty meters above the ground that Zixiu realized that the mist around them was not the ordinary mountain fog, but the steam rising from the river under the cliff£¡At this moment, the two of them were resting, stepping on a rock projecting from the cliff.


    Nangong Du was obviously panting with his heavy breathing constantly turning into a white mist. According to Liu Wuyi¡¯s diagnosis the day before, he had to rest for at least two or three days before he could restore his physical strength. So, the forced climbing off the cliff was almost killing him. He was mocking Zixiu just now when he asked the latter to take him down, but now, it seemed he had to do so.


    It took Nangong Du a long time to catch his breath. He then gently pushed Zixiu, who was tied in front of him. ¡°I¡¯m tired! It¡¯s your turn!¡±


    Zixiu did not answer. As Nangong Du was pressing against his back, Zixiu could sense his heart beating as fast as his. ¡®Doesn¡¯t Nangong Du feel that my body is even stiffer than when we were slipping down just now?¡¯ Zixiu wondered. Though they had climbed down the cliff, it was not solid ground but a grand river that awaited them. He had no idea how to tell Nangong Du about this piece of shocking news! His Qing Kung was poor and he had a fear of heights, so there was no way that he could get to the other side of the river on his own! However, they did not have much time. His dad and his sister were still waiting on the cliff¡­


    ¡®Wait! Did Nangong Du just say that he was tired?¡¯ Zixiu¡¯s heart skipped a beat. Could it be that he heard it wrong?


    Unfortunately, the sudden weight on his shoulder suggested that his ears were not deceiving him!


    Nangong Du was so exhausted that he had fallen asleep!


    ¡°Nan¡­ Nangong Du!¡± Someone who thought himself a ¡°zombie¡± could not accept the cruel fact. Feeling something bad was going to happen, Zixiu grew tense with his voice shaking like a dead leaf in the autumn wind. Was he about to drown again? How hapless!


    ¡°Your¡­ Your Highness, don¡¯t leave me alone¡­ Ah!¡±


    Zixiu said, almost bursting into tears, but before he could continue, all the rest words turned into a scream of terror!


    It happened all of a sudden. In the blink of an eye, the upward pull suddenly disappeared, and the rope tied to him and the belay rope broke at the same time!


    Zixiu jumped out of his skin because of the sudden loss of balance. As he was falling at an incredible speed, he felt like vomiting. This feeling was both familiar and strange to him! Scenes flashed through his mind as if he had suddenly regained his memories. However, he was extremely sober and he knew he was about to fall into the chill river!


    Would he die?


    He wondered for no reason when he saw the water through the mist. Next, something terrible suddenly came to his mind¡ªhe couldn¡¯t swim! He would be drowned and frozen to death!


    ¡°Come on! You damned pervert, wake up! I can¡¯t swim! Dad! Help¡­¡±


    ¡°Thump!¡±


    The loud sound of heavy objects falling into the water was muffled by deafening thunder. With waves rolling, the river showed a breathtaking momentum, like a roaring lion.


    Everything was shrouded in darkness. Accompanied by crackling lightning and deafening thunder, the raging storm seemed to destroy the world.


    ¡°Help! Help!¡± Choked on the water, the stunned young man could hardly breathe. When he finally realized what was going on, he struggled desperately while shouting in terror! He could not swim! No! He did not want to die at such a young age! ¡°Help! Help¡­¡±


    Unfortunately, the harsh weather and the rustling sound of waves made his cries even fainter.


    As if falling into an endless swamp, the panic-stricken young man felt the more he struggled, the faster he sank, but no one would respond to his desperate cry.


    When he was about to be swallowed up by the waves, it was as if God had heard his cry for help, a voice suddenly rang, ¡°Don¡¯t panic!¡±


    The young man was so joyful that he almost forgot to breathe. He flapped the water hard, trying to move in the direction of the voice. ¡°Help! Help¡­¡±


    The voice rang again, ¡°Don¡¯t move! I¡¯m going to save you!¡±


    Next, he felt a strong force from the bottom of the river pushing him up. His head popped out of the water at once and his lungs, which were about to burst, felt wonderfully rejuvenated in an instant. He even had a feeling that he was reborn!


    As he gradually regained his consciousness, he sensed that the power under the water had transferred to his waist. It was someone¡¯s hand, not big but strong.


    Finally, someone came to save him, which dispelled the young man¡¯s anxiety and fear instantly. As if his whole body was suddenly drained of all the strength, he collapsed into that person¡¯s arms.


    The next second, he suddenly realized that the other party was a¡­ child, whose arms were so short that he could hardly hold him!


    ¡°You¡­¡± Shocked, he looked up eagerly, trying to see the child¡¯s face. However, as the heavy rain blurred his vision, he could not see that face clearly, but only saw the child¡¯s small profile which made him feel so familiar for no reason.


    At this point, he heard someone calling ahead, and next, a childish voice answered, ¡°Mom, it¡¯s all right!¡±


    Somehow, the young man shivered unconsciously and his heart beat even faster when he heard the voice.


    The voice coming from ahead gradually became clear, and he could tell that woman was calling, ¡°Zixiu¡­¡±


    ¡°Zixiu!?¡± The young man couldn¡¯t help but cry out. ¡®I¡¯m Zixiu. How come this child shares the same name with me¡­ No! There must be something wrong! Who¡¯s Zixiu? Who¡¯s Zixiu?¡¯


    ¡°No worries! We¡¯re almost to the bank!¡± the silvery child¡¯s voice rang again. Obviously, the owner of the voice was trying to comfort the young man. The child then responded to his mother loudly as if he did not hear the man¡¯s shocked scream at all.


    ¡®Who am I? Who am I?¡¯ The young man got flustered and confused. He suddenly forgot who he was!


    However, as the rain was still heavy, and the thunder was still rumbling, they were still in danger!


    The child¡¯s mother standing on the bank stared nervously at her son dragging the drowning man over with difficulty. As they got increasingly closer to her, she was stunned when she suddenly saw that the young man¡¯s hair was blonde!


    At the same time, a beam of bright light shot down¡­


    The young man felt enveloped in the heat, and every cell in his body seemed to be dissipating and reuniting. Next, he was seized with a pang of dizziness and then lost consciousness!

 Chapter 130

    ¡°Thump!¡±


    Hearing the loud sound of something falling into the water, Yu Xiaohu was so startled that he almost injured his own foot with the axe in his hand.


    After quite a while, he managed to calm himself down. Throwing the axe away, he ran to the river.


    He did not expect that anyone would come to the river in such cold weather. Some stupid bird must have hit the cliff and fallen into the river! Every winter, he would pick up birds that fell off the cliff. He needed to hurry up, or the stupid bird would be washed away by the melted snow! From the loud sound as it fell, Yu Xiaohu could tell the bird must be super fat!


    He ran to the river joyfully, and as he had expected, he saw something moving in the middle of the river where there was a thin layer of ice!


    He immediately found a long pole. Lying on the thick ice surface on his stomach, he moved to the ¡°huge bird¡± carefully. However, when he got close to it, he saw no bird but a pair of hands of someone!


    Heavens! Someone fell into the river on such a freezing day! Yu Xiaohu was astonished. He touched that pair of hands with the pole while asking, ¡°Hey, are you all right? Can you move?¡±


    The hands struggled a few times, trying to grab the bamboo pole. However, instead of grab it, they made the hole in the ice get even bigger.


    Having grown up by the river, Yu Xiaohu was aware of the seriousness of the situation. Though he was frightened, he managed to stabilize his voice. ¡°Don¡¯t move! I¡¯m going to find a way to save you!¡±


    The person in the water seemed to be calm, and he stopped struggling at once.


    Fortunately, as Yu Xiaohu had just come near to chop trees, he had not untied the rope which he fastened around his waist to bind the firewood. He had been learning hunting and chopping wood from his grandpa, Yu Laosan, since he was a child, so even though he was not a master of these things, he could easily catch something with a knotted rope. In his hand, the rope was like a snake that understood human language, and as soon as he threw it out, it firmly wrapped the hands in the ice cave.


    He grabbed the rope, turned around, and crawled to the bank.


    That person must be a fatty! He thought while crawling. As it was so heavy on the other end of the rope, he started panting with sweat soon.


    After arriving at the bank safely, he looked back and saw in astonishment that it was not a fatty, but two people! Wait, how could one of them look so familiar?


    ¡°Zixiu?¡± he shouted out uncertainly. That person was lying on his side on the ground with his eyes closed, so he only intuitively thought it was Zixiu.


    ¡°You know Liu Zixiu?¡± The other person immediately raised his head and asked.  Although this guy was soaked all over and looked a total mess, the momentum around him gave off a gloomy feeling, and with a single glance at his eyes, one would feel cold deep to the bones!


    Yu Xiaohu shuddered, feeling nervous for no reason. ¡°Yes, Zixiu¡¯s dad once saved my grandpa!¡±


    The man remained cold. He pointed at the one who was lying on the ground and continued, ¡°She¡¯s Liu Zixiu¡¯s younger female cousin. Take us to your house!¡±


    ¡°Younger female cousin?¡± Yu Xiaohu was a little surprised. It turned out that Zixiu had a cousin?


    ¡°Then you¡¯re¡­¡± When he was about to ask more, he suddenly saw the big belly of Zixiu¡¯s cousin, who had just turned over by that young man! Yu Xiaohu¡¯s face turned pale instantly.


    Heavens! A pregnant woman fell into the ice water! ¡°Let¡¯s go! Hurry up!¡±


    Yu Xiaohu was very strong from years of hard work. In spite of the difficulty, he managed to get the two drowning men home.


    When he pushed open the gate, his wife, Shiliu, was drying quilts in the yard. Seeing her exhausted, sweaty husband, whose clothes were wet through, she was startled. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Did you¡­¡±


    ¡°Hurry up! Get me some warm water and a cotton quilt!¡± Yu Xiaohu had no time to explain.


    When Shiliu looked out of the door, she saw a man and a pregnant woman wet all over and their clothes almost frozen!


    Without further questions, she strode over to support the pregnant woman, who was in a semi-coma state, while urging anxiously, ¡°Come on! Get into the room and change your wet clothes! You must have suffered a lot on such a cold day! We need to send a physician asap!¡±


    Then she started blaming the man. ¡°How come you were so careless and let your wife fall into the river? Do you know how dangerous it is for a pregnant woman to fall into the water in such a cold winter? Look, she¡¯s freezing! Hum! If something happens to her and the baby, you¡¯ll regret it for the rest of your life¡­¡±


    Yu Xiaohu admired his wife so much for her courage. He did not dare even take a look at that man! But how come Zixiu¡¯s cousin¡¯s husband looked so cold and he did not seem to worry about his wife and his baby at all?


    But next, he denied his assumption.


    As soon as they entered the room and before they could sit down, the man suddenly pushed Shiliu away and took the pregnant woman in his arms. ¡°You two go out!¡± he said.


    ¡°Huh?¡± Stunned by his domineering momentum, Yu Xiaohu and his wife looked at each other, without knowing what to do.


    The man put the pregnant woman on the bed carefully. When he saw the two still in a daze, he continued, softening a lot, ¡°Let me know when the warm water is ready!¡±


    Shiliu came back to her senses first. She grabbed her husband¡¯s sleeve and hurried out of the room.


    Yu Xiaohu was still suspicious, but it was urgent to burn water, so he hurriedly went to the woodshed to get firewood.


    It was not until the water was burned and brought into the room that Yu Xiaohu believed that this man was really the husband of Zixu¡¯s cousin! He asked them out because he was about to get his wife changed!


    Seeing that the bumpkin couple was honest, Nangong Du temporarily calmed down, showing no intention to kill them due to the possibility that they might reveal his whereabouts to outsiders!

 Chapter 131

    In the No. 1 Pawn of the small town under Mount Windward¡­


    The dim light, the wooden fence, the huge counter, especially the white-bearded old man, even much older than his grandpa, was looking at him with a thoughtful look behind the counter. All this made Yu Xiaohu feel uneasy!


    He was simply dressed, and his skin was rough and dark, so everyone could tell at a glance that he was not the owner of the jade pendant. Yu Xiaohu knew it well. However, if he explained it to the old man deliberately, the latter might suspect more that he stole this jade pendant from someone else. Actually, he was just pawning the jade pendant for Zixiu¡¯s cousin¡¯s husband! Speaking of which, that guy was so odd! His wife was already so sick, but instead of sending a physician for her, he was eager to pawn this jade pendant! Even though he was really short of money, he did not have to do this in a hurry. The Yu family was poor, but they could afford the medical fees at least! Besides, even though he felt ashamed to borrow money from others, he did not need to pawn the jade pendant which was obviously precious and expensive! He could pawn something else¡­


    Yu Xiaohu suddenly remembered the fine, well-made brocade robe Zixiu¡¯s cousin¡¯s husband was wearing. Indulging in himself, he did not notice that the old man who was staring at him with an inquiring look had led a thin, but sturdy young man in.


    ¡°Where¡¯s the owner of the jade pendant?¡± the young man asked as soon as he walked in.


    Startled, Yu Xiaohu blurted out, ¡°In my house!¡±


    To his surprise, the young man turned around and nodded to that old man without a word before he walked back to the inner room. The whole process lasted less than half a minute as if he had never come out.


    While Yu Xiaohu was puzzling over the strange inquiry he had just been subjected to, the old man had sat back behind the counter and asked expressionlessly, ¡°How much do you want for it?¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± The sudden change in his attitude made Yu Xiaohu even more confused. He looked at the old man blankly. This was the first time he came to a pawnshop. So they were just going through the normal process of a pawnshop? Was the young man asking about the background of the jade pendant in accordance with the custom of the pawnshop or because he suspected him of stealing it?


    ¡°Did you hear me?¡± Hearing no response from the guest, the old man flicked the wooden counter impatiently.


    Yu Xiaohu finally came back to his senses. Zixiu¡¯s cousin¡¯s husband looked handsome and imposing, and it was obvious that he had come from a rich family, so the jade pendant must be genuine. At the thought of this, he calmed down and started to negotiate the price with the old man.


    Soon, the price was settled. After signing the agreement, Yu Xiaohu took the money and left.


    There was a clinic on the east street of the town. Passing by its gate, he really wanted to walk in and ask the physician to go with him. But at the thought of the cold gaze of Zixiu¡¯s cousin¡¯s husband, he could not help but grow tense. After wrestling with himself for a while, he finally gave up the idea. Letting out a sigh, he left with his head lowered.


    With so many silver ingots in his pocket, Yu Xiaohu was a little nervous. Although it was cold and there were very few people on the road, he had the feeling that someone was following him!


    When he hurried home and saw the gate open, he felt his heart skip a beat! Having a hunch that something had happened, he rushed into the yard. Sure enough, there was nobody inside and it was in dead silence!


    ¡°Shi¡­¡± Before he could finish his words, he suddenly felt a chill in his neck, and then a sharp pain¡­ It was obvious that someone was placing a blade against his neck!


    ¡°Clang¡­¡±


    Hearing a loud sound of metal colliding in his ear, Yu Xiaohu felt his brain go blank and he almost collapsed to the ground.


    When he came back to his senses, the chill blade against his neck had fallen to the ground!


    He looked up and was surprised to find that a few men in black and some people in masks were fighting! The clash of swords rose and fell, but no one spoke.


    What¡­what was going on? Didn¡¯t they want the money from me?


    Yu Xiaohu had never seen such a fierce fight. He was so scared that his thoughts were in chaos. He thought they were bandits, who were going to rob him of his silver ingots, and now they were fighting over the future distribution of the stolen money. This was a good chance to escape, but he would not run away as his wife, his child and his grandpa were still in those people¡¯s hands!


    Therefore, although his legs felt like jelly, this young country fellow still plucked up and sneaked into the backyard while those ¡°bandits¡± were locked in a fierce fight and had no time to think about anything else.


    Without being noticed by those ¡°bandits¡±, he successfully arrived at the backyard. However, as soon as he opened the backdoor of their house, he saw a masked man.


    He was about to scream instinctively, but the next second, feeling a pain in his chest, he went stiff, unable to move or make a sound!


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± a low sob sounded out in a dark corner.


    It was his wife! Yu Xiaohu was so anxious that he was almost out of his mind! He glared at the masked man furiously. What had these damned gangsters done to Shiliu?


    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± someone said briefly.


    The familiar voice and the commanding tone¡­ When Yu Xiaohu suddenly realized it was Zixiu¡¯s cousin¡¯s husband who was speaking, he popped out his eyes!


    It was Nangong Du who was standing behind the masked man. As he had expected, those guys in black came quickly. However, it was not so easy to kill him!

 Chapter 132

    Nangong Du did not explain to the Yu family, nor did he ask for their opinion before he took them all away! He had never been so merciful before! However, he had not done this because he was going to turn over a new leaf or to express his gratitude to the Yu family for their help. As he was the one who had got the Yus and even the Lius in trouble, if Liu Zixiu knew that he left the Yus in those killers¡¯ hands, he would definitely kill him by nagging in his ear!


    The Yus had no idea what was on the mind of Zixiu¡¯s cousin¡¯s husband. Some masked people suddenly broke into their house and before they could tell what was happening, someone had struck their acupoints and stuffed them into a carriage! They were all freaked out! Crouching in the jolting carriage, Yu Xiaohu was the only one who had regained his composure. ¡®Was the man who gave orders to the masked man really Zixiu¡¯s cousin¡¯s husband instead of the leader of the bandits who always broke into people¡¯s houses and took away money or women? But as I would give the silver ingots pawned with the jade pendant back to him, he had no reason to ask people to rob me! Three generations of our family have been average villagers. What¡¯s worthy of the bandits¡¯ attention, fighting, and even kidnapping?¡±


    ¡°Boohoo¡ª¡±


    A cry of the baby interrupted Yu Xiaohu¡¯s train of thought and broke the eerie atmosphere of the monotonous crunching of the carriage in the dark woods.


    ¡®The baby woke up!¡¯ Yu Xiaohu grew tense in an instant. When the baby had been crying in the morning, Zixiu¡¯s cousin¡¯s husband looked a little annoyed. If he was really an associate of those bandits, would the baby be¡­


    The baby¡¯s mom, Shiliu, who was lying on her side, thought in the same way. In a panic, her face turned pale at once!


    Nangong Du, who was resting in another carriage, heard the baby¡¯s crying as well. He couldn¡¯t help but frown, just as he had done in the morning.


    After a moment, he lifted the curtain impatiently. To his surprise, it was almost dark outside, and the masked man had changed his status and outfit.


    The smart groom, whose face was marked with vicissitudes, immediately reined in the horses to slow down. He turned around and said in a low but sonorous voice, ¡°Sir, I¡¯m ready for your service!¡±


    Nangong Du did not say anything, but only made a gesture and quickly put down the curtain.


    Soon, the speculation of the Yu family became real!


    The curtain of their carriage was suddenly lifted, but to their surprise, it was not the masked man who came in, but a young man who looked like a servant from a rich family.


    The young couple looked at each other in confusion, praying that the young man would not hurt their baby.


    The young man approached them expressionlessly, but he did not say a word or take the crying child away.


    If he could make a sound, Yu Xiaohu would have let out a scream. He had been driven crazy by the unpredictable and mysterious atmosphere! What the hell were those people doing?


    When the carriage finally stopped, it was already completely dark outside. The moon and stars were covered by dark clouds, and only the cold wind howling could be heard in the woods.


    The Yus moved closer to the curtain, but they did not dare to get out of the carriage without the permission of those people outside. With limited experience, they could not tell who those people were. They suspected that the masked man and the young servant did not belong to the same gang. Otherwise, why had he restored their ability to speak and act, and even provided them with warm water and food?


    Needless to say, they did not dare to eat!


    The lamp hanging in front of the carriage was shaking violently. Their already frozen bodies were enveloped in the cold air from the ground.


    Shiliu held the baby, who was even less than half a year old, in her arms tightly. She had not fully recovered from the postpartum weakness yet, plus the overstress, she was on the verge of breaking down!


    Although Grandpa Yu was still kind of strong, he could not stand the chill, so he rarely went out in winter. As he kept shivering with fright and cold, he could not even speak.


    At this moment, all Yu Xiaohu was thinking about was how to escape!


    ¡°Sir, my house is shabby. I¡¯m afraid you won¡¯t get used to it!¡± A low and old voice suddenly attracted the attention of the Yus.


    Plucking up, Yu Xiaohu peeked outside. Then he realized that the carriage was parked in front of a farmer¡¯s house. The young man who had helped them to restore their ability to speak and act was talking to an old lady with a walking stick.


    ¡®Are they going to spend the night at a farmer¡¯s house?¡¯ The Yus thought in disbelief.


    ¡°Madam, it¡¯s freezing outside. Can you do us a favor and let us crash at your house? My master and I will be grateful if you grant our request.¡± The young man¡¯s attitude was sincere and modest.


    ¡®Is his master Zixiu¡¯s cousin¡¯s husband?¡¯ Yu Xiaohu wondered.


    ¡°Please come in!¡± The old lady said.


    After bowing to her to show his gratitude, the young man hurried to the foremost carriage and whispered in the ear of someone in it. A while later, Zixiu¡¯s cousin¡¯s husband got out of the carriage!


    Yu Xiaohu was more certain about his own assumption¨CZixiu¡¯s cousin¡¯s husband was by no means ordinary! It seemed what they had experienced along the way became reasonable. Although there was still something unclear about it, at least their whole family should be safe, right?


    Seeing the anxious look in Yu Xiaohu¡¯s eyes, Nangong Du showed a mild attitude. ¡°Come on in!¡± he said with a nod.


    His brief words sent the panic-stricken Yus into raptures as if they were reborn! They immediately treated Nangong Du as their savior and cheered up, felicitating that they had just escaped a disaster.


    The room was indeed even shabbier than that of the Liu family in the Cirrus Valley!


    Nangong Du could not help but frown again. ¡°There¡¯s nobody in the house but me, a blind old woman! Please make yourselves at home!¡± the old lady said slowly.


    With that, she walked back to her own room on her crutch.


    The Yu family had to count on ¡°Zixiu¡¯s cousin¡¯s husband¡± for the moment, and that servant needed to follow his master¡¯s orders, so they all shifted their gaze to Nangong Du.


    Nangong Du did not say anything. After being rescued by Yu Xiaohu, he had been busy dealing with the pursuers. Only then did he have time to focus on the person who had been unconscious since he fell into the water!


    He helped the unconscious Zixiu into another room and placed him on the bed. His big belly was so eye-catching! If it hadn¡¯t been for the pregnant man, Liu Zixiu, he wouldn¡¯t have taken the risk of staying in a farmer¡¯s house in the wilderness! But there was no way that Liu Zixiu could give birth to a baby. It was really¡­ wasteful! How come Liu Zixiu hadn¡¯t woken up yet? Was there really anything wrong with him after the drowning?


    Remembering the drowning accident that Zixiu had mentioned the night before, Nangong Du thought maybe he really should send a physician for him.


    While hesitating, he suddenly heard someone knocking at the door.


    He came back to his senses and quickly covered Zixiu with the quilt.


    It was the young man who was in a servant¡¯s attire. With a basin of warm water in his hands, he said, ¡°Sir, the farmer¡¯s house is really humble. You have to make do with the room tonight!¡±


    Nangong Du nodded without a word while looking at him cautiously.


    Next, the young man took off the jade pendant tied to his waist, and respectfully offered it. ¡°Seeing the jade pendant is like seeing our sect master. I¡¯m Zhao Yu, the head of the No. 1 branch in the Mount Winward region. Sir, I¡¯ll try my best to ensure your safety!¡±


    Nangong Du took the jade pendant from him. It was the one he had asked Yu Xiaohu to pawn in the No. 1 Pawnshop in the morning!


    It wasn¡¯t until after midnight that Yu Xiaohu, who had played a vital role in rescuing Zixiu and Nangong Du, realized that the young man in a servant¡¯s attire looked exactly the same as the one who had inquired him about the owner of the jade pendant in the pawnshop!

 Chapter 133

    ¡°Fine! Since you insist, I¡¯ll consider it a fight between two geniuses for the time being!¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t mind even if your idol is Forrest Gump, the fictional character who lives by the spiritual victory!¡±


    ¡°Seems you know yourself well! Fortunately, my idol is Holmes! Sorry, I¡¯m not as childish as you are! I can¡¯t believe you¡¯re so obsessed with The Prince of Tennis!¡±


    ¡®Drop the act! You¡¯re slandering to my face, aren¡¯t you? You¡¯re so good at sarcasm! I¡¯ve learned a lot from you!¡±


    ¡°Really? Then don¡¯t forget to pay me! Or maybe I can take money out of your account online through a hacking program!¡±


    ¡°Bah! Don¡¯t be too arrogant! It¡¯s not certain who will win!¡±


    ¡°Why are you so angry?¡¯ Could it be that¡­ your dad forgot to transfer money to you again?¡±


    ¡°Mi¡­¡±


    ¡°Come on! Don¡¯t be so irritated! Chinese and foreign traditions are different. It¡¯s normal for a 20-year-old young man in China to depend on his parents for his college education and livelihood! No! You¡¯re so na?ve, so you must still be a boy!¡±


    ¡°Ok! I¡¯m not going to tease you again! I can¡¯t wait to see your masterpiece!¡±


    ¡°Hum! I won¡¯t show you unless you beg me!¡±


    ¡°Hey! Have you never heard of the old Chinese saying ¡®relying upon oneself is better than begging others?¡¯ How can I ignore the traditional Chinese ethnic only for the artificial intelligence¡­¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t try to lecture me with the traditional ethnic! You¡¯re showing off that you came back to China a few years before I did, right? Let¡¯s wait and see!¡±


    ¡®Won¡¯t you leave after dinner? I heard that you couldn¡¯t even afford the utilities¡­


    ¡°Mi¡­ ke¡­¡±


    ¡°A gentleman uses his tongue but not his fists! Does your laptop run on solar batteries?¡±


    ¡°You damned hacker, it¡¯s none of your business! If you want to attack my computer system, just go ahead!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve never thought of it! I just want to test your computer skills. You know the A.M. Turing Award¡­¡±


    ¡°Mycroft Holmes, you still have lots more to work on!¡± Liu Zixiu, who had been unconscious for a whole day, suddenly let out a roar at dawn.


    Now those people, who had stayed overnight in the farmer¡¯s house, had just got up and started freshening themselves up. The blind old lady was so hospitable that she took out all the food in her house to make breakfast for them.


    Nangong Du was sitting by the furnace to warm himself up when he suddenly heard someone shouting. After quite a while, from the ¡°slang¡± which did not make any sense to anyone, he could tell that it was Liu Zixiu who had woken up. He felt much relieved. As Zixiu sounded energetic, he thought he would be fine!


    When he hurried back to the bedroom, he saw Liu Zixiu sitting on the bed with a hand propping his forehead, as if lost in thought.


    ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡± The man who had just woken up seemed to be very sensitive, and he was even a little annoyed when he spoke.


    Only then did Nangong Du realize himself overreacting. He looked calmly at Liu Zixiu, who was staring at him in surprise. Before he got close to the bed, he ordered, ¡°Get out of the bed and freshen yourself up. We¡¯ll leave in half an hour!¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll leave?¡± Zixiu widened his eyes. ¡°Who are you? Where am I?¡± he asked in confusion.


    ¡°Huh?!¡± Nangong Du was stupified. Although Liu Zixiu was usually very disrespectful to him, he would not have the guts to make fun of him. Besides, the situation was dangerous and even the whereabouts of Liu Wuyi were unclear. Shouldn¡¯t Liu Zixiu be on pins and needles now? How come he behaved like this? Could it be¡­ An assumption that even shocked himself popped into his mind! Could it be that Liu Zixiu lost his memory again?


    He immediately denied his own assumption. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you?¡± He couldn¡¯t wait to know what happened.


    ¡°Wait a minute! Let me think about it!¡± Zixiu suddenly chimed in.


    Hearing that, Nangong Du came back to his senses. He was the distinguished prince of the Nan Kingdom. Why should he follow Liu Zixiu¡¯s instructions?


    Putting on a grim look, he paced to the bed and yelled, ¡°Liu Zixiu! I have no time to talk to you! Get out of the bed right away!¡±


    However, it was obvious that Zixiu had turned a deaf ear to what he said. He covered his head with his hands, as if he was meditating on something. After quite a while, he suddenly shouted, ¡°Oh! I¡¯ve got it! You¡¯re Nangong Du, the pervert!¡±


    The pervert? Nangong Du hated Liu Zixiu¡¯s insulting form of address for him to the core! If he hadn¡¯t suspected that Liu Zixiu was a spy, he wouldn¡¯t have had sex with such an arrogant idiot! He, Nangong Du, hadn¡¯t been so ¡°hungry¡± that he would eat anything that came to his lips! Liu Zixiu was so stupid! Would a pervert do nothing to someone who shared the same bed with him for days? Would a pervert listen patiently to someone talk about his troubles at midnight?


    Without sensing the other party¡¯s rage, Zixiu looked at Nangong Du blankly and asked with a frown, ¡°Am I Liu Zixiu?¡±


    Nangong Du was finally completely infuriated. With a murderous look flashing in his indifferent eyes, he spat the words out, ¡°No matter who you are, if you don¡¯t want to die, get your arse out of the bed right now!¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± Zixiu stopped talking in a panic. In fact, he was so frightened that he had got a cramp in his calf.


    Actually, except for blurting out a sentence when he woke up, he had been pretending to be amnesiac again. This was probably an instinctive response to self-preservation.


    He was startled not only because of Nangong Du¡¯s ferocious attitude but also because he thought he had regained his memories, which were too strange to comprehend! Those memories flashed through his mind like a movie. Er¡­ Now he had remembered what a movie was! Every frame of the movie showed his past experiences. Those people and things were completely different from what he had seen in the past three years. If he had to find specific words to explain, they would be ¡®a huge difference between the ancient and the present!¡¯


    This brought him a shocking impact. Although Einstein¡¯s theory of relativity said that people could travel back to their past through the time tunnel, so far no one has made it a reality! So, Zixiu had no idea what to do next. He had too many questions. First of all, he wanted to know if everything he was seeing was reality or illusion.


    Seeing Liu Zixiu still in a daze, Nangong Du knew that he couldn¡¯t waste his time waiting for him anymore. He dragged Zixiu out of the bed, and threw him into the carriage before the latter could even wash his face!


    The Yus were setting up bowls and chopsticks in the hall. When they saw Nangong Du carry Zixiu out angrily, they did not dare to walk over and say something to calm him down. Actually, they were in awe of ¡°Zixiu¡¯s cousin¡¯s husband¡±!


    The blind old lady did not know what was happening. Hearing someone striding out, she immediately walked out of the kitchen, trying to ask her ¡°guests¡± to stay a little bit longer. As it would take two days to get from here to the next inhabited place, out of kindness, she had prepared some food for them to eat on the way.

 Chapter 134

    It was until he was stuffed into the carriage that Zixiu came back to his senses and remembered that he was struggling in the chilly river before he fainted!  Although he could not figure out what had turned him from a mixed-race handsome young man of the 21st century to an ancient comely boy (as an atheist, he found it hard to accept that something supernatural had happened to him), he did not forget the illusion he had seen when he was struggling in the water¡­ No, it was not illusion! It must be the memories sleeping deep in his cerebral cortex¡ªa reprise of the accident three years ago! Though he hated the name so much, he had to admit that he was that Mark Lira. He was probably 20¡­ no, he was already 23 years old! He was not the 16-year-old Liu Zixiu!


    Of course, he would not reveal this ¡°new discovery¡± to anyone else. Whether it was illusion or reality, whether he was Liu Zixiu or Mark Lira, he was grateful to his ¡°dad¡±, Liu Wuyi, who had worked hard to raise him for three years. Though he did not think himself a virtuous gentleman, he would not leave his ¡°family¡± behind for his own safety. In order to get rid of those killers, he took the risk of climbing off the cliff, and now he was safe for the time being. But how was his dad doing? The ropes were so strong that there was no way that they would break at the same time. If they had been cut by someone, his dad and Liuxu might have¡­


    He did not dare to think further. ¡°Where¡¯s my dad?¡± he stared at Nangong Du in tension, hoping that the latter had figured out a way to rescue Liu Wuyi when he was in a coma. Maybe he had made the arrangements before he went up the mountains! At least, as a prince, he must have taken some awesome bodyguards with him wherever he went, right?


    However, what he did not know was that Prince Mu had come to the small town under Mount Windward from thousands of miles away secretly.


    To hide the news of his trip, Nangong Du did not take any guards with him at all!  Otherwise, he would not have been lying in the snow like a corpse two days before!


    Because he underestimated his enemy, his personal maidservant might have died! Nangong Du did not respond to Zixiu¡¯s question.


    Hearing no response from him, Zixiu got anxious. He crawled to the carriage door, lifted the curtain and looked around. ¡°Where are we? I¡¯m going back to find my¡­¡±


    His anxious voice suddenly came to a halt when he saw Yu Xiaohu and his family standing in front of the gate of the house.


    To keep them from seeing his big belly, Zixiu put down the curtain in a hurry. After a while, he realized that something was wrong. ¡®What¡¯s going on? Are we in front of Yu¡¯s house? But Yu¡¯s house doesn¡¯t look like that!¡¯


    ¡°To save you, the Yus almost be killed! How come you¡¯re still thinking about going back and put your neck into the noose?¡± Nangong Du hit the nail on the head.


    ¡°How could this be?¡± Zixiu stared at him in disbelief. However, he remembered that the river was close to the Yu village. If Nangong Du was not deliberately scaremongering, what did he mean by ¡®put your neck into the noose?¡¯


    ¡°Their lives are in your hands. Will you go back or come with me? Think it twice before you make your decision!¡± With that, Nangong Du got out of the carriage.


    ¡°Wait!¡± Zixiu was much more experienced than before, and he was not that easy to be tricked. His dad had never offended anyone. Who caused him to be in danger and unaccounted for? Now the trouble-maker was threatening him! It was outrageous! ¡°Nangong Du! It¡¯s none of your business whether I leave or not. How dare you get the Yus involved in? Yes, Yu Xiaohu and his family saved my life, but they almost got killed because of you, the ruthless and despicable Prince Mu! Those killers were obviously here for you. Instead of staying away from the Yus, you took them out with you! What tricks are you cooking?¡±


    Nangong Du gradually stopped and turned around. For a moment, he was in a trance. It was not because he felt guilty because of Zixiu¡¯s accusation, but because he was stunned by the solemn look on the latter¡¯s face. For no reason, he had a sense of familiarity with this arrogant little brat all along! And now, this feeling was especially intense. Could it be that he had been reluctant to let Liu Zixiu go because of his love and nostalgia for the one who had died?


    Under Nangong Du¡¯s ¡°indifferent¡± gaze, Zixiu became even more furious. ¡°I¡¯ll die sooner or later. You asshole, if you dare to kill the Yus, I¡¯ll definitely¡­¡±


    ¡°If I wanted to kill them, I wouldn¡¯t have waited until now!¡± Nangong Du came back to his senses. ¡®Liu Zixiu looks like a rogue. How can I compare him with my virtuous and gentle darling? My eyes must be deceiving me!¡¯


    ¡°Humph! I knew you wouldn¡¯t have the guts!¡± Though Zixiu had known that he misunderstood Nangong Du, he still felt irritated. Now he was seized with an impulse to vent all his anger on Nangong Du for the grievances he had suffered in the past six months. As a 23-year-old man, he felt so humiliated at the thought of being bullied by a dude who was even several years younger than him for so long! ¡°Stop butting in my business! I¡¯m not going with you!¡±


    ¡°No way!¡± Nangong Du protested almost instinctively. At the thought that Liu Zixiu might be in a bad mood for the loss of his dad, Nangong Du showed no intention to blame him for his disrespect for him, but he still reminded him, ¡°If your dad could escape by chance, do you think he would let you fall into the river and drown?¡±


    ¡°One falls into the river doesn¡¯t mean he¡¯ll drown! I¡¯m still safe and sound, right? At the critical moment of life and death, people have to take a risk! My dad is not that stupid!¡± Zixiu firmly believed that his ¡°dad¡± was still alive. Otherwise, he would be restless for the rest of his life.


    ¡°Stupid?¡± Hearing that, Nangong Du suddenly remembered that far from stupid, Liu Wuyi was actually very smart and flexible! Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have entered the Cirrus Valley! Perhaps, this time, Mr. Liu could come up with some unusual idea again, and Xingyi might have a narrow escape as well?


    ¡°Nangong Du, mind your own business!¡± Finding himself again in a passive position, Zixiu showed a determined look. ¡°From now on, we¡¯ll have nothing to do with each other. Don¡¯t come to me anymore!¡±


    ¡°Humph!¡± Nangong Du snorted disdainfully. He did not argue with Zixiu, but only said ironically, ¡°Then why are you still in my carriage?¡±


    ¡®Damn it! This bastard is trying to make me look stupid in front of others!¡¯ Zixiu clenched his teeth angrily. Needless to say, he would not readily admit defeat. Next, he came up with an idea. Nangong Du was so conservative that he did not even dare to hold his hand in front of others, so Zixiu decided to teach him a lesson so as he would know who would feel more embarrassed in the end!


    Next, he twisted his neck, cleared his throat before he suddenly pounced forward and grabbed Nangong Du by his sleeve while the latter was still looking at him in confusion. ¡°You¡¯re so naughty! Don¡¯t do this¡­¡± he said in an intimate tone, trying to sound like a woman.


    ¡°??¡± Nangong Du froze on the spot. Was Liu Zixiu reluctant to¡­ get out of the carriage?


    Zixiu raised his voice to attract the audience, ¡°So many people are looking at us! How embarrassing¡­ Umm..¡±


    Urgh! Zixiu almost vomited on his own coquettish tone. Now Nangong Du had come back to his senses. As if he had been electrocuted, he immediately slapped off Zixiu¡¯s hand, which was tugging at his sleeve. ¡°Liu Zixiu! How come you¡¯re so shameless!¡±


    ¡°Humph!¡± Zixiu snorted. He did this only because he felt embarrassed to get out of the carriage in front of other people. How could this be regarded as shameless?


    Zixiu lifted the curtain and took a look outside. As he expected, the audience thought the couple were making out in the carriage, so they all shied away.  Taking this opportunity, Zixiu hopped out of the carriage in haste and was about to leave.

 Chapter 135

    As domineering as Prince Mu was, Nangong Du, how could he let go of his ¡°consort¡± he had a hard time getting back easily? So, Zixiu hadn¡¯t gone ten meters when he was stuffed back into the carriage!


    ¡®It¡¯s useless trying to reason with a barbarian! Intelligence is no match for force in this barbarous age ruled by a barbarian royal family! The damned autocratic monarchy system!¡¯ As Nangong Du had struck his acupoint again, Zixiu could do nothing except for complaining and cursing inwardly. In modern society, Mark Lira had been learning Taekwondo for years, but in front of Nangong Du, he did not even get a chance to use it! ¡®In this increasingly immoral world, nice people are always bullied! It¡¯s so unfair!¡¯


    On the contrary, Nangong Du thought that Liu Zixiu was asking for trouble. He had been putting up with him for a long time, but his indulgence made this little brat even more presumptuous£¡As his legal consort, Liu Zixiu fled from Prince Mu¡¯s mansion when his husband was ill, and he turned to run when his husband finally found him! He plotted against his husband by slipping the laxative into the latter¡¯s food! He poured chill water over his husband¡¯s head and kicked him! What¡¯s more, he had never stopped talking back to his husband! If he had not been so easy on him, how come Liu Zixiu had not realized how badly he had behaved until now?


    ¡°Liu Zixiu, listen! If you dare to push your luck again, I won¡¯t show mercy!¡± Nangong Du was aware that it was not the right time to punish him now, so he decided to teach Zixiu a lesson when they returned to his mansion.


    ¡®Push my luck? Bullshit!¡¯ Zixiu sneered inwardly. He was tired of contending with this arrogant prince, who threw his weight about and thought for granted that everyone in the country was a servant of the royal family! He would not even bother to take a look at this spoiled scumbag, who had been treated like a god and never had to worry about life! If he liked a woman, all he had to do was wave his hand and she would become his. If anyone provoked him, all he had to do was make a gesture, and his guards would teach that person a good lesson for him! To keep his eyes from being contaminated by this creature, Zixiu chose to close them.


    Nangong Du had something on his mind, so he was glad to see Zixiu stop nagging.


    Neither of the two spoke along their way.


    As the blind old lady said, it would take them two days to get to the next inhabited place. It was difficult to go through the snow, and they did not see a single person for a whole day.


    As it was getting dark outside, they seemed to have no choice but to spend the night in the wilderness.


    Along the way, as Zixiu needed to answer the call of nature, Nangong Du struck his acupoint so that he could move freely. Instead of taking this chance to flee, Zixiu went back to the carriage obediently, so Nangong Du did not strike his acupoint again.


    Actually, both of them knew the current situation well. Nangong Du believed that Liu Zixiu was not an impulsive fool. Zixiu also knew that he had missed the best opportunity to find his ¡°dad¡±. It was freezing cold, and it might snow at any moment. Besides, he was ¡°pregnant¡± and did not know his way home. So if he insisted on going back alone, it would be very dangerous. Moreover, if his ¡°dad¡± was out of danger, he would definitely come to find him! In an age of poor transportation and communications, the two of them were very likely to miss each other. He was certain if he was with Nangong Du, his smart ¡°dad¡± would definitely find him!


    At night, the carriage finally stopped in a forest with less snow.


    Zhao Yu and Ah Chen, who disguised himself as a groom, got out of the carriage to prepare the meal. They did not accept the food from the blind old lady. The old lady who lived on a shoestring already treated them to breakfast, and they would feel ashamed if they took away the food she had prepared for the winter. Before leaving, they left her some silver ingots as a gift of gratitude for breakfast and for putting up them for the night.


    Zixiu knew nothing about that. As far as he was concerned, the two of them were just lackeys of that arrogant prince, Nangong Du. However, he had never thought that it was Nangong Du who had asked his men to give the old lady the silver ingots!


    Although they had recovered from yesterday¡¯s shock, leaving their home suddenly and being controlled by someone made the Yu family feel uneasy.  They were no fool. They were stunned by the ¡®flirtatious¡¯ scene in the carriage this morning, especially Liu Zixiu¡¯s complaining in a pettishly charming manner. They had never expected that Zixiu was a girl, and the pregnant woman who had fallen into the river was not Zixiu¡¯s cousin, but Zixiu ¡°herself¡±!


    Apart from being surprised, they were delighted, and it was because of the joy that they relaxed their nerves. They believed that Zixiu would protect them, and they would be safe with ¡°her¡± around.


    Sure enough, someone provided them with a heater in their carriage today! It was obvious that Zixiu treated them well! Therefore, seeing that the servant and the groom were busy making a fire and cooking, the Yus got out of the carriage to help.


    After discussion, Yu Xiaohu and Shiliu decided to show their gratitude to Zixiu, who they had not seen all day. As Zixiu was a ¡°girl¡±, Yu Xiaohu asked Shiliu to do this on his behalf.


    While Zixiu¡¯s poker-faced husband was away, Shiliu came to Zixiu¡¯s carriage with a cup of warm tea.


    When the third time he confirmed that Yu Xiaohu¡¯s wife was calling him ¡°Sister¡±, Zixiu almost choked on his own saliva and blacked out. He pounded his chest like a gorilla and took a few deep breaths before lifting the curtain!


    Shiliu immediately handed over the warm tea to him.


    When he heard her calling him ¡°Sister Liu¡± again, Zixiu almost burst into tears with the corner of his mouth twitched. He was abstracted and did not hear what Shiliu said next at all.


    Shiliu was a smart and sensible woman. As she wanted to know what those people would do with her family, she tried to take this opportunity to get some information from her ¡°Sister Liu¡±. However, as her ¡°Sister Liu¡± seemed to be restless, she felt ashamed to disturb ¡°her¡± anymore.


    When she was about to leave, she suddenly thought of what had happened in the morning. She then lowered her voice with an ambiguous look, trying to persuade Zixiu with her own experience. ¡°That¡¯s what men are! As long as the baby is born, everything will be fine!¡±


    ¡°Rumble¡­¡± Zixiu, who had been in a trance, felt as if a bomb exploded in his head when he suddenly heard what she said. It turned out that he also shot himself in the foot while taking revenge on Nangong Du!


    Not long after Shiliu got out of the carriage, Nangong Du returned. Zixiu did not want to see him, so he got out of the carriage without even looking at him. After a long day in the carriage, he could finally stretch himself outside. Now that the Yu family had treated him as a pregnant woman, he had nothing to be embarrassed about.


    Nangong Du did not say anything.


    During dinner, one of the two was eating in the carriage, while the other insisted on eating with other people around the fire.


    This made Shiliu more convinced that the young couple had a little domestic! Yuxiao exchanged looks with his wife and immediately understood what she meant.

 Chapter 136

    As the Yu family and the Liu family were on good terms, needless to say, Yu Xiaohu and his wife hoped that their ¡°Sister Liu¡± and ¡°her¡± husband would get along well with each other. Moreover, they were clear who wore the pants in ¡°Sister Liu¡¯s¡± family, so if ¡°Sister Liu¡± could be on good terms with ¡°her¡± husband, it would be a great guarantee for the safety of the Yus! As what Shiliu had just said to Zixiu did not seem to have worked, and they did not have the guts to talk to ¡°Sister Liu¡¯s¡± husband, the couple decided to ¡°move¡± the two with their actions!


    During dinner, they intentionally picked food for each other to show their affection for each other. After dinner, seeing that Zixiu was still reluctant to go back to his carriage, holding the baby, the couple hung about in front of him to show how happy the three of them were together. Actually, as Yu Xiaohu and his wife were very close, they were showing their true feelings naturally more than acting. They had no idea whether Zixiu had seen it or not. Anyway, Zixiu did look in their direction from time to time. After a while, the baby fell asleep. For fear that it would get cold, they had to stop performing and go back to their carriage to rest.


    Zixiu had seen the couple coaxing their baby in the woods, but he did not know that they had done this on purpose, nor that they had mistaken him and Nangong Du for a couple who were quarreling! It was true that he did not get along well with Nangong Du, but it had nothing to do with affection. He thought he had no feelings for Nangong Du at all, and he was with him only because he had no other choice for the moment. Actually, what he could not bear was the despicable character of that foppish childe! He did not come out for a walk to avoid Nangong Du, but only to help his digest. When he saw the harmonious picture of the three togther, what he was thinking about was how to get them out of trouble!


    Anyway, if it weren¡¯t for him, the Yu family would not have suffered all this, so he had the obligation to ensure that they would get out of danger and live peacefully at home!


    A moment later, it started snowing. When Zixiu came back into the carriage, Nangong Du was reading a book by the oil lamp.


    ¡°Humph!¡± ¡®A refined rascal!¡¯ with a snort of disdain, he cursed inwardly. He then lifted the hem of his robe and sat down on the soft couch with a serious look. Since he was not capable enough for the moment, he had to talk to Nangong Du about the safety of the Yu family.


    ¡°What are you going to do with the Yu family?¡± He came straight to the point.


    Without answering him, Nangong Du went on reading, as if he had not heard what he said at all.


    Zixiu was certain that he was turning a deaf ear to his question on purpose, but he knew that he had to negotiate with Nangong Du, not to argue with him at this point. He held back his anger and continued to ask with a stern look, ¡°Are you going to take them with you?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean? You think they¡¯re a burden?¡± Nangong Du asked coldly without looking up. In fact, he was already in a rage. It seemed Liu Zixiu was still talking to him with disrespect! He had never learned from his experience!


    ¡°Prince Mu, I¡¯m not here to argue with you!¡± Zixiu stressed seriously. He knew well how narrow-minded Nangong Du was.


    ¡°So you still know who I am?¡± Nangong Du¡¯s tone became even colder. He was not trying to pick on Liu Zixiu, but the latter was so arrogant and he did not take him seriously at all! If he kept putting up with him, Liu Zixiu was going to trample him under his feet!


    ¡°Your Highness, please don¡¯t find fault with the Yus. Grandpa Yu and his grandson can¡¯t afford the long journey!¡± Zixiu admired himself as he still could talk calmly. If it weren¡¯t for the sake of Yu Xiaohu, who had saved his life, he would never bow to a scum he hated the most! ¡°Grandpa Yu is already over sixty. Although Xiaohu has become a dad, he¡¯s still a minor¡­¡±


    ¡°A minor?¡± What Zixiu said struck Nangong Du as ridiculous. Was Yu Xiaohu a child under the age of eight? However, he was still surprised that Liu Zixiu would have made concessions before he used force.


    Realizing that his thoughts were not suitable for this era, Zixiu immediately changed the topic. ¡°Those people want to kill you. Even though the Yus have got themselves into trouble by accident, they won¡¯t be their main target. Besides, with so many people with you, those killers have a better chance of finding you!¡± he continued after analysis.


    ¡°Liu Zixiu, are you still thinking about leaving alone?¡± Nangong Du came to this conclusion in surprise. Liu Zixiu was about the same age as Yu Xiaohu. Was he hinting that he, like Yu Xiaohu, was only a minor, who should not be punished for his provocative words and deeds? The same thing, the Yus were not the main target of those killers, and neither was he, so he did not have to worry about the danger of going back alone, right?


    ¡®Seems I¡¯m casting pearls before swine! I must have done something wrong in my last life and God let me meet this asshole to punish me!¡¯ Zixiu thought resentfully. Though he was seized with an impulse to rush over and bite Nangong Du, he managed to calm himself down. As if he had not heard what Nangong Du said, Zixiu continued, ¡°Your Highness, actually, you just need to find the Yus a place to live. There¡¯s no need for them to travel all the way with you. Don¡¯t you think so?¡± Zixiu thought if the Yus continued to go with Nangong Du, they were doomed to bad luck.


    Nangong Du did not reply but looked even grimmer. How dare Liu Zixiu turn a blind ear to what he said! It seemed it was the time to show the majesty of a husband! After two days of rest, his physical strength had almost recovered, but Liu Zixiu obviously still regarded him as a patient!


    Zixiu had to admit that he underestimated his enemy, or to put it another way, he had forgotten how violent and merciless Nangong Du was. Even though he had been defeated by the latter in the morning, he did not become alarmed, still thinking that Nangong Du could do nothing to him, just like when they were in the Cirrus Valley. So he was stunned when he straightened his neck to show his fearlessness and was suddenly grabbed by Nangong Du with his hands, which were as strong as a hawk¡¯s claws.


    ¡°I told you that if you dared to push your luck again, I would not show mercy!¡± Nangong Du said coldly, like an Asura from hell. He pressed his thumbs against Zixiu¡¯s throat, and as long as he exerted some force, the latter would definitely die!


    ¡°No, don¡¯t¡­¡± Zixiu begged out of the instinct for survival as if a cub whining. Only then did he realize that he could never change the ferocity of ¡°a wolf¡±!


    Though Nangong Du did not exert much strength, Zixiu¡¯s face started turning red. Nangong Du only looked at him expressionlessly, without any sympathy. As he did not mean to kill Zixiu, he then loosened his grip and warned again, ¡°Liu Zixiu, those who I have made out with will only end up in two ways: either to be made consorts, as you are now, or to be executed for offending me, as you will be one day!¡±

 Chapter 138

    ¡°The bandit breaking into the execution ground¡­ the one behind the poisoning of Prince Mu¡­ the culprit of Prince Rui¡­¡± Nangong Du repeated the accusation with sarcasm and anger. These charges were enough to wipe a family and all its relatives off the world! He rarely showed his sympathy, but to ensure the safety of the Yus, he made an exception to take them with him. He did not expect that his opponent would have taken advantage of this opportunity to turn Yu Xiaohu into a wanted criminal! If people wanted to pick on others, they could always find a reason easily!


    He wondered what Zixiu would react when he woke up and heard the news. The day before, Liu Zixiu had naively assumed that the Yu family would survive!  In addition to Yu Xiaohu, the rest of the Yu family included an old man, a child, and a woman. If Nangong Du could find a safe place to settle them, he would not be willing to take them with him. Without his protection, there was no way that the Yus were still alive! Those killers would not let go of the Yus only because they were not their main target! Poor Yu Xiaohu! He had saved someone who was regarded as an eyesore by others, so it was no wonder he got himself into trouble!


    Of course, Nangong Du had never associated the poisoning incident, the rescue of the condemned criminals from the execution ground, and Prince Rui, who had been executed five years ago, with the dangerous situation he was being hunted down. However, the apparent conspiracy theory in the wanted posters tied it all together and confirmed what he had been incredulous for years. This was an obvious fact! Yu Xiaohu was just an honest country boy. If he could stay calm after he had committed such a monstrous crime, as if nothing had happened, he must be really cunning and good at covering up!


    The mastermind behind the poisoning of Prince Mu! Humph! Yu Xiaohu did not even know that Prince Mu was just in front of him!


    Therefore, instead of being astonished by his opponent¡¯s plot, Nangong Du was more astonished by the one who was behind all this. But actually, he shouldn¡¯t have been shocked, because five years ago, Xianxian had warned him before her death! He was no longer the naive and stupid little prince five years ago. He was well aware of the apparent harmony and the hidden intrigue between the royal families, and had been fighting against those people. The secret battle had already begun long ago!


    Who had the authority to order governments at all levels to arrest a bandit?  Who would try to kill a prince at all costs? The answer was obvious!


    The midwife, who was already in her eighties, had never been so swift and she even hurried to her home in a panic without the help of her crane! It proved that in a critical moment, the instinct to survive could let a person unleash amazing energy! She got away on the pretext that someone in the neighboring village had come to her in the early morning and asked her to assist a pregnant woman in difficult labor before she was suddenly brought here forcibly! It was true that she had once assisted a woman who was having a difficult birth, but that was years ago! Actually, she was in such a hurry because she was about to go to the temple and pray for the Buddha¡¯s blessing. It was said that people who see a man pregnant were likely to die a violent death£¡


    As she stumbled through the thick snow, the noise around her was muffled by the creak under her feet. Besides, she was old and was losing her hearing. Therefore, she did not sense someone was approaching until she felt a weight on her shoulder. Shivering, she was so frightened that she almost fell to the ground.


    ¡°Lord Ghost, please spare me! I didn¡¯t mean to offend you! I¡¯m coming back home to burn joss sticks right now! Namo Amita Buddha!¡± Thinking that she must have met a super ghost that would appear even during the day, she kept on begging for mercy, covering her head with her hands.


    After listening to her ¡°worship¡± for a moment, the ¡°ghost¡± said in a harsh tone, ¡°My wife has not recovered yet. Please come with me to check again!¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± Hearing a human¡¯s voice, the old midwife noticed that the hand on her shoulder was kind of warm, so she relieved a little. However, when she heard this guy addressed that pregnant man as his wife, she couldn¡¯t help but grow tense again! It seemed she had really met a ghost!


    ¡°Sir, I can do nothing to help. You¡¯d better get someone else!¡± She shivered even more violently, but she still had no guts to turn around to face the man. ¡°My lord, I¡¯m old and even I want to help, I can do nothing!¡± she said, almost bursting into tears.


    Disregarding her entreaties, that man stopped talking, picked her up, and then left.


    The old midwife was sure that her feet did not touch the ground. That man was walking at an incredible speed and she did not even hear the sound of stepping on the snow! In horror, she couldn¡¯t help but look down. Sure enough, that man¡¯s feet did not touch the ground either!


    She was so shocked that she suddenly felt the cold air coming to her chest like thousands of arrows. She could not suppress her fear anymore and started struggling desperately.


    ¡°Wait! What are you doing here?¡± A loud voice suddenly rang in the tense atmosphere.


    As if seeing the Bodhisattva, the old midwife breathed a sigh of relief. She was familiar with the voice. It was the county patrolman who was speaking. A squad of seven or eight patrolmen had been patrolling in the village recently. These young men were all the children born with her assistance!


    As expected, a squad of patrolmen walked over one by one from behind a pile of snow at the corner.


    With them as her backing, the midwife thought for granted that they could defeat the ¡°ghost¡±, so she plucked up and was about to shout for help. However, before she could utter a word, the ¡°ghost¡± responded to the patrolman¡¯s question.


    In contrast to his sternness, he spoke in a flattering way this time, ¡°Bro, my master¡¯s wife is showing signs of miscarriage, and I¡¯m here to ask the midwife for help!¡±


    ¡°Your master¡¯s wife?¡± Those patrolmen approached and sized up the young man in an ordinary servant¡¯s attire. A few days ago, the government ordered to hunt down the escaped criminals, so they were instantly attracted by the stranger who appeared in their district, without noticing the terrified look on the old midwife¡¯s face.


    Obviously, the servant was very experienced. Instead of showing a hint of panic, he continued with a smile, ¡°My master is a businessman from Muzhou. Recently, he accompanied his pregnant wife to go back to her hometown to attend a funeral. On their way back to Muzhou, his wife showed signs of miscarriage. My master once heard, when he passed by before, that you had a very experienced midwife here, so he asked me to get this old lady!¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡± The head of the patrolmen nodded. He then shifted his gaze to the midwife, who was indeed very famous in the nearby villages. ¡°Granny, is that so?¡±


    Though the old lady¡¯s hearing was poor, she heard clearly what the servant had said. She couldn¡¯t help but think that she had thought of the young man a ghost because of her deafness and failing eyesight! After all, the young man seemed to be quite normal, and he was not lying. He really came to her to prevent someone from a miscarriage! ¡°Yes!¡± she replied with a nod. However, she felt even more nervous when she heard that the young man¡¯s master had just come back from a funeral. Could it be that his wife was possessed by a ghost during the funeral?


    ¡°Bro, my master¡¯s wife is very sick, so I have to go with this old lady right away. I hope I didn¡¯t interfere with your patrols!¡± With that, he pulled the midwife and was about to leave.


    The patrolmen were not so merciless. Seeing that he was really anxious, they stopped interrogating. What¡¯s more, they were going into the village on a routine patrol!


    So, each side went its own way.


    After walking a few meters, someone suddenly muttered, ¡°Why is there only one row of footprints?¡±


    Feeling something wrong, the patrolmen looked back at once. But the young man and the midwife were already gone!

 Chapter 139

    As it was damn cold outside and not safe lately, only very few villagers came out in the morning. Therefore, the footprints left in the snow were not messy. The patrolmen split up into small groups and looked for the young man and the midwife separately, following the footprints.


    When they finally found the old midwife again, she was walking along the village road again! To be precise, they did not found her, but ran into her!


    The old lady was walking in haste. However, when she saw them, she looked calm, showing no sign of having been kidnapped!


    Full of doubt, they were eager to figure out what had happened!


    ¡°What¡¯s going on? Where¡¯s the young guy? Can he use Qing Kung? Were you really taken away to help the pregnant woman? How many people are there in that pregnant woman¡¯s family? What do they look like? Is her husband really a businessman?¡±


    The old lady revealed a confused look when she was bombed with a series of questions. After a while, she gave a brief account of what had happened: that young man did not lie. His master¡¯s wife had recently experienced abnormal fetal movements and was even showing signs of miscarriage. Under the unremitting efforts of her and an old physician from the town, the fetus was safe now. She did not know if the young man could use Qing Kung, but she was indeed struck by the speed at which he walked. As she was focused on how to stop the bleeding and keep the fetus safe, she did not pay attention to the pregnant woman¡¯s family members, let alone their appearance. She was old and had poor eyesight, so she only remembered that the young man¡¯s master looked majesty, but he did not look like the portrait provided by the patrolmen (with poor eyesight and hearing, the old lady did not know that the portrait was actually a wanted poster). As for whether the man was a businessman or not, she did not pay any attention to it. However, she noticed that his luxurious carriage was parked in the Tian¡¯s courtyard in the east of the village.


    Hearing that, the patrolmen ran to Tian¡¯s house in an instant. However, it was too late. The businessman and his family had left! The information provided by the Tian couple was similar to what the old midwife gave. The only thing they knew more was that there were eight people in the family. In addition to the businessman and his wife, there were five servants, among which a female servant had a baby with her. They had no idea why this family had left in haste and where they had gone!


    The patrolmen did not get any valuable clues after a long time, but instead of feeling frustrated, they heaved a sigh of relief. On the one hand, they just needed to mind their own business. If they meddled in matters outside their own jurisdiction, their peers would be annoyed. On the other hand, most of them became patrolmen in the small town by pulling strings, and some of them did not even know the basic combating skills! Therefore, they had been hoping that there would not be any security problems in their district. Once they ran into a ferocious wanted criminal, they could do nothing but ask someone for help! Thinking of the young man¡¯s superb Qing Kung, they couldn¡¯t help secretly felicitating that they didn¡¯t confront him head-on. What¡¯s more, it was normal for a wealthy businessman to hire a martial artist as a bodyguard!


    As they did not find anything wrong, they decided to give up the idea of tracking down the carriage and reporting this case to their leader. After all, they had no proof that the family had anything to do with the wanted criminal, so they would be asking for trouble if they reported it. They were familiar with the way of officialdom!


    After a hasty patrol, they left the village, without knowing that before the night fell, in spite of the cold weather, the old midwife went to the temple on the hill alone on her crutch to offer incense and even donate a large sum of money. Actually, the Tian couple did not provide any valuable information because they were often bullied by the officials, and for fear that they might get themselves into trouble, they did not dare to say more. Moreover, the patrolmen did not know that both the midwife and the physician from the town received a handsome ¡°reward¡± from the ¡°businessman¡±! Of course, above all, they really did not find any clue that the patrolmen wanted. Even though the wanted poster had been posted in the village, the portrait on it probably did not look anything like the wanted criminal himself at all!


    After receiving the news from Ah Chen, Nangong Du decisively decided to split the team into two. Needless to say, he was not wanted, so he could continue along the state road. On the contrary, he asked his man to change the Yus¡¯ appearance briefly and let them go down the small path. The Yu family could only pray not to be caught by the patrolmen!


    A few days later, Zixiu finally came out of his coma.


    He thought he was still on the bumpy road. After a while, feeling no rocking back and forth, he calmed down a little. It seemed he was not in the moving carriage.


    He then turned his head slightly and looked around. He found himself not lying on a hard wooden bed in the dark countryside room, but on a gorgeous bed behind a thick pink curtain. The quilt on him was light but warm, giving off a faint fragrance.


    When he looked outside of the half-closed curtain, he saw the luxurious and classic furniture shining in the golden sunshine.


    He struggled to sit up to look at the room carefully. The room was exquisitely furnished, full of luxury and elegance.


    Now that Zixiu had regained his memories of his ¡°previous life¡±, what he saw made him feel like he was sleeping in the Forbidden City in Beijing! But obviously, it was not as mysterious and antiquated as the Forbidden City in his mind.


    Under the bright sunshine, everything looked fresh and vigorous!


    ¡®Am I still alive or reincarnated?¡¯ he hammered his chest while asking himself. At the thought that he might have reincarnated after his death, he felt his heart sink at once.


    Indulged in himself with his head lowered, Zixiu did not notice a figure leaping out of the dark.


    So, when Yueying spoke in front of the bed, he bounced up out of fear, and almost cried out ¡°Ghost!¡±


    ¡°Prince Mu has gone to the capital city. He asked you to take a good rest here!¡± As before, Yueying was expressionless when he spoke and his voice was as cold as ice.


    ¡°Oh!¡± Zixiu nodded feebly, showing no interest to know why Nangong Du had to go back shortly after he came out of Luanzhou. It was none of his business. Besides, he had his own things to worry about.


    Before the ¡°ghost¡± Yueying floated away, he asked in a hurry, ¡°Am I in Prince Mu¡¯s Mansion?¡± He was surprised that he had arrived at Nangong Du¡¯s fief so soon.


    ¡°Yes!¡±


    ¡®Seems I¡¯ve been in a coma for a long time,¡¯ Zixiu thought. He then yawned, as if he was tired, and was about to lie down again.


    However, Yueying showed no intent to leave. He continued coldly, ¡°Your Highness, from today onwards, without Prince Mu¡¯s permission, you can¡¯t walk out of this room¡­¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± Zixiu was instinctively shocked and angry at the unreasonable demand, and he did not notice that he had accepted the title as ¡°Your Highness¡± unconsciously.


    ¡°Why are you locking me up?¡± He did not intend to run away, so he could not help but feel angry.


    However, he was struck dumb by what Yueying said next. ¡°They found Princess Liuxu!¡±


    ¡°How¡­ is that possible?¡± Zixiu could not believe it. Meanwhile, an uneasy feeling rose in him. He stared at Yueying in tension, believing that Nangong Du had told this guard what had happened in the Cirrus Valley, ¡°Is it really Liuxu? My sister?¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± Yue Ying confirmed with a nod.

 Chapter 140

    Without knowing it, Zixiu had paced back and forth in the ¡°cell¡± nearly a hundred times! His mind was in a mess, but for a moment, he could not figure out what he was panicking about.


    By right, he should feel happy when he heard that nothing had happened to Liuxu. However, he felt restless for no reason. He did not care who wanted to kill Nangong Du, nor did he have time to think about what had happened to Yu Xiaohu and his family, and whether they were safe and sound now. When he recalled what had happened recently, he felt something wrong: Had it not been for an emergency, his dad would not have suddenly let go of his hands on the ropes, regardless of his safety. But if the ropes were really cut by someone, his dad must have been attacked. Then how come Liuxu suddenly showed up in Luanzhou? What the hell had happened on the top of the cliff that day? More importantly, Liuxu had been found, then how was his dad doing now? Was he with Liuxu? Who found them? Who took them to Luanzhou? What would happen to them?


    Nangong Du knew everything about what had happened in the Cirrus Valley. Leaving aside her mysterious background, had it not been for Liuxu¡¯s running away from the wedding, Prince Mu would not have married a fake princess. Besides, he had seen that his ¡°fianc¨¦e¡± was pregnant in the valley. As narrow-minded and merciless as Nangong Du, he must have been plotting revenge for a long time! In the Cirrus Valley, he could not make trouble because of his illness. What was Nangong Du going to do to return to Luanzhou in such a hurry?


    As Zixiu had suffered a lot because of Nangong Du, even without thinking, he could tell what the crafty, ruthless, and vicious prince might do. He even suspected that Nangong Du had just been faking a coma and lying in the snow near his house the other day. And to get out of the valley, this despicable prince might have pretended to be hunted down by killers. After all, no one had ever tested whether Nangong Du was lying when he said he was being hunted down. Moreover, having been abused by this asshole, Zixiu had spent most of the journey in a coma, so he had never seen a single killer! Moreover, even if there were a few killers, they might be Nangong Du¡¯s men who had come to cooperate with their master! Nangong Du was so good at acting. How could he waste his ¡°talent¡±? If he had not been acting, how come he did not stay at home to avoid those killers but made a long journey at this dangerous moment?


    The more Zixiu thought about it, the more he believed that he had been tricked. He couldn¡¯t wait to go to Luanzhou to question Nangong Du in person, and he was even more worried about his family! However, Nangong Du¡¯s guard, Yueying, who had once knocked him unconscious with a blow, was in the room. Could he escape under his nose?


    The most realistic and challenging problem made Zixiu calm down a little. Gradually, he started thinking in a different way. To be fair, did Nangong Du really have to lie? If he had been acting, how come Xingyi had been injured by a poisoned dart and almost died? Was it worth nearly killing his personal maidservant and even himself for acting? Besides, what was the point of putting on a show in front of an indefatigable ¡°slave¡± after they had got out of the Cirrus Valley? Moreover, Liuxu was a princess of a foreign country anyway, so her running away from marriage would definitely concern the relationship between the Wen and the Nan kingdom, and it was far more than a domestic affair of Prince Mu! Even though Nangong Du could not hold back his rage, his elder brother, the emperor, and his mother, the empress dowager, should know how serious the consequences could be if he did anything to hurt Liuxu, so they would find a way to stop him¡­ Wait! Princess Liuxu¡¯s escape from marriage seemed to be a secret to most people, and even the emperor and the empress dowager knew nothing about it!


    At this point, Zixiu suddenly associated his experience of being forced to disguise himself as Prince Mu¡¯s consort and what he had suffered from with something odd that had happened recently.


    However, though he was so furious that he had a spur to kill Nangon Du, he felt a sense of relief while running his fingers along his bulging belly. Thankfully, even the empress dowager knew that Prince Mu¡¯s new ¡°consort¡± was pregnant, so she would not feel anything wrong when she saw Liuxu¡¯s big belly! At least, Liuxu would neither be laughed at nor despised, nor be drowned in a pond or committed suicide to show her innocence. Thus, Nangong Du would not have any excuse to kill her in Luanzhou!


    Thinking of this, Zixiu felt much more relieved. At least he still had time to escape. Now that he had regained his memories, and he was not as stupid as before, he was confident that as long as he got out of Prince Mu¡¯s Mansion, he was able to get rid of Nangong Du¡¯s control over him.


    A moment later, he got a plan. Everyone needed to answer the call of nature.  Even though the loyal guard was watching his every move like a monitor, he was not likely to follow him to the toilet.


    Zixiu then bent over and clamped his legs unnaturally, as if he could not hold it anymore. He turned around and went into the inner room with a strange posture. After pulling out the homemade toilet paper from his bag, he rushed into the toilet at once.


    A quarter of an hour later, he got out of the toilet with a refreshed look. As he had completed the first step of his plan, he couldn¡¯t help but whistle while walking back to the room at a brisk pace.


    Soon, it was noon.


    To his surprise, the silent guard, who had always suddenly shown up in front of him from nowhere, walked in from the front door, carrying a basket of food.


    Soon the table was laden with various kinds of delicious dishes. Smelling the inviting fragrance, Zixiu, who was starving to death, could not stop his mouth from watering. He hadn¡¯t had a decent meal for a long time!


    He instantly grabbed the chopsticks and started digging his food!


    The dishes were so delicious that they could even be compared with those at the five-star hotels of the 21st century. The cooking skills of the chef were amazing!


    When Zixiu was gobbling down in a good mood, he suddenly noticed that instead of leaving, the guard was still standing by the dinner table.


    Though he was aware that in feudal society, servants were not allowed to eat with their master together, he could not help but invite Yueying to have dinner with him.


    ¡°Er¡­ Hey, you!¡± He did not remember whether Nangong Du had ever called the guard¡¯s name before him. Anyway, he did not know his name. But it would not stop him from trying to invite Yueying.


    ¡°Take a seat! You can share the food with me.¡± He put down his chopsticks and wiped the oil from the corners of his mouth shyly. He felt ashamed when someone looked at him while he was eating. He hated the way rich people thought they were superior!


    ¡°¡­¡± With a poker face, Yueying did not make a sound.


    ¡°Come on! Let¡¯s eat together. You¡¯ve been spying on me for a long time. Aren¡¯t you tired?¡± Zixiu tried to persuade him reasonably, ¡°Join me! I can¡¯t finish so many dishes. Besides, if you find time to eat alone, it will affect your work, right?¡±


    Yue Ying was still expressionless, but he finally spoke, ¡°Don¡¯t waste your time! The laxative in your bag was already dumped!¡± he said, without any fluctuation in his tone.


    ¡°Huh?!¡± Zixiu was rendered speechless.

 Chapter 141

    ¡°Like master, like servant!¡± Zixiu thought resentfully. However, though his plan did not go well, he was not discouraged. He chuckled, trying to cover up his embarrassment. ¡°Well¡­ Bro, I¡¯m really flattered! You¡¯re such a smart, experienced martial artist. How dare I try to plot against you? Besides, you¡¯re watching my every move. Even if I did risk my life trying to do something to you, you¡¯d find out right away, right?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± The expressionless Yueying remained silent.


    Zixiu did not flare up at once. With a flattering smile on his face, he continued, ¡°Bro, don¡¯t get me wrong! It was just a misunderstanding!¡±


    With that, he picked up a cup of tea from the table with his expression and tone changing to solemn in an instant. ¡°Bro, I¡¯m so grateful to you for taking care of me these days! I will drink tea as a toast to show my gratitude!¡±


    He then emptied the cup of tea at a draught.


    ¡°¡­¡± Yueying still did not respond. He stood there indifferently as if he were really a monitor!


    ¡°Ok!¡± Zixiu took a deep breath to cheer himself up. ¡®This autistic guy gives a cold shoulder to everyone except for his master. Seems he¡¯s even tougher than Nangong Du, and I can¡¯t accomplish my purpose if I don¡¯t play tricks!¡¯ Zixiu thought. Though his knowledge of computers was useless in this backward country, he would show the henchman of that foppish childe how he would make him bite the hook with his eloquence! After all, he, Mark Lira, had once learned crosstalk from a performer!


    Crosstalk was the art of speech, which focused on talking, imitating, fun-making, and singing. If there was only one performer, it was called comic monologue; if there were two performers, it was called comic dialogue; if there were three or more performers, it was called group crosstalk¡­ Next, Zixiu started his lengthy comic monologue.


    ¡°Bro, you must have been a guard for a long time? May I know who your teacher is?¡± After that, Zixiu made a lot of noise while taking a gulp of soup.


    ¡°Prince Mu is ill-tempered, so you must be scolded a lot, right?¡± he asked. Next, he took another gulp of the soup, making a rasping noise again. He remembered that in the traditional culture of some countries, it was normal to make a noise when people were eating soup. Maybe the tradition of the Nan Kingdom was the same?


    ¡°¡­¡± Yueying stood still as if he were a statue.


    ¡°Er¡­ can I ask you something?¡± Zixiu did not believe that Yueying could maintain silent all the time. Looking at Yueying for quite a while with an inexplicable look, he continued in a low voice, as if he was whispering, ¡°How much does Prince Mu pay you a month?¡±


    For the first time, Yueying turned to him.


    Encouraged, Zixiu continued, ¡°Er¡­ Bro, how old are you?¡± From the guard¡¯s appearance, he could tell he was already an adult. ¡°Do you have a girlfriend¡­ Er¡­ I mean, do you have a crush on someone? Do you need me to set you up with a girl? Prince Mu hasn¡¯t got you a wife, right?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± Yueying turned to him again, shooting him an angry glare.


    Zixiu widened his eyes deliberately while clicking his tongue. ¡°Dude, don¡¯t tell me you¡¯ve been in love with Xingyi for a long time!¡±


    ¡°Shut up!¡± Yueying was so annoyed that he couldn¡¯t help but yell. Without asking whether Liu Zixiu had finished his meal, he started clearing the dinner table. The first thing he was about to take away was the bowl of soup Liu Zixiu had been sipping for a long time! He had never heard anyone making such a disgusting sound while having soup!


    ¡°Don¡¯t!¡± Zixiu shouted anxiously. To prevent the soup bowl from being snatched away, he lifted his leg and stood on the chair. ¡°The soup tastes so good. I haven¡¯t had enough yet!¡± he said, holding the bowl high.


    Disregarding what he said, Yueying waved his palm expressionlessly, aiming at Zixiu¡¯s elbow.


    At this point, Zixiu suddenly lost his balance and nearly knelt on the dinner table. Thankfully, he managed to stabilize himself. However, the bowl of soup in his hands was not so lucky as him!


    Half a bowl of warm soup was poured over Yueying¡¯s head dramatically!


    ¡°Bah! Bah!¡± Yueying could not stay calm anymore. He spat out the spicy soup that flowed into his mouth, his face flushing in rage!


    As if he had just recovered from his shock, knowing that he had made big trouble and the consequence could be serious, Zixiu grabbed his long sleeve and rubbed it hard against Yueying¡¯s head and face.


    ¡°Leave me alone!¡± Yueying lost his temper. He gave Zixiu a shove, which made the latter almost fall to the floor from the table. However, keeping in mind that his mission was to watch Zixiu, Yueying did not leave the ¡°cell¡±. He thought Liu Zixiu must be taking revenge on his tight watch, so he deliberately poured the soup over him, trying to force him to leave temporarily.


    It was true that Zixiu had thought in this way. He did this on purpose, but not just for revenge. How come a straight man like him had been nagging for so long and behaved so rudely merely to get even with others?


    Seeing the guard, who always put on a poker face and was as cool as an underworld killer, look a total mess, Zixiu felt a rush of delight of revenge. He had never forgotten that this guy once gave him a punch!


    As the saying goes ¡®revenge is a dish best served cold¡¯! ¡°Ha-ha-ha¡­¡± Zixiu was so joyful that he grinned maliciously with his hand propping his chin. Next, he climbed down the table and sat back in the chair. After smoothing his clothes and his hair, he said with a serious look, ¡°Bro, I¡¯m going to tell you a story!¡±


    Though Yueying did not respond, he was listening carefully.


    In spite of Yueying¡¯s indifference, Zixiu started telling him the story, ¡°During the period of war, a mountain boy whose motherland was invaded by the enemy went to the town to buy salt with his dad one day. On their way back, he saw that the enemy soldiers were searching the passers-by at the checkpoint and seizing their belongings by force. For fear that they would take his salt away, the little boy came up with an idea and sailed through the checkpoint. Do you know how he managed to keep his salt from being searched by those soldiers?¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t know, right? Hum!¡± Hearing no response from Yueying, Zixiu chuckled even more viciously. He was certain that Yueying was curious about the answer. ¡°It¡¯s simple! He dissolved the salt in his clothes!¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± The indifferent guard finally spoke, and there was even a note of panic in his voice! He was not slow-witted, and he guessed Liu Zixiu must be hinting at something by telling the story!


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry! I didn¡¯t use my urine to dissolve the poison in my clothes! But you¡¯d better find a way to induce vomiting asap! Because when the last time I was wearing this suit¡­¡± Zixiu paused deliberately while patting his sleeves.¡±I accidentally knocked over a bottle of potion that my dad newly developed¡­ OMG! It seemed to be a potion used to poison mice! Worst of all, I seemed to have forgotten to wash my suit! I¡¯m not sure if the potion wetted my sleeve back then!¡±


    ¡°Liu Zixiu!¡± Yue Ying¡¯s face gradually turned livid. He really felt as if there was something wrong with him!


    ¡°Ah! Sorry! I accidentally soaked my sleeve into the soup and wiped your mouth with it¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m really sorry! I didn¡¯t mean to harm you. I just couldn¡¯t think of a better way! Go send a physician for yourself, or it will be too late¡­ By the way, it¡¯s said that milk and egg whites or cactus can help to induce vomiting. Give it a try! I have to go now!¡± With that, Zixiu ran away in a hurry.


    As he had practiced the basic skills of Qing Kung for months, Zixiu felt running and climbing over the wall were much easier than he imagined. To his surprise, there was not even a single servant in the yard! He guessed that this was probably the place where disfavor imperial concubines were imprisoned in TV dramas!


    Seeing that Yueying did not catch up, Zixiu could tell that the potion was really poisonous, so he was even more flustered. ¡®Heavens! I killed someone!¡¯

 Chapter 142

    It was dusk when Luo Huali hurried to Muzhou, and it was not yet quite dark yet. However, as he could not wait to find Zixiu, he sneaked into Prince Mu¡¯s Mansion without changing into a black suit.


    When he and Lingxiao finally got out of the formation, found their master, Yan Ke, and returned to the Cirrus Valley the other day, they saw nobody in Liu¡¯s house. To their surprise, all the rooms were covered with cobwebs and thick dust, as if no one had lived there for years! If his master hadn¡¯t told him that it was the warning sign his Uncle Liu had deliberately left them, Huali almost thought everything that had happened in the Cirrus Valley after he came here was just an illusion.


    It was clear that Uncle Liu and Zixiu had realized the danger. By disguising the house as if no one had lived in it for years, they were trying to tell them not to worry about them and leave right away. But they all turned a blind eye to it. Liu Wuyi and Zixiu were not martial arts practitioners. How come they stand by and let them get into danger?


    Following the footprints in the snow, the three of them arrived at a broken cliff at the end of the field behind Liu¡¯s house. However, it was too late. They saw nobody, and there were two hemp ropes tied to a gnarled tree. From the neat fracture surface at the other end of the ropes, they could tell that they were cut by someone with a sharp blade. Seeing the messy footprints on the ground, they thought Liu Wuyi and his son must be in danger. Therefore, they parted to look for them. Following the route that their Uncle Liu had told them to take, Huali and Lingxiao got out of the valley, while Yan Ke climbed off the cliff with his bare hands. When Lingxiao and Huali came to a villager¡¯s house at the foot of the mountain, they saw the open gate and doors, as well as blood-stained snow in the yard! Again, it seemed they had come too late! There was no one in the room!


    What had happened? Where were Uncle Liu and Zixiu? Feeling that something had happened to Zixiu and his dad, Lingxiao and Huali grew even more restless. If they had insisted on staying in the Cirrus Valley, Zixiu couldn¡¯t be missing! At the thought of this, they couldn¡¯t help but feel guilty. Fortunately, their experienced master, Yan Ke, did not lose his composure. As he thought it must have something to do with Nangong Du, he immediately decided to go to Prince Mu¡¯s fief to investigate.


    The three of them headed for Muzhou even without resting at night. However, as they suddenly heard halfway that Princess Liuxu had been found, Yan Ke once again decided to split the team into two groups. He and Lingxiao returned to Luanzhou, while Huali went on to Muzhou.


    Huali quickly searched all the rooms in Prince Mu¡¯s Mansion in Muzhou, but he did not find Zixiu until the moon had come out. Feeling anxious, he threw all caution to the wind. Jumping down from the roof, he stopped a passing male servant with a lantern. ¡°Where¡¯s Prince Mu?¡±


    The servant was struck dumb when he suddenly felt a pair of cold hands grab him by the neck. With his legs shivering, he even forgot to shout for help out of fear!


    Huali¡¯s patience began to grow thin. He had once taken extreme measures, like killing a guard more than half a year ago, and then replaced him by changing his own appearance before he sneaked into Prince Mu¡¯s Mansion and stayed there for days. As far as he was concerned, those guards in Prince Mu¡¯s mansion were all bullies who threw their weight about, so killing them could be considered as punishing them for the common people by god¡¯s will.


    ¡°Tell me right now!¡± He gave the servant one last chance.


    The male servant calmed down a little when he finally saw clearly that the one in front of him was a man, not a ghost. As a servant with the lowest status in Prince Mu¡¯s Mansion, he did not even know what his personal guard looked like since Nangong Du had been made Prince Mu, so he had no reason to sacrifice his own life for his master, who was said to be brutal and had many enemies. ¡°Prince Mu went to the capital city!¡± he replied honestly.


    ¡°The capital city?!¡± Huali¡¯s eyes suddenly shone brightly. If Nangong Du had once come back, Zixiu might be safe now! He was sure that the person who had lit up a paper roll in the jungle that night was Nangong Du, and he must have returned to the Cirrus Valley.


    ¡°Where¡¯s Prince Mu¡¯s bedroom?¡± He thought he might find some clues in Nangong Du¡¯s bedroom.


    ¡°Huh?!¡± The servant screamed in fear when he realized that the assassin showed no intent to let him go. Ever since he was poisoned in Luanzhou, Prince Mu had always slept in different places at night. As where he slept every night was a secret, there was no way that a low-rank servant like him could know about it. However, at this moment, he had to think about how to survive first. Though he was in tension, in the hope of muddling through, he told Huali about a place Prince Mu used to visit that he overheard those high-rank servants mention. ¡°The Orchid¡­Orchid Pavilion!¡±


    Huali could tell that the servant¡¯s status was low and he could not get more valuable information from him. However, when he heard that the Orchid Pavilion was located in the south of the mansion, where there was no security guard, he couldn¡¯t help but feel suspicious, so he decided to go there to have a look. He had arrived at the Orchid Pavilion a moment ago, but there was not a guard or even a trace of light around it, except for a dark wooded area, so he did not get into it!


    As soon as they entered the dense woods, he stuck the acupoint of the servant, who had been forced to lead the way, and walked towards the Orchid Pavilion alone with the lantern in his hand.


    The Orchid Pavilion was deep in the dense woods with an independent small courtyard. In the dark, it looked eerie and gloomy. Moreover, the structure of the houses in this courtyard was completely different from those in Prince Mu¡¯s Mansion and even most of the buildings in the Nan Kingdom. Though the houses seemed strange to Huali, for no reason, he felt they were well-coordinated and even pleasing to the eye!


    Of course, he did not have time to enjoy the scenery. As the gate was not locked, he pushed it open and walked into the courtyard. Next, holding his breath, he slowly approached the window of a room.


    After taking only a few steps, he suddenly heard a faint rustling sound coming from the room. The next second, he stopped, as he seemed to have smelled the unique fragrance of the Valley of Fallen Blossoms.


    Zixiu was indeed here!


    He was so excited that without investigating his surroundings, he leaped into the room through the window at once!


    ¡°Swoosh!¡± A tiny weapon flew to him.


    Fortunately, Huali reacted quickly. He sidestepped the tiny weapon, which then hit the wall behind him, but instead of going into the wall, it fell to the floor.


    ¡°Gosh!¡± Zixiu was shuddering under the table. Of course, it wasn¡¯t him who had thrown out the tiny weapon. He was in tension because Yueying told him that someone had hired some killers to assassinate him!


    ¡°Zixiu!¡± As the fragrance was getting stronger, Huali was certain that Zixiu was in the room. Besides, he was certain that the internal force of the one who had attacked him was very weak.


    Zixiu froze for quite a while. He held his breath and did not dare to make a sound. Did he mishear it? This voice sounded so familiar! Was his senior brother coming?


    ¡°Zixiu, where are you?¡± Huali looked around, lifting the lantern in his hand. Now Zixiu could assert that he had not misheard just now!


    Yueying, who was hiding in the darkness, closed her eyes and breathed a sigh of relief after he had seen clearly the face of the intruder.


    ¡°Senior Brother!¡± Zixiu crawled out from under the table, shouting excitedly, ¡°Senior Brother, I¡¯m here! I¡¯m here!¡±


    Zixiu did not think that much. He had had a narrow escape with Nangong Du, and now he was completely free from danger! He threw himself at the source of light and hugged Luo Huali. ¡°Senior Brother! I¡¯m so glad to see you again! It was so terrifying! I was so scared that I broke out in cold sweat¡­ ¡±


    ¡°Zixiu, what happened? Are you all right?¡± Huali gently pushed Zixiu half a meter away from him and sized him up in the light of the lantern.


    ¡°I¡­ I¡¯m fine!¡± Zixiu was so excited that he couldn¡¯t help but try to hug Huali again. He had been fighting alone for so long, and suffered a lot because of Nangong Du! Therefore, to him, the arrival of his senior brother was like what the Bible called the coming of the Gospel. A suffering civilian finally got reinforcements! ¡°Senior brother! Senior Brother, I¡¯ve been waiting for you for so long!¡±


    ¡°Zixiu¡­¡± Infected by his enthusiasm, Luo Huali could not restrain his rolling emotion anymore. He hugged Zixiu tightly as well. ¡°Zixiu, I was worried sick too. I thought I would never¡­¡±


    ¡°Ah!¡± Before Huali could finish his words, Zixiu suddenly remembered why he was still here. ¡°Senior Brother, someone got poisoned and he needs your help badly!¡±

 Chapter 143

    As soon as feeding the guard, who looked feeble with a pale face and kept on vomiting, a detoxification pill, Luo Huali took Zixiu out of Nangong Du¡¯s mansion. He was in no mood to take care of someone who had locked Zixiu up! If Zixiu had not begged him, he would have killed that guard with a punch to revenge for Zixiu! Zixiu was too sympathetic!


    However, Zixiu did not think in the same way. He felt much relieved after the guard had taken the pill from his senior brother, and he even secretly felicitated that he had not run away in spite of the possibility that Yueying might die of poisoning. Otherwise, he would live in regret for the rest of his life! Though it was him who had made Yueying get poisoned, Zixiu took it for granted that because of his kindness, God sent his senior brother here. If he had not gone back to check Yueying¡¯s condition, there was no way that he could meet Luo Huali!


    It was a reunion after a great disaster, but they did not have time to talk. Huali and Zixiu hurried to the exit of the city, using their Qing Kung, but it was too late, and the city gate had already been closed.


    Huali knew that the guard in Prince Mu¡¯s Mansion could not regain his internal force in a few days. As he did not have to worry about someone chasing after them, there was no need to fight the soldiers guarding at the gate to force their way through. Therefore, the two of them went back downtown.


    They went to several hotels before they finally found one that was not fully booked!


    Huali asked for two rooms, but the plump hotel owner replied, ¡°My apologies, Sir, but we don¡¯t have many rooms, and there¡¯s only one room available now.¡± Zixiu felt so helpless when he saw the classic clip that often appeared in swordsman TV dramas. However, when he noticed the thoughtful look in the eyes of the hotel owner and the waiter, he felt even more helpless. He looked like neither man nor woman, and the two must have thought he had an affair with his senior brother!


    ¡®The two of us have never done anything disgraceful. Why does Senior Brother care so much what others think of us?¡¯ Zixiu couldn¡¯t help but blame Huali secretly. He had been racking his brains all day, and now he was exhausted, so he did not want to waste time looking for a hotel anymore. ¡°Forget it! One room will do!¡±


    As Zixiu could make do with it, Huali stopped insisting. The two then followed the waiter to the guest room in the backyard.


    Next, the waiter brought them tea, rice, dishes, and warm water in order. Though the waiter¡¯s service was good and the room was clean, Zixiu was in no mood to enjoy in an ancient hotel. He had a bunch of questions in his mind and when the waiter finally stopped knocking on the door, he moved to the oil lamp and whispered in Huali¡¯s ear, ¡°Senior Brother, why did you come alone? Where¡¯s Lingxiao? You¡­ ¡±


    ¡°He went to Luanzhou with Master Yan. Princess Liuxu was found, and Master Yan thought you and Uncle Liu was there too!¡± Though Huali looked calm, he was overwhelmed by jealousy. As all he was thinking about was that Zixiu cared more about Lingxiao, he did not notice that the latter had not finished his words yet.


    Worrying about his dad¡¯s safety, Zixiu had no time to think that much. He immediately told Huali what had happened after Uncle Yan and his two disciples left the valley. However, feeling ashamed, he deliberately omitted the part of his own haemorrhaging. He did not mention that he had regained his memories either. Since even he himself was confused about this ¡°magic¡± thing that happened to him, he decided to keep it a secret. In the end, he talked about his concern, ¡°Nangong Du is not easy to deal with. I¡¯m worried that he will do something against my dad and Liuxu on their way back. Fortunately, Uncle Yan went to Luanzhou with Lingxiao!¡±


    ¡°No worries! A nice man like Uncle Liu will be blessed by the gods!¡± Huali said, trying to comfort Zixiu. Given Zixiu¡¯s current physical condition, he knew he could not take any more blows. Obviously, Zixiu had not realized the fact that Liu Wuyi had taken him away from Prince Mu¡¯s Mansion months ago had given Nangong Du, who was in hot water back then, a perfect excuse to cover up his lies and he had announced in public that princess Liuxu was kidnapped by some gangster. If Uncle Liu was found with Liuxu, it would be very likely that he would be taken as the culprit who kidnapped the princess!


    Zixiu did not know what had happened outside after he returned to the Cirrus Valley, but he could tell that it was not going to come to an end soon. He sighed sadly. He did not want to get involved in any dispute in this time and space which did not belong to him, especially the intrigue between the royal family. But now it seemed he was already in the eye of the storm! How hapless! In his previous life, he, Mark Lira, had failed in the college entrance exam twice in a row because of his poor scores in history and politics. If he had not switched to science when he applied in the third year, he would have to repeat his studies in high school!


    They chatted for a while longer and finally concluded that they could do nothing except for waiting for news from Luanzhou.


    It was late at night, time to rest.


    The room fell silent, and only an occasional ¡°crackle¡± could be heard as the charcoal burned in the brazier next to them. ¡°Zixiu, it¡¯s getting late. You¡¯d better rest early!¡± Huali broke the dull atmosphere first. It turned out that they were like strangers when they were not talking about other people¡¯s business.


    ¡°All right. I¡¯m very tired! Senior Brother, you¡¯d better go to bed early too!¡± Zixiu nodded drowsily, but he did not rise to his feet right away. He subconsciously thought that Huali was going to say something more important next.


    As expected, Huali continued, ¡°Go to bed now! I¡¯ll keep watch at the door.¡±


    ¡°Come on! You¡¯ve been busy all day. Besides, Nangong Du won¡¯t send anyone after us!¡± Zixiu came to this conclusion after a simple analysis. First, he was sure his senior brother would not have been stupid enough to try his best to save that guard and put themselves at risk. Second, with the showing up of the real Princess Liuxu, Nangong Du did not need him to disguise himself as the princess anymore.


    However, he seemed to have misunderstood Huali. ¡°Zixiu, can you just stop pretending that nothing happened? I don¡¯t believe you have no idea what¡¯s on my mind!¡± After hesitating for a while, he finally blurted out something he had bottled up for a long time.


    ¡°Huh? What are you talking about?¡± Zixiu did not know what made his senior brother think in this way. Though he was surprised by what Huali said, he felt nervous for no reason.


    ¡°I like you. Is it really that illusory? Do you have to go through a long line of reasoning to know that my love for you is real?¡±


    How come his usually gentle senior brother suddenly became so sharp-tongued? Zixiu was at a loss, but actually, he was avoiding it subconsciously. He had been seen through by his senior brother!


    ¡°Senior Brother, what¡¯s wrong with you?¡± He still did not want to embarrass Huali.


    The persistence in Huali¡¯s eyes gradually turned into grief. With a bitter smile crossing his skinny face, he said slowly, ¡°Zixiu, can you not ignore my love for you?¡±

 Chapter 144

    In his ¡°previous life¡±, Zixiu had once heard someone say ¡®Love destroys all, and makes all!¡¯


    He was not a romantic person, and used to think that such words were nothing but the obscurantist nonsense from those idle literary youth! But now, he knew that love could really change a person. Since his senior brother insisted on turning their childhood friendship into love, rather than something more rational like brotherhood or schoolmate love, then love really could make people crazy, make people stupid, make people disgusting, and make a straight man say something like ¡°You¡¯re so merciless, so cruel, so unreasonable¡­¡± which he had always read in romance novels!


    Anyway, the two of them did not share the same bed. Hearing what Huali said, Zixiu did not think they were any closer, but felt more awkward to be with him!  As a man, he was cared about and protected by another man. Most importantly, his senior brother¡¯s confession of love made the relationship between them more like that between a man and a woman! Zixiu felt more like a woman!


    Given the current situation, two men sharing the same bed was not a big deal. However, as his senior brother had taken him as a ¡°woman¡±, he did not dare even do this! Zixiu grew even more depressed when the next morning he had trouble getting his shoes on because of his big belly, his senior brother got down on one knee and helped him put on the shoes, which reminded him of the moment in fairy tales when the prince put on Cinderella¡¯s shoes. Alas! How embarrassing! How come he was so ¡°lucky¡± that he had met such a thoughtful, considerate, and gentle ¡°prince¡±!


    ¡®Senior Brother, can you stop being so gallant?!¡¯ Zixiu protested inwardly, being a little annoyed from embarrassment. He was already depressed by his androgynous appearance, and now his senior brother was rubbing salt on his wound! He really deserved to be beaten up! However, next, he thought in a different way. It was normal that a young man who had his first serious crush lost in love and became dull. His senior brother had always taken good care of him, so he just did this naturally¡­ Alas! He, Liu Zixiu, had sacrificed his self-esteem to preserve the self-esteem of an introverted man!


    The two of them, to be precise, it was Zixiu, who had been wrestling with himself all the time in the morning. Now, they finally sat in the hall of the hotel to enjoy their breakfast.


    As soon as the food was served, Huali automatically picked food into the bowl in front of Zixiu. He did this so naturally as if he were picking food for his beloved girlfriend!


    ¡®Why don¡¯t you just feed me!¡¯ Zixiu thought resentfully. His senior brother complained that he was playing dumb, but actually, he had gone even further than he did! After all, he had not agreed to upgrade their relationship to a couple the night before¡­ To be precise, before he could express his opinion, his senior brother had chimed in, saying that the pregnant woman should go to bed early and get as much rest as possible. It turned out that his senior brother was a crafty guy as well!


    ¡°Senior Brother, I¡¯ll do it myself! We need to get out of the city asap, right?¡± Didn¡¯t his senior brother see that the food in his bowl was almost piled up into a hill?


    Huali seemed to have known that Zixiu was going to say this. He immediately stopped picking food for him and put down his chopsticks. With a serious look on his face, he asked, ¡°Zixiu, do you hate me?¡±


    ¡°No! I¡­¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s on your mind is also on your face. Don¡¯t try to hide it from me!¡±


    ¡®Huh? Is it so obvious?¡¯ Zixiu touched his face subconsciously, thinking that since his senior brother was ready to be rejected, he did not have to hide his true feelings, so he put it straight. ¡°Well, I admit I¡¯m not used to the custom of picking food at dinner in this country!¡± Er¡­ It seemed he had said something wrong, but at the mention of picking food, he couldn¡¯t help but think of the shameless Nangong Du! ¡°Sorry, Senior Brother! I don¡¯t hate you, but I don¡¯t feel for you the way you feel for me!¡±


    A few seconds later, as he did not see the bitter look of lovelorn on his senior brother¡¯s face as he expected, Zixiu couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°What do you say?¡±


    The next second, he started regretting it. How come he acted as if he were a hesitant pure girl who was probing his senior brother¡¯s resolve? Sure enough, he was too kind and soft-hearted!


    ¡°Zixiu, I won¡¯t give up. I¡¯ll keep taking care of you¡­ but I won¡¯t force you to accept me. I can wait!¡±


    ¡°You can wait?¡± ¡®Look, he¡¯s still an immature and irrational boy!¡¯ Zixiu shook his head helplessly as if he had been through a lot. He then said earnestly, ¡°Senior Brother, I admire your determination and courage, and appreciate your care, but I may let you down. Putting aside whether I am worth the wait, and whether I¡¯ll accept you or not, I just want to tell you not to make promises easily to others, because commitment comes at a price, and time changes everything! When people are young, they fantasize that everything in the world can last forever. In the end, they only find out how naive they are. Their promises are so insignificant and unrealistic to an unpredictable future¡­¡±


    ¡°Are you trying to convince me that I like you is just my illusion again?¡±  Hearing that Zixiu was trying to negate his love for him with a long speech again, Huali had to interrupt him. He wondered why Zixiu was so pessimistic like an old man at such a young age. He often blurted out a mass of absurdities with a serious look! ¡°Zixiu, you doubt my sincerity, don¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°I believe what you are saying is from the bottom of your heart at this moment, but who can guarantee that you won¡¯t change¡­ No! I mean, don¡¯t you think liking someone of the same sex is morally unacceptable? The masses will look down upon you!¡± There was no way that ancient societies were even more tolerant and open than modern societies!


    Huali pondered for a while for the new phrase of ¡°the masses¡± before he continued, ¡°I don¡¯t care about what others think. I just care about what you think! You said you wouldn¡¯t look down on me!¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­¡± ¡®How come I always shoot myself in the foot?¡¯ Zixiu thought angrily. ¡°Then how about your master? Don¡¯t you even care about him?¡± After all, respect for teachers was the most important thing!


    ¡°If Master Yan can¡¯t forgive me, I¡¯ll take you as far away as possible from the Valley of Fallen Blossoms!¡±


    ¡°?!¡± It sounded so familiar. ¡®Did Lingxiao also say something like that, or maybe I watched too many romantic TV series? What¡¯s wrong with these guys?¡¯ ¡°Senior Brother, I¡¯m not as good as you think. I am a person¡­¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why I want to get closer to you. I hope the two of us can get to know each other better!¡±


    ¡°Get to know each other better?¡± Was it so easy to turn a straight man into a gay?  Did he know how Mark Lira had become Liu Zixiu? ¡°Senior brother, if you insist, you will hurt yourself even more! You¡¯d better¡­ ¡±


    ¡°Zixiu! Since time changes all, it can also change your attitude to love. I¡¯ll wait until you fall in love with me!¡±


    ¡°I¡­ Senior Brother! Seems you¡¯re overconfident!¡±


    ¡°If you don¡¯t like the way I speak, I can correct it!¡±


    ¡°Forget it! Let¡¯s talk about it later! Now the most important thing is to save my dad!¡±


    ¡°All right! Let¡¯s eat!¡±

 Chapter 145

    Before breakfast, Huali had asked the waiter to find them a carriage.


    As soon as they finished their breakfast, the waiter walked over and said, ¡°My apologies, Sir! But I can¡¯t get you a carriage! The road was frozen with rain and snow last night, and there was a little chance that a horse could walk on it, so no groom was willing to drive out of the city!¡±


    ¡°How did this happen? The road had not frozen over during the daytime yesterday!¡± Zixiu did not believe it. He rose to his feet and was about to have a look outside.


    Huali quickly stopped him and pressed him back into the chair. After expressing his thanks to the waiter, he turned to Zixiu and gently comforted him, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll go out and have a look!¡±


    After a few minutes, Huali came back and confirmed that the waiter did not lie. On the slippery road, even a person might fall at any time, let alone a horse! Looking at Zixiu¡¯s big belly, he was aware that they could not take the risk. It seemed they were trapped by the once-in-a-decade blizzard and had to stay at the hotel for the time being!


    When they came back to the guest room in the backyard, Zixiu threw himself onto the bed and covered his head with the quilt. He couldn¡¯t help but feel restless. What was going on? How come he was so hapless! Even God did not like him and was always against him!


    ¡°Damn it!¡± he roared indignantly. Then he kicked the quilt away by stepping hard on the bed. Managing to calm himself down, he asked, ¡°Senior Brother, when can I give birth to the baby?¡±


    There was still lingering fear in his mind when he thought of his massive haemorrhage a few days ago. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have agreed to stay in the hotel. When Huali heard what he said, he almost spat out a mouth of tea. Did Zixiu really think he would give birth to a baby?


    ¡°Come on!¡± After Huali¡¯s confession, Zixiu realized that his senior brother was not as honest as he had imagined, so his attitude towards him was not as respectful as before.


    Huali came back to his senses. He calculated for a while before replying, ¡°If we start in June¡­ You¡¯ll have to wait until next April¡­¡±


    ¡°F*ck!¡± Zixiu couldn¡¯t help but curse again while kicking the bed hard angrily.


    Huali knew that he was upset because he could not go to Luanzhou to save his dad right away. It was good to vent his anger, but he was still a little worried, so he walked over to the bed, trying to comfort Zixiu. ¡°Don¡¯t be like this. We can think of another way!¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Zixiu said grumpily. He was aware that even in the 21st century, highways would be closed and flights would be delayed due to bad weather!


    ¡°Master Yan will send me the letter through a homing pigeon soon. Let¡¯s wait a little bit longer!¡±


    A homing pigeon? It reminded Zixiu of a LAN instant messaging software before he thought of a natural communication method. However, though he had heard of it before, he had doubts in his mind. ¡°It¡¯s winter. Don¡¯t pigeons need to hibernate?¡± he blurted out.


    ¡°Hibernate?¡± Huali was stupefied.


    ¡°Forget it!¡± Zixiu felt that something was wrong with his brain. ¡°I just flipped out!¡±


    Huali, however, did not think that Zixiu was self-mocking. Startled, he hurriedly sat down and helped Zixiu up. ¡°Zixiu, don¡¯t worry. Uncle Liu will be fine!¡±


    ¡°How do you know? Can you guarantee that my dad won¡¯t be in danger? You don¡¯t know how vicious Nangong Du is! That pervert! Asshole¡­¡± Zixiu suddenly lost his temper and started cursing again. He was so angry that he even threw the pillow onto the floor.


    Huali held him tightly and kept on comforting him. ¡°Zixiu, calm down. Nothing will happen. Isn¡¯t Liuxu the princess of the Wen Kingdom? She won¡¯t put your dad in danger!¡±


    ¡°Liuxu can¡¯t even protect herself. How can she protect my dad?¡±


    ¡°Master Yan and Lingxiao will find a way to help your dad out!¡±


    ¡°But, what if my dad¡­¡±


    ¡°Impossible! There are not so many ifs! Zixiu, don¡¯t think too much. It won¡¯t be as bad as you think. Trust me, Zixiu! Don¡¯t scare yourself!¡±


    After Zixiu finally calmed down, he found himself in the arms of his senior brother! Feeling embarrassed, he started complaining, ¡°Why are you holding me?¡±


    Huali grew shy again. ¡°My apologies! I, I¡­¡± he stammered awkwardly and even blushed.


    ¡°Forget it! What¡¯s done is done. Look at the dark circles around your eyes! Come on, get onto the bed and take a nap!¡± Zixiu said as if he was very generous.


    Huali immediately came back to his senses. ¡°Zixiu, you¡­¡±


    Zixiu chimed in before he could finish his words. ¡°Can¡¯t you see I care about you?¡±


    ¡°I appreciate it!¡±


    ¡°Forget it!¡± Brothers could also care about each other! ¡°When will the homing pigeon arrive?¡±


    ¡°If nothing happens, tonight!¡±


    As it was snowing outside, it got dark early.


    When they lit up the oil lamp, Zixiu could not stand the cold anymore. He got on the bed and slipped under the quilt to warm up.


    Huali was a man of martial arts, so he had a better tolerance for cold. Besides, charcoal was burning in the brazier and he had napped for two hours before noon, so he was in a good mood and now was reading a medical book by the oil lamp.


    Lying on the bed, Zixiu stared at him. Now he knew why they had so many superb physicians in the Valley of Fallen Blossoms! Indeed, it was exactly as Edison or Einstein had said ¡®Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration!¡¯


    However, he was not sleepy now. How come his senior brother left him alone?  ¡°Senior Brother, reading books in dim light is bad for your eyes. Don¡¯t you know?¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± Huali looked up, feeling a little confused. ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°Of course! Take my word for it!¡±


    ¡°All right! I¡¯ll stop reading right now.¡± Huali was very pleased with Zixiu¡¯s concern for him. He put away the book immediately and asked, ¡°Zixiu, are you hungry? Would you like a snack?¡±


    ¡°No! I have no appetite!¡± Now he had finally had someone talk to him, but Zixiu felt low again.


    Seeing that, Huali racked his brains, trying to cheer him up. After a while, he suggested, ¡°Zixiu, let me play a tune with the leaf for you!¡±


    Blowing a leaf? Zixiu looked up at him. Listening to music could make people relax, but¡­


    ¡°The guests next door will find it too noisy, so I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a good idea!¡± Zixiu did not want to disturb other people¡¯s rest.


    ¡°It won¡¯t disturb their rest! This room is in the corner of the hotel and our next door is the fence. Besides, playing a tune on a leaf doesn¡¯t make a lot of noise.¡±


    ¡°All right! It¡¯s up to you!¡±


    Hearing that, Huali quickly took out a small wooden box from his pocket.


    ¡°This is¡­¡± Zixiu suddenly figured out there must be some tree leaves in the box. As he expected, when Huali opened the wooden box under his curious gaze, he saw some green leaves in it. ¡°You have specially preserved these?¡± Zixiu couldn¡¯t help but secretly praise Huali¡¯s thoughtfulness. Unlike the south, there were no evergreen broad-leaved forests in the north, so there was no way that they could find such leaves here in winter!


    ¡°Zixiu, which song do you want to listen to?¡±


    ¡°Whatever!¡± ¡®Even if I told you, you wouldn¡¯t know how to play!¡¯ Zixiu thought. However, to his surprise, the next second, he suddenly heard the song that he could not be more familiar with!


    ¡°Chrysanthemums Terrace!¡± After freezing for a while, he slapped his thigh and shouted out. He jumped out of the bed swiftly, not at all like a ¡°pregnant woman¡±! Rushing over to his senior brother, he grabbed the latter by the shoulders with trembling hands as if he had just run into an old acquaintance in a strange land! ¡°How did you know this song? I remember the first time I met you, you were playing the tune of this song. Could it be¡­you also came from the 21st century? ¡±


    ¡°? ? ¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you answer me? Or, you learned it from someone? Come on, tell me now! ¡±


    ¡°I heard you sing it once in Prince Mu¡¯s Mansion, and I memorized it.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­¡±


    ¡°Zixiu, what¡¯s wrong?¡± Huali felt that there was something wrong with Zixiu. He seemed so different from the nervous excitement of a moment ago! Was there anything special about this song? What did he mean by ¡°you also came from the 21st century?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine!¡± Zixiu was extremely depressed. ¡°There¡¯s a noise outside. Is it the pigeon?¡±

 Chapter 146

    The noise outside the door was getting louder. It was not a pigeon, but two patrolmen who came to search for a criminal at large!


    Luo Huali opened the door a little bit to check, and after he had just closed it, the patrolmen, whose faces were pockmarked with previous zits, kicked it open violently.


    ¡°We¡¯re the patrolmen! Get up! Come on! Stand up!¡± The taller one roared impatiently. He then went straight to the center of the room and threw his blade onto the table with a ¡°bang¡±.


    Without a word, the other patrolman already started searching in the small room. He either kicked or picked up anything he did not like and smashed it on the floor! But for the things he found he liked, he would hide them up his sleeve (if this action could be counted as hiding, not stealing).


    The owner of the hotel followed in silently. Obviously, he dared not to show his anger at the tyrannical actions of the two officers. Trembling all over, he did not look at the guests in the room, nor did he dare to explain.


    Leaning against the soft pillow, Zixiu did not show a trace of panic on his face when he saw the patrolmen break into the room and steal things like two bandits. He was fearless partly because his senior brother was with him, but more importantly, he was in a bad mood and was indifferent to everything, so it was no wonder that he turned a blind eye to what was happening.


    Luo Huali had yet figured out the specific purpose of these officers, but he was sure that they were not sent by Prince Mu to get Zixiu. Otherwise, they wouldn¡¯t have been busy with ¡°searching the room¡± instead of focusing on the people in it. Though he was not happy with the patrolmen¡¯s behavior, he knew it would be unwise to confront them head-on at this moment. Seeing that he was still lying on the bed, Huali hurriedly helped Zixiu, who was wrapped in the quilt, out of the bed and stood aside as the patrolmen¡¯s instruction.


    The eyes of the patrolman, who was searching the room, shone brightly when he saw a ¡°beauty¡± lying on ¡°her¡± side in bed. However, the moment when the ¡°beauty¡± got out of the bed and turned out to be a pregnant woman, his arrogance returned to him. He then blinked at his accomplice, who had just stepped onto a stool. The latter immediately figured out what he meant. He growled a few more words at Zixiu and Huali in a threatening tone, and then unfolded the portrait in his hands. ¡°Have you ever seen this guy?¡±


    ¡®Yu¡­¡¯ Zixiu, who was standing impatiently, almost cried out when he suddenly saw the familiar face on the portrait. Fortunately, he came back to his senses in time and did not utter a word. Next, a bold assumption popped into his mind: It was so late at night. How come they came out through the wind and snow and searched house to house? Could the portrait he was holding be a¡­ wanted poster?


    It was not until this night that Zixiu learned that Yu Xiaohu had been placed on a national wanted list. He was framed as the bandit who had rescued those on death row from the execution ground, the mastermind behind the poising of Prince Mu, and the henchman of Prince Rui! However, before he could think about his family, shortly after the two patrolmen left, he got another piece of shocking news from the letter which a white homing pigeon had brought!


    What Luo Huali had worried about came true!


    ¡°A bandit?¡± Seeing the words in the letter, Zixiu jumped up in rage again. ¡°Damn it! Nangong Du, how dare you frame my dad as the bandit who kidnapped Princess Liuxu? You ungrateful asshole, you¡¯ll die in your boots!¡±


    ¡°Zixiu, calm down!¡± Huali immediately grabbed Zixiu who looked as if he was going to rush out to kill Nangong Du in the next second. ¡°Look at the back of the paper! There are some words on it. Your dad and Liuxu will come back to the Wen Kingdom, and Nangong Du will accompany them¡­¡±


    ¡°Fine!¡± Zixiu nodded, clenching his fists tightly. With a fierce look never before seen on his face, he said, gritting his teeth, ¡°Let Yan Lingxiao kill Nangong Du halfway, no matter what means he uses! Tell him if he can¡¯t get rid of that asshole, don¡¯t come to see me again!¡±


    ¡°Er¡­¡±


    ¡°Write the letter now! Whether it freezes or snows tomorrow, I¡¯m leaving!¡±


    A few minutes later, Huali finished the letter and handed it to Zixiu to review. However, instead of taking it, Zixiu stared at the corner of the bed in a daze, as if lost in thought. After a while, he suddenly looked up and said, his tone full of doubt and anger, ¡°Are the emperor and those officials idiots? How come my dad kidnapped the princess for no reason? Why does no one doubt such a ridiculous thing? Did the Wen Kingdom lag behind the Nan Kingdom for many years and it was so weak and vulnerable that it even became a colony or dependency of the Nan Kingdom? How come its princess was so humble? Her dad was framed, but Liuxu didn¡¯t even have the chance to defend him?¡±


    ¡°So, the truth may be much more complicated than you imagine!¡± Huali answered in time. Fortunately, Zixiu had finally found that something was wrong. No matter how powerful Nangong Du was, there was no way that he could keep everything under control!


    ¡°Complicated?¡± Zixiu repeated the word and then started cursing again, ¡°Nonsense! My dad has fallen victim to the infighting of those idle bastards! They will know how I¡¯m going to hack the military satellite network of their Defense Department¡­ ¡±


    The military satellite network? Defense Department? Huali was stunned by the foul words and the terms which did not make any sense to him. ¡°Zixiu, you¡­ What are you talking about?


    ¡°Nothing!¡± Zixiu was annoyed. Knowing that he was talking ¡°nonsense¡± again, he gulped down a full cup of tea sullenly. He then got onto the bed and covered his head with the quilt. ¡°Let¡¯s rest!¡±


    ¡°Hm!¡± Seeing that Zixiu had calmed down, Huali did not ask him more, but only responded softly. He decided to keep watch at the door as he had done the night before.


    Next, Zixiu lifted the quilt and said grumpily, ¡°Senior Brother, if you don¡¯t have any dirty thoughts on your mind, just rest on the bed!¡± From his tone, Huali could tell how furious he was now!


    The next morning, the snow had stopped, but it was still hard and dangerous to drive a carriage on it.


    However, Zixiu was determined to leave.


    Huali had no choice but to ask the waiter to get them two pairs of antiskid shoes.


    After breakfast, they made the final preparations for the long trek. When the soft light of the morning sun slowly rose, they put on their antiskid shoes and set off with their bags on their backs.


    When they arrived at the city gate, they were interrogated for quite a long time, which made Zixiu lose his temper again. The anger that had built up in him made him feel like he was about to explode! He had to quicken his pace, or he would be driven mad by what was on his mind! It had been a long time since he felt like this the last time, or maybe he had never felt this way? In the past, he had always been free, careless, and uninhibited. It turned out that he would fly into a rage as well when he was pushed too hard! He suddenly understood why there had been so many uprisings in history: The people were cruelly oppressed, and they had no choice but to rebel! Zixiu had no interest in participating in the boring political struggles that had been repeated countless times in the history of this country, but he might have been passively involved in a terrible plot long ago and become one of the thousands of victims!