《The Words of the Number One》


 CH 1

    (TL¡¯s note: btw the story is told in first person¡¯s point of view)


    On the eighth day of June, it is suitable for marriage.


    I straightened the last crease on the red wedding dress of the woman in front of me, and helped her put on a gold tasseled crown. This was the best brocade, embroidered with the highest specification of a phoenix pattern in the Song Kingdom, symbolizing the future dignity of a bride. This is probably the wedding dress that most women yearn for even in their dreams, but my sister is not happy at all.


    My sister is the widow of the destroyed Qi Kingdom. She has the honorific name as the top beauty in the whole world¡ª¡ªJiang Qiqi. In order to get her, the four kingdoms fought in chaos, and the ultimate winner, the monarch of the Song Kingdom, was at last able to defeat the remaining three kingdoms. In the end, he is able to marry my sister.


    The woman in the bronze mirror has a shockingly beautiful appearance, like a celestial being, even a painting can not draw out this perfect silhouette. Under the vigorous makeup, she was even more beautiful. Qiqi touched her hair bun, and lightly said: ¡°Jiujiu, you still can¡¯t comb hair into a bun.¡±


    I smiled and stroked her silky hair: ¡°Sister has always known that I am foolish. How about I ask Mo Lan to come and recomb it for sister?¡±


    Qiqi grabbed my hand, and turned her head to look at me: ¡°Why does it matter? This hair bun was personally combed for me by Jiu Jiu. Besides, this marriage is not going to happen anyways.¡±


    After saying that, she was silent for a while, and tears gradually started to emerge in her eyes: ¡°It¡¯s finally over, right?¡±


    I hugged her, and patted her on the back: ¡°Yes, it¡¯s almost over.¡±


    My sister can finally end her grand revenge.


    ¡°Are we going to die?¡± She hugged me and asked in a trembling voice.


    ¡°We will both live.¡±


    She raised her head, and looked at me blankly. She has been doing whatever I say for the past few years, and I knew that she had been prepared to burn herself to death from the very beginning. To survive well, one does not know how to go about it.


    Everything my sister did was all for revenge, and everything I did was all for the both of us to live well, nothing more.


    That¡¯s all I can do.


    The wedding is prosperous and bustling. I heard that there are more than ten nations, large and small. Each nation sent gifts and envoys to attend the wedding of the Monarch of the Song Kingdom. I took my sister¡¯s hand, and led her though the long red carpet.


    The fluttering petals and grand drumming passed through all the eyes of curiosity and contempt. Naturally, everyone¡¯s eyes were on sister. In the end, everyone wanted to see what kind of moving face did this rumored beauty who caused chaos between the four kingdoms have.


    The Monarch on the seat, who was over 50 years old, and still wanting to wear the red clothes of a groom, smiled in pride at one¡¯s success. He wanted nothing more than to show off his achievements in the defeat of the three kingdoms and his beautiful concubine.


    Between the bustling figures of guests, a man with an appearance of a guard suddenly appeared, and with extremely quick steps, he rushed towards the steps, and threw himself on the Monarch of the Song Kingdom. Blood spattered three feet, and the smile of the Monarch of the Song Kingdom froze, looking in disbelief at the dagger on his chest that was pierced indirectly into his heart. With one move, the assassin cut his own throat, fell to the ground and died.


    It was as if time stood still. There was no sound in the mall hall, only the drums of celebration continued to play enthusiastically, absurdly celebrating this tragedy.


    I did not know who loudly shouted, ¡°Your Majesty!¡±. All of the guests seemed as if they had woken from a dream, and started an uproar. I looked at Li Yan, the prince who ran to the dead body of the King of the Song Kingdom with an anxious face, yet an indifferent expression in his eyes, not being able to refrain himself from smiling.


    The scene was truly bloody, and it came faster than I thought. It could be assumed that such a talented and ambitious person like Li Yan would have long been unable to put up with his father.


    Even more, if he still does not make a move, his father will have married his beloved woman.


    Qiqi tightly grasped her hands, as she has always been kind-hearted and innocent, and would naturally be frightened when seeing so much blood. Although I have long told her that this marriage would not be successful, she certainly would not have expected such a situation. I calmly whispered to Qiqi: ¡°The fourth kingdom that destroyed the Qi Kingdom has perished and its Monarch has also died. Li Yan did not participate in the battle against the aligned kingdoms. He loves you very much, and you can reassuringly follow him from now on.¡±


    Qiqi¡¯s voice was slightly trembling, and in the middle of all the noisy commotion, I could not hear what she had said. I only felt her grasp my hand tightly, and it hurted a little.


    My gaze swept over Qiqi, and met the gaze of another person.


    He was a young noble wearing a brocade attire with a pair of phoenix eyes that were like a smile yet not a smile. His lips were slightly hooked up, and the color of his eyes were not pitch-black like an ordinary person, but instead was a translucent clear amber color. I thought that I would never think of anyone else as beautiful after seeing such a beauty like Qiqi. However, he still amazed me. That type of slender, prideful beauty, and elegance that radiated from his bones.


    This was the type to have one easily be captivated, like a lamp in dense fog1¡°lamp in dense fog¡± = dazed and misleading. I could guess that as long as he smiled, there would be countless young ladies who would be willing to throw themselves into fire, and fall into an abyss2Self-destruction, and be deeply trapped in love.


    Looking at his hairstyle and clothing, it did not resemble the style of any nation, but more like a tourist who often travels to various nations. Eight beautiful maids stood behind him, and all had their eyebrows lowered, completely aloof to the scene of the wedding.


    Seeing that I was looking at him, he tilted his head, and slightly smiled. Under the gentle outward appearance, he looked like a hunter sizing up his prey.


    The voices around finally calmed down, and Li Yan said in a deep voice to the guests: ¡°My father was assassinated, and died. I will definitely help him find the real murderer. As for Lady Jiang of the Qi Kingdom, who brought on this misfortune and ominous, will be dragged away and ordered to commit suicide.¡±


    Over the years, Qiqi¡¯s reputation has not been good, and the war between the four kingdoms arose because of her. The name of the source of calamity will raise a tremendous stink3tremendous stink = great fuss and displeasure. In the name of giving death to Qiqi, it was just him giving an explanation to the common people and his ministers.


    I motioned my lips to say to Qiqi: ¡°It¡¯s okay, he won¡¯t hurt you.¡± This time Qiqi¡¯s voice was very clear, asking me: ¡°What about you?¡±


    Her tearful almond eyes stared at me. She pulled me, and refused to let go.


    I smiled, and let go of her hand: ¡°We are going to part with each other here, Qiqi.¡±


    Just when the soldier was about to drag me away as well, someone spoke: ¡°Wait a moment.¡±


    I watched that brocade-clothed young noble come out from the crowd, and saluted to Li Yan: ¡°Don¡¯t know if it is possible for Your Highness to spare this humble one an honor, and gift this maid to this humble one.¡±


    Li Yan glanced at me. Who he loved was only Qiqi, and I am nothing more than just an unimportant existence to him; therefore he said: ¡°To just give a maid, Young Master Ji Yu is speaking too seriously.¡±


    There was an uproar among the crowd as soon as these words were said.


    Young Master Ji Yu, such a famous figure also came. He was originally the son of the second wife of the present-day rightful emperor of the Zhou dynasty. Five years ago, his mother and elder brother were deposed, and after the emperor established a new empress, he left the capital, Luoyang, and traveled around among the princes. Ji Yu is a person that is very unpredictable, and does not accept an official position of any country. Where you come from to which country you are in, is to put forward plans and ideas. The plots are mostly related to the matters of war. Hearing that he is gentle and cultivated, yet his words are shape and penetrating, quick-wittedly disputing to suppress others. There was no plot that was not accepted, and after being accepted, there is nothing that is not effective.


    One does not know how many wars have been fought because of Ji Yu over the past few years, and how many nation¡¯s rise and fall were because of him. As soon as he was in rage, the feudal princes4Feudal prince = appointed by the king to have control over a certain area or territory   were afraid, and when he calmed down, the world would be in peace. This is the world¡¯s number one lobbyist5Lobbyist = also known as an itinerant political adviser, means a person who persuades others to accept a certain proposition.


    The palanquin was a little bit jolted, and I don¡¯t know how long it had been, but suddenly it stopped. When I stepped out of the palanquin, I saw Ji Yu standing in front, and eight maids standing far away on the side. He was dressed in a purple attire, and was as noble as jade, perfectly fitting with his name. He smiled charmingly with his phoenix eyes, and saluted to me: ¡°Ji Yu has met Her Highness, the Ninth Princess.¡±


    I waved my hand: ¡°I¡¯m just a princess of a vanquished kingdom. Your Highness, with your status, you do not need to salute to anyone.¡±


    Ji Yu only smiled, and did not say anything, but it was just that his smile contained a bit of contempt.


    I was silent for a while, and then asked: ¡°Why did this gentleman save me?¡±


    The corners of Ji Yu¡¯s mouth hooked up: ¡°If I did not save you, you would also have a way to get away, right? With the cleverness of the princess, it would be a pity to fall into the hands of others.¡±


    I laughed: ¡°My cleverness?¡±


    ¡°Everyone knows that the Seventh Princess has very good methods. To be able to lead the four nations that were originally allies, to massacre one another. However the monarchs of the four nations are not fools, and the Seventh Princess is just the bait. The huge plan behind all of this comes from your hands.¡±


    I was stunned. This matter is only known by me and Qiqi. He is just someone from a foreign nation, how could he know?


    He seemed to know my suspicions, and smiled: ¡°I have also met the Seventh Princess before. She is indeed worthy of being the world¡¯s top beauty, but it¡¯s a pity that Her Highness, the Seventh Princess, has a pure heart, and is inexperienced, more like an ordinary daughter of a family. How could Her Highness have come up with such a plan? As for the Ninth Princess, I have heard a friend mention you before, and judging from my observation this time, Your Highness is definitely not an ordinary person.¡±


    ¡°So as soon as the matter with Qiqi spreaded out, you were guessing who the mastermind behind all this was. You came to the wedding today, but in fact, your purpose for coming was for me, right?¡±


    ¡°Correct.¡±


    ¡°Your Highness has gone through so much trouble. What exactly does Your Highness want?¡±


    ¡°I want a maid, and also at the same time, a helper6could also be called an assistant, and refers to one who acts as a subordinate.¡±


    I frowned: ¡°Why do you think I will agree to this?¡±


    He laughed: ¡°Because the Ninth Princess is a smart person, and knows her limits. There was poison in the water that you just drank, and there is no way to eradicate this poison. Every three months, one has to take the antidote. If one is overdue on taking the antidote by five days, they will be poisoned to death, and I am the only person in the world who knows the antidote.¡±


    He said the threatening words very calmly, and with ease.


    But I did not feel angry either. Since being born in this world, there would not be any assistance for no cause, and no reason. He could not be considered a gentleman, and instead has the frankness of a vile person.


    ¡°This maid pays respect to the young master.¡± I bowed my head, and saluted.


    There was a sense of approval in his smile, but his voice dulled as if stating a fact: ¡°The Ninth Princess has died from now on. You are a maid that I got from Jiang Qiqi, and you will be called A¡¯zhi.¡±


    ¡°A¡¯zhi understands.¡±


    I bowed my head. In the corners of my eyes, I saw the edge of Ji Yu¡¯s clothes, dark purple color silk embroidered with an inwardly flowing cloud pattern.


    Flowing clouds of the past, clouds of smoke passing the eyes. All kinds of things in the world are nothing more than historical books that have a few lines of ink. In the past, the grand scribe lord of the Qi kingdom had always said this to me.


    From now on, there will be no Jiang Jiuqing in this world, and no one who will warmly call me ¡°Jiu Jiu¡±. Jiang Jiuqing will be buried in the dust along with the Qi kingdom, in completely silence. Maybe there will be someone someday who idly recalls the past of the Qi kingdom, Jiang Qiqi the beauty, the fall out between the four kingdoms, and another story a person who loves the beauty, but does not love the river and mountains7¡°loves the beauty, but not the river and mountains¡± = this means someone who loves a beauty, more than the love for power and status).


    No one will know that at the wedding banquet that shook the entire world, there was a woman named Jiang Jiuqing who died.


    (TL¡¯s note: btw the seventh princess is the female lead¡¯s sister, Qiqi. It sounds a bit confusing here so I wanted to clarify it in case anyone was confused.)


    Hello everyone! This is a novel that I read quite a while ago, and I remember really liking it! I will be working on this and ¡°Capture the Jade¡± at the same time. I posted a little review of the novel on NU if anyone wants to learn more about the story!

 CH 2.1

    There are a total of eight maids by Ji Yu¡¯s side, from the oldest to youngest are Xia Wan, Chang Le, Nan Su, Mo Xiao, Lai Ying, Ling Shang, Zi Kou, Bi Ruo.


    Although these eight maids could not be considered exceptional, they were still all first-class beauties. Their expense of food and clothing are also very good, much more grandeur than the average maid.


    Each of them had their own set of things that belonged to them, from clothes to jewelry. So the first thing that happened after I became A¡¯zhi, was that I was pulled into the best satin store in the Song Kingdom to pick fabrics for clothing.


    When I pointed to several silk cloths, Ji Yu seemed to appear somewhat surprised, and said: ¡°I did not expect you to like the color, cyan so much.¡± After saying that, he carefully looked at me, and laughed: ¡°It does quite suit you, but all of it being cyan is quite monotonous. Lai Ying, Chang Le, go and pick out a few more fabrics for her.¡±


    The two females listened, and after a while, they came out with a few fabrics in their hands, and the fabrics were indeed very beautiful, also very suitable for me. After that, we went to a rouge shop and a jewelry shop. Everything is custom-made. Although I don¡¯t quite understand the prices in the market, I still knew that everything must cost a lot. However, Ji Yu did not care at all, and it is rumored that young noble, Ji Yu, is very good at business, and that he was already very wealthy during his times traveling among various nations. It can be assumed that this rumor is indeed true.


    As soon as the clothes were here, I was ordered to change into them, and was dragged to sit in front of the mirror. Four females were dressing me up with my hair rolled up in a bun, and a face full of rouge and powder. After everything was done, I looked at myself in the mirror, nearly unable to recognize myself.


    In the mirror, another beautiful face appeared above my face. It was a sixteen to seventeen year old girl smiling innocently, and she said: ¡°Sister A¡¯zhi is not bad-looking, and must have been following around so many beauties for a long time that she does not have the confidence to dress up. After tidying up, Sister A¡¯zhi is truly good-looking.¡±


    I turned my head back, and there was a young girl wearing a pinkish-purple dress standing behind me. She only saw me as Qiqi¡¯s maid. In her eyes, there was no concealment of pleasant surprise and praise, neatly and cleanly to the very end.


    I laughed, and pulled her hand: ¡°Nowhere near as pretty as you, Zi Kou.¡±


    Zi Kou was the first girl to laugh and chat with me, but it is not that the other girls are hostile to me, it¡¯s just that they don¡¯t like to get too close to strangers.


    Ji Yu has many rules. Xia Wan and Nan Su told me about his taboo temperament one by one. The days passed by very fast, and in the blink of an eye, the national funeral and the succession to the throne ceremony were done. Li Yan became the new Monarch of the Song Kingdom. It was heard that he had newly bestowed a title to a woman called Madam Zhen. Although she is extremely pampered, Madam Zhen¡¯s health is not very good, and she always stays inside the palace, rarely meeting people.


    As the sun set, the vast royal palace was dyed with a golden red color, as alluring as an immortal¡¯s palace, that is the place that everyone yearns for. I took one last glance at the palace, and then turned around, following Ji Yu up onto the big boat.


    Madam Zhen, Madam Zhen, he treats you like a treasure, but will never be willing to let you live under the sunshine.


    Qiqi, goodbye.


    Ji Yu wanted to leave the Song Kingdom to embark on a journey to the Fan Kingdom. I don¡¯t know what his intentions are, but I also did not ask too much. When he needs me, he will tell me himself.


    I never knew that a boat could be such a terrifying thing. When I was resting on the railing for the first time, I could not vomit anything anymore, and my stomach was tumbling and entangled. My head was dizzy, and no matter what I looked at, I felt dizzy. I grabbed onto the railing, and slowly slid to the ground. I used my other hand to rub my forehead, trying to stop the clamor in my head.


    Zi Kou said that once you get used to it, you will be fine. The young master travels among the nations, and it is often necessary to take a boat.


    While I was in the middle of the dizziness, a pair of satin shoes appeared in my field of vision. I looked up, and saw Ji Yu¡¯s frown. He was wearing the Song Kingdom¡¯s ice satin clothes, very elegantly like a young noble. It was just that there was a bit of irritation in his eyes, and for one to be able to get on this ship, they must be either very rich or noble. He probably thinks that I am an embarrassment to him by being like this, but I also don¡¯t want to be like this either.


    He just stopped in front of me, and then turned around to leave, leaving behind a sentence: ¡°Clean yourself up, there is sour plum soup in the kitchen.¡±


    After drinking sour plum soup for a few days, or perhaps I gradually got used to being on the boat, I now basically don¡¯t vomit anymore. I only get a little dizzy occasionally; therefore, I also have an extra habit of blowing in the wind while standing on the deck of the boat. From the Song Kingdom to the Fan Kingdom, there were mostly mountains all the way. I often look at the green mountains and forests on the shore. The mountains are hazy, and full of life. That feeling of dizziness felt a lot better.


    Sometimes I would meet a young married woman who was dressed in very gorgeous clothes, and the clothes are in the style of the Zhao Kingdom. The white jade inlaid with gold around the waist is something that can only be worn by the royal family of the Zhao Kingdom. It seems to be a certain lady of a royal family in the Zhao Kingdom.


    Normally, the nobles would all be in their rooms, or in their pavilions, looking at the scenery. It is uncommon to see one on the deck, and I could not help, but take a few looks at her from a distance. She would always lean on the railing, and look at the landscape and scenery, followed by a group of maids.


    When I saw her again today, there was not a single maid behind her. Her face was full of tears, but she did not cry out loud, instead it was as if she was sleepwalking. Her eyes were empty, and it was only her tears that kept falling.


    It seems that I should not bother her at such a time.


    I was about to go back to my room when I saw her suddenly climb over the railing, wanting to jump down. By the time I could react, I had already rushed over to grab her hand. She hung on the wall of the boat, and under her feet was the surging river water. As long as I let go of her hand, she will fall into the river.


    I shouted: ¡°Somebody help! There is a person about to fall into the water!¡±


    She began to struggle non-stop after waking up, trying to withdraw my hand. Her fingers scratched blood marks on my arms, and I tightly held her. After nearly using all of her strength, she cried and shouted: ¡°Let me die! My child is gone, and my home is also gone. I have nothing left¡­¡±


    I was stunned, and could not help, but chuckle: ¡°So what?¡±


    Perhaps it was my expression, and the inevitable and correct tone1means that her tone sounds very proper and reasonable that startled her. She was bewildered, and looked at me without saying a word.


    While speaking, there were already many people that had rushed over. A few people helped me pull that young woman up. She did not know when she stopped struggling, and had lost her soul, allowing us to pull her up to sit on the ground. The blue dress contrasted with her extremely pale complexion. Three to four maids raised their skirts, and rushed over. They did not care about etiquette during this time, and hurriedly supported the young woman.


    A man in a black robe with a clear appearance pushed through the crowd, and ran to the front of the young woman. He raised his hand high, and slapped the young woman. When the young woman was dazed, he firmly hugged the young woman into his embrace. He used a lot of strength, as if he wanted to melt her into his body. He leaned, and said something in the young woman¡¯s ear. The young woman shivered for a little while, and eventually also tightly hugged him, starting to weep loudly.


    He said, how do you bear to leave me?


    Many of the richly dressed novels who hurriedly arrived after hearing about the commotion, also spoke some comforting words. Ji Yu also stood among them, and looked at me with a haughty expression from a distance. With a contemplating smile as if something new and odd was discovered.


    I ignored his gaze and just stood aside, looking at the married couple hugging each other, and crying. I felt calm, and dazzled.

 CH 2.2

    After everyone dispersed, Ji Yu walked to me, and stood beside me. He pulled my arm, and looked at the blood marks on my arm, with a smile that was novelty and curious: ¡°I didn¡¯t expect that you would also have such moments of excitement.¡±


    I let him hold my arm, and calmly looked at the river: ¡°It really is easy and simple to give up one¡¯s life.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡±


    I turned my head, and saw Ji Yu¡¯s slightly surprised expression. He looked at me with an inquiring look that he always used to look at me during these days, as if he could see some type of answer on my face. To think that he recruited me to be his helper, yet he was very wary of me in his heart.


    In fact, it really doesn¡¯t matter. If he wants an answer, I will just tell him.


    ¡°My birth mother is actually not the Queen of the Qi kingdom. I can¡¯t remember exactly what my birth mother looks like, but just vaguely that she has shallow dimples along with a beautiful smile. When she was dying, she had no other wishes for me, only hoping that I would live well. At that time, I was still young, and was sent to be raised up by the Queen. The Queen did not treat me badly, and my food and clothing had never lacked. It¡¯s just that she loves Qiqi, and on the other hand, I am just her responsibility.¡±


    ¡°I still remember the day the Qi Kingdom became a vanished nation. After father killed mother, he then hanged himself to death with a piece of white silk in the imperial palace. Before the enemy troops attacked, and entered the palace, the palace was very noisy. The maids ran around, and cried helplessly. Some people criticized me for being heartless. My country is dying, and my parents hanged themselves. From the beginning to end, I did not shed a single tear. Perhaps, I did not have time to be sad as I had to find a way to keep me and Qiqi alive. When I was sixteen years old, the Qi Kingdom was destroyed, and now, I am twenty-one years old. For five whole years, I still managed to be alive.¡±


    Ji Yu¡¯s eyes flickered, and after being silent for a long time, he said: ¡°Why are you telling me this?¡±


    I only shook my head, and turned to walk back to my room: ¡°Yes, why did I tell you this? You can just take it as a joke.¡±


    He spoke behind me: ¡°The person you saved today is the wife of Nan Huaijun. She was originally Princess Chang Ni of the Han Kingdom.¡±


    I looked at him when I heard this, and he looked into my eyes as if trying to see through my mind. I couldn¡¯t help but smile, and said without any emotion: ¡°Really? Then Nan Huaijun owes me a favor.¡±


    The split second I closed the door to my room, I saw him purse his eyebrows.


    As everyone knows, the Ninth Princess of the Qi Kingdom and the Zhao Kingdom¡¯s Nan Huaijun have had a marriage contract since childhood. After the death of the Qi Kingdom, Nan Huaijun reneged the marriage, and married Princess Chang Ni of the Han Kingdom. The Han Kingdom was one of the four kingdoms that attacked the Qi Kingdom. Of course, it has now already been destroyed by the Song.


    It indeed is a joke.


    What did Ji Yu want to see from my face? anger, resentment, or is it hostility? Then he may just be disappointed. Nan Huaijin is just a man who I have only seen at a glance in a distance, and I have already forgotten what he looks like. I don¡¯t hate him for breaking off his promise to the marriage, to instead marry the princess of the enemy kingdom, because to him, I am just a person without mutual feelings.


    Whether he is happy or not, it is not something that I care about.


    Ji Yu¡¯s rule is that two maids will personally serve him everyday on this trip while the rest will each respectively take care of the other things. Yesterday, it was Chang Le and Lai Ying who personally served him, so when Chang Le knocked on my door this morning, I also guessed that there was some matter with Nan Huaijun.


    Chang Le wore a rose-red colored dress, and her cornelian1cornelian = a reddish gemstone red earrings swayed gently with her steps. Her appearance is also outstanding among the eight beauties, but it¡¯s just that she was an ice-cold beauty who is arrogant and did not like to acknowledge others.


    She took me to where Ji Yu was , and along the way there, she had a cold face and did not say a word. When we were almost there, she suddenly spoke: ¡°A¡¯zhi, I don¡¯t care what your identity was before, but right now, you are the maid of the young master. A maid must have the appearance of a maid.¡±


    I looked at her, and her cold and beautiful eyes looked at me. Without any emotion, she hooked the corner of her lips and said: ¡°Don¡¯t expect me to be as naive as that girl, Zi Kou, only thinking of you as the maid of Jiang Qiqi.¡±


    ¡°Jiang Qiqi? Shouldn¡¯t you address her as ¡°Her Royal Highness, the Seventh Princess?¡± I faintly said.


    She smiled, and said disdainfully: ¡°The princess of a vanquished kingdom, how can she still be considered as a princess? Even if she is the daughter of the emperor, so what? Chang Le is the young master¡¯s maid, and in the entire word, Chang Le only respects the young master.¡±


    Not long after, we arrived. She lifted the beaded curtain, and faintly bowed her head, speaking softly to the people inside: ¡°Young master, the person has arrived.¡±


    ¡°Okay, you can go rest.¡± The voice was very gentle and low as if an illusion of a trance of extreme tenderness.


    I just realized that this is the first time I had actually heard him properly speak. There were no schemes or defensiveness, just simply hearing the voice of the person ¡°Ji Yu¡±. It can not be denied that his voice is very nice, very warm and calm. It feels as if it can make people trust him. I looked at the distant rose-red back of a figure, and turned to enter the room.


    So even such a proud and arrogant girl is willing to bow her head for you?


    The room was arranged very elegantly, and the incense burner had smoke rising out of it in spirals. It is precisely the mysterious moon scent of the Zhao Kingdom. Sure enough, Nan Huaijin is also in the room with Ji Yu standing beside him, smiling as if he had met an old friend, and said to Nan Huaijun: ¡°The person is already here, so I won¡¯t bother you anymore.¡± After saying this, he clasped his hand2greet by raising clasped hand, and went out of the room.


    Nan Huaijun nodded at me, and said: ¡°Young lady, please sit.¡±


    I bowed my head and saluted: ¡°This maid does not dare to.¡±


    He laughed bluntly: ¡°The young lady is speaking too seriously. Young lady has saved my wife¡¯s life, and is my benefactor. How can you not dare? Please sit.¡±


    With this, I stopped refusing, and sat in front of Nan Huaijun.


    I asked: ¡°One does not know if Madam is feeling any better?¡±


    He forced a smile, and said lightly: ¡°She is better now, but it¡¯s just that her mood is still not good.¡±


    I lowered my eyes, and did not speak. The destruction of the Han Kingdom is not much better than the Qi Kingdom. Practically all the nobles and aristocrats were slaughtered. It can be seen that Princess Chang Ni¡¯s family was not spared, and recently, it was also heard that her first child died prematurely.


    After several heavy blows, Princess Chang Ni can probably not take it anymore.


    I said faintly: ¡°I have seen a lot of the world¡¯s rises and falls, Madam will naturally let it go.¡±


    He was stunned, and then laughed: ¡°It seems that the maid of the Seventh Princess is indeed not a common chord3¡°Not a common chord¡± = outstanding/brilliant.¡±


    ¡°¡­Which seventh princess?¡±


    ¡°Now when it comes to mentioning the seventh princess, who else could it be other than the Seventh Princess of the Qi Kingdom?¡±


    I was silent. If he just wanted to thank me, with my current identity as a maid, he could have just sent some coins4This was considered money in the ancient times, and these coins were usually made out of copper, silver, or gold. However, he spent a lot of effort to meet me through Ji Yu, and it can be seen that there must be something else. After this, we will probably enter into the main point of this meeting.


    ¡°Have¡­you ever seen the Ninth Princess?¡± He was silent for a while, and finally spoke faintly.


    I was stunned as I did not expect him to want to inquire about me. He had a guilty expression, and it seems that the things that happened five years ago, he did not let go of it as easily as I did.


    ¡°Naturally I have seen her before. The Seventh Princess and Ninth Princess have been inseparable since childhood. I am the maid of the Seventh Princess, meaning I am also the maid of the Ninth Princess.¡±


    He hesitated for a moment before speaking: ¡°She¡­How is she now?¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s dead.¡± I spoke as if it was not a big deal: ¡°She died at the wedding banquet of the Song Kingdom along with the Seventh Princess.¡±


    He was clearly stunned, and there was some sadness on his face. He opened his mouth to say something, but in the end, he could only sigh: ¡°In the end, I still feel sorry towards her.¡±


    ¡°This maid does not know why you feel sorry towards the Ninth Princess?¡±


    He was stunned again. He probably thought that as a person from the Qi Kingdom, I would definitely know the Ninth Princess, and it would only make sense that I should hate him, and criticize him.


    ¡°I backed out of the marriage agreement between me and her.¡±


    I looked at the man who had a guilty expression on in front of me. I could not help, but want to laugh: ¡°You are mistaken. What you have turned your back against is the agreement with the Qi Kingdom. It is the agreement with King Qi. There is no agreement between you and the Ninth Princess, so who you are actually sorry for, is the Qi Kingdom and King Qi, not the Ninth Princess.¡±


    He seemed a little at a loss. I paused, then spoke again: ¡°The Ninth Princess does not hate you. Marrying you or someone else is the same to her as none of it is what she chooses herself. Besides, now you have a wife so if you had married the Ninth Princess, wouldn¡¯t it be that you would have never met your wife?¡±


    His eyebrows gradually loosened, and he asked: ¡°Really?¡±


    I laughed: ¡°This maid swears with the life of oneself and one¡¯s family.¡±


    As a result, he also laughed and seemed to be more relieved: ¡°It seems that I overestimated my influence on the Ninth Princess. People around the world highly praise the beauty of the Seventh Princess, and listening to what you just said, I think the Ninth Princess is also a very outstanding person. It¡¯s just a pity¡­¡±


    I picked up my teacup, and took a sip of tea. There was a light drizzle outside the window, and the wind was also moist and warm. It reminded me of a certain light drizzle day many years ago. Qiqi pulled me to go to the side of the rockery5Rockery = is a raised part of a garden which is built of rocks and soil, with small plants growing between the rocks in the palace, pointing to a boy who walked by far away: ¡°Jiu Jiu, he is your future husband.¡± He flashed by and at the time, he was only fourteen or fifthteen years old, wearing purple clothes. He did not have an umbrella, and his figure was very young and tender.


    At that time, I did not attentively look at him. Instead, a boy in goose-yellow clothing appeared in my mind, smiling innocently. Now that I think about it, the reason why I can be so at ease is maybe because before him, I had already put another person in my heart.


    Hi! Hope everyone is enjoying the story so far!

 CH 3.1

    I haven¡¯t seen Nan Huaijun ever again since that encounter. I assume this grudge that is also not a grudge has been properly settled. If we meet in the underworld someday, it will save me from having to explain.


    On the other hand, Ji Yu has regularly started to call me.


    These days that I have become A¡¯zhi, I rarely see Ji Yu. Most of the time it is Xia Wan or Lai Ying who taught me the rules. There were other maids who came to me to convey Ji Yi¡¯s words. He seemed very busy, and was not in a hurry to order me to do something.


    The first time I went to his room, he was wearing a white single-layer robe. In front of him, there was a game of chess. He was supporting his forehead with a pair of phoenix eyes looking at me with a smile.


    ¡°Do you know how to play chess?¡±


    He asked me.


    I shook my head: ¡°I don¡¯t.¡±


    He rested his chin with one hand, and with a non-offensive look, pointed at the seat on the opposite side of him: ¡°Sit down, I¡¯ll teach you.¡±


    I sat down on the opposite of him. He took all the chess pieces on the chessboard and put them inside a rattan box.


    Under the flickering lights, his fingers were white and slender. His fingertips and purlicue1is the space between the thumb and the forefinger had thin calluses2patch or hardened skin, a pair of good-looking hands of a chess player.


    ¡°Do you know why I am going to the Fan Kingdom?¡± He asked as he collected the chess pieces.


    ¡°I don¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°Might as well guess.¡±


    I raised my eyes to meet his gaze. There was a hint of sharpness in his careless smile. I then thought about everything he has done recently, and said: ¡°Young master came from the Yu Kingdom. I heard that the Wu Kingdom and Zhao Kingdom formed an alliance to send troops to start a war with the Yu Kingdom. The Yu Kingdom had been declining for a long time already, and little by little, they retreated in defeat. The Wu and Zhao army has already approached the capital of the Yu Kingdom, letting out the words that the destruction of the Yu Kingdom is just a matter of another day. If another country comes to the rescue, they will attack the enemy country after the destruction of the Yu Kingdom. The Yu Kingdom and Fan Kingdom have always had a good relationship. Is the young master entrusted by the monarch of the Yu Kingdom to ask the Fan Kingdom for assistance this time?¡±


    Ji Yu smiled and did not answer, but asked: ¡°Who told you that I came from the Yu Kingdom?¡±


    I looked at him, and as expected, he knew that the eight maids wouldn¡¯t tell me anything. It seems that they do not feel close to me, and even if it was Zi Kou, she would rarely mention about their previous journeys with Ji Yu to me. All of this was incited by his command.


    He still held his guard against me, and that¡¯s normal.


    I shook my head: ¡°No one told me. When I was sorting clothes for the young master before, I saw a dark reddish purple robe, which is the noble system of the Yu Kingdom second only to the royal family. It looked very new and was placed on the top, so it ought to be new. With the current situation in the Yu Kingdom, there must be something to request from the young master, which is why they would send such an honorable gift. I then assumed that it was probably related to this war. The Yu Kingdom is adjacent to the Song Kingdom and Fan Kingdom. Young master took the waterway to Fan Kingdom through the Song Kingdom this time, which is also the fastest way.¡±


    Ji Yu stroked the chess piece in his hand, and was silent for a while before looking at me with a smile yet not a smile: ¡°You guessed well. I¡¯m really curious, how can you know so many things?¡±


    The circumstances of the world, the local conditions of every kingdom,  the regulations of feudal rituals.


    ¡°I was taught by the grand scribe of the Qi Kingdom when he was still alive. Everyday I would read books, and listen to stories. After the fall of the Qi Kingdom, I wandered around from place to place and saw some of the diverse aspects of the world.¡± I said very calmly.


    Ji Yu lightly laughed, with a bit of inquiry and approval in his eyes. The white chess piece in his hand was placed on the center of the chessboard, and he said leisurely: ¡°Let¡¯s play chess.¡±


    I followed Ji Yu¡¯s instructions and played a game of chess with him back and forth. He was very patient, and his step-by-step guidance was also obviously meant to go easy on me. It seems that today is very relaxing, just wanting to pass the time with me.


    I remembered something, so I asked him: ¡°I heard from Xia Wan that we will arrive in Pucheng County tomorrow. The boat will reach the shore and dock to replenish supplies. Can I get off the boat?¡±


    ¡°You are going to Pucheng County?¡±


    ¡°I will return before sunset, and will not miss the time when the boat sets off sailing. If you do not feel reassured, you can order someone to come with me.¡±


    Ji Yi smiled, but did not obstruct me: ¡°You can go, I will order Li Ding to accompany you.¡±


    Among Ji Yu¡¯s many servants, the nine maids along with me had the highest status. The rest were a group of male servants, and there were about twenty of them. Each of them were strong, and Li Ding is the leader of this group of servants.


    He is a person with a lot of power, and is usually a person who does not like to talk.


    Early the next morning, I arrived a little earlier than the appointed time. Li Ding was already waiting for me. He didn¡¯t smile much, and after greeting me, he did not speak anymore. He carried a lantern while walking next to me, and I followed him off the boat.


    There was a lot of thick fog in Pucheng today, and the vast expanse of white fog everywhere made it hard to distinguish. I touched my way to a small path, and inquired about the outskirts of the village along the way. I grabbed a slim old man and asked: ¡°Excuse me, may I ask if this is the Lujia Village?¡±


    The old man nodded, stating that it is.


    ¡°Does Lu Shi¡¯s widow reside here? Does Lu Zhoushi live here?¡±


    The old man looked at me surprised, then looked at Li Ding who was beside me, and said: ¡°Last year, Lu Zhoushi starved to death during a natural disaster. Why are you looking for her?¡±


    I was silent for a moment and did not answer his question: ¡°Then is his child still alive?¡±


    ¡°His youngest son died of an illness two years ago. Now there is the eldest son who was raised by Lu Shi¡¯s younger brother.¡± The old man shook his head and sighed: ¡°He died on the battlefield, and there wasn¡¯t much financial support given either. It is really miserable to leave behind this child and mother, such a disastrous year.¡±


    The fog somewhat cleared a little, and I saw that we were in the field of a farm. The crops were sparse and thin. I asked the old man to take me to find Lu Shi¡¯s son. The old man said that today is the anniversary of the death of Lu Zhoushi. Lu Shi¡¯s eldest son should now be in the cemetery of the village.


    This day was very coincidental.


    Li Ding and I followed the old man to the cemetery of the village. At this time, the fog was still not small. The cemetery looked very gloomy and ghastly. When the old man had almost arrived at the cemetery, a number of crows croaked3a deep hoarse sound made by a crow) repeatedly one after another. He looked a bit frightened, turned back to me, and said: ¡°How about the young lady waits here, Dou Zi should be back very soon.¡±


    I shook my head, and stretched out my hand to Li Ding: ¡°Lend me the lantern, I can go alone.¡±


    ¡°Young master wants me to protect the young lady.¡± Li Ding did not allow me to go alone, nor did he look at me.


    I looked at Li Ding for a while, and said: ¡°Today is the full moon. I heard that the Zheng Kingdom has a social custom of it being taboo to enter a cemetery on the day of the full moon. I thought you were from the Zheng Kingdom.¡±


    Li Ding¡¯s usual grim and silent expression finally wavered a little, and he looked at me with doubt: ¡°How does the young lady know¡­¡±. Half way through the question, he stopped talking and instead, replied: ¡°This humble one is originally from the Zheng Kingdom, but after following the young master along the journey to various nations, I also know the principles of the local customs.¡±

 CH 3.2

    I nodded and did not insist anymore. After thanking the old man, Li Ding and I walked into the thick and foggy cemetery. Although Li Ding said that he did not care, he was still a little nervous. When a child appeared in the fog, I glanced at him and saw that he was a bit stiff.


    The people of the Zheng Kingdom respect supernatural beings the most, and it is indeed tough for Li Ding.


    The child was kneeling in front of a tombstone, burning paper offerings. When he saw us, he felt with his hands and slowly stood up. A pair of big round eyes looked at us. It was probably that on this kind of foggy day, and to have met someone in a cemetery, he was very frightened.


    ¡°You are Lu Shi¡¯s son?¡± I leaned down and asked him.


    He was thin and weak, like those sparse and thin crops, looking no more than ten years old.


    He nodded while trembling in fear, looking at me and Li Ding. Even his voice trembled: ¡° You¡­What are you two?¡±


    It seems to him, we are both treated as malicious ghosts here to seek lives.


    I took out a bloodstained letter from my arms and handed it to him: ¡°This is a letter that your father did not send out before he died. He entrusted me to give it to your mother, but since your mother is dead, then this letter can be given to you.¡±


    He took the letter in daze, opened it and looked at it for a moment. He seemed a bit helpless and looked up at me: ¡°I¡­I don¡¯t know how to read.¡±


    I received the letter from his hand, and looked at his mother¡¯s tombstone: ¡°Then I¡¯ll read it.¡±


    ¡°My wife, Hong Fang, see the words as if you see the person. There are a lot of urgent casualties in the war. For tomorrow¡¯s battle, I am afraid that I may not be able to return. If I do not return, by no means should you foolishly wait. You are still in a good age, and can find another good marriage. I think about you very much and I often remember the days when we often depended on each other when we were young. May you have a good husband that can protect you for the rest of your life. Da lang and Er lang1Da lang = what a parent calls their eldest son, while Er lang is what a parent calls their second son are especially lovely. Their appearance that has not been seen for many years has become blurred to me. Tears continue to fall non-stop when reading this, may you be healthy.¡±


    The tombstone stood quietly in the thick ice-cold fog, and the crows were no longer making noise. It was as if there really was someone here listening to this letter. The mister that Lu Shi found to write this letter, made a lot of typos, but the style of writing is not bad. It seems that he has already met his wife in the underworld. The meaning of this letter should have been said to his wife.


    Often remembering the days when we often depended on each other when we were young. May you have a good husband that can protect you for the rest of your life.


    In the end, his wife did not have the opportunity to marry someone else, and instead died as being his wife.


    I received the letter and handed it to his son who probably does not understand the meaning of this letter. However, he still had red eyes, and took the letter as if it was a precious treasure. He looked at me with a pair of red and big eyes: ¡°Noble, is my father a hero?¡±


    A hero? In this world, how many heroes can there be?


    I looked at him for a moment and shook my head: ¡°Your father is just an ordinary person.¡±


    One of the thousands and thousands of ordinary soldiers who died in the war of the expansion of the Song Kingdom.


    ¡°However, your father loves you very much, and now the person he loves the most is only you who is alive in this world.¡± I leaned down, and said to him: ¡°This is the most important thing.¡±


    Lastly, I paid respects to the tombstone, and left with Li Ding. At this time, it was noon, and the sunlight gradually became stronger, dissipating the fog. There was only a thin layer of water vapor in the air that did not block my line of sight much. The sound of a child¡¯s crying was heard from a distance, and Li Ding seemed to be a little unable to bear it. His foot stopped, but he still did not look back.


    It only took me half a day to get back to the boat.


    When I was playing chess with Ji Yu that night, he asked me: ¡°You went to Pucheng just to help this man named Lu Shi, deliver a letter?¡±


    I nodded.


    ¡°What¡¯s so special about him? You don¡¯t seem like a person who would care about other people¡¯s business.¡± He put a chess piece on the chessboard that ate away a lot of chess pieces.


    I paused to think, meeting his deep smiling eyes.


    ¡°On the way to the Song Kingdom, Qiqi and I passed by the battlefield. I saw him crawl out a pile of dead people, and he gave me a letter and the name of his hometown, then he was out of breath. I originally did not want to care, but I also did not have the chance to refuse.¡±


    Ji Yu seemed to believe it, slightly smiling while shaking his head. He pointed to the chessboard: ¡°You play on this side.¡±


    I followed his guidance to play chess. He propped his chin, and asked unhurriedly: ¡°Do you still have any grudges that have not been avenged yet?¡±


    ¡°I never had a grudge.¡±


    ¡°The destruction of the Han, Zheng, and Cai Kingdom and the assassination of the monarch of the Song Kingdom, didn¡¯t you take revenge for the destruction of the Qi Kingdom?¡±


    ¡°That was Qiqi¡¯s grudge, not mines.¡±


    Ji Yu¡¯s eyes lifted up from the chessboard, and a pair of beautiful phoenix eyes looked at me out of the corner of his eyes, with a bit of a provocative meaning.


    ¡°The old kingdom was destroyed, your father and mother committed suicide, you fell from being a remote and aloof princess to a maid in just one night. You don¡¯t feel resentful?¡±


    I chuckled as I seemed to have answered this question a lot. When I first started to help Qiqi take revenge, she also complained that I was too heartless as I was very indifferent to the destruction of the Qi Kingdom.


    However, hundreds of years have passed since the Emperor Zhou unified the whole country, and divided the vassals. Now the royal family is declining, and the princes are fighting against each other. The death of the nation would not be unexpected at all.


    ¡°Over the past hundred years, many kingdoms have been destroyed, so does this mean that the Qi Kingdom can not be one of them? Most of the monarchs have died along with their kingdom, so does it mean that my father can be an exception? The Qi Kingdom was already in such an unfavorable situation, and even without the union of these four kingdoms, sooner or later another kingdom will come to attack anyways. Destruction is just a matter of time, and if one really wants to complain about it, then they are only blaming my father for not being good at ruling his kingdom. Besides, he has already died for his country, so there really is nothing else to complain about.¡±


    Ji Yi looked at me for quite a while. In his usual smiling eyes, there was a hint of surprise.


    ¡°That is your parents.¡±


    ¡°So what?¡± I looked at him. He was silent for a moment, and said slowly: ¡°Speaking of this, you don¡¯t blame me either? I threatened you into becoming my maid, and took away your freedom.¡±


    ¡°It is nice to have freedom, and it is a very very good thing, but after all, that is a type of luxury. If you are not even worried about your life, then where is their room to talk about freedom?¡± I put a chess piece on the chessboard, and raised my eyes to meet his sharp gaze.


    ¡°That day, I bribed the soldiers, and also buried some valuables and money outside the palace. After escaping, I would not have to worry about food for the time being, but after all, I did not have the strength to tie a chicken2¡°strength to tie a chicken¡± = means body is weak and has no strength, idiom. To flee alone with money and valuables in this chaotic world, I am also worried that my life will be in danger. You have taken away my freedom, but have also provided me with delicious food and beautiful clothing. This is fair business so why would I resent you?¡±


    He looked at me for a long time, and then looked at the chessboard again.


    He smiled and shook his head: ¡°Eternal calamity, and chess3is a special type of chess game with a circular nature similar to calamity.¡±


    I lowered my eyes: ¡°Young master¡¯s guidance is very good.¡±


    He put the chess piece that was in hand back into the rattan box, and said slowly: ¡°You truly are¡­an interesting and strange person.¡±


    I just love our smart and complex main leads! Thank you for reading!

 CH 4

    When arriving in the Fan Kingdom, Bai Yihou of the Fan Kingdom had already properly arranged a banquet to welcome Jiyu. There is no need to say as the room that Jiyu lives in is obviously very top-notch. Even for us nine maids, every two have their own rooms.


    Zi Kou and I were arranged to be together. We unloaded the boxes of things we carried all the way along, and arranged everything. The room was spacious, but made it look like we only brought a few things. After tidying up, we sat on the bed and chatted.


    I asked Zi Kou: ¡°Who did you originally live with?¡±


    She flattened her mouth: ¡°Bi Ruo, that person is like a mute, and can¡¯t even say two words in three days, really bored me to death.¡±


    I laughed. Bi Ruo is the youngest here, and is Xia Wan¡¯s younger sister. She is usually uncommunicative, and is very calm, not resembling a child at this age. When compared to Zi Kou, they are the complete opposite.


    After resting for half a day, someone knocked on the door. I opened the door to see that it was Mo Xiao from the next room. She faintly said: ¡°Sister Wan asked me to come and pass on the message. The banquet starts at you shi15-7 pm, do not neglect the time.¡±


    I salutedOur female lead is doing this as a way to show that she acknowledges and will comply with the message as a way of showing respect. The body is slightly bent and the hands are pinned to the waist, and said: ¡°Have troubled Young Lady Mo Xiao.¡±2This usually as a way of thanking someone for an inconvenience


    She was just about to leave when she heard this. She turned around and looked at me with a hint of doubt in her eyes: ¡°How do you know I am Mo Xiao?¡±


    Nan Su and Mo Xiao are twins and very similar looking ones too. Just from their outside appearance, there is almost no difference, even their smiles and frowns are the same. They usually like to wear light blue or light purple clothing, simple and neat like a lotus flower breaking the surface3¡°Lotus flower breaking the surface¡± = surpassingly beautiful face of a young lady.


    I lightly smiled: ¡°It¡¯s a secret.¡±


    In fact, the only difference I could find between them was that Mo Xiao disliked me while Nan Su has no opinion on me. The disgust in one¡¯s eyes can not be faked, and seeing the eyes of Mo Xiao looking at me, I knew that she was Mo Xiao.


    Sure enough, Mo Xiao laughed, but there was not a hint of a smile in her eyes: ¡°How long do you think your little cleverness can last? I don¡¯t know what you can do, but it¡¯s best that you try not to become a hindrance to us.¡±


    With the banquet, I understood the meaning of Mo Xiao¡¯s words. Each of the them has their own musical instruments that they are good at, and not only that, their skills have already reached the point of a stove fire turning bright green4¡°stove turning bright green¡± = to the point of perfection, and adding on with their flawless cooperation. Listening to them perform¡¶Deer¡¯s voice¡·with Zi Kou singing the lyrics, it was like calmly listening to the sounds of nature.


    I smiled, and stood silently in the darkness behind Ji Yu. I have always been clumsy when it comes to calligraphy and music. Even if I made my best effort to play the song, it can only be considered as an embarrassment. My appearance is also average so I can¡¯t complain that Mo Xiao thinks I¡¯m useless.


    Fortunately I have already been disliked for twenty years, and have long been used to it.


    The old gentleman, Xiang Shaoya, was dressed in black clothes, looked no more than twenty seven or twenty eight, upright and bright, heroic and formidable-looking. From the looks of him, he seems to be a very straightforward person. He smiled and said to Ji Yu: ¡°Everyone in the world says that Gentleman Ji is one who knows how to live a happy and prosperous life. After hearing this¡¶Deer¡¯s voice¡·song, it is indeed true. Hoping that I can also get some of Ji Yu¡¯s good fortune.¡±


    Ji Yu held a cup of wine: ¡°It¡¯s not true5btw this is said in a way to respond to another¡¯s praise, and it is said in a polite way of being humble, I still have to thank Gentleman Xiang for his great kindness and hospitality.¡±


    ¡°With our relation to each other, do we still need to act so estranged?¡±


    ¡°In that case, Brother Xiang, please6Ji Yu held a cup of wine, so this means that he is inviting Brother Xiang to drink as a form of respect.¡±


    ¡°Brother Ji, please.¡±7Same for Brother Xiang who is inviting Ji Yu to drink


    Ji Yu was dressed in a purple silk ordinary robe. A pair of black eyes that are so deep that one cannot see to the bottom. In the presence of the heroic and dashing figure, there was not a trance of being inferior at all. His aura is not one who is clearly shallow in knowledge, and instead is one that is secretive, calm, and has hidden prestige. In this way, it is unexpectedly even more frightening.


    ¡°This young lady is very unfamiliar.¡± A voice sounded off beside me. I looked over and saw a seventeen or eighteen year old youth with a smiling expression.


    The youth was dressed in moon-white clothing, and his hair was tied up, beautiful and neat, glowing with health and vigor. I reckon that he is Xiang Shaoya¡¯s trusted aide, and is also Xiang Shaoya¡¯s deputy general, named Zichen.


    He seemed to be quite awkward with my silence, and explained: ¡°Gentleman Ji is a frequent visitor of my lord. I have seen the other eight maids before, but have never seen you.¡±


    As a result, I laughed, and responded: ¡°This maid has only recently followed young master. The name is A¡¯zhi.¡±


    Seeing that I responded, the youth¡¯s awkwardness seemed somewhat reduced. He smiled and said: ¡°Nice to meet Young Lady A¡¯zhi. I am Gentleman Xiang¡¯s close attendant. Listening to the young lady¡¯s accent, it seems to be from the east.¡±


    ¡°Yes, my hometown is the former land of Qi.¡±


    ¡°Sure enough, it is the Qi Kingdom. I have seen many young women from the Qi Kingdom, and all are very tall and thin like Young Lady A¡¯zhi.¡±


    His voice slightly raised, and there was a youthful cheerfulness to him. Zichen still wanted to continue speaking, but was called away by the housekeeper. He hurriedly waved at me and said that we will talk another time.


    The steps of the highly-spirited youth walking away were light and quick.


    I looked at the view of his back, and then looked at the hosts at the table. I don¡¯t know if it is an illusion or not, but I felt that someone was looking this way a second ago.


    After the banquet, Ji Yu called me to his room.


    His room was indeed gorgeous. The lion incense burner had sandalwood scented mist rising out in spirals like clouds in the sky8¡°clouds in the sky¡± = numerous. The floor was covered with a carpet that was produced by the Liang Kingdom. The seats of the chairs all had gorgeous embroidery patterns on it. It is said that the Fan Kingdom advocates luxuries, and it can be seen that this is indeed true.


    He dismissed all the other attendants. A pair of eyes that contained a trance of a smile looked at me, and it was the smile, but also not a smile that I usually see, brimming with curiosity. He and General Xiang drank a lot, but he is still very sober. The alcohol smell on his body is also very faint, not having the appearance of having drank a lot of alcohol. He probably mixed water in the wine, maybe his alcohol tolerance is not very good or maybe his taste in wine is not very good.


    ¡°The key to sending troops out lies in the Monarch of the Fan Kingdom.¡± He said unhurriedly.


    ¡°The prime minister advocates not wanting to send troops out while Shaoya advocates for sending troops out. Both sides have been in dispute for a long time, and the Monarch of the Fan Kingdom has yet to decide on what to do. If I were able to meet the Monarch of the Fan Kingdom, I¡¯m certain that I could persuade him. It¡¯s just that the Monarch is in poor health right now, and it is the prime minister who is in charge of the government right now. The prime minister heard that I was coming, and really put a lot of effort into preventing me from seeing the Monarch. Even Xiang Shaoya has no way of letting me see the Monarch.¡±


    Although his eyebrows were creased, there was no hint of distress in his eyes. This kind of thing should not be difficult to solve with his communicative skills. As a result, I asked: ¡°Is there anything I need to do?¡±


    ¡°Hmm, there is one thing. Shaoya said that he has been living in the camp for a long time, and this time having returned back to his residence, he instinctively felt that there were people under the commands of the prime minister in his residence, but he did not have any idea of who it was. A spy¡¯s actions are inconvenient, and I hope that you can please help find that spy.¡±


    I smiled slightly: ¡°I am nothing more than just a maid. Young master does not need to be so polite. It is my duty to help young master solve his worries and difficulties.¡±


    Ji Yu was stunned, but in a twinkle of an eye, he recovered his senses, smiling: ¡°Shaoya has already said that his deputy general, Richen will help assist you in investigating together. I saw that you two have already met at the banquet.¡±


    ¡°It was nothing more than a few words.¡±


    ¡°He is indeed a considerably handsome youth.¡±


    I looked up at him. He supported his chin and looked at me with a smile. I said lightly: ¡°Young master should probably be more worried about Zi Kou, not me.¡±


    When I returned to my room, Zi Kou was already preparing to go to sleep. She sat on the bed and looked at me with a bit of surprise: ¡°I thought that you would stay at young master¡¯s place tonight.¡± I was stunned for a bit, and said exasperatedly: ¡°Young master should only sleep with people who wholeheartedly love him.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t love the young master?¡± Zi Kou was a little bit bewildered as if not loving the young master was some hard to understand idea.


    ¡°¡­Do you love the young master?¡± I asked back.


    Zi Kou replied without taking the time to think: ¡°I do.¡±


    I looked at her innocent and confident expression, and couldn¡¯t help but laugh.


    ¡°Then why have you been repeatedly staring at Zichen today? I saw that you have looked at him much longer than you have at young master.¡±


    Zi Kou¡¯s face turned red at a speed visible to a naked eye9doing something that is too obvious or unnatural.


    She yelled out and buried her face in the quilt, only leaving me with her jet-black long hair from the view of her back.


    ¡°He is good-looking, so I took a few more glances¡­¡± She justified softly, and then whispered: ¡°I have respect and love for young master, but it doesn¡¯t prevent me from liking a handsome youth.¡±


    ¡°Only handsomeness?¡±


    ¡°He also speaks very softly and tenderly¡­What! Sister A¡¯zhi, you are slyly luring me.¡± When she reacted back, she turned to look at me. A pair of bright and clear eyes that contrasted against her flushed face. Her cheeks were puffed up with annoyance.


    I smiled and shook my head. After washing my face, I also climbed into bed. Zi Kou looked at me and finally looked a bit deflated: ¡°I was only looking, nothing more. I have been young master¡¯s person since the day I became young master¡¯s maid. I definitely can¡¯t be together with others.¡±


    I nodded.


    ¡°Sister A¡¯zhi, if you don¡¯t even like someone like the young master, then what type of person do you like? Do you have anyone that you like?¡± She said aggrievedly.


    The moonlight is beautiful, shining brightly on her hair. I was silent for a moment before replying: ¡°I have before.¡±


    There used to be someone that I really really liked, but it¡¯s just that my liking has nothing to do with love.


    It was a very long time ago.


    Zi Kou¡¯s eyes lit up, and then went dark again. She mumbled: ¡°Except for young master, I have never really liked anyone else. More so, there has also never really been anyone who really liked me.¡±


    I laughed and patted her on the back: ¡°Me too, the people I like don¡¯t like me back.¡±


    In this world, there is probably no one who really likes me. Even if it¡¯s my father and mother, even if it¡¯s Qiqi, even if it¡¯s the person I like.


    The person I like, I hope that we have the chance to meet one day, allowing me to know that he is living well. It¡¯s best that he does not recognize me, and we can just brush past each other.


    ¡°I think that this is a good thing.¡± I looked at Zi Kou, and said slowly: ¡°Since no one likes you, you also don¡¯t need to like anyone. You may be despised, trampled on, and harmed, but you will never be deeply hurt.¡±


    Zi Kou looked at me with a stunned look for a while. She then turned her face to look at the ceiling, seemingly annoyed again.


    ¡°Sometimes I¡¯m a little afraid of you, Sister A¡¯zhi.¡± She said honestly.


    This was precisely the same as what Qiqi said. She is only sixteen years old this year, and was the same age as I when the Qi Kingdom collapsed.


    I looked at her, at her delicate and pretty face along with her naive eyes. I once wondered why Ji Yu would accept such a simple and pure girl like Zi Kou as a maid. Is it just because of her good singing voice?


    Then I roughly understood. If all eight of his maids were mature and steady, it is inevitable to make people suspicious and on guard. Zi Kou¡¯s innocence precisely neutralizes this profound mystery, letting people be at ease. If one wants to find out about any news, then Zi Kou is the breakthrough point. It is not good to let her know too much and it is necessary to keep an eye on her.


    Although Zi Kou is naive and innocent, her tone of words is very strict. She also extremely admires Ji Yu, and could not be any better to control.


    It seems that Ji Yu is a very good chess player. Each chess piece is carefully selected, and even the weak points are carefully designed.


    I patted Zi Kou¡¯s back and said quietly: ¡°Sleep.¡±


    New chapter! Hope everyone enjoys it!

 CH 5

    The Xiang Clan have always been aristocrats of the Fan Kingdom. The ancestors have produced three queens and two generals. Xiao Shaoya is the mainstay1mainstay = the most important part of something, providing support for everything else of this generation of the Xiang Clan, and is in the inheritance of Bai Yihou¡¯s position. Before the age of thirty, he had already held the position of a great general. He married the eldest daughter of the Monarch of the Fan Kingdom, Princess Zhaoyuan. The husband and wife have mutual respect for each other, and have three children, two boys and one girl. Five years ago, Princess Zhaoyuan passed away due to an illness, and Xiao Shaoya has yet to remarry to this day.


    He usually likes to live in the camp, resting and eating together with the soldiers, and does not often return to his residence. As of right now, Xiang Shaoya¡¯s mother and concubine, Zhang Shi, lives in his residence. Zhang Shi has two children at the knee. Xiang Shaoya also has another concubine, Chu Shi, who was the most favored, and usually lives in the camp with Xiang Shaoya.


    A little over two months ago, Xiang Shaoya returned to his residence, and began a dispute over sending troops to the Yu Kingdom with the prime minister. However, every time he felt that his plan was seen through by the prime minister. The prime minister was always one step ahead of him so Xiang Shaoya couldn¡¯t help, but suspect that there was a spy planted in his residence.


    This was all told to me by Zichen on the second day after I took the task. He came and showed me around the residence, telling me things that we saw while walking.


    ¡°I usually follow my Lord around, and don¡¯t often return to the residence so I probably don¡¯t know much. However, you can come find me if you need anything.¡± He smiled kindly at me.


    As Zi Kou said, he is a handsome and friendly youth which is the type of man that a girl at her age likes the most.


    I nodded and asked: ¡°Since you don¡¯t often live in the residence, why didn¡¯t the general have Housekeeper Xu investigate?¡±


    ¡°Housekeeper Xu was brought to the Xiang family by old madam. If Housekeeper Xu knew that there was a spy in the residence, he would inevitably alarm the old madam, and the general does not want to alarm the old madam.¡±


    After a pause, Zichen laughed again, revealing two eye teeth: ¡°Moreover, Housekeeper Xu is very strict and protective over his people, certainly not willing to believe that something is wrong with the servants under him.¡±


    I looked at him, and said lightly: ¡°Perhaps it is not a servant either?¡±


    Zichen was stunned and said hesitantly: ¡°You mean¡­¡±


    Before he finished speaking, he was interrupted by the quarrel up ahead. I looked over and saw that the source of that quarrel was none other than between Chu Shi and Zhang Shi.


    Crowded around by a group of elderly maids and servants, Zhang Shi¡¯s youngest daughter was rubbing her eyes while crying. Zhang Shi claims that it was Chi Shi who pushed her daughter while Chu Shi looked at Zhang Shi with a cold face without saying anything.


    I heard that Zhang Shi is a very capable and vigorous woman. Since there was usually no other madam in the residence and the fact that the old madam is generous, she has been used to being overbearing and oppressive. On the other hand, Chu Shu has a cold and indifferent nature, and has never paid attention to Zhang Shi.


    One of them has children, and the other is favored so it can be considered that they are also evenly matched.


    Zhang Shi¡¯s words were meant to mock Chu Shi for not being able to give birth to children. Chu Shi acted like she didn¡¯t hear it until Zhang Shi popped out a sentence¡ª¡ªa woman who can¡¯t leave anything behind is a real shame to her parents.


    At this moment, only then did Chu Shi directly look into the eyes of Zhang Shi. Her natural facial features were deep and heroic, and with such a cold gaze that swept over, even Zhang Shi started to tremble a bit.


    ¡°My parents died for the country. Is it something that you have the right to criticize?¡±


    Zichen whispered to me: ¡°Chu Shi¡¯s parents and brothers are my Lord¡¯s subordinates, and the whole family sacrificed themselves for the country. As of now, she is the only one left in the family.¡±


    Zhang Shi¡¯s eyes widened and she couldn¡¯t speak. Chu Shi sneered and looked at Zhang Shi¡¯s little daughter, and said: ¡°To be so young, yet be able to act so well, you really resemble your mother.¡± After saying this, despite Zhang Shi¡¯s ugly complexion, she stormed off in a huff with her maids.


    Zhang Shi lost her temper, and dismissed all the surrounding elderly maids and servants.


    Father had a beautiful concubine, this scene was truly familiar.


    Seeing that Chu Shi was walking towards us, Zichen and I both bowed our heads and saluted. Chu Shi¡¯s footsteps stopped in front of us and she asked faintly: ¡°A new maid?¡±


    Zichen said respectfully: ¡°It is Young Master Ji Yu¡¯s personal maid, A¡¯zhi.¡±


    Chu Shu¡¯s gaze swirled around between us, and her tone was a bit sharp: ¡°You are always liked by girls.¡±


    These words were a little bit indescribable, but she did not say more, and left with her maids. Zichen and I looked at each other. He shrugged his shoulders and smiled: ¡°Young Madam Chu¡¯s personality is just like this.¡±


    These types of words do not seem to just be the matter of her personality alone.


    ¡°You two don¡¯t seem to have a very good relationship.¡±


    ¡°¡­Young Madam Chu indeed does not like me very much.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, maybe she thinks that I am too lively?¡± However, the amount of people that Young Madam Chu does not like is not a small number, not lacking me as well.¡± Zichen was quite helpless.


    After a pause, Zichen said: ¡°As for the matters between the madams, I don¡¯t understand very much. You should be careful not to get involved. The General hates fights in the residence the most.¡±


    I nodded.


    After that, Zichen still had his own things he needed to do, so I did not bother him anymore. I have been walking around the residence for more than five days, but fortunately there are many servants in the Xiang Residence who also usually like to chat, making it easier for me to collect information.


    The prime minister placed a spy by Xiang Shaoya¡¯s side. It would be invaluable if it was just a small servant.


    Those in the residence who are close to Xiang Shaoya are the housekeeper, the old madam, Zhang Shi and Chu Shi¡¯s maids. The range was instantly reduced a lot. The reason why Xiang Shaoya would invite Ji Yu, an outsider, to investigate this, is because on one hand, he was afraid of beating the grass to scare the snake2¡°beating the grass to scare the snake¡± = to inadvertently alert an enemy, idiom,and on the other hand, he was afraid of accidentally leaking any information.


    As Zichen said, Housekeeper Xu under the old madam has always been tolerant, and the atmosphere in the residence has always been quite good. Stealing and fights rarely occurred, and every servant that entered the residence had a clean and innocent background, seemingly having nothing to do with the prime minister.


    I pondered in silence. Just as I was walking through the garden of the residence, I heard the sound of a guqin3Guqin = a plucked zither-like stringed musical instrument, traditionally featuring seven unfretted strings, originating in ancient China. I looked over and saw that in the garden, a woman dressed in a goose-yellow brocade dress with a fine hairpin made from the pearls of the south sea between her hair, and a little bright cinnabar between her eyebrows. She lowered her eyes and carelessly stroked the guqin in front of her. By her side, there stood nine maids all dressed in blue clothing, standing respectfully.


    I hesitated slightly, and was about to take a detour when I heard the woman¡¯s voice that was neither light or heavy, but instead full of dignity: ¡°Whose family¡¯s maid has such unacceptable behavior? My guqin is something that you are allowed to hear?¡±


    Her guqin still continued to play. She still has not yet taken a look at me, but apart from her maids in this huge garden, I was the only maid.


    As a result, I bowed my head and saluted: ¡®This maid does not dare.¡±


    She smiled, and her beautiful eyebrows raised with a sense of coldness: ¡°Why apologize yet not kneel? Your master has surely raised a big temperament.¡±


    Just as I was about to speak, a voice sounded: ¡°For the Third Princess to criticize in such a way, I don¡¯t know if it is Ji Yu who takes the blame or Her Royal Highness, the Seventh Princess of the Qi Kingdom who does?¡±


    I turned around and saw Ji Yu walking over. He was dressed in purple clothing and held a folding fan in his hand, painted by the late talent, Mo Qianqiu. There was a deep and unmeasurable smile in his beautiful phoenix eyes.


    The woman finally looked up, and a hint of surprise flashed in her eyes. She slowly stood up, and walked to the front of me. The corner of her lips hooked up into what seemed to be a smile but also not. She said carelessly: ¡°It turns out that you are Young Master Ji¡¯s new acquired maid, originally served the Seventh Princess of the Qi Kingdom. So you tell me, who is more beautiful between me and her?¡±


    She stood in front of me so I could see her magnificent style. It was at this moment when I knew who she was: the Jade Princess of the Fan Kingdom, Su Cheng.


    The Seventh Princess of the Qi Kingdom, Qiqi, and the Jade Princess of the Fan Kingdom, Su Cheng, and Lady Xin from the Wei Kingdom are all well-known comparable beauties. It is rumored that Su Cheng is a very arrogant and prideful woman. Moreover, her beauty and talent does deserve such narcissism.


    Such a woman would definitely not allow herself to be any less than others.


    To be honest, Su Cheng is indeed very beautiful. Her face is pale and delicate as carefully carved out porcelain. Moreover, her confident and arrogant temperament makes her look as if she is eminent and unapproachable.


    As a result, I smiled and lightly said: ¡°The Seventh Princess died at the time she was most beautiful, and Your Highness will end up growing old one day. However the beauty of the princess still exists in the world and the beauty of the Seventh Princess has already disappeared. How can one compare?¡±


    Su Cheng was silent for a moment. She then lightly snorted, and said as if praiseworthy: ¡°You really know how to speak.¡± Her gaze turned over to the fan in Ji Yu¡¯s hand. Her eyebrows raised a bit, looking somewhat surprised.


    ¡°Mo Qianqiu¡¯s artwork?¡±


    ¡°The Vanishing Snow of the Deer Mountain.¡±


    ¡°For three thousand taels of gold, I want your fan.¡±


    The corner of Ji Yu¡¯s mouth hooked up as if he was ridiculing. This expression made Su Cheng look a bit unhappy. She pursed her lips and looked at Ji Yu, waiting for Ji Yu to set a price. Ji Yu said with a smile: ¡°Some people think that Mo Qianqiu¡¯s artworks are worth a lot while others think that they are worthless. When one buys an artwork, it is purely because of liking it. If I insist on setting a price on this fan, it will be an insult to this liking.¡±


    Su Cheng¡¯s eyes flashed, and her expression became more mild, lightly saying: ¡°Young Master Ji is indeed unconventional. Then, may I ask what can be done for Young Master Ji to be willing to part with this liking?¡±


    Her tone became a lot more polite, but there was still a persistent meaning as always.


    Ji Yu¡¯s gaze fell onto the guqin on the stone table behind Su Cheng. He lightly smiled: ¡°I heard that the princess¡¯s guqin is an antique, and the sound is exceptionally good. The princess loves it too much to be willing to part with it. Don¡¯t know if it is possible or not for the princess to lend Ji Yu that guqin?¡±


    Su Cheng looked back at the guqin behind her, then glanced at the fan in Ji Yu¡¯s lily-white hands. After pondering for a bit, she agreed.


    I retreated discreetly, and quickly walked out of the garden. When I left, I heard the two sounds of guqin, and Ji Yu¡¯s gentle water-like voice: ¡°The fingering method4The playing techniques of a guqin of the princess¡¯s¡¶Melodies of the Spring White Snow¡·is perfect, but this is a relaxing and gentle song. For what reason is it played in such a lonesome way?¡±


    When I looked over, I saw the unconcealable surprise and inexplicable emotions in Su Cheng¡¯s eyes.


    Zi Kou said that Ling Shang and Chang Le¡¯s guqin skills were personally taught by Ji Yu himself, but still were only at seventy percent of his skills. I listened to their ensemble that day, and such an exquisite guqin sound was actually only at the level of seventy percent of Ji Yu¡¯s level. I think that in these nearly a hundred kingdoms, no one has better guqin skills than him.


    I think Ji Yu has already achieved his goal.


    Su Cheng, the Jade Princess has a special status in the Fan Kingdom. She originally was the eleventh daughter of the current Monarch of the Fan Kingdom. However, because of the agreement between the Monarch of the Fan Kingdom and the Monarch of GuangCheng in the early years, Su Cheng has been raised by the GuangCheng family since she was born. The Monarch of GuangCheng regarded her as a pearl in his palm, and the Monarch of the Fan Kingdom also dearly loved Su Cheng. Adding on with her beauty and talent, her status was in fact higher than any other princess in the Fan Kingdom.


    With Su Cheng¡¯s help, even if the prime minister obstructs in every possible way, Ji Yu will still definitely be able to see the Monarch of the Fan Kingdom.


    Hi! I¡¯m happy that a lot of people are enjoying this novel so far!

 CH 6

    The Jade Princess is Xiang Shaoya¡¯s younger cousin, and originally came to visit her aunt. She was planning on leaving that day, but the old madam liked Su Cheng very much, and prevented Su Cheng from leaving. Su Cheng couldn¡¯t disregard old madam¡¯s face1honor/reputation so she reported back to the monarch of GuangCheng, saying that she will stay to accompany old madam for half a month.


    After two days, it was the festival of the Fan Kingdom. According to the custom, grand fireworks will be set off on the bank of the Yuqing Lake outside of the imperial palace. The common people in the Fan Kingdom can all pleasurably see it. In the Hou Mansion, there was a viewing pavilion where you can enjoy the flowers in the spring and look at the moon in the fall. It is also a magnificent place to watch fireworks.


    Ji Yu was invited to the pavilion to watch the fireworks together. Xia Wan and I accompanied him. On the way to the pavilion, we happened to bump into Su Cheng and her maids. Su Cheng¡¯s eyes lit up when she saw Ji Yu, but her face restrained it very well, not revealing a joyful expression. Ji Yu only lowered his eyes, smiling while giving a salute, and was not attentive.


    The two walked alongside while trivially chatting. Most of what was talked about is things related to music that I don¡¯t understand. It can be seen that after getting along with each other these past few days, Su Cheng deeply admired Ji Yu¡¯s level of mastery of music theories, and her expression when looking at him was already very different from his initial arrogant expression. The two of them were born with a beautiful face. When the two of them were muttering to each other side by side, it was like a painting. Everything in the world has disappeared into the background, only remaining this pair of beautiful people.


    ¡°Young Master Ji and the princess are indeed very well-matched.¡± The passing servants whispered. When I heard this, I turned my head and happened to meet the eyes of Xia Wan. She clearly heard these words too, and we looked at each and smiled.


    Xia Wan is the maid who has followed Ji Yu the longest, and is the one that most likely understands Ji Yu¡¯s long sleeves that helps him dance beautifully2money and power will help you in any thing, idiom.


    As long as Ji Yu is willing, is there anyone who will not be able to match with him?


    After arriving at the pavilion, Su Cheng was called by old madam to accompany her. Old madam pampered her very much and asked her to sit at the same table. Su Cheng sat in the middle of the seat while Ji Yu was sitting in the guest seat, and there was a lot of distance between the two.


    When the fireworks began, Su Cheng secretly looked towards Ji Yu. At this moment, Ji Yu was looking up at the fireworks. The dazzling rays of lights were clearly extinguished in front of his eyes. The light and shadow intertwined on his face like a picture scroll. Every inch of the pen seemed just right. He seemed to have sensed it, and turned his head, meeting the eyes of Su Cheng. He slightly tilted his head and faintly smiled.


    Su Cheng became a little flustered, and the base of her ears started to become red.


    This type of secretive and ambiguous atmosphere is the most likely to attract someone.


    Ji Yu withdrew his faze and smiled. His elbows propped back on the chair, and gently rubbed his index finger and thumb. He lightly called me: ¡°A¡¯zhi?¡±


    I stepped forward and responded in a low voice: ¡°Yes.¡±


    He turned to look at me and asked: ¡°Why do you keep looking at me?¡±


    I raised my eyes and happened to bump into his phoenix eyes that held a smiling expression. After thinking for a bit, I said: ¡°Because young master is good-looking.¡±


    He was somewhat surprised, and that pair of phoenix¡¯s eyes slightly widened for a brief moment. At this moment, fireworks disperses besides our ears, illuminating the atmosphere between us. It illuminated the side of his face and eyes, and also illuminated my reflection in his eyes. The sound of shattering fireworks is like spilling water into a boiling deep fryer, enthusiastically bubbling up.


    A secretive and ambiguous atmosphere is the most sultry.


    ¡°Even better looking than fireworks?¡±


    ¡°Fireworks are dead, how can it be compared to a living person?¡±


    These were my sincere and honest words. I always knew that he was good-looking.


    He lowered his head and lightly laughed twice before leaning back on his chair and saying slowly: ¡°You are very frank. To be able to say it so calmly and in a touching way, it can be seen that you don¡¯t think this way in your heart.¡±


    A secretive and ambiguous atmosphere is the most sultry, and it loses effectiveness when it is seen through.


    Most sincere and honest feelings are difficult to express in a touching way.


    Just like Su Cheng who turned her face in panic without saying a word. The more touching words are said without careful thinking, the less sincere and honest they are.


    He also understands this logic, which is why he can have such a proper expression on. Words can touch people, and tenderness can too.


    Ji Yu began to ask me about proper things: ¡°About the matter that I assigned to you, do you have anyone that you suspect?¡±


    I told him my thoughts, and he slightly raised his eyebrows: ¡°Interesting, but since it is a person that is very close to Shaoya, you should be careful when investigating. Without any undeniable evidence, you must not take action.¡±


    ¡°I understand.¡±


    I retreated back and stood aside. Looking at the fireworks that filled the entire sky, the nobles in the area were all drinking together in large groups. The common people outside of the residence were happily leaning on each other with a warm and festive atmosphere everywhere. I freely watched for a while before my gaze fell back to Ji Yu. He was still leaning back on the chair and from time to time, he would smile while looking at the fireworks, also occasionally exchanging greetings with the nobles beside him.


    ¡°Young master does not like fireworks?¡± I asked Xia Wan.


    Xia Wan was stunned: ¡°Why do you think this way?¡±


    She is two years older than Ji Yu, and is not really considered to be a big beauty, but her appearance is very gentle and soft. When she laughs, her shallow dimples would be revealed. Among all of Ji Yu¡¯s maids, Xia Wan has the highest prestige. Even the stubborn Chang Le has to listen to her.


    ¡°Young master kind of seems to be avoiding the fireworks.¡± Although he disguised it pretty well.


    ¡°I thought you wouldn¡¯t want to know about young master.¡± Xia Wan laughed and said: ¡°The young master is someone who has experienced the flames of war, and things like fireworks and firecrackers which have a heavy meaning are not very liked.¡±


    I lowered my head. I indeed did not really care about whether Ji Yu likes fireworks or not. I just happened to notice it.


    It just so happens that I also don¡¯t like fireworks.


    My birth mother passed away in silence. At that time, it was just in time for father¡¯s birthday. He hosted a banquet and invited envoys from various states to the banquet for three days. Fireworks were set off for three nights in a row, and every night, I stood under the dazzling fireworks and among the enthusiastic cheerful music. I did not close my eyes for three days.


    Ever since, I have not liked fireworks.


    The next day, there was trouble in the Hou Mansion. It turned out that Zhang Shi lost her temple in the courtyard because she was not brought to the viewing pavilion. The second young lady suddenly fell into the water, and was hurriedly rescued ashore. After being rescued, she developed a fever because of the fright.


    At the time of the incident, the second young lady¡¯s wet nurse went to pick up a kite for her. When she came back, she saw that the second young lady was struggling in the water. The second young lady said that she was pushed down by someone, but she did not see who it was. The wet nurse also said that when she left the second young lady, only Zhang Shi and her personal maid were over at the side, and there was no one else.


    The second young lady is the daughter of Princess Zhaoyuan, Xiang Shaoya¡¯s only daughter of his main wife. The old madam wouldn¡¯t dare to do so and all the evidence pointed to Zhang Shi at the moment. Zhang Shi was panicking, and swore while shedding tears that she left before the second young lady fell into the water. It¡¯s just that no one could testify for her except her personal maid.


    When I was passing by the lobby, it was when Zhang Shi took the old madam¡¯s hand and cried while defending herself. She instantly stopped crying when she saw me through the seams of people, pointing at me and saying to the old madam: ¡°I¡­This maid saw me when I left A Yan. She can testify for me. I simply did not have time to turn back and push A Yan.¡±


    I looked at her in silence. Her maid pulled me over. Zhang Shi¡¯s makeup was all smeared, and she tried her hardest to put on a good-natured and pacifying look and said to me: ¡°You are Young Master Ji¡¯s maid right? You tell old madam the truth. At that time, did you see me come out of the garden?¡±


    At that time, I was passing by the garden, and indeed did see her furiously storm out of the garden with her maids.


    I looked at her eyes that were brimming with hope. I made a surprised expression, and said in a low voice: ¡°What is Young Madam Zhang saying? This maid has never seen you before.¡±


    Zhang Shi was stunned, and could no longer preserve that fake good-natured expression anymore. She pushed me with force, and pointed at me while trembling with anger: ¡°You¡­What benefits did you receive from others to slander me like this?¡±


    The old madam coughed twice patiently. The rare to be seen tone suddenly became serious, scolding Zhang Shi. Zhang Shi grabbed my arm with force as if she wanted to twist my arm till it bled. At last, she reluctantly let go of my hand, and glared at me with bitter resentment.


    I loosened my arm, and said a couple words to apologize for the disturbance and left.


    The second young lady was still ill. Old madam ordered Zhang Shi to be locked up until the second young lady recovers before making the final decision. In the back courtyard, the old madam said the same thing, and no matter how Zhang Shi cried or bawled out, she was still ordered to be locked up.


    Later, Zhang Shi¡¯s maid came to me with the same unrestrained face as Zhang Shi. She swung her hand and was about to slap me, but was stopped by Mo Xiao who was beside me. Mo Xiao coldly glanced at that maid and said: ¡°Young Master Ji Yu¡¯s maid can only be touched by the young master. What type of thing are you considered?¡±


    That maid bit her lip, pointed at me and said: ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell the truth! Since you have caused harm to our young madam, karma will definitely not let go of you!¡±


    Before I could speak, Mo Xiao already replied back sarcastically: ¡°If you really believe in karma, then why don¡¯t you believe that what happened to your young madam is heaven¡¯s karma? If it is fate, then why try to stop it?¡±


    In the past, Xia Wan has said that Mo Xiao was the cleverest and eloquent out of all the maids. Now having seen it, it does seem to be the case. She originally really disliked me, but now is actually defending me, causing me to feel a bit surprised.


    The maid couldn¡¯t out talk Mo Xiao, and was so angry that she started to cry.


    ¡°Who exactly wants you to harm our young madam! It is Chu Shi, isn¡¯t it!¡±


    Mo Xiao looked at me. I shook my head, and stepped towards the maid, remorsefully looking at her: ¡°I am afraid that sister is mistaken or maybe I was absent-minded at the time. I really can¡¯t remember clearly. When young madam pulled me over, I really couldn¡¯t remember the situation since I was so nervous. I am Young Master Ji Yu¡¯s maid. How can there be any reason for me to harm your young madam?¡±


    I smiled, but there were no great waves in my heart.


    When the maid was half-convinced, she disgracefully retreated. I turned around and thanked Mo Xiao for stopping that slap for me. Mo Xiao folded her arms and waved her head impatiently: ¡°Who told you to react so slowly. I was afraid that she would slap you left to right until you became a fool.¡± After a pause, she carefully looked at me for a while, and said meaningfully: ¡°However, your acting is unexpectedly very good.¡±


    ¡°¡­What?¡±


    ¡°Even I almost believed that sincere and guilty look of yours.¡± She tilted her head and smiled: ¡°You always have such an indifferent expression on. Sometimes I am very curious that if you were to be pricked by a needle, would you shed blood and feel pain?¡±


    Her eyes were half ridiculous and half curious.


    I smiled and replied: ¡°I¡¯m also human, so naturally it would be painful.¡±


    After parting with Mo Xiao, I went to find Zichen. He was a little surprised to see me, and asked with a smile if there was any progress made, and if there was anything that he needed to help with.


    I looked at him and said: ¡°The relationship between Young Madam Chu and Lord Hou is not as good as it seems, right?¡±


    Zichen raised his eyebrows and looked at me without saying anything.


    It seems that Xiang Shaoya really cherishes Chu Shi, but Chu Shi is quite cold and indifferent. Yesterday, Xiang Shaoya also brought Chu Shi to the viewing pavilion instead of Zhang Shi.


    Under the magnificent view of the fireworks, Chu Shi repeatedly looked over at Xiang Shaoya as if Xiang Shaoya had the intention of turning his head to immediately look away. It¡¯s a pity that Xiang Shaoya didn¡¯t see Chu Shi many times from beginning to end.


    A proud woman like Chu Shu does not even put her heirs in her eyes, but instead actually showed humble feelings towards Xiang Shaoya. Chu Shi likes General Xiang, but the general does not like Chu Shi which is why Chu Shi holds a grudge and is indifferent. The general is ashamed to the extent of being attentive.


    Although Zichen did not reply to me, the answer is very obvious.


    I slightly smiled, and looked into his eyes and said: ¡°Can this maid ask you to help me investigate someone?¡±

 CH 7

    Once Xia Wan had told me that all eight of them know martial arts, and out of all of them, Mo Xiao and Nan Su were the best, especially Nan Su¡¯s qinggong1ÇṦ, Qinggong = is a training technique for jumping off vertical surfaces from the Chinese martial art. When I called Nan Su, a hint of surprise flashed in her eyes, and she hesitantly stood in place.


    She originally is a person who does not talk much, and I also don¡¯t usually take the initiative to talk to someone. It seems like this is the first time I have even spoken to her. She looked into my eyes, and naturally had a bit of a disdainful look on, but what more was a curiousness.


    I asked her for help. She was a bit hesitant, but quickly agreed after hearing that it was about handling young master¡¯s things.


    Just as I was about to leave, she called me with some hesitation and said: ¡°Umm¡­How do you know I am Nan Su?¡±


    This question seems to also have been asked by Mo Xiao. I pondered for a while, smiled and said: ¡°I can tell you, but you can not tell you sister, Mo Xiao, does that work?¡±


    She bit her lip, but in the end, shook her head: ¡°Then forget it.¡± After saying this, she turned around and left.


    As expected, the relationship between Mo Xiao and Nan Su is so good that they would not tolerate a single word being concealed from each other. Moreover, Nan Su is a very honest girl.


    It¡¯s quite nice to have someone that you can trust with all your heart. I sometimes think about Qiqi and don¡¯t know if she is doing well or not without me right now.


    In half a month, the relationship between Su Cheng and Ji Yu became more and more close. Almost every time I was serving Ji Yu, Su Cheng would be there.


    Everyone in the world knows that the Zhou is the origin of etiquette, and the Zhou Royal Family pays very careful attention to upright and proper etiquette. As of now, the Zhou Emperor is also a model of various kingdoms for nobility. Ji Yu was born in the Zhou Royal Family, so naturally his etiquette is very comprehensive as he is a very elegant and graceful noble. Normally, he travels around to various kingdoms. The stories of local conditions and customs in various regions are all rich with vocabulary and context. Su Cheng often looked at him intently when he spoke, and the affection in her eyes was slowly overflowing.


    I looked at them, and thought that maybe when a girl likes someone, she will always become soft and tender. Even someone as arrogant and proud as Su Cheng is not an exception.


    At this time, Zichen has found that Chu Shi¡¯s maid, He Xin, has had an affair with an imperial guard of the prime minister. Moreover has also obtained a letter that shows evidence of He Xin leaking information of the Hou Mansion to that imperial guard. However, He Xin only admitted to having a love affair with an imperial guard of the prime minister, and refused to admit that she had leaked information of the Hou Mansion to that imperial guard.


    She cried while hugging Chu Shi¡¯s leg, only stammering saying that she has fallen in love with a person without mentioning his identity or background. She also said she absolutely did not leak news of the Hou Mansion to him.


    Chu Shi is already someone who can¡¯t tolerate things, and after hearing Hexin¡¯s words, she immediately started to cry while hugging He Xin. She looked at Xiang Shaoya with red eyes, and said: ¡°I trust He Xin.¡±


    Chu Shi is also someone who is spontaneous, and if it was another person, they would declare having absolutely no relationship with the maid, but instead Chu Shi would actually step forward to protect He Xin.


    Xiang Shaoya frowned and asked Chu Shi not to fool around. One does not know which sore spot of Chu Shi was poked, but she yelled: ¡°I have already been fooling around with you for many years. Now I really don¡¯t want to be fooling around anymore. Have Zichen accompany you then!¡±


    As soon as these words with an enriched meaning came out, Xiang Shaoya¡¯s face immediately turned pale, and Zichen did not have anything to say. Chu Shi knew that she had slipped her tongue2¡°slipped her tongue¡± = something that you say by accident, and did not want to care about it. She turned around and hugged He Xin while crying.


    Fortunately, in order not to alarm the old madam, this was a secret confrontation, and only Xiang Shaoya, Ji Yu, me, Zichen, Chu Shi, and He Xin were present. The scene did not need to be too ugly.


    Due to Chu Shi¡¯s plea, Xiang Shaoya first locked up He Xin, and thanked Ji Yu for helping to find the hidden traitor before he left. Zichen accompanied me back to my room, and his complexion also did not look very good.


    He told me not to talk about anything I heard today to others. I looked at him, and smiled: ¡°I have guessed about the relationship between you and the general long ago.¡±


    ¡°When you were ten years old, your father and mother passed away, so you were sold into the Hou Mansion by your aunt. Ever since then, you have often been accompanied by the side of the general. At that time, the former madam had not passed away yet. I heard that she doesn¡¯t like you, but the general would still always protect you. When you were fourteen years old, the general brought you to the battlefield. When you were sixteen years old, you led a light cavalry3Light cavalry rode small quick horses and carried light weapons ideal for scouting and skirmishing a thousand miles wawa to carry out a raid to save General Xiang from danger. Since then, General Xiang has extreme trust in you, and is inseparable with you.¡±


    After a pause, I said: ¡°At the viewing pavilion, every time the fireworks were flaring up magnificently. Lord Hou would look at you first, and when you smiled, he also smiled. For a person with a status like Lord Hou, raising a catamite isn¡¯t really anything much, but he actually used Chu Shi as a pretense to help cover up for you. It can be seen that he is very caring towards you. With everything like this, Chu Shi feels jealous and resentful towards you. The general extraordinary pampering towards you already has an explanation.¡±


    Zichen stopped, and listened to my words. His astonished gaze slowly darkened, and those usual bright and high-spirited eyes became so deep that one cannot see to the bottom. Finally he smiled, and said: ¡°The maid under Young Master Ji Yu is indeed very outstanding.¡±


    I also smiled and looked at him: ¡°So this is why you planned to exclude me from the investigation?¡±


    ¡°¡­I don¡¯t understand what you mean.¡±


    ¡°I pass by the garden everyday at shenshi (3-5 p.m). On that day, it happened that I met Zhang Shi and the second young lady who fell into the water. This means that I have become Zhang Shi¡¯s only witness, and if I really testified for Zhang Shi, Zhang Shi would definitely make a big fuss with me for a few more days. Lord Hou has a very clear and bright nature and hates fights in the mansion. If I got involved into the fight, it can be assumed that Lord Hou would not be willing to allow me to participate in the investigation. In this way, you can investigate on your own, and put the accusation on the head of the person according to who you want it to be, am I right?¡± I said slowly.


    I have almost never been taken with such importance before. When I realized that the target of this situation was me, I was even somewhat flattered and overwhelmed. In order to prevent another incident, I went to find Zichen directly, pretending that the person I suspected was someone else, allowing him to loosen up his alertness.


    Zichen looked at me in silence. Today, the moonlight was a bit murky. He stood in the darkness, and was entirely developed in the gloomy atmosphere.


    I looked at the way he was right now and slightly smiled: ¡°You don¡¯t have to be so nervous. I know that you are the real hidden traitor. Didn¡¯t I also just watch you pull down a scapegoat? What have I said from start to finish? You don¡¯t have to think about killing me to keep this secret, Young Master Ji Yu also knows.¡±


    He said coldly: ¡°Don¡¯t slander me. Do you have any evidence?¡±


    ¡°I entrusted someone to follow you, and she saw you give the forged letter of evidence to the guard of the Xiang Mansion.¡±


    ¡°A one-sided statement4¡°One-sided statement¡± = only saying a single side of a complicated issue, or being biased.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± I walked to him in two steps, and looked into his densely dark cloudy eyes: ¡°Then do you think that Lord Hou will believe Young Master Ji Yu or you? Do you dare to bet on this? Can you afford to lose?¡±


    There was a moment of silence between us, and the empty corridor was completely silent. He was no longer that bright and innocent youth. If Zi Kou saw the appearance of Zichen right now, I¡¯m afraid she would be very sad.


    ¡°What do you want?¡± He finally opened his mouth: ¡°You didn¡¯t go find Lord Hou to disclose this to him, and instead came to negotiate with me. What do you want to do?¡±


    ¡°To me and the young master, it doesn¡¯t matter who the real traitor is. As long as our objective is accomplished, everything else doesn¡¯t matter. Since we did not detain you on the spot for your crime of stealing goods, it also shows that we are sincere. Why don¡¯t we make a deal?¡±


    I looked at Zichen, and faintly smiled.


    Zi Kou was indeed very sad after knowing the true identity of Zichen. She laid on the bed and cried for a long time, nearly out of breath. I sat on the edge of the bed and patted her back to help her breathe.


    She actually has never said more than a few words to Zichen, and everything was completely based on her beautiful fantasy that caused her to develop a longing for him. Xia Wan told me that Zi Kou is often like this, easily falling into one-sided love, but also is quick to forget about it. With a bit of time, she probably won¡¯t even remember who Zichen is.


    Such a child, I don¡¯t even know if she is overly affectionate or overly unaffectionate¡ª¡ªXia Wan said this before.


    ¡°So did Zichen agree?¡± She asked while sniffling.


    She finally accepted the fact that Zichen was Lord Hou¡¯s lover, and started to ask about the following matters.


    I patted her on the back, and slowly said: ¡°He doesn¡¯t have another choice.¡±


    ¡°Then he is not actually very loyal to the prime minister.¡±


    ¡°He has hidden his identity since he was a child when he entered the Hou Mansion. I can¡¯t talk about how deep his affection towards the Xiang Mansion is, but he did not betray the prime minister at first, because his family is still in the hands of the prime minister, and the second reason is because he really likes Lord Hou.¡±


    Zi Kou raised her hazy and tearful eyes, and looked at me puzzled: ¡°He likes Lord Hou? Then why is he still doing adultery? Wouldn¡¯t it be better to just honestly confess early on.¡±


    I patted her on the head, and said with a smile: ¡°Not really.¡±


    This is also the grievance of Zichen.


    If he had no love for Xiang Shaoya, he would have confessed to Xiang Shaoya earlier. With Xiang Shaoya¡¯s temperament, and his life-saving grace to Xiang Shaoya, Xiang Shaoya would likely help him rescue his family, and at the same time, he can remain by his side regardless of his previous suspicions.


    However, it is a pity that he likes Xiang Shaoya. The more intimate a relationship is, the less deception and concealment is tolerated. If he were to confess now, and is even able to keep his life, he will still not be able to continue to be Xiang Shaoya¡¯s lover.


    He is not willing to lose Xiang Shaoya. This is the deadlock5deadlock = hopeless situation of Zichen. The more he does not dare to confess, the more things he has to do for the prime minister, and gradually all the accumulated deception will make it even harder for him to talk about in the end.


    Before capturing He Xin, I told Ji Yu about my investigation on Zichen. Ji Yu decided to push the boat along the water6¡°push the boat along the water¡± = to take advantage of the situation for one¡¯s own benefit to push out He Xin first, and then threaten Zichen.


    At that time, he leisurely smiled and said: ¡°A spy is naturally going to be very suspicious so if you want his help, you will have to bring out the most impressive conditions that can move him.¡±


    To Zichen, that condition is Xiang Shaoya so when I promised to help rescue his family, and conceal his identity from Xiang Shaoya, his eyes clearly lit up despite the slight hesitation.


    This is a condition that he is unable to refuse.


    Zi Kou listened and faintly sighed. She rolled over and laid on the bed, whispering: ¡°Now I can feel that what you said makes sense.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s pretty good to not have someone you like. Otherwise, being sad and in a dilemma is unavoidable, just like Zichen.¡±


    I laughed, and Zi Kou sighed for a while before turning around to look at me: ¡°Sister A¡¯Zhi, as for your former sweetheart, why did you like him?¡±


    My sweetheart?


    I was startled for a while before lightly smiling: ¡°Actually there really isn¡¯t anything special. It¡¯s just that I met him when I was a child, and he told me stories for three straight days. He also taught me how to sing a tune. That really was a long time ago.¡±


    When my birth mother passed away, he was a guest at my father¡¯s birthday banquet. Everyone in the palace was very busy, and no one cared about where I went. I met him when I was wandering around. His name is A Yao and he was a guqin7Guqin = ??a plucked, seven-string Chinese musical instrument of the zither family child brought by one of the guests. He held a guqin that was taller than a person and was lost in the back garden.


    I didn¡¯t tell him my identity, and only told him that my birth mother had passed away. He was very sympathetic to me, and asked me why I wasn¡¯t sad. I said it was because I couldn¡¯t.


    The birthday banquet of the head of the country is extremely auspicious, and any bad luck must be avoided so my elderly maid told me that I was not allowed to cry.


    He put his guqin down, and asked me if I wanted to listen to a tune. My mother loved the song¡¶Tender Peach¡·when she was alive so I asked him to teach me how to sing it.


    I was born tone deaf, and for such a simple song, Ineeded to practice it for three days in a row. In these twenty years and more of my life, I only knew this song.


    Perhaps, there is no one as patient and attentive as him. He corrected me one tone at a time over and over again, and did not disdain me for my foolishness.


    Zi Kou looked at me as if she was waiting for my follow-up to that ¡°long, long time ago¡±. I pondered for a bit, and said: ¡°Perhaps, it is because no one has been so gentle and warm-hearted towards me before, and also no one has ever praised me before.¡±


    Even my birth mother had never praised me before. She was originally an opera actress, and came from a humble background, but did have some talent. No matter how she taught me, I was still too slow-witted. She had a very optimistic and unrestrained temperament, and would not scold me, only frequently laughed at me.


    Over time, I recall back to her being a really nice person. She did love me, and it was probably her first time as a mother so she was not quite sure on how to do it well. Even though I was slow-witted, I still hoped to be praised.


    Zi Kou¡¯s eyes lit up. I didn¡¯t know if she figured out something or not, but her face was full of aspiration: ¡°Ah, gentle, I also like warm-hearted men. He was so gentle towards you because he probably likes you too!¡±


    I couldn¡¯t help, but laugh and laugh a little louder. She pouted and looked at me. I said: ¡°He is a gentle person so naturally he would be gentle towards anyone, and it is not because there is something special about me.¡±


    What¡¯s so special about me?


    It was probably because I was unusually stupid and weird. A song that was practiced for three whole days, and my mother who had passed away, yet I didn¡¯t even cry. However, when I finally learned how to sing¡¶Tender Peach¡·, I cried.

 CH 8

    Zi Kou did not hear the sentimental love story she wanted to hear, and groaned with a bit of dissatisfaction. I laid on the bed, and raised my head to look up at the ceiling. Many long-ago memories came and went in my mind.


    In fact, I actually think of him very often, even if that was an old matter of fourteen years ago.


    He accompanied me during the day for those three days. At night, he would go to help out with performing at the banquet. I would sit in the courtyard, watching the fireworks while waiting for him.


    When he wasn¡¯t playing the guqin, he would tell me stories, many stories from a long, long time ago like the huge world outside of the palace and city, the numerous vassal states, the legend of the northern underworld and southern underworld, and the end of the world.


    Only when I met him, did I realize that this world is so big.


    As for that song ¡¶Tender Peach¡·, after I learned to sing it, A Yao would smile and praise me for singing well. Looking at his bright and beautiful smiling eyes, I suddenly cried.


    After my mother passed away, I didn¡¯t know what else I could do for her. I didn¡¯t even feel that much sadness, and at best, I was at loss of what to do.


    At that time, I suddenly thought that if only I had learned this song earlier, then I could have sung it to her before she passed away. She really liked this song, and would definitely be very happy.


    Perhaps she would have smiled and bent her eyes while praising me for singing well. Just like his kind of gentle smile, praising me for doing well.


    I suddenly felt very uncomfortable. I don¡¯t know what is the point of living as it is clear that there is already no one in this world who loves me anymore.


    A Yao comforted me, and said: ¡°If you can love yourself well, then doesn¡¯t this mean that there is someone in this world who loves you? To you, you are the most precious person in the world.¡±


    I lifted my head to look up at him. His smile was bright and soft.


    It seemed that this was the first time, and the only time someone had told me I was precious.


    Later on, I followed his words, loving myself the most in this world, and only living for myself. In the countless moments when I was lonely and fearful, or in desperate moments, I would always remember his words, thinking that if I died, then there would be no one in the world who would remember me. With this, I was actually able to persist.


    I only saw this person for three days, but I actually remembered him for fourteen years.


    Where is he? Is he still alive, and is he doing well? If he saw me now, he would probably be very disappointed. The girl he once treated with kindness and tenderness did not become a kind-hearted person like him.


    However, he most likely doesn¡¯t remember me now.


    ¡°But ah, Sister A¡¯zhi.¡± Zi Kou finished groaning, turned her face and laid on my pillow. She looked at me, and said: ¡°Sister, your eyes are different when you talk about that person. You must like him a lot. It is really nice to have a sweetheart.¡±


    I smiled and rubbed her hand, speaking in a quiet voice: ¡°Sleep.¡±


    The Monarch of the Fan Kingdom is already in his old years, and is engrossed in wanting to be immortal, instead of paying attention to the affairs of the nation. The prime minister introduced a Daoist immortal to the Monarch. Whenever the Monarch is sick, he would often listen and comply with the words of the Daoist immortal for treatment. Before Ji Yu arrived, the Monarch¡¯s health was not good, and the Daoist immortals said that the Monarch¡¯s destiny belongs to a fire disease, and that one must not meet those who clash with his fate.


    ¡°Ji Yu¡¯s birthday is associated with water so naturally he was excluded from the list of guests of the Monarch. On the other hand, Su Cheng would often go see the Monarch of the Fan Kingdom. It didn¡¯t take long for that ¡°immortal¡± to provoke the Monarch of the Fan Kingdom for offending Su Cheng. At this moment, evidence has surfaced that he embezzled silver1this was money back then, and spoke disrespectful words to the Monarch. The Monarch of the Fan Kingdom was towering in rage, and beheaded the head of that Daoist immortal, and even continued to take his anger out on the prime minister.


    I did not know how Ji Yu did this. After threatening Zichen , I then handed him over to Ji Yu. It can be assumed that he provided Ji Yu with a lot of evidence that was unfavorable towards that immortal. Ji Yi carefully selected a few, and used Su Cheng as the point to trigger the crack. Everything was one by one arranged properly, and after triggering them, he is able to attain the best results.


    From this, Ji Yu can finally meet the Monarch of the Fan Kingdom. Xia Wan, Ling Shang, and I both helped arrange the attire for Ji Yu when he goes to see the Monarch. Xia Wan held a piece of clothing from the box, and spread it flat on the table. Ling Shang then uses the boiling water in the copper kettle to iron the creases on the clothes flat.


    I¡¯ve always been very clumsy and foolish about this kind of stuff so it is already a great fortune to not have damaged the clothes. Fortunately, Xia Wan instructed me to boil water, and didn¡¯t let me do more attentive work.


    Ling Shang had quite an energetic personality, and had good hands for working. She has fast hands and feet, but actually does things very properly. It could even be said that she takes care of Ji Yu¡¯s life in every possible way.


    ¡°When the young master meets the Monarch, are you also going?¡± Xia Wan asked me while tidying up.


    I fanned the small stove, and replied: ¡°Young master instructed me to accompany him.¡±


    ¡°Young master¡¯s lobbying2Lobbying = seek to influence an officials or ruler on an issue, and  promote one¡¯s political ideas is the most exciting. Before there was someone who argued with the young master in court. The eight people who were stunned could not out-talk the young master alone. In addition, they were choked so hard that they couldn¡¯t lift their backs. I almost laughed to death¡­Anyways, A¡¯zhi will know tomorrow.¡± Ling Shang went to the closet to get clothes, and as soon as her words fell, she then followed up with a small exclamation: ¡°Ay, there are still a few small clothes here.¡±


    ¡°You opened the wrong box, and it is the one on the other side.¡± Xia Wan walked over and pointed to a box on the other side. Ling Shang looked at those small clothes for a long time, and smiled happily: ¡°These are the young master¡¯s clothes from when he was a child, right? Sister Wan, your collection?¡±


    Xia Wan did not deny it, tilting her head, and smiling: ¡°He grows too fast year after year. I¡¯m afraid I will forget what he looked like as a child.¡±


    Ling Shang clicked her tongue, and sighed twice, smiling: ¡°It¡¯s a pity that I came late. The young master is already an elegant young gentleman.¡±


    ¡°It is also a good thing to have come late. In the early years, with the matters that the young master suffered through, how could you have endured it with your temper.¡±


    Xia Wan said and looked at me. I looked at them, and then went back to focusing on fanning the small stove. Xia Wan put those small clothes away, and closed the lid of the box, sighing: ¡°He really has changed a lot over the years.¡±


    After Xia Wan and Ling Shang spoke a few more words again, she held the clothes and walked over. When she passed me, she stopped walking and was a bit surprised: ¡°A¡¯zhi, are you not feeling well? Why are you trembling?¡±


    I straightened up, and moved my body around: ¡°After squatting for a long time, my body feels numb.¡±


    I clearly didn¡¯t do much of anything today, yet I feel very tired. Even with my tiredness, I couldn¡¯t fall asleep early at night. I opened my eyes, and started at the ceiling, listening to Zi Kou¡¯s steady breathing until it was almost a new day. When it was almost dawn, I finally fell into a dream, and in my dream, I saw A Yao.


    I haven¡¯t dreamed of him in years.


    He was still standing in front of me in that goose-yellow robe like he had fourteen years ago, holding that guqin that was taller than him. He is born good-looking, and when he smiles, he is even more good-looking with that pair of crystal clear amber eyes.


    He was two steps away from me. When I took a step forward, he instead took a step back.


    He said to me¡ª¡ªsorry.


    I don¡¯t know why he is saying sorry.


    He was just looking at me, warmly and sadly looking at me. He did not say another word.


    The dream abruptly came to an end here. When I woke up, Zi Kou was next to me, calling my name. She said I was trembling, and she was a bit worried about me.


    ¡°Did you have a nightmare?¡± She asked me.


    I nodded, and thought about it for a bit, suddenly bursting out laughing. I patted Zi Kou¡¯s shoulders, and said: ¡°After so many years, there are still things in the world that I fear.¡±


    ¡°Dreams are just dreams, don¡¯t be afraid.¡± Zi Kou said very firmly.


    I looked into her eyes, and smiled: ¡°Hmm.¡±


    On this day, Chang Le, Mo Xiao, Nan Su, and I all accompanied Ji Yu to see the Monarch of the Fan Kingdom. He was dressed very elegantly, and smiled properly, very modest without losing that dignified nobility.


    Monarch Fan was a bit lazy. It was rumored that he was quite unconcerned about political affairs, and from the looks of it, it does not seem to be wrong. After both parties exchanged greetings, everyone sat down. Monarch Fan leaned on the back of the golden silk chair, and said slowly: ¡°It has long been heard that Young Master Ji Yu has quite unusual strategies so let¡¯s listen to it.¡±


    Ji Yu saluted and said with a smile: ¡°As for any unusual strategies , I do not dare, but there is a method for immortality, presented to the Monarch.¡±


    As soon as the words ¡±immortality¡± was heard, Monarch Fan¡¯s eyes instantly lit up, sitting upright and still with eagerness: ¡°This young master, please speak.¡±


    I saw the smile in Ji Yu¡¯s eyes, and knew that Monarch Fan had taken the bait. To be known as the world¡¯s number one lobbyist, Ji Yu must have his own skills. He said that when the Yu Kingdom was established, there was once a thousand-year-old sacred tortoise, and is still enshrined till this very day; therefore, the Monarch of the Yu Kingdom has always lived a long life. If one was to forcibly seize away a sacred object, then one is afraid that it would be disrespectful to the deities. However if the Fan Kingdom can save the Yu Kingdom from fire and water3means deep disaster, then it would only be rational that they would offer this sacred object.


    The prime minister advocates that the Fan Kingdom¡¯s water supply and harvest is not good this year. If a war was started at this moment, then it would be a waste of manpower and resources, and should instead preserve and nurture one¡¯s spirit4refining one¡¯s strength for the big push.


    Ji Yu said that the Wu Kingdom has an rampant and arrogant manner so how could they give the time for the Fan Kingdom to preserve and nurture one¡¯s spirit? At that time, he can just attack the Yu Kingdom, and obtain the granary5Granary = a storehouse or place for threshed grain of the Yu Kingdom. It is inevitable to not attack the neighboring Fan Kingdom, and it will be too late to fight again at that time. Just like crossing a river, the enemy is the weakest when they are located in the middle of the river, and attacking would be easily successful. If the energy has already crossed the river, and is deploying troops while arranging formations, the most one can do is hold their heads high as it will be too late to send out troops.


    The prime minister also said that the main army of the Wu and Zhao Kingdoms are big and have great forces so even if the Fan Kingdom helps the Yu Kingdom, they can still not be victorious.


    Ji Yi refuted, and said that although the main army Wu and Zhao Kingdoms are violent and thunderous, they also share the same bed with different dreams6¡°sleep in the same but have different dreams¡± = means appear to be on the same side, but in fact each have their own different agendas)  . If the alliance between the two Kingdoms can be ruptured, scoring a victory is as easy as a hand¡¯s turn7¡°As easy as a hand¡¯s turn¡± = means very easy/no effort at all, idiom.


    I see that he speaks of the pros and cons in full detail in just a few words, treating it as if this matter is no big deal while stirring up public sentiment by using false statements. When those tactics and strategies came out of his mouth, it was like a fruit wrapped in a layer of honey, making a captivating sugary fruit. Monarch Fan¡¯s state of mind was completely in the control of his hands. With every frown and laugh, he had a way to handle each and every. He besieged, and took over the whole court in this way, watching Monarch Fan being persuaded by him step by step.


    Lobbyists attack. the heart which is valued above all else. Those elaborated words from him floated through my mind, but did not leave behind any weight. I just looked at him carefully, looking at his eyes, the bridge of his nose, his lips, his jawline, and listening to his constant rise and occasionally low syllable of his words. All the details were strangely familiar.


    Perhaps I did not get enough sleep, and my pondering has become difficult and slow. These fragmental images were tangled in my mind. It was as if I was running on a dark road until there was a dead end.


    After nearly two hours of disputement, Ji Yu obtained a big victory, and Monarch Fan promised to send troops out, and give a large reward. He complied with a smile. The prime minister¡¯s complexion was not good, and he simply saluted, then withdrew.


    Since Monarch Fan has been seeking an immortal for so many years, it was always the prime minister who was in charge of the politics and government. A few years, Monarch Fan spent an unknown amount of money on immortality medicine, and immortality techniques. It was not until the prime minister recommended an ¡°immortal¡± to Monarch Fan when Monarch Fan dwindled.


    Although the prime minister said that he was a bit arbitrary8Arbitrary = based on random or personal choice, rather than any reason or system, he was doing everything at his best. Although he and the Hou Mansion did not get along, the matter of sending troops out was not indeed not targeted towards Xiang Shaoya. This year, the flooding in the Fan Kingdom is very serious, and the prime minister is the one who knows about the pros and cons the best, and sending troops out to the Yu Kingdom is like a gamble on the fate of the nation. He did not want to gamble on this.


    When we left with Ji Yu, Su Cheng was already waiting at the doorway. She said a few words to Ji Yu, and there was a continuous smiling expression in her eyes.


    Such a pitiful girl, I thought.


    When I returned to the Hou Mansion, I bumped into Zichen . He is a busy person, and ever since that conversation where I revealed his identity, we rarely met after that. This time, we met in the winding corridor of the garden. After he was stunned for a bit, he started to laugh with his usual expression: ¡°Young Lady A¡¯zhi.¡±


    Still having that clean and energetic look of a youth.


    As a result, I nodded as a response.


    After walking together for a short period of time, he suddenly looked at me: ¡°Can I ask you a question?¡±


    His tone of voice was very light. I also turned to look at him, indicating for him to continue.


    ¡°At what point did you start to suspect me?¡±


    He really did act utterly harmless from the very beginning, and Lord Hou suspected that the mole is someone who permanently lives in the mansion which also got rid of most of the suspicion for him. According to logic, the suspicion would not land on his head no matter what.


    I thought for a moment before replying: ¡°From the very beginning when you spoke to me for the first time.¡±


    He raised his eyebrows: ¡°The welcoming banquet for Young Master Ji Yu?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    I turned to look him in the eye, and faintly smiled: ¡°You took the initiative to chat with me, and were also very curious towards me. As a result, I felt that you are not ordinary.¡±


    In the eyes of ordinary people, I am a woman that can not be anymore ordinary. The amount of people who have seen me many times, yet forget about how I look is not small. The amount of people who have spoken to me many times, yet forget about who I am is even more. There is no one who will take the initiative to care and think of me.


    In my short twenty-one years of life, the people who can notice me at first glance, are all similar to me.


    He was a little suspicious, but quickly stretched out his brows, and said with a smile: ¡°It is unexpectedly like this.¡±


    I was silent for a moment before asking: ¡°Can I also ask you a question?¡±


    He nodded: ¡°Say.¡±


    I stood in the middle of the garden facing him, looking into his eyes.


    ¡°Why do you like Lord Hou?¡±


    He was a bit surprised, and his face turned white first, then gradually reddened a bit. He looked very young and good-looking against the background of burning-red maple leaves.


    I admired the change in his complexion, originally thinking that he was good at disguising his deep thoughts, but  have actually forgotten that he was just merely just a seventeen year old youth. It turns out that love is something that cannot be hidden, even for a hidden spy.


    It can be assumed that Xiang Shaoya also knew that Zichen adored him, so he never had any suspicions.


    ¡°I have already answered your question.¡± I saw that he had hesitation so I said.


    He lowered his eyes, now knowing what he was thinking. He lightly smiled: ¡°Young Lady A¡¯zhi, I entered the mansion when I was six, and only at the age of 10 did I know that my father is not dead, and instead is in the hands of the prime minister. In the beginning, it was real.¡±


    He raised his eyes to look up at me, with a bit of sadness and helplessness in his eyes.


    ¡°I have been by his side for eleven years. Young lady has also seen what type of person he is. Such an outstanding person who has set his heart on me, and treats me well. How can I not like him?¡±


    I was silent.


    Xiang Shaoya is a gentle and open-minded person with a dignified appearance which is indeed rare among the nobles I have seen. Such a person is willing to make an exception for Zichen, and also willing to let down the young madam who loves him so naturally, Zichen would be moved by this.


    I asked: ¡°Even if you and him are both male? And even if you are a hidden spy?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± He replied very firmly.


    ¡°No matter what I am, I will still really like him.¡±


    I looked at him, looking at his bright and sad eyes on the autumn day. I felt that I had finally hit a wall on that dark road, causing my blood to flow down. It was painful, but I was clear-headed.


    I must seek for the absolute truth.