Chapter 581 - 281: Yue Linglong

Chapter 581: Chapter 281: Yue Linglong

BAM! The great doors slammed shut, leaving Dou Jiuyi standing stunned before them.

News of this soon reached the imperial court.

In the days that followed, a steady stream of officials came to visit the Red King Mansion.

It seemed they were all trying to persuade Zheng Xiu to meet with the Princess.

After all, they were soon to be husband and wife; for them not to meet seemed unjustifiable. Out of respect for the Great Emperor, Zheng Xiu granted an audience to all who came to the Red King Mansion. But the moment anyone so much as mentioned the Princess, he had them thrown out without a second word.

Surely he couldn’t wait until the wedding night to lift her red veil, could he?

Whispers even began to circulate that the Prince had no intention of marrying the Princess of Northern Kingdom at all. This led some to bring the true nature of Zheng Xiu’s relationship with the Princess out into the open.

Zheng Haoran had died on the battlefield. The Wolf King could be said to be the man who killed Zheng Xiu’s father. To now make Zheng Xiu marry the daughter of his father’s killer as his wife... that was, indeed, a bit callous.

A second opinion began to emerge in the imperial court. Some, each with their own agenda, boldly suggested that perhaps a different Prince Consort could be chosen.

The one who made this suggestion was a minor, insignificant official. The very next day, he vanished from court, rumored to have been dismissed from his post and sent back to his fields.

A few days later, Jiang Gaoyi arrived, carrying a small jug of wine.

Jiang Gaoyi was a familiar face at the Red King Mansion, so Pingping led him inside with a cheerful smile, a different reception than others received.

"Lord Jiang, you should be careful. The master hasn’t been in a good mood lately."

Pingping warned him out of kindness.

"I know, I know."

Jiang Gaoyi was a friend Zheng Xiu had made in prison, their bond forged in a time of crisis. That evening, Zheng Xiu had Jiang Gaoyi stay for dinner.

At the dinner table, Jiang Gaoyi chatted about mundane things, never once mentioning the Princess. Zheng Xiu, wearing an easy smile, drank a few cups of wine. When the expected words never came, he asked curiously, "I say, Old Jiang, weren’t you sent here on orders to persuade me to see that Barbarian Princess?"

"Me?" Jiang Gaoyi froze at the words, then rolled his eyes and chuckled. "I’m not that stupid. My story is that I entered the Red King Mansion, had a pleasant chat with the Prince at first, but we ultimately parted on bad terms and I was ’asked’ to leave."

Emboldened by the wine, Jiang Gaoyi shared his thoughts. "As for whether the Princess was mentioned... if the Prince doesn’t say anything, and I don’t say anything, who’s to know?"

Zheng Xiu looked at Jiang Gaoyi with considerable surprise. He suddenly felt a pang of nostalgia for the upright and incorruptible Lord Jiang of the past. How was it that a stint in prison seemed to have been an epiphany for the man, turning the art of worldly wisdom into pure instinct?

’You’ve changed!’

Feigning heartbreak, Zheng Xiu clinked a few more cups with Jiang Gaoyi. After they had eaten and drunk their fill, he sent men to escort Jiang Gaoyi back to his residence late at night.

Not long after Jiang Gaoyi’s visit, Huo Huo also paid a visit.

He too seemed to have arrived with the "mission" to persuade him, but his method didn’t annoy Zheng Xiu. Instead, he started right off by scolding Zheng Xiu, saying that while he might seem smooth, on certain matters he had the same stubborn temper as his father.

After a few curses, Huo Huo knew he couldn’t change Zheng Xiu’s mind. Huffing, he helped himself to several jugs of aged wine from Zheng Xiu’s cellar, acting like a thief determined to leave nothing behind. Before he left, whether intentionally or not, he entered the Zheng Clan Ancestral Hall. He sat before Zheng Haoran’s spirit tablet, opened a jug of wine, silently drank a few cups, and then departed freely.

Zheng Xiu saw Huo Huo to the door.

"For the sake of old times, nephew, let your uncle give you a word of warning."

"Yes, Uncle Huo, please speak."

"When Heaven wants it to snow, no Human can stop it."

"Not necessarily."

Zheng Xiu replied to Huo Huo’s words with a smile.

It was as if Huo Huo’s mouth had been blessed. Not long after he spoke, a cold front swept in. Several consecutive days of heavy snow washed away the irritation in Zheng Xiu’s heart. Winter had arrived.

Twelfth Moon. Heaven wanted it to snow, and sure enough, Zheng Xiu could not stop it.

Xi’er sent good news: she had achieved a breakthrough in her Path Cultivation, reaching a new level.

Zheng Xiu quickly started a group chat to announce the news and praise her publicly. Amid a chorus of congratulations, Zheng Xiu curiously asked how she had broken through. Xi’er just left a cryptic message: The Prince will know later tonight.

The next day, a brocade box was delivered from the tailor shop, bearing a tag that read, "For the Red King’s Eyes Only."

Late at night, in the bedchamber.

"Ngh... mmm... mmm..."

Feng Bei’s face was flushed crimson. Usually so cool and aloof, she now suppressed her breathing as if drunk, revealing a different kind of charm as she squirmed restlessly.

"Why... are you... always touching my... feet?" Feng Bei didn’t understand what was so different about wearing the new stockings compared to usual. The new pair was exquisitely made, the color—a pale, flesh-toned white—was similar to her skin. They were just a bit thinner, a bit slicker, that was all. Why was her beloved’s expression so strange? Feng Bei could not comprehend it.

In ancient times, a young married woman’s "lotus feet" were, like other parts of her body, considered a private area.

"I’m testing the feel... ahem! I mean, I’m helping you see if they fit, Madam!" Zheng Xiu replied with a straight face, his expression full of admiration. At the same time, he was marveling at Xi’er’s masterful sewing skills. These stockings were as thin as a cicada’s wing and as smooth as skin. They felt cool to the touch, and when he pulled on them... ooh, they even had some elasticity.

"They fit. They really do."

Zheng Xiu nodded. In the end, he couldn’t resist. He gave them a hard rip.

RRRIP! The thin, flesh-colored new stockings were torn to shreds, a shape befitting a beast.

Feng Bei froze, a look of confusion on her face.

"Let me show you how these stockings are meant to be used."

Feng Bei: "...?"

...

The moon was full and round. Its silver radiance illuminated the goose-feather snow, making it look from afar as if a blanket of silver had been scattered over the Imperial City.

A delicate figure, wrapped in a snow-white fur cloak, trudged haltingly, leaving a trail of deep and shallow footprints in the snow.

She made her way straight down the deserted street until she arrived before a brightly lit residence.

Above the main gate, the three golden words "Red King Mansion" glittered in the snowy night. The gold lacquer and the silver snow complemented each other, creating an image of overwhelming opulence.

"Red King..."

The visitor pulled back the hood of her snow-white fur cloak, revealing an exquisite face in the moonlight.

She was a young woman of about twenty.

Her pale skin had a heart-wrenching, sickly quality. Her eyes were starkly black and white; the black was as pure as ink, yet the silver snow and moonlight left not a single reflection in them.

The surrounding cold made the young woman’s body tremble slightly. She exhaled plumes of white mist, her eyes fixed on the two words "Red King" as she murmured to herself.

On the walls of the Red King Mansion, a shadow first appeared, quietly watching the young woman shivering in the frozen world below. A faint whistle sounded. Gradually, more indistinct figures materialized on the wall as the Assassins of the Brotherhood silently observed the scene.

"Yue Linglong of the Moon Race requests an audience with the Daqian Red King."

The young woman knelt on the ground, faced the Red King Mansion, and spoke softly.