きつね (kitsune): I'm thinking of using a new style for the footnote. So I'm using this chapter to test it. The new footnote has a dashed line under it, so just hover it. I want to see if it will be convenient for mobile readers also. Let me know which one you prefer by voting at the end of this chapter.
It was unknown how long it had taken, but Chu Changge's voice suddenly sounded in Murong Yunshu's ears, "Look, the sun is also very strong in spring."
Murong Yunshu was flabbergasted for a moment. Then she realised that the sun he was talking about was not the sun in the sky. Her face suddenly flushed, and the shyness that she had never felt before came rushing back at the moment. When their lips were like a dragonfly touching the water lightly the first time they met, it had caused her heart to flutter. However, this time around, the lingering affection had made her mind wander off.
Chu Changge knew that she was feeling embarrassed because she was shy. So he took the initiative to break the silence, "After this winter, all Murong Mansion family property will be mine."
He acted like he was greedy for money which caused Murong Yunshu to snort with laughter, "Maybe by that time, we'll already be broke."
At these words, Chu Changge suddenly raised his eyebrows and asked, "Do you eat a lot?"
Huh? Murong Yunshu was stunned. She couldn't understand why he would be asking her that question.
"If you don't eat much, then I will support you." Chu Changge stated. [T/N]
Murong Yunshu was stunned once more. Then, she couldn’t help herself from laughing. "What if I eat a lot?”
Chu Changge thought about it for a while and then replied, "Then I...will be a bandit to support my family."
Murong Yunshu pursed her lips and smiled afterwards. She blinked her eyes as she popped a question, "Is there any difference between you and a bandit right now?"
"Madam, save some face for your husband." Chu Changge said with an aggrieved expression.
Murong Yunshu's smile intensified as she looked at him with her arched eyebrows, not speaking another word, as if she wanted to keep looking and smiling at him like this until the end of time.
Chu Changge also put away his joking attitude and gently swept her into his arms. He rested his firm chin on her shoulder, and softly said, "After this spring, we will get married. You are not allowed to disacknowledge that you have made that promise."
"When did I do that?" Murong Yunshu asked with a happy smile on her face.
Chu Changge was deeply astonished at her denial and then turned stiff. After a long time, he half-jokingly threatened her, "If you dare to disacknowledge that, I'm really going to force myself on you."
Murong Yunshu blushed and stopped speaking. His words reminded her of the situation in her room this morning, where she was almost being forced by him...
At that moment, she was suddenly scared. She really thought he would do something to her, that she had mentally prepared to surrender.[+]
Instead, he laid out choices, "Marry me, or obey me."
The words 'obey me' made her heart nearly jump out of her chest. She knew what those words meant, even if she had no experience with it. She had clearly decided to give herself to him, but when the choice presented itself before her, she chose to give herself a breathing space and promised to marry him as soon as summer arrived.
In fact, the spring in the south was very short. Murong Yunshu had hoped that it would last longer. At least until all the storms had subsided. When she finally put on a red wedding dress and walked hand in hand with him into the wedding hall, her heart would only have a woman’s joy of being married.
*
King Sheng sat in the parlour of Murong Mansion, while drinking tea with no expression on his face. For the past few days, he had paid a call every day, and eventually, Murong Yunshu was willing to see him. The fact that she had refused his visits ten times in a row was enough to show that she was a very unusual woman. Hopefully, she would not disappoint him when they met in person.
As he was thinking, he suddenly saw a slender woman in a luxurious white dress come out of the inner hall. She was beautiful, refined, demure and elegant. Between her gestures, she was full of brilliance that even the sun and the moon were unable to cover.
Without even thinking much about it, King Sheng could guess that this person must be Murong Yunshu, the head of the Murong Mansion.
At the same time, Murong Yunshu was also looking at King Sheng, and was surprised to see that this man had a striking resemblance to Chu Changge, especially his eyes that seemed to be able to see everything, with his deep and sharp gaze. The difference was that he had an aura of maturity and introspection, the opposite of Chu Changge's untamed and arrogant personality.
In any case, since he bore a slight resemblance to Chu Changge, she would naturally be friendly towards him.
Murong Yunshu took a seat in the main seat, picked up the hot tea handed over by Lu-er and waited quietly for him to speak. When meeting someone for the first time, she never liked to be the first one to speak.
Seeing that she had no intention of speaking first, King Sheng said, "I am Cheng Huayun. As I'm passing through this place, I heard that Miss Murong is magnificent and unparalleled in the world. So I came to pay a visit and wish to form a friendship with Miss Murong."
Murong Yunshu smiled faintly, "If Your Highness really believed that I was outstanding and unparalleled in the world, Your Highness would not have said such a thing.”
The word 'Your Highness' made King Sheng's heart tremble at the sound of it. He had indeed underestimated her power again. Although she didn't say anything else, the unsavoury way she spoke her words made him embarrassed. "It is this young King who has lost his tongue." He responded modestly.
Murong Yunshu, however, was amazed that this man, who was clearly an honourable prince, had put himself in a position much lower than her. When he spoke, his words revealed his wisdom of hiding his brightness while nourishing his obscurity.
King Sheng added, "This young King has indeed heard many rumours about you, which is why he did not venture to reveal his true identity. After all, you don't seem to treat the Imperial Family very well."
"You're smart, but unfortunately not smart enough." Murong Yunshu continued, "If you were smart enough, you wouldn't have come today." Her attitude had always been clear: she was a merchant, and she would manage the money for whoever became the Emperor. When a group of kings wanted to seize the throne, being smart was the way to go since she was just a small merchant lady.
"I would really be a fool if I didn't come." King Sheng was of course well aware of her attitude. Nevertheless, he knew even better, it would be almost impossible for him to take over the Central Plains and reclaim his empire without her help. Thus he came, with the determination not to rest until he had her support. "It was my mistake to use force on you first before using peaceful means, and I hereby apologise."
Murong Yunshu's face was expressionless. She pursed her lips as she quietly listened, urging him to continue to speak.
King Sheng carried on, "I have come today, apart from apologizing to you, there is one more important matter. For what it is, I think you should have already guessed." At this point, he raised his eyes to look at Murong Yunshu before continuing, "Now that the Emperor is incompetent, all the vassal kings have already held different beliefs. It is only a matter of time before the world is in chaos. In these troubled times, even if you want to be left alone, others will not let you sit on the sidelines. You are a wise person. You should know people of the jianghu can not control their own body. Perhaps, with your wisdom, wealth and Chu Changge's power, you will be able to keep yourself out of the war, but I think you have a better choice.”
"You want me to cooperate with you?" Murong Yunshu asked with a smile.
"No." King Sheng said, "I want you to rely on my help."
Murong Yunshu was not a curious kind of person. If it wasn't for the fact that King Sheng looked a bit like Chu Changge, she wouldn't even waste her time looking at this man. However, at this moment, she suddenly wanted to take a gamble, betting on King Sheng to be the final winner in this cruel competition for the throne. For the reason that he had a quality in him that Crown Prince Hua Lingtian and King Liang Jr did not have――a tolerant heart――a prerequisite for becoming a wise ruler.
*
In the end, Murong Yunshu still did not accept King Sheng's offer, though she did not reject it either. She did not accept because she had not yet met the other vassal kings and could not yet be sure whether King Sheng was the most promising one. She did not refuse because King Sheng was right about one thing: instead of struggling to survive by facing the wind and rain during the world in chaos, it was better to find a big tree to shelter under.[+]
"What's on your mind? Thinking so intensely." Chu Changge walked through the door with a smile.
Murong Yunshu returned to her senses and was silent for a moment before throwing out a question, "If I decide to take a gamble, will you gamble with me?"
Chu Changge asked, "What are you betting on?"
"Betting on who will be the emperor in the end." Murong Yunshu replied.
At these words, Chu Changge immediately understood and laughed, "Since Madam wants to generate fortune during a national disaster, there is no reason for this husband to not accompany you, right?"
Murong Yunshu felt relieved as she whispered, "Thank you." Thank you so much for sharing weal and woe with me.
Chu Changge picked up a bamboo slip and lightly knocked her head, feigning anger, "There's no need to say thank you between us."
Murong Yunshu curled her lips into a smile and did not respond to his statement.
She couldn't help but to be touched by his never leaving and never giving up nature towards her.
*
No wall was windtight in this world, not to mention when one was being under the same roof. The next day, news of King Sheng's visit reached Nie Qing's ears.
"If this matter reaches the Emperor’s ears, what will you do?" Nie Qing questioned Murong Yunshu with a chilly looking face.
However, Murong Yunshu didn't consider his statement as something wrong at all. While looking at the account book, she casually said, "Compared to perform a kneeling to heaven and earth ritual with King Liang Jr, King Sheng's visit is nothing."
A layer of frost formed on Nie Qing's face at her disinterested behaviour regarding the matter, "King Sheng left his fiefdom in private which shows his mind is unpredictable...how can it be mentioned in the same breath with your forced marriage with King Liang Jr?"
Murong Yunshu stopped flipping through the account book. She was about to tell him to do what he needed to do and not cause her any more trouble, but when she looked up and saw the expression on his face like he just lost his mother, she changed her tone and asked, "Did the Emperor pay you to keep your face tense all day?"
Nie Qing was stunned and could not say any other word. The frost on his face thickened to another centimetre.
Murong Yunshu gave him some choices, "You can pretend that you don't know about this, or you can just go and report the matter to the Emperor right now."
"Don't force me." Nie Qing coldly warned her.
However, Murong Yunshu no longer spoke. She had lowered her head and continued to read the account book. From time to time, her hand would snap a few times on the abacus, sharp and competent, yet with a bit of laziness.
Nie Qing looked at the woman with an indifferent face in front of him, who had treated him like air, and felt an indescribable pain in his heart. Was she really not afraid of him telling on her, or was she so certain that he would never do anything against her?
Probably...she was not afraid that he would tell on her. She never looked at him more than once, so naturally, she wouldn't know what he was thinking...
After making a few more deep glances at Murong Yunshu, Nie Qing turned around dejectedly and quietly left. He had already made up his mind.
Murong Yunshu still did not look up as she concentrated on the previous month's profit and loss.
Suddenly, Lu-er burst into the study, while calling out, "Miss, something big has happened!"
"What's all this panic about?" Murong Yunshu asked as she looked up unhurriedly.
"There’s...a woman came to the gate...and said...said..said she wanted Guye to be responsible!" Lu-er spoke incoherently while trying to remember.
"Oh?" Murong Yunshu raised an eyebrow for a moment, then she looked down again to focus on the account book. Her mouth spoke nonchalantly, "He went out early this morning and hasn't returned yet. You inform the woman to wait first."
"Huh?" Lu-er's eyes widened. That person was obviously Miss’ rival in love! She couldn't believe that there was no reaction from Miss at all!
When Murong Yunshu saw that Lu-er had not yet left, she added, "Tell her to wait outside. She is not allowed to enter."
Lu-er was taken aback at first, then she smiled knowingly. Told you, how could Miss not care about this! [T/N]
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