"What's the point of bringing my properties?" asked Fu Chengfeng, confused.
"To propose a marriage." Rong Yi rolled her eyes at him. Does this guy have an elm wood head and a sack for a brain1?
"Then I do not need to bring all my properties to......" Halfway through his words, Fu Chengfeng suddenly realised what she had just said and faltered for a moment before regaining his composure and asking very seriously, "Are you asking me to marry you?"
The veins at the corners of Rong Yi's eyebrows jumped slightly. With a blushing face, she pretended to be calm and replied, "Sort of."
Fu Chengfeng frowned and stared at her briefly before asking, "Did you take the wrong medicine?"
"......" She actually forgot to take her medicine. Rong Yi frowned and asked with some annoyance, "Do you agree or not?"
"I promise you that I will bring all my properties with me. If I have nothing left by then, please don't despise me." Fu Chengfeng said solemnly.
After hearing this, Rong Yi pondered for a few seconds before replying with a troubled expression, "I won't do that to you. But I can't say the same for my parents. From what I know of them, they will most likely despise you if you truly have nothing when you come to find me."
"......" Who asked for a marriage in the first place, anyway? He wasn't the one who initiated it, okay? Although the idea had been floating around in his head for some time.
"But don't worry, I've secretly stashed away some private money over the years. If you don't have the funds for the betrothal gifts, just ask someone to send me a message......"
"I appreciate your good intentions." Fu Chengfeng did not know whether to laugh or to cry2 as he cut her off by saying, "There is no need for you to be the one to pay just to get married. You are a girl from a good family, so be reserved."
"I want to be reserved too. But the problem is that you don't have any money. You have to accept that." Rong Yi looked at him innocently.
"...... I'm not broke yet."
"To be honest, I've done the calculation for you. You have no fortune in your destiny."
Speechless, Fu Chengfeng shook his head and asked, "How did you do the calculation?"
Rong Yi shook her head and replied solemnly, "This is heavenly information that must never be revealed."
"...... Then, could you please help me calculate whether I will live a long or a short life?"
"There is no need to calculate that. You are bound to live a long life."
"Why?"
"My Mom said, 'a scourge lives for thousands of years3'."
"...... Thank your Mom for me."
"You're welcome."
"......" She was really thanking him back.🦊
"Do you know where to find me when you reach the capital?"
"No."
"Then why did you say you would find me for sure? You only said that just to please me, don't you!"
When Fu Chengfeng saw Rong Yi stomping her foot angrily, he quickly changed his tune, "I was wrong. I know where to find you."
"I have yet to tell you where I live, so how do you know where to find me? You're just saying that to please me!"
"......" Fu Chengfeng's face was full of black lines as he unhappily pointed out, "You know that too, but you still haven't given me your address."
"Uh." Rong Yi's expression froze for a moment. She smiled awkwardly and said, "I'll tell you right now." After telling him that, she stood on tiptoe, whispered in his ear for a while, then perked up with a bright smile as she reminded him, "Remember that."
Fu Chengfeng froze in place like a fossil as he nodded stiffly and mechanically.
Rong Yi frowned. "What's wrong with you?"
Fu Chengfeng didn't answer her immediately but looked at her dully and thoughtfully for a while before he said, "I'm afraid I won't be able to get in."
Rong Yi laughed out loud when he heard what he had said. "I thought you were worried about something, but it turns out to be this kind of problem. I'll show you two clear ways: the first is to climb over the wall when it's dark and windy; the advantage of this is that you can get my Dad's approval; the second is to go out in the morning and bring enough silver tickets to bribe the guards to let you waltz in, the advantage of doing so is that you can get my Mom's approval. Take your pick."
A noob translator, きつね, translated this noob translation. Please read this chapter at xin-shou.site. If you read this in another location other than the site stated, it has been taken without the translator's permission. Please don't support this kind of act.
"What if I can neither climb over the wall nor the capital to buy people's hearts?" Fu Chengfeng asked.
"Is that so...... In that case, I'll show you another way." Rong Yi deliberately stretched the end of the syllable, looked at him with a smile and said, "Put yourself under the knife and go in as a servant."🦊
The colour of Fu Chengfeng's face turned from white to green to black to purple instantly, showing a wonderful expression. After a few seconds, he finally responded calmly, "I know what to do."
Fu Chengfeng's answer satisfied Rong Yi, and a smile bloomed on her face.
At that moment, Xu Qingshan said, "It's time." With that, he ordered his armed escorts to detain Rong Yi.
After the armed escorts took Rong Yi away, only Fu Chengfeng and Xu Qingshan were left in the courtyard. With a glance at Rong Yi's back, Fu Chengfeng smilingly said to Xu Qingshan, "Since you are still reasonable, let me warn you. Tell your men to be careful and not to let anything happen to her. Otherwise, without me doing anything, not even fowls and dogs will be spared6 in Tianshan7 Escort Agency."
Xu Qingshan was greatly alarmed when he heard this warning. He had already picked up some clues from the conversation between them earlier. Fu Chengfeng's words this time made him even more suspicious of Rong Yi's identity, so much so that he couldn't help but ask, "Who is she?"
"All you need to know is that she is someone you cannot afford to offend. As for the rest, the less you know, the better." Fu Chengfeng said mysteriously.
"Is she someone from the palace?" Xu Qingshan continued to question Fu Chengfeng without listening to his advice.
Fu Chengfeng laughed and said, "It's not that hard to guess. After all, a place where you have to put yourself under a knife to get in as a servant would be nowhere else but the palace."
Xu Qingshan was not happy that he had guessed Rong Yi's background correctly. He knew very well that it would have been fine if she was just an imperial maid or concubine. But it would be terrible if she really were a princess. It was not that he was afraid of the imperial power. However, there was a rumour among the people of jianghu8 that the present His Majesty was the son of that person. A princess, of course, was that person's daughter.
"I've heard that there is quite a relationship between the current His Majesty and the former leader of the Mojiao Sect." Xu Qingshan commented, trying to find out more.
The corner of Fu Chengfeng's mouth curled up, and with a hint of sarcasm in his eyes, he said, ''You don't need my confirmation. You might as well ask me directly if she is Chu Changge's daughter. I won't answer this question for you. If you have the guts, you can find out for yourself. But I still advise you to think twice before you act. There are some things you have the life to find out, but not necessarily the life to hear."
Fu Chengfeng's vague answer made Xu Qingshan think that he was trying to complicate things, so he gave a cold 'hump' and warned, "Don't deliberately make a mystery out of such simple things. How could she have fallen to this state if she was Chu Changge's daughter? As far as I can see, she is just an escaped palace maid who has committed a crime there."
Fu Chengfeng raised his dashing eyebrows slightly and said with little concern, "Don't blame me for not reminding you."
Xu Qingshan's reaction was in line with Fu Chengfeng's expectations. After all, he was also shocked when he learned that Rong Yi's home was the palace. If Fu Chengfeng hadn't already known that she was Chu Changge's daughter, coupled with the fact that rumours had been circulating in the jianghu8 that the current His Majesty was Chu Changge's son, he wouldn't have been so quick to accept the fact that she was the eldest princess of the dynasty.
And his fear of 'not being able to get in' was not a joke or an alarmist statement; it was a statement of experience. He had heard these rumours when he first came to the jianghu8 and had broken into the palace over a hundred times, only to return in defeat each time. The frustration and reluctance he felt almost made him determined to go under the knife and go in as a servant just to see if Chu Changge was indeed the Taishang Huang9 in the palace.
Rong Yi's confession before she left confirmed the rumours and gave Fu Chengfeng what he wanted, knowing Chu Changge's whereabouts. However, he did not feel the joy of getting what he wanted, and his heart was very complicated.
Other people only needed a matchmaker to talk to their mothers-in-law about marrying their wives. Still, he had to cross layers of the palace walls, defeat his dajiuzi10's thousands upon thousands of men and horses11, and then deal with his future father-in-law's Mojiao Sect members near the palace gates before meeting his future parents-in-law, if he was still alive at that time. The most bizarre thing was that he had to keep his promise to his future wife to bring all his properties with him throughout the whole process in order to propose the marriage.
This was not a proposal of marriage. This was more like bringing an accusation against someone before the Emperor!
Fu Chengfeng shook his head helplessly and decided not to think about it for the time being. There were priorities. What needed to be dealt with right now was Xu Qingshan. "I will go to the Moon Mansion. You can tell Yun Hendong for me that I will pay him a personal visit on the 15th of next month and settle all the grudges and grievances at once." Fu Chengfeng said.
Xu Qingshan: "I am afraid that Alliance Leader Yun does not want to wait until the 15th of next month."
"The sixteenth of next month, then." Fu Chengfeng responded with a laugh.
Xu Qingshan's expression slightly changed as he burst out, "You...... are so arrogant!"
Fu Chengfeng: "Congratulations on recognising the foundation of my character."
"Humph! I would like to see what skills you have to be so arrogant!" Xu Qingshan angrily shouted as he drew his sword.
At the same time, a dozen armed escorts rushed out from the lobby and surrounded Fu Chengfeng.
Fu Chengfeng swept a glance at the entire armed escort and smiled. "I'm honoured that you have raised such a large number of people just to catch me, but I don't have the time or the heart to kill anyone today." With a single tap of his foot, he took the opportunity to flee.
"Clouds Chasing!" Xu Qingshan shouted out in shock. 'Clouds Chasing' was a myth among qinggong12 users, where one could shift places instantly and quickly enough to catch up with the moon. This qinggong12 skill had been lost in the jianghu8 for a long time, and he had only read about it once or twice in books.
"I didn't expect Fu Chengfeng to hide his skill so deeply." Xu Qingshan sighed.
"Chief, what now?"
Xu Qingshan sighed again before saying, "Fu Chengfeng's qinggong12 is so extraordinary. I'm afraid no one in the martial arts world can control him. Catching him is harder than reaching the sky13. The only thing we can do now is to write a letter to Alliance Leader Yun and convey Fu Chengfeng's message to him."
"Or we can just use that girl to blackmail Fu Chengfeng."
"Shut up!" Xu Qingshan shouted angrily. "How can I, the Tianshan7 Escort Agency, do something like breaking my word? I promised Miss Rong I would not use her to threaten Fu Chengfeng, and I will keep my promise." After a pause, Xu Qingshan added, "Prepare to send out the escort. I want to take this trip personally!"
Meanwhile, Fu Chengfeng arrived at a small forest outside the city. He stopped and looked around, saying, "Thank you for your help. May I ask your name?"
No one responded.
Fu Chengfeng looked around in confusion for a moment, then said, "Sir, you just helped this younger one escape using the qinggong12 of my sect called 'Clouds Chasing'. If you are from the same sect as mine, why don't you come out and meet me?" Fu Chengfeng's words were straightforward. Among his fellow sect members, besides Yu Tianli, whose martial arts skills were similar to his own, Chu Changge was the only one left. Neither he nor Yu Tianli were qualified to practice 'Clouds Chasing'. Then that left him with only one answer: the person who had just helped him was Chu Changge.
But why was this person unwilling to come out to meet him?
This was not Chu Changge's way of doing things.
Fu Chengfeng was at a loss for words.
Suddenly, a strong wind blew from the forest's depths, hitting Fu Chengfeng right in the face. He quickly spun around to avoid it, and by the time he could stand still again, another person was already standing before him.
Footnotes Full List
- Chinese idiom: blockhead; a foolish, brainless person
- Chinese idiom: to find sth. both funny and extremely embarrassing
- From a Chinese saying, 'Good people do not live a long life, scourge stay for thousands of years'. For the second half of the saying, it means bad things never die.
- He was being sarcastic for calling him a scourge, and she thanked him back. 🤣
- 🤣 Fu Chengfeng as a eunuch?
- Chinese idiom: ruthless mass slaughter; complete extermination
- Heavenly Mountain
- lit. rivers and lakes—people who wander from place to place and live by their wits, e.g. fortune-tellers, quack doctors, itinerant entertainers, etc., considered as a social group
- retired Emperor/father of the reigning emperor
- eldest brother-in-law
- Chinese idiom: a powerful army; a mighty force
- 'the art of lightness'. The body is trained to be 'light as a feather' so that a person can run at great speed, leap high and drop down softly on the tip of the toe.
- Chinese idiom: extremely difficult
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