Rong Yi remained silent, which Chu Murong took as an agreement with his statement.
Chu Murong immediately exclaimed: "You are a girl who forgets your own brother after getting a beau! I worked so hard to save you, and instead of thanking me, you blame me for it."
Rong Yi rolled her eyes at him. "Don't play dumb. Since you followed the calvary and stayed close to us, you should know that Fu Chengfeng and I have already discussed a strategy. Your sudden intervention is definitely not just to save me."
"You have seen me through." Chu Murong felt terribly helpless. Everyone said that the monarch's mind was unpredictable. Why was his 'monarch's mind' so easily seen through by this girl? Could this be what Fuhuang Daren1 meant by 'everything had its nemesis'?
"Explain to me. Why are you being so meddlesome?" Rong Yi asked a little lazily as if she were the monarch at the moment.
Rong Yi's arrogance was incredible, and Chu Murong's arrogance was no less. He immediately lifted his chin and said, "How can I, Chu Murong, allow men to take advantage of my meizi2?"
His statement touched Rong Yi's heart momentarily, and her tone softened slightly. "You know very well that I used the beauty trick on Qin Mu'an in order to seek the best of all possible worlds."
"I don't have a problem with you using beauty tricks on him, but I do have a problem with him hugging you. If I hadn't been afraid of the power of the Terrifying Dragon's Leaf back then, I would have cut off his arm," Chu Murong replied coldly.
What Chu Murong said made Rong Yi even more moved and ashamed, so she didn't dare to look up.
At that time, Chu Murong added: "Actually, even if I don't do anything, your strategy won't work."
When Rong Yi heard this, she looked up at him and asked, "You mean Qin Mu 'an didn't fall for it back then?"
"Don't look down on yourself. Is there a man in this world who won't fall when Chu Murong's meizi2 uses a beauty trick?" Colour of pride covered Chu Murong's eyebrows, and then he became earnest as he continued, "Don't look down on Fu Chengfeng either. His strength may be inferior to yours, and mine, but his pride is by no means inferior. Any man with pride will not watch his woman throw herself at another man, even if he knows it is only a makeshift plan."
When Rong Yi heard Chu Murong's words, not only did she not look happy, but instead, she looked gloomy. "But he just..."
Without waiting for Rong Yi to finish her sentence, Chu Murong interrupted her and asked, "You thought he didn't make a move just now, didn't you?"
Rong Yi had no comment, but her expression confirmed that Chu Murong's words were what she had precisely in mind.
In response, Chu Murong laughed out loud. "I see, I see! I've always wondered why you suddenly used a beauty trick on Qin Mu'an. You know, although you always follow your heart, you're not a person without principles, especially when it comes to feelings. You will definitely cut the knot in the hemp ropes with a sharp knife3 and simply cut off any irrelevant thread, like showing Qin Mu'an where your heart lies from the very beginning. Similarly, once you have set your heart on someone, you will follow your own path until dark4 and be willing to do anything. For example, you let the rice cook5 between you and Fu Chengfeng. Now I suddenly understand that you were not trying to give Fu Chengfeng a chance to escape by using the beauty trick on Qin Mu'an but to test his reaction and see if he would just watch you sacrifice your sex appeal for the greater good."
Even though Chu Murong had guessed her thoughts, Rong Yi was not embarrassed as she coldly let out a 'humph' and said, "A man who is willing to let me sacrifice my sex appeal for the greater good is ultimately unworthy of my trust."
"But you have already decided to entrust your heart to Fu Chengfeng, which means he has passed your test. Why are you still testing him?" Chu Murong was very puzzled. Rong Yi was not a frivolous woman and had her own opinion when she did something, so he did not stop her from 'fooling around' with Fu Chengfeng from the beginning.
Rong Yi hesitated for a long time before saying sullenly, "He's been a bit strange lately."
Chu Murong froze, then suddenly realised. It turns out that this girl is actually insecure. Ah, women. As expected, the moment they encountered things that affected their emotions, their intelligence would turn negative. "If I find out that the girl of my heart has changed from an adorable silly girl to an explosive hair queen, I will also become a bit strange. Oh, that's wrong. I will become unusually strange." Chu Murong said, half teasing, half enlightening.
Rong Yi did not accept this explanation and said, "You are being unusually strange right now."
"..." Chu Murong knocked on her head and said: "Don't think I'm joking. I'm a man, and I understand how men think. The reason why Fu Chengfeng has become strange⸺if this is not your illusion, then he must not have accepted your sudden change. After all, he initially thought of you as a wise, foolish, and sometimes cute person."
This was what worried Rong Yi. Ever since she regained her original temperament, Fu Chengfeng no longer treated her as intimately as before, always keeping a certain distance from her, so she wanted to use Qin Mu'an to test him. If he stopped her, it would mean he still had her in his heart; if he didn't, she could help him escape from the Terrifying Dragon's Leaf, which was the last thing she would do for him.
Unexpectedly, Chu Murong showed up halfway through and ruined her plan.
Seeing that Rong Yi was silent, Chu Murong realised his other mistake at this time. "So what makes you most angry is that I ruined your plan to test Fu Chengfeng."
Chu Murong was right, but Rong Yi didn't have the heart to be angry with him anymore, so she nodded weakly and buried her head as she walked forward.
“You’re worried that he is only into the muddle-headed you and not the restored original you?” Chu Murong caught up with her and asked.
Rong Yi lowered her head in despair and said nothing.
It was rare for Rong Yi to be so quiet, and she still said nothing, even after a few follow-up questions in a row. Chu Murong didn't feel relieved at all, even though what he liked most before was that this chatty girl could become quiet. Fortunately, that was just her being worried and not an actual thing. Otherwise, she would become silent as he wished. Chu Murong envisioned Rong Yi, who became quiet due to her wounded heart and shook his head repeatedly. For her to lose her vitality was no different from being dead.
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 site stated, it has been taken without the translator's permission. Please don't support this kind of act.
Fu Chengfeng, you'd better not let Yi-er down. Chu Murong silently put aside the harsh words in his heart and then cheekily said to Rong Yi: "Why don't I mix some more medicine and change you back to the way he likes you?"
Chu Murong's comment managed to 'win' him a kick.
Chu Murong, who was kicked in the calf by Rong Yi, bared his teeth in pain, "Yi-er, you're really ruthless. If I hadn't quickly dodged, there would have been one more crippled emperor in history."
"Don't worry. Suppose you're so useless that my kick can cripple you. In that case, I'll be sure to dig a hole right on the spot and bury you, declaring to the world that you died of a disease. Then your body will still be perfect in history."
"..." Chu Murong glared at her and reminded her, "If you continue to be harsh on me, I won't tell you the truth."
When Rong Yi heard this reminder, she stopped her steps and raised her beautiful eyebrows slightly. "Although I don't know the truth you have in your mouth, since you have aroused my curiosity, I suggest you confess as soon as possible. Otherwise," she paused at this point. Her slightly raised eyebrows curved into a crescent shape, complementing her recent smile, making her look very friendly, as she continued: "We have been brothers and sisters for over a decade, so you should be well aware of my methods."
Chu Murong vomited blood. Of course, he knew her methods. As the saying goes, only those who knew themselves and their enemies could win all battles. Although he had not yet defeated her, he had already achieved the goal of knowing himself and his enemy.
Chu Murong knew his meizi2 too well. When she gave advice to people, there were only two outcomes: the first was that everyone accepted her suggestion and became happy; the second type was that she forced her suggestion to be accepted by everyone and became the only one delighted.
Years of oppression had made Chu Murong accustomed to choosing the first option without thinking, and he accepted her suggestion.
Chu Murong looked at Rong Yi somewhat reluctantly, then said, "Your plan to test Fu Chengfeng failed. He made his move at that time."
Rong Yi was overjoyed when she heard this, then took back her joy and said, "I didn't see him make a move."
"You did, but you didn't know it was him." Chu Murong said in a very profound manner.
Rong Yi was slightly taken aback, then as if she understood something, a look of excitement appeared in her eyes as she exclaimed, "You mean, the sword that stabbed Qin Muan was his? But the one who injured Qin Mu'an was clearly Qinglong, and he doesn't have the ability to summon it."
"Indeed, he doesn't have the ability to summon Qinglong, but he does have the ability to summon Duantian6." Chu Murong said.
Rong Yi's eyes widened slightly in shock as she asked, ''Duantian6? Duantian6 Sword? Could it be that the Duantian6 Sword is also an ancient divine artefact like the Qinglong?"
Chu Murong nodded with a smile. "Have you forgotten his background? He is our Senior Uncle."
"But the Duantian6 Sword looks so ordinary." Rong Yi muttered, then felt that this was not the time to dwell on whether the Duantian6 Sword was a divine weapon. She still had doubts in her mind, so she asked, "If he summoned the Duantian6, how could it be the Qianglong that came out of the sheath?"
"Because when he summoned Duantian6, I had already summoned Qinglong. Qinglong and Duantian6 have a deep connection, and although he couldn't summon the Qinglong, he could use it. When I summoned the Qinglong, he was one step ahead of me and used his thick sword qi7 to push the Qinglong to stab Qin Mu'an, giving me the best time to save you. Without his help, I'm afraid I wouldn't have been able to escape so easily if I had waited to save you after injuring Qin Mu'an with the Qinglong." As Chu Murong said these words, a look of admiration for Fu Chengfeng appeared on his face.
Rong Yi, on the other hand, immediately became lively and energetic, overflowing with joy, and excitedly said, "No wonder Qinglong came from the direction where the carriage was, but you came from the other side. But how do you know him so well?"
"I didn't know him well. I wasn't sure it was him when I sensed another force urging the Qinglong. It wasn't until the Qinglong came out of its sheath that I was sure it was him." When Chu Murong saw that Rong Yi's expression had changed from worry to joy, he let go of his heart and immediately teased, "Your future husband is truly ruthless in his actions. If the carriage hadn't blocked Qinglong and its power hadn't been reduced, it would have broken Qin Mu'an's arm at that time. However, even though he was lucky that his arm wasn't broken, he still couldn't use it at full strength for half a year. One of you two fell and injured Qin Muzhi's waist, and the other slashed Qin Mu'an's arm. If the Qin family doesn't hate you both, I don't think these actions can be justified."
Rong Yi smiled unconcernedly. "So what if they hate us? They are wallowing in the mire with8 Kaoshan Wang9. Even if they don't hate us, I won't let them get away with it."
Chu Murong didn't quite believe her words and advised her, "You may have no compassion for Qin Muzhi, but the same cannot be said for Qin Mu'an. Since you used him to test Fu Chengfeng, you should first reveal your intention to him through your words to prevent him from getting too deep into the net, or else he will be so ruthless that he will set his heart on killing Fu Chengfeng."
Footnotes Full List
- fu = father, huang = emperor, daren = a title of respect for superiors
- (dialect) younger sister
- a well-known Chinese phrase: taking quick and decisive action to solve a complex problem
- Chinese idiom: fig. to stick to one's ways/to cling to one's course
- Chinese idiom: (fig.) what's done cannot be undone, what's done is done, have reached the point of no return
- lit Heaven Breaking. I just found out that Qinglong and Duantian are from the same master. Well, Chu Changge and Fu Chengfeng were from the same sect. So, instead of using the English translation for Fu Chengfeng's sword, I decided to change it to pinyin.
- vital energy
- Chinese idiom: associating with an evil person; partner in crime
- king
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Black Belly Wife