Chu Murong finally decided to seal his own skills. He could not do something as immoral as using a beauty trick on a man.
Even after Chu Murong did that, Qin Mu'an still attacked him.
The Terrifying Dragon's Leaf had trapped Rong Yi and Chu Murong. Even if they managed to escape from the cavalry, they would be recaptured sooner or later, so they both tacitly decided not to resist. As a result, the calvary's journey to Jinling was exceptionally smooth.
Seven days later, the caravan arrived in Jinling. After entering Jinling City, Qin Mu'an hired a luxurious carriage, arranged for Rong Yi and Chu Murong to sit in it, and untied them.
Rong Yi was very puzzled by Qin Muan's behaviour and muttered: "Does he think he can relax now that he is in his territory?"
"Jinling is not their territory." Chu Murong replied coldly.
Realising that she had said the wrong thing, Rong Yi quickly smiled and said, "That's right. No land under the heavens belongs to a wang1, and this Jinling should naturally be Your Majesty's territory."
Ever since he was a child, Chu Murong had always been afraid whenever Rong Yi smiled. This time was no exception. Seeing the smile on Rong Yi's face, along with her tone and flattering words, Chu Murong immediately shuddered. He moved away from her and asked warily: "Why are you smiling?"
Seeing his reaction, Rong Yi sighed deeply and said, "Don't be nervous. I smiled because I was happy to have a carriage ride."
Chu Murong felt relieved that Rong Yi was not fooling him. He was even more relieved when he remembered that, just like him, she had lost all her martial arts skills and couldn't play any tricks on him.
Rong Yi cast a contemptuous glance at her xiongzhang2, then lifted the curtains to see the scenery outside, utterly devoid of any consciousness of being a prisoner, with her mind very pleased and content.
Unlike Rong Yi, Chu Murong's heart was very complicated. He was the monarch of this country, and he was still a virgin. If, by any chance, something unfortunate happened to him and he had to face the former monarchs underground, wouldn't he be laughed at to death? As Chu Murong thought about this, he finally decided that the first thing he would do after getting out of trouble was to say goodbye to his virginity.🤦🏻♀️
"This is not the way to the Kaoshan Wang1's Mansion." Rong Yi suddenly exclaimed.
Upon hearing this, Chu Murong quickly opened the curtain on the other side and found that the direction the cavalry took was indeed not towards Kaoshan Wang1's Mansion. His memory of Jinling was fuzzy, but no matter how fuzzy a person's memory was, he would never forget the way home. If the cavalry had taken a different route, he might not have discovered it, but this road clearly led to Murong Mansion!
Why did Qin Mu'an take them to the Murong Mansion in Jinling?
An idea suddenly flashed through Chu Murong's mind. Could it be that the Kaoshan Wang1 hadn't rebelled, and the whole thing was a joke between Mu Hou4 and the two of them?
Rong Yi spoke again at that moment, "Brother, I remember Mother once painted a picture of the scene outside our house. The pattern here is very similar to the one in the painting. Please take a closer look. Is this the way to our house?"
Chu Murong replied after putting down the curtains, "I don't need to look very closely. I can see at a glance that this is the way to our house."
Outside the carriage, all the cavalrymen heard the words of the two people clearly, and they all secretly sneered: This IS the road to the Murong Mansion in Jinling, and these two are even babbling about treating it as their own home. They really don't know the heavens' height or the earth's depth5.😮💨
Qin Mu'an was also secretly amused. The location of Jinling Murong Mansion was unknown to others, but he knew it very well. The master of Murong Mansion was now in a highly prestigious place. How could she appear here?
Not long after, the carriage came to a stop. Without Qin Mu'an's urging, Rong Yi eagerly jumped out of the carriage and tilted her head to look at the two words 'Murong Mansion' shining in gold on the entrance plaque. With a broad smile, she said, "If I had known I was coming here, I wouldn't have run away."
Chu Murong also jumped out of the carriage, stood next to Rong Yi and sighed: "It has been more than ten years, and this place is still the same as I remember it; not even a little bit has changed."
The two people's emotions were like a giant stone thrown into the hearts of everyone in the cavalry team. It can't be such a coincidence, right?
Qin Mu'an also put on a solemn expression as he gave the order: "Bring them in."
"No need, no need, we can walk on our own." Rong Yi waved her hand and pushed Chu Murong forward, smiling as she said, "Brother, since you know the way, you should go in first."
"Okay." Going home was different from going to a cell. This situation caused Chu Murong to feel extremely good. Even if mountains of daggers and oceans of flames7 awaited them, he could still become a breeze that rose and made waves on the water8.
Rong Yi and Chu Murong entered the Murong Mansion together, looking excited from behind, making Qin Mu'an feel even more uneasy. Looking at these two people... they really looked like wanderers returning home after a long absence. It can't be such a coincidence, right?
At this time, an old but very powerful voice came from the front: "Who are you?"
Rong Yi glanced at the source of the voice, only to see a white-haired, richly-dressed old man standing before her with a dragon-headed walking stick and a grave expression on his face. "Do you know him?" Rong Yi asked Chu Murong.
Without waiting for Chu Murong to answer, Qin Mu'an stepped forward to reply: "I am Qin Mu'an, under the command of Kaoshan Wang1......"
The old man suddenly shook his walking stick and said sternly, ''I don't care about your Kaoshan or Kaoshui9. If you are not from my Murong Mansion, you are not allowed to enter this door. Someone, drive these people out."
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.
Qin Mu'an was extremely embarrassed as he was caught between a rock and a hard place10, but when he suddenly saw a dark grey figure walking from a distance, he breathed a sigh of relief.
"Elder Qian, calm down, calm down. They are my friends." His voice reached them before his actual self.
When Rong Yi and Chu Murong heard this voice, they exclaimed in unison: "Mr Shi Er!"
The dark grey figure—Mr Shi Er abruptly stopped when he heard this. He was happy at first and then cried out: "General Qin, I asked you to catch me a test subject. Why did you catch these two ancestors?" As he spoke, he walked over to Rong Yi and Chu Murong in three steps and asked: "Great Ancestor, Little Ancestor, how did you fall into Qin Muan's hands?"
"Didn't you tell him to catch us? The, test, subject." Rong Yi said with a smirk.
"No, no, no. This is a misunderstanding, a big misunderstanding. I didn't know he was unlucky enough to catch both of you. Wait, your martial arts are far superior to Qin Mu'an's. How could he control you? Did he use the Terrifying Dragon's Leaf on you?" Mr Shi Er asked the last question with a roar. He saw Rong Yi and Chu Murong nod their heads, while Qin Mu'an did not deny it either. Mr Shi Er only felt that the black clouds were pressing against him, and the pressure was immense. He said in a tearful tone, "Please listen to my explanation, listen to my explanation…"
Chu Murong: "We'll talk about that later. First, you should remove the effect of the Terrifying Dragon's Leaf from our bodies."
When Mr Shi Er heard this request, he immediately shrank back and replied with a slight shudder, "I don't know how."
"What?!" Rong Yi and Chu Murong turned pale at the same time.
Mr Shi Er hated that he couldn't dig a hole to bury himself in, and explained with a trembling voice, "It was precisely because I didn't know how to solve the Terrifying Dragon's Leaf that I asked General Qin to get me a criminal to test it out, and I didn't think that he would catch you guys. I...... I am guilty. Please kill me."
"What's the point of killing you?" Rong Yi rolled her eyes and asked, "Were you the one who created the Terrifying Dragon's Leaf?"
Mr Shi Er nodded. "Yes."
Rong Yi: "Very well. If you can make it, you can definitely crack it. Before you figure out the method, the two of us will stay here for now. You will slowly do your research on my brother."
When Mr Shi Er heard that Rong Yi asked him to study Chu Murong, his legs went soft right away, and he said incoherently, "Your brother...... the Emperor...... him...... as my research subject......"
Rong Yi raised her eyebrows. "If it's not him, don't tell me you want to study me?"
"I don't dare, I don't dare." Mr Shi Er shook his head repeatedly. If he had to choose between the Emperor and the Princess, he would, of course, choose the Emperor. After all, they were both men, and the research would be like driving a light carriage on a familiar road11.
Chu Murong had the same idea as Mr Shi Er, so he didn't object and went up to greet the white-haired old man, "Chief Steward Qian, I haven't seen you in over ten years, and you're still so fit."
After staring at Chu Murong for a long time, Chief Steward Qian cried, "Young Master! It's you12, it really is you."
This 'Young Master' had sent Qin Mu'an entirely to hell. Originally, when Mister Shi Er called Rong Yi and Chu Murong his ancestors, he wasn't completely sure of their identities, but now he was entirely convinced. Who else could be the young master of the Murong House but Chu Murong, the son of Murong Yunshu, the owner of Murong House, and Chu Changge, the leader of the Mojiao Sect? As for Chu Murong's background, he had heard from Kaoshan Wang1 more than once.
Qin Mu'an knelt with a thud and said: "This General is guilty of a crime that deserves ten thousand deaths13. Your Majesty, please punish me."
The cavalrymen all froze when they saw Qin Mu'an kneeling, and when they heard him say the words 'Your Majesty', it was as if someone had poured the purest cream on their heads14 as they all of them knelt, "Please punish us, Your Majesty."
Chu Murong pretended not to hear them as he smilingly helped Chief Steward Qian into the house. Rong Yi glanced back at Qin Mu'an and followed Chu Murong inside as well. Mr Shi Er pointed bitterly at Qin Mu'an while gnashing his teeth15, "You, you!"
It was already late in the evening when Rong Yi and Chu Murong finished reminiscing with Chief Steward Qian. After seeing Chief Steward Qian off, Chu Murong gave Mr. Shi Er a chance to explain so they could understand the whole story.
After some questioning, Rong Yi discovered the whole thing was a complete misunderstanding. She had the misfortune to be chosen as the central figure in the misunderstanding, commonly known as the 'victim'.
After Rong Yi had clarified the matter, she concluded, "That is to say, when you, Mr Shi Er, heard that the Terrifying Dragon's Leaf had reappeared in the jianghu16, you went all the way to Jinling to inquire about it and get the one that had been activated from the hands of Kaoshan Wang1. Then, after some research, you made the current Terrifying Dragon's Leaf. However, after Kaoshan Wang1 got hold of it, his wild ambitions increased greatly, and he wanted to do something unlawful, forcing you to make more Terrifying Dragon's Leaf for him to strengthen his army."
Mr Shi Er nodded. "Of course, I won't help him rebel, so I told him that the current Terrifying Dragon's Leaf is not yet mature, and I need to find a criminal with deep internal power as a test subject to help me break through the bottleneck in creating a more powerful one."
Rong Yi: "In fact, you are trying to secretly research the method of breaking it."
Mr Shi Er: "That's right. But I didn't expect them to catch you two."
Rong Yi frowned when she heard this explanation. "There are many people with deep inner strength in Jinling, and when they arrested me, they didn't know that I knew martial arts..." At this point, she stopped abruptly and shouted: "Not good!" Having said that, she quickly ran towards the front entrance.
Chu Murong also noticed the problem that Rong Yi had discovered and went after her.
"It is indeed a trap," Rong Yi sneered as she looked around the empty courtyard.
Chu Murong growled: "The soldiers under the Kaoshan Wang1 are bold to leave without my permission."
"There are even bolder ones." Rong Yi said coldly.
Before she had hardly finished speaking, she heard the sound of orderly footsteps from about a hundred or so people coming from outside the gate.
Footnotes Full List
- King
- a respectful form of address for an elder brother
- That's the important thing in your mind? Really, Chu Murong?
- mu=mother, hou=empress
- Chinese idiom: to have an exaggerated opinion of one's abilities; to be ignorant; to think one knows everything
- Isn't it the other way round? You guys don't even know your own Emperor. 🤦🏻♀️
- Chinese idiom: extreme dangers
- Chinese idiom: flourish; thrive
- He was playing with words. Kaoshan: kào=dependent/reliance/trust shān=mountain. Kaoshui: kào=dependent/reliance/trust shuǐ=water/river
- Chinese idiom: in a dilemma; in an awkward predicament
- Chinese idiom: do sth. one knows well and can easily manage
- the author used the formal version of 'you' (您 nín) as opposed to the informal 'you' (你 nǐ)
- Chinese idiom: guilty of a crime that even death cannot atone for
- Chinese idiom: enlightened
- Chinese idiom: to fume with rage
- 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., who are regarded as a social group
きつね's Musing
From Rong Yi's and Chu Murong's reactions, it was clear that the target wasn't Rong Yi, but someone else. So, who is the real target?
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