by La Mi Tu
“Princess is really beautiful……”
Have to say, after the goldenrod was finished, it made her whole person more vivid and pretty. Feng Yu gracefully put Murong Qi Qi into the carriage. In her heart, she was fantasizing about the expression wangye has when he sees Murong Qi Qi.
How would Feng Yu know that from the moment Murong Qi Qi entered the carriage, she would sleep till she reached the palace gate.
* * *
TL Note:
Held on the 9th day of the 9th lunar month, Chongyang Festival is also called Double Ninth Festival. In Chinese, nine is regarded as the number of Yang (which means masculine as opposed to Yin which is feminine). The ninth day of the ninth month is the day that has two Yang numbers, and ‘chong’ in Chinese means double which is how the name Chongyang was created. It is a day for people to eat Chongyang cake, drink chrysanthemum wine, climb mountains, and pay homage to chrysanthemums.
Just as other Chinese festivals have their own unique story, so does the Chongyang Festival. It is said that, during the Eastern Han Dynasty (25 – 220), a devil inhabited the Nu River which caused disease in the neighbouring people. The parent of a young man, named Hengjing, died because of the devil’s magic. In order to rid the people of the devil, Hengjing went through extraordinary lengths to find an immortal to teach him swordsmanship in order to expel the devil.
On the eighth day of the ninth lunar month, the immortal told Hengjing that the next day the devil would appear and he was to go back to get rid of the devil and the disease. Taking a bag of dogwood and some chrysanthemum wine, Hengjing returned to his hometown. In the morning of the ninth day of the ninth lunar month, Hengjing led all the villagers who were each holding a piece of dogwood leaf and a cup of Chrysanthemum to the nearest mountain. At noon, when the devil came out from the Nu River, the devil suddenly stopped because of the fragrance emitted from the dogwood and the chrysanthemum wine. At that moment Hengjing used the sword to battle the devil for a few rounds and won.
Since then the custom of climbing mountains, drinking chrysanthemum wine and holding onto dogwood on the ninth day of the ninth month have become popular.
Niangniang: used to refer to the females of the imeperial family by people of lower rank
Wangfu: residece of a wangye
Bengong: I, used by the females of the imperial family
Wang/wangfei: main wife of a wangye
Cefei: second ranked wife of a wangye
Chapter 43: Male And Female Lead Brightened The Scene
* * *
When Murong Qi Qi lazily opened her eyes, she smelled something fishy.
“Who?”
Two threads appeared in Murong Qi Qi’s palms. As soon as the other party takes action, she will also ruthlessly take action.
“Did you sleep well?”
Feng Cang propped his chin. He didn’t move and only looked at that pair of bright eyes of Murong Qi Qi’s. Just now, she slept like a well behaved cat. Now she is like a leopard whose territory got violated. Sure enough, this girl is interesting!
Murong Qi Qi was bursting from anger in her heart. How come she had slept so deep? He’d appeared before her and she didn’t even notice. Because Su Mei and Su Yue were at her side, that’s why Murong Qi Qi went to sleep without any worries. She didn’t expect that an unexpected character would appear.
“Feng Cang……”
Murong Qi Qi was more surprised about the man in front of her. Before, she had only heard rumors about Feng Cang. Now seeing him in person made Murong Qi Qi greatly surprised.
His face’s like the moon of the autumn festival. His color is like the spring flowers. His temples seemed as though they were carved out. His eyebrows are like a painting. The contour of his face is like peaches. His gaze is like ripples of spring… ….
It seems that all good words put on this man weren’t overstated… …
“Does Qing Qing really know that I’m Feng Cang?”
While Feng Cang was talking, his hand put her messy hair back in place. That action was as natural as it could be and very adept like they had been spouses for many years. It’s as if he did it more than a thousand times.
“I guessed it.”
Murong Qi Qi moved slightly backwards to avoid Feng Cang’s hand. To be honest, she isn’t used to being intimate with people, especially if it’s a stranger and a man.
Murong Qi Qi’s ‘alienation’ made Feng Cang feel slightly frustrated but it also let him have a trace of happiness. At least his wangfei1 is not someone casual. And she’s also not like those love-struck fools who lost themselves in his appearance and forgot what their names were. This girl’s will is very strong and also sensible, making Feng Cang love Murong Qi Qi even more.
It’s just that seeing her whole body guarding against him and her feeling of wanting to be be alienated from him, made Feng Cang got a headache. What does he need to do to let them become closer? If she is like that with everyone, then what does he need to do to become the only one?
Murong Qi Qi didn’t know that in the head of this Nan Lin wang2 who shook the four countries, it was full of thoughts about how to please her.
“Wangye, the hour is getting late, shouldn’t we go over?”
Murong Qi Qi lowered her face and looked submissive. Feng Cang had appeared too suddenly. So sudden that it made her forget her disguise. Now that her mind came back, she once again put up her calm appearance.
Seeing Murong Qi Qi’s radiant face suddenly become so calm, Feng Cang got more curious about her. How can a person have so many faces and can instantly change expressions?
However what Feng Cang’s certain about is that right now, he had no place in Murong Q Qi’s heart. That’s why she’s using such an expression to face him.
It seemed that this little wangfei’s guarding against people is really strong. To open the door to her heart and let her show her true self to him would be really very difficult, ah! But when has ever he feared? The more Murong Qi Qi is like this, the more determined Feng Cang is to open the door to her heart.
“Qing Qing, let’s go!”
Without explanation, Feng Cang grabbed Murong Qi Qi’s hand.
“Wangye……”
Murong Qi Qi wanted to shake his hand away, unfortunately his big hand is like an embrace, packaging her hand inside his, making her unable to break away.
Forget it, let him have his way! She couldn’t go against him and show her true colors just because of such a little thing, right? Thinking till here, Murong Qi Qi no longer struggled and let Feng Cang hold her hand and also let Feng Cang hug her out of the carriage.
“Mi, miss…….”
Seeing Murong Qi Qi in Feng Cang’s embrace, Su Mei and Su Yue’s eyes fell out. The two received Murong Qi Qi’s warning look at the same time. They immediately lowered their heads.
Murong Qi Qi was blaming them for letting Feng Cang making it so that she was without any preparation. However, she couldn’t blame them, ah! These two girls didn’t know why guye3 is so pleasing to their eyes. Together with the bribes before, the natural balance of their hearts tilted a bit.
“Qing Qing, don’t blame them. It was I who was afraid to disturb Qing Qing’s good dream and didn’t let them convey to you.”
Feng Cang put Murong Qi Qi down and personally help her tidy up her dress.
“Qing Qing is really beautiful today!”
“Wangye……”
Murong Qi Qi blushed. The reddish pink looked particularly attractive. She lowered her head even more.
“Let’s go, don’t let the people wait so anxiously!”
“Alright!”
All the way, Feng Cang held Murong Qi Qi’s small hand. His pace is very big, but he walked very slowly. It seemed that he waited for Murong Qi Qi to be in unison with him. This man’s care and dedication to every detail reached even to the tiniest detail.
When they arrived at the Hall of Supreme Harmony, the eunuch in the front saw the couple who had walked over from far away, h
is mouth was wide open from being stunned.
Should such a person be owned by the world? Could it be that it’s an angel who’d descended from heaven? The eunuch couldn’t help but rub his eyes. Because of surprise, the eunuch forgot to bow. He just looked at how Feng Cang led Murong Qi Qi in. He also forgot to announce.
‘Kuangdang……’
When Longze Yu Er, who was originally holding a cup of wine, saw the people coming in, the cup of wine in her hand fell onto the ground. The smell of wine attracted the attention of people. She didn’t seem to have noticed. She just looked in daze at the people who’d arrived.
She saw that man dressed completely in white. The wide robe is held by a belt with a green jade. On the hem and cuff are violets embroidered with the finest silver threads. The black hair is held by one single hawksbill hairpin.
That face, it’s seems a little too devilish. His color is white-like jade, almost transparent like he is sick. Because of the sun, it made him have a layer of gold, making the cold emitting from his body fade a bit.
Looking at those eyes which is so deep as a cold pool of water of a thousand years. It’s like carved from a knife.
Those eyes are crystal clear, but was obscured by the sparkling on the surface, making people unable to guess his inner thoughts. It also made people unable to dare come forward to explore him some more. They were concerned that if they’re just a moment careless, they’d get sucked into those eyes and all their thoughts deep inside their hearts would be seen by the owner of this pair of eyes.
He is obviously a man so beautiful like a devil, but his whole body is dressed in white. It just happens that this body in white actually expresses his appearance of a human and a demon. It’s as if he was born for this white color.
When the other people saw Feng Cang, their expression is not much better than Longze Yu Er’s. Even the faces of those consorts of Longze Yu became slightly red like they saw their first love again. They looked at Feng Cang full of feelings.
Devil, really a devil! Murong Qi Qi’s heart exclaimed. Fortunately, she saw Feng Cang’s painting before and also her self-control is strong enough. Otherwise, she would be like those people drooling in front of a handsome man. She’s afraid that Feng Cang would’ve laughed in her face then.
Although Feng Cang had long become accustomed to people’s infatuated eyes, but being stared at like wolves by those women, still made him become very unhappy. He frowned gently. And this frown is also so perfect. People began to draw air.
“Did you look enough?”
Only when Feng Cang’s desolate voice stung the eardrums of those people did they woke up. The palace eunuch and maids who didn’t have inner energy put their hands on their painful ears. The plate and jugs in their hands fell onto the ground, making a burst of ‘dingdang’ sounds.
* * *
Wangfei: main wife of a wangye
Wangye/ wang: prince of the first rank
Guye: son-in-law/ also used by the servants of the female family when referring to their Mistress’ husband
Chapter 44: Infatuated Princess’s Regret
* * *
It could be seen that this devilish beauty was also arrogant……
Murong Qi Qi lowered her head and smiled. Long before Feng Cang opened his mouth, her ears were covered by his big hands as if he feared his voice would hurt her. It seemed that he didn’t find out everything about her. That’s very good.
“Ahem… …,” Longze Yu coughed twice, embarrassed. The whole scene became chaotic because of Feng Cang. Those eunuchs and maids knew they did wrong. All of them were kneeling on the ground, trembling in fear.
“Retreat, retreat!”
Longze Yu didn’t punish them. Although these people made him lose face, but what difference was there between him and those people? Wasn’t he also attracted by his face? Really lost face at his own home!
Only then did the people notice the girl standing next to Feng Cang. For a time, no one recognized Murong Qi Qi. Even Murong Tai didn’t recognize his own daughter. Instead, he was wondering who this girl was. Could it be that Feng Cang wanted to break the engagement? And wanted to marry this beauty?
Seeing that she had become the focus of many, Murong Qi Qi was about to greet the emperor and empress who were sitting on the top seat but was pulled up by Feng Cang, who didn’t let her kneel. Why should his people bow and bend the knee for others? He will not allow it!
“Qing Qing, our seat is here!”
Feng Cang gently held Murong Qi Qi’s hand and led her to their specified seat. His gestures were so gifted and noble, making those women’s eyes almost fall out from envy. All of them were speculating as to who this girl was. What did she have to be able to accompany such a man?
However, the one who first recognized Murong Qi Qi was Murong Xue Lian. After all, she’s a country’s imperial noble consort. Although Feng Cang was indeed attractive, she knew that the only man she could rely on was this man next to her. That’s why she collected her heart back quickly and observed the girl next to Feng Cang. That appearance was somewhat similar to the Murong Qi Qi from her memories, but Murong Xue Lian wasn’t very sure.
“Third little sister……,” Murong Xue Lian decided to test the waters.
“Greetings to eldest sister!”
Murong Qi Qi smiled and raised her head. She finally saw her big sister of the same mother and father. But when she saw Murong Xue Lian, she was somewhat surprised.
Murong Xue Lian’s features are lovely. She has an oval face, petal-like eyebrows, almond eyes, cherry lips; she’s born with a seductive appearance which seems to emit from her bones. But as her sister of the same mother and father, why are her own looks so different from Murong Xue Lian?
On Murong Xue Lian’s body, you could still see Murong Tai’s shadow. Even the other people in the residence of a prime minster looked like Murong Tai, but on her own body, it’s something that cannot be found. Could it be that she resembles Li Qui Shui?
It’s just that Li Qui Shui had entered the temple after she was born. Seeing her just once seems harder than seeing the emperor… …a small question mark appeared in Murong Qi Qi’s heart.
“You are Murong Qi Qi?”
Now it’s Longze Yu Er’s turn to be surprised. Her eyes were full of disbelief. When she saw Murong Qi Qi’s dress, Longze Yu Er’s eyes slowly turned from surprise to hatred.
Longze Yu Er’s shout attracted the attention of several people to Murong Qi Qi. After looking at her from head to toe, everyone sighed. Really people rely on clothes, Buddha demands gold adornments.
People rely on clothes: clothes make the people
Buddha demand gold adornments: I don’t know what this means. I think it means that even Buddha demands gold to be seen as Buddha.
Earlier on, the matter of Longze Yu Er fighting with Feng Cang over the ‘Gold thread dress’ had been spread throughout the whole capital. All the people present knew about the matter. Now seeing the dress on Murong Qi Qi, the women exclaimed. The originally ordinary Murong Qi Qi had been made like an angel by this dress. Who didn’t want such an outcome?!
“Is that the ‘Gold thread dress’?”
“How beautiful!”
“My god! When I go back, I need to make a trip to Jue Se Fang!”
“Lord, you need to buy for me!”
Various types of voices reached Murong Qi Qi’s ears. Her heart has long been so happy that it bloomed like a flower. It seems that giving that ‘Gold thread dress’ to Feng Cang was a good idea. After today’s advertisement, Jue Se Fang’s business will probably have a good start in Xi Qi. By that time, countless gold and silver will go into her pocket.
And when the eyes of those women moved from Murong Qi Qi’s body to the crown on her head, Murong Qi Qi felt envy, jealousy and hatred coming from them. Even the empress Duanmu Qing was attracted by that gorgeous crown. She couldn’t help but ask: “Is this the new work of Guang Hua gongzi1……”
Murong Qi Qi glanced once at
Feng Cang. Only when he nodded did she answer Duanmu Qing: “Answering empress niangniang2, ‘Autumn flower’ is Tong Bao Zhai’s treasure at Bei Zhou and has been bought for me by wangye3.”
While talking, a faint red appeared on Murong Qi Qi’s cheeks. When looking at it, people thought she was shy and also made people feel surprised at the level of Feng Cang’s care towards Murong Qi Qi.
However, Murong Qi Qi’s words also aroused all the women’s dislike for Longze Yu Er even more. If it wasn’t because of her, would Guang Hua gongzi have migrated Tong Bao Zhai to Bei Zhou? In the future, if they wanted to buy those fine jewelries, it would be so much trouble. They would have to get it from Bei Zhou. This was the ‘good thing’ that this insensible princess did!
Sensing the hostility from the women, Longze Yu Er’s gaze fiercely swept once over the crowd, forcing those people to lower their heads. But when her gaze met Murong Qi Qi’s, Longze Yu Er clearly saw the ridicule in Murong Qi Qi’s eyes and also the provocation.
That’s right. It’s provocation! Murong Qi Qi’s black and white eyes was entirely full of provocation!
Longze Yu Er clutched her sleeves. Her teeth rattled. That’s right, she regretted it! If she had known sooner that Feng Cang was such a figure, no matter what, she wouldn’t have listened to the rumors and missed this marriage.
At this moment, Longze Yu Er had long forgotten the words Duanmu Qing usually told her. Also Bai Mu Fei, Bai Fu’s eldest daughter-in-law, all of this, she threw them to the back of her mind. In her eyes, there’s only Feng Cang and also ‘Gold thread dress’ and that dazzling ‘Autumn flower’.
All of these should have been mine! No matter if it’s the handsome Feng Cang, or other things, they should have been hers! Why are they now that rubbish’s?! This is not fair!
Longze Yu Er’s head was filled with such thoughts. From her point of view, all of this was Murong Qi Qi’s fault. It’s she who stole everything that belonged to her. Feng Cang’s gentleness, his smile, all of this should have belonged to her, Longze Yu Er. But now they were occupied by Murong Qi Qi, she occupied her territory!