by La Mi Tu
“When the emperor was born, I wasn’t born yet. When I was born, the emperor is already old. However, I don’t care. I don’t care at all!”
Just when little master Feng Huang wanted to kiss the late emperor, the late emperor opened his eyes and stopped her ‘absurd’ behavior.
“Long Er, from the start till now, my heart only has your mother. She’s the love of my life and also the only woman that I love. You once asked me why the harem was empty. I didn’t answer you. Now, I will tell you, I once promised your mother, the position of the empress will always be reserved for her.”
“Long Er, you are only a child in my eyes. I can’t be together with your mother, but I treated you and your brothers as my children. I only love you dearly, but it’s not the love between a man and a woman.”
“Long Er, you should find a young man to love you and not cling to me!”
I feel that the words of the late emperor were a bit cruel to little master Feng Huang. That treasure that the late emperor held in his hands, tears fell from her eyes for the first time in my memory.
“I know you love my mother, but I won’t give up. Here has me!” Little master Feng Huang put her hand on the late emperor’s chest. “You have me in your eyes and in your heart. You can lie to me, but you can’t lie to yourself!”
After saying this, little master Feng Huang ran out barefooted.
“Long Er…” If it was in the past, the late emperor would definitely chase after her. The night was dark, the wind was strong and little master Feng Huang ran barefooted, the late emperor would definitely be worried about her. However, this time, the late emperor only called little master Feng Huang’s nickname once but didn’t chase after her.
“Fu Er, did I do wrong?”
The late emperor asked me, but my pressure point was hit. I couldn’t make a sound. Even after my pressure point was released, I couldn’t answer this question to the late emperor. After all, I’m not the involved party. I didn’t have anything to do with this and couldn’t feel all the emotions of this matter. Naturally, I couldn’t say anything about this.
After that night, little master Feng Huang left a letter and left without saying goodbye. The letter only said that she wanted to travel through the mainland to let herself become mature. However, I obviously saw an emotion called heart-tearing pain on the late emperor’s face.
In the days that followed, little master Feng Huang would sent letters every three days. It was still the handwriting that the late emperor was familiar with. The content was nothing more than where she had gone to and what she saw. It was just, at the end of each letter, little master Feng Huang would write a sentence, “Wait for me to come back.”
This kind of thing had been going on for a year. Suddenly, little master Feng Huang didn’t send more letters. For a long time, she didn’t write a letter.
During that time, I obviously was able to detect that the emperor was not right. When he was reading the memorials, he would immediately raise his head when he heard footsteps. He wanted to know if it was the eunuch who brought little master Feng Huang’s letter. The repeatedly disappointment made the late emperor’s face graver and also made him thinner.
Little master Feng Huang disappeared like that out of nowhere. Even her family didn’t know where she went. After reading the letter written by Feng Qi Qi, the late emperor was completely anxious. Feng Huang had always been filial. She wouldn’t not keep in contact with her family. However, this time, even her family didn’t know where she went. The late emperor was sure that something had happened to her.
Feng Xiao was recalled by the late emperor. The late emperor passed the throne to him. He took the letters written by little master Feng Huang and began to trace the footprints of Feng Huang. In other words, the late emperor walked on the roads she walked on and drank the soup she tasted…The late emperor began from the first letter and followed the footsteps of each letter to explore the whereabouts of little master Feng Huang.
Contrary to the attitude of the late emperor, Feng Qi Qi didn’t seem the slightest bit worried about her daughter nor did she send people to search for little master Feng Huang. This was a bit unusual. I noticed it, but I didn’t tell the late emperor. I just followed him all the way. In the end, we reached Xiliang City, the former capital of Xi Qi.
At this point, Xi Qi had already become Nan Feng’s territory for many years. Returning once again to the place where we were held hostage for ten years, my heart had too many emotions.
The last letter of little master Feng Huang was sent from here. After that, there was no more news of her.
I and the late emperor took the portrait of little master Feng Huang and posted it everywhere. So, people could help find the whereabouts of little master Feng Huang. We stayed for a month.
This month, I watched the late emperor change from a mature and handsome man to someone dirty. A layer of beard grew on his clean chin which looked very decadent, dispirited and listless.
“Fu Er, I lost her.” The late emperor looked at the coming and going people in the city of Xiliang and said that to me. There was endless remorse in this statement which made me pity this emperor.
The late emperor, this involved party probably wasn’t aware that his love for her had changed long ago from the love of an elder for the younger generation to a love between a man and a woman. It was said that the person on the spot is baffled, the onlooker sees clear. Although, I was an onlooker, but I couldn’t say anything.
The person on the spot is baffled, the onlooker sees clear. The not involved party sees more of the situation.
“Uncle, this is something a sister asked me to give you.”
Just when the late emperor fell into loneliness once again, a child with a teapot hairstyle, stuffed a note to the late emperor and then ran away laughingly.
I don’t know when I saw this scene, I suddenly felt that hope was coming. Before I reacted, the late emperor already ran away regardless of his image.
I was old and really couldn’t keep up with the late emperor. I could only hire a carriage and chased. When I caught up with the late emperor, we had come to a lake. A small boat was parked on the shore. It seemed to be waiting for us.
When we went by boat to the big boat in the middle of the lake, a sound of zither came over. At that time, I clearly saw that the hand of the late emperor began to tremble. Only she could play such a beautiful music.
As a qualified servant, I didn’t follow the late emperor. Instead, I left this place for them.
However, even so, I heard little master Feng Huang’s voice. I swear that I only heard two sentences. Those sentences said this.
“In the past, you met my mother on this boat and fell in love with her. Now, you met me here, can you also love me once?”
What happened after that, I don’t know. Even if you question me intensely, I don’t know what had happened. Forgive me for being an old man. Old people forget easily. I don’t remember many, many things anymore.
Maybe, you will say that I was playing the fool. Then, you are very right! As a servant who lived for sixty years in the palace, to be able to live, there must be a way to survive and keep his life. For example I, I know what I should and shouldn’t say. I also know when I should understand things and when I should play the fool.
I can only tell you that after this, the late emperor accompanied little master Feng Huang to the Number on village under Heavens in Yongzhou. I am old. The late emperor was compassionate. He didn’t let me follow. As for what had happened there, I don’t know.
What I do know is that the ending of this story is cliché. The late emperor and little master Feng Huang lived happily together. Everyone, including I, this old eunuch who couldn’t get any older, lived happily.
Special Chapter: The Last Princess (1) Part 1
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TLNote: The chapters The last princess are about Feng Xiao. This part is the prologue.
Prologue
August, with the scorching su
n, a caravan (a group of merchants) moved slowly at the foot of Dayu Mountain.
“Damn, it’s so hot!” Song Xi, the leader of the team, wiped the sweat off his face, “If it continues to be hot like this, I’m fucking be shedding a layer of skin when we get to the Fish Gate.” Song Xi’s words didn’t make the people of the caravan laugh.
If it was under normal circumstances, when Song Xi spoke, there was always someone who goes along with him, but this time this delivery wasn’t the same. First, the weather was too hot and second, because of the arrival at Dayu Mountain. The bandit Xi Mei from Dayu Mountain was very ferocious, so everyone couldn’t be happy.
After seeing the demeanor of everyone, Song Xi beckoned Ah Nan over, “Ah Nan, that brat Ah Wei went to scout the road, why hasn’t he returned yet?”
“I don’t know.” Ah Nan was a newcomer who just came to the caravan. This time, just before departing, the boss elder Yu especially told Song Xi that Ah Nan was his (Lao Yu) distant relative’s nephew and asked him (SX) to take special care of him on the road. Song Xi hated this kind of entering through the backdoor the most. He especially ‘took care’ of Ah Nan through the whole journey. The hard ones, the tired ones, he let Ah Nan do it all. If it wasn’t because Ah Nan was a newbie, Song Xi would also make him do things such as scouting the road.
However, Ah Nan was a good-tempered one and was good at his work. No matter what Song Xi made him do, he (Ah Nan) had done it carefully and properly. Song Xi couldn’t find any mistakes.
Moreover, this brat was lively. Where he went was where the joy was. Not long after he entered the caravan, he was able to blend in with the guys. In addition, on several occasions where they had encountered danger, Ah Nan took the lead and saved everyone. Therefore, in the caravan, Ah Nan’s prestige was almost equal to Song Xi. It made Song Xi had a sense of crisis for the first time.
“Don’t know? Aren’t you two close enough to wear the same pants? You don’t know?”
“Uncle Song, I don’t have that of a big waistband, and I’m not a demigod.”
Ah Nan’s words caused laughter in the surroundings. Even Song Xi who saw Ah Nan’s serious expression afterwards, also laughed and scolded him, “Get lost…Don’t stand in front of me, seeing you make me feel irritated.”
After Ah Nan left, Song Xi rubbed the sweat on his face and stared at the misty green hills not far away, and muttered, “Could it be that Ah Wei ran into the bandits?”
Nan Feng had been steady and stable in Ming Yue Cheng’s hands. It could be regarded as a strong and prosperous nation. However, in such a country, there was an exception like Dayu Mountain.
Dayu Mountain was located in the north of Nan Feng, near the frontier fortress. Because the mountain was high and far away, the officials couldn’t care much about it. Five years ago, Dayu Mountain was occupied by a group of bandits. In less than two years, the name of the female leader of Dayu Mountain Xi Mei spread out, and it was now even more resounding throughout Nan Feng.
All caravans going out of the border must pass through Dayu Mountain. As long as they passed by, they must pay tribute to Xi Mei. Otherwise, they would be looted. In order to avoid being robbed, some caravans made a detour around Dayu Mountain. But after Xi Mei discovered it, she directly took people and outflanked them (caravans). In the end, they came to an even more tragic end and directly lost their lives.
The imperial army had also come over to encircle and suppress them several times. But because Dayu Mountain was big and deep, the army failed to do something significant to the bandits. After a few times, the imperial army had lost a lot of troops and horses. It gradually became unbothered. As a result, the bandits of Dayu Mountain also became notorious all over the world. Those caravans saw that even the imperial court couldn’t deal with Xi Mei. So they might as well pass through Dayu Mountain and honestly paid tribute to Xi Mei. This way, it was more peaceful.
Song Xi was on this road for several decades. Since the appearance of the bandits, he had also paid tribute to Xi Mei according to the rules, and every time it was safe and sound. This time, Song Xi sent Ah Wei to scout the road, was to see where the bandits were so that he could be prepared. But didn’t expect Ah Wei to be gone for half a day and still didn’t return. It was really anxious.
“Boss, are we going or are we still waiting?” Someone asked. Song Xi clenched his teeth, looked at the sky, and ordered. “Let’s go ahead!”
The caravans entered in big groups the Dayu Mountain and still didn’t encounter bandits in the evening.
There was something odd about it. Song Xi felt that going this ‘smoothly’ was wrong. Did the bandits got drunk and went to sleep? Those were actually devils who killed people without blinking their eyes. He heard that many wanted criminals had fled to Dayu Mountain to become bandits. These people couldn’t be offended.
Just as Song Xi was racking his brains about the abnormalities of the bandits, a ‘rustling’ sound came from the nearby forest. Then a ‘hand over the money, don’t kill’ was heard, which scared Song Xi so much that he almost fell off the horse.
After looking again, a pink figure slowly appeared in front of everyone. That woman’s black hair was hanging down on her left shoulder, the hair wrapped in pearls, gold and silver threads. There was a quail-egg-sized gem that hung in her earlobe, lengthening her white earlobe.
She was wearing a pink short dress with dark red knee pads on her legs, and a collar so low revealing the aqua-blue undergarment with the white flesh swaying with each step, letting people daydream.
“Tsk, tsk, boss Song, I haven’t seen you for a few days, but you have already forgotten the rules of Dayu Mountain.”
It turned out that the woman in front of them was the bandit Xi Mei that gave many a headache. Seeing that somebody came over, Song Xi quickly filled his face with a smile, “Miss Xi, you misunderstood! This time, I have sent Ah Wei over as soon as I arrived at the mountain. But after waiting for a long time, Ah Wei didn’t come back…And I’m in a hurry, so that’s why…”
“I haven’t seen any Ah Wei or Ah Mao that you mentioned. Brothers, have you all seen them?”
“NO….” The men at the side waved their swords and shouted fiercely. It scared the people of the caravans so much that they dismounted their horses, and lowered their heads for fear of annoying the bandits and make them taking their lives.
Compared with these people, Ah Nan who was still on the horse, stood out particularly. Xi Mei soon noticed him.
Ah Nan was sitting upright on the horse and was holding the reins with a straight back. He looked at Xi Mei without squinting. There wasn’t the slightest timidity in his eyes, which aroused Xi Mei’s interest.
Xi Mei swayed the colorful horsewhip in her hand, swinging her hips and walked to the horse. She raised her pretty face and looked at Ah Nan.
This face of the oval type didn’t have the fairness of women in the boudoir. Instead, because of the long-term exposure to the sun, it was dyed with a healthy red. On the oval face, there was a flamboyant pair of long, shapely eyebrows with thick dark colors. Under the eyebrows, there was an indescribable charm in the eyes. On the left face of Xi Mei, there was a thin scar that continued from the tip of the eyebrow to the corner of the lip.
At this moment, Xi Mei was looking at Ah Nan with strong interest. In the eyes of Xi Mei, Ah Nan was a tall man with wide shoulders, a thin waist, narrow hips and a superb body. Compared with the good figure, Ah Nan’s face was rather ordinary. Not handsome, but charming, and very young, at most sixteen or seventeen years old.
“This brother, first time going out?” Xi Mei jumped up and sat down in Ah Nan’s arms. Her hands reached into Ah Nan’s clothes and squeezed a few times. Hard muscles, great body! Xi Mei burst into laughter.
“Yes, Miss Xi, please take good care of me.” Ah Nan with a straight face gripped the hand of Xi Mei to not let her go any deeper.
Ah Nan’s voice had a special kind of magnetism. Listening to it, made Xi Mei’s heart tremble. She wasn’
t a little girl who had no experience. But Ah Nan’s clean body air made her feel good and happy. After looking into the eyes of Ah Nan, this feeling in Xi Mei’s heart was more obvious. This man was full of magic, people couldn’t help but want to explore.
Xi Mei moved sideways to expose the white flesh on her chest to Ah Nan. She put her hands around his neck and rubbed gently her chest against Ah Nan’s strong chest. “How old are you, brother? Is there a wife in the family?”
“There isn’t.” Ah Nan shook his head and leaned backwards, trying to create more distance between Xi Mei and him.
After Song Xi, who was in front of the team, heard Xi Mei’s questions, his forehead was covered in cold sweat. What did this woman want to do? Could it be that she took a fancy to Ah Nan and wanted to make Ah Nan her bandit den’s husband? The slutiness of Xi Mei was as notorious as her ruthless and spicy attitude. A man with a bit of good-looks would be kept by her. Although Ah Nan wasn’t outstanding in appearance, he had entered the eyes of Xi Mei, which was a troublesome matter. If Xi Mei really wanted to keep Ah Nan, how was he going to explain to the boss (elder Yu)?
“Don’t have a wife?” Xi Mei hooked her hands and stroked Ah Nan’s chin. The black stubble was still soft, proving that this man wasn’t mature and still unripe.
Xi Mei stared at Ah Nan’s eyes. She looked at the shadow inside, and her voice softened up. “Then do you have someone to marry?”
“There isn’t.”
Ah Nan’s answer made Xi Mei very happy. She laughed heartily and showed two rows of white teeth and pink gum flesh. Just when everyone thought that Xi Mei was going to snatch him directly, Xi Mei got down and came to Song Xi. The horsewhip hooked around Song Xi’s neck and brought him into her arms. “Song Xi, you broke my rules today. As a rule, you have to leave all the goods.”
Song Xi didn’t dare to look at that spring bosom and quickly dodged to the side to make a bow with his hands to Xi Mei. “Miss Xi, I really sent Ah Wei out. That brat must be hiding somewhere playing. If the goods are confiscated, even ten heads of mine won’t be enough to compensate! Miss Xi, be generous. We can pay more for the toll.”