Pampered Consort of the Fragrant Orchard c1-234

by N/A

  “They saved your life?” Xia Yuan was shocked.

  Du Xiaoli nodded and said, “When we were on our way back, we encountered some assassins…”

  Hearing that Du Xiaoli had experienced two assassination attempts and that she faced that many hitmen... Xia Yuan’s heartbeat suspended in worry.

  “Then Mistress, does that mean your Sound Arts have been revealed?”

  “I had no other choice at the time,” Du Xiaoli said. Reaching out, she ran her hands through the water before explaining, “For my sake, the members of Water Moon Paradise depleted their internal strength and ultimately suffered a wave of backlash from using their musical instruments. I’m the reason why they were drawn into such danger, so I couldn’t simply watch them die. Moreover, Beiling Yicheng was also present. Since I took him out of the city, I naturally had to bring him back alive.”

  “Will this bring you any trouble though?” Xia Yuan asked worriedly.

  “It’s likely that rumors will spread in the Jiang Hu world about the reappearance of the Wind Blowing Snow. That said, if anyone wants to track down its location to me, they will still have to spend quite some time searching,” Du Xiaoli said.

  “Then Mistress, will you become Water Moon Paradise’s Sect Master?”

  Du Xiaoli shook her head and said, “I don’t intend to do so.”

  “However, this Phoenix flute is Water Moon Paradise’s sacred tool. I doubt they’d give up so easily. If it’s true that Mistress is the only one who can play this Phoenix flute and that Water Moon Paradise has reached a critical moment when their existence hangs in the balance… I’m afraid Mistress will be unable to restrain yourself from helping them,” Xia Yuan surmised.

  “Am I, your Mistress, that sort of over-the-top-person who indiscriminately tries to be on good terms with everyone?” Du Xiaoli said disapprovingly.

  “No, Mistress isn’t that kind of person, but when it comes to those who treat you well, you always wholeheartedly treat them well in return!” Xia Yuan stated. She paused to top up Du Xiaoli’s bathwater with a bit more hot water and then continued to say, “It doesn’t matter what intentions Fairy Shui Qing and the others had. Since they saved your life, you now owe them a debt of gratitude. Mistress, when the time comes that Fairy Shui Qing really asks you for help, it just seems unlikely that you’ll refuse.”

  “......”

  Du Xiaoli felt that if such a time really were to arise, it was true that perhaps she wouldn’t refuse to give them some help. However, as for being their Sect Master, it would still be best to forget about that.

  Meanwhile, in Prince Ren’s Manor, Han Minghong kicked out and landed a hit on one of the people kneeling before him. He bellowed, “There are so many of you, yet you’ve all failed? No, you failed before even taking action! A bunch of good-for-nothings! There are so many of you and yet you couldn’t even capture two people. What’s the point of me raising you lot?!”

  “Your Highness, please quell your anger!”

  All of the people in the room quickly knelt down, and those two people who were already kneeling on the floor lowered their heads rigidly.

  “Quell my anger? How can I?! This Prince let you go capture a person and sent you so many helpers to do it. Yet in the end, you returned totally unscathed and empty-handed! You’re really a bunch of good-for-nothings!” Han Minhong got so furious that he pushed all the things on the table to the floor. Seeing the people on the floor, he really wished to have them killed. “Someone, drag them out to be killed!”

  “Your Highness, your imperial bodyguards have always been diligent and responsible. They must definitely have a reason for returning like this. Why not try asking them for the reason first? It wouldn’t be too late to punish them after!” Huang Qi, the head housekeeper of Prince Ren’s Manor urged. “If it really is because of some other reason, we’ll be able to do a more thorough preparation next time.”

  Han Minghong felt that what Huang Qi said made sense, so he kicked the people on the floor another two times before returning to sit in his chair. He said, “This Prince will give you one chance. Talk.”

  The prince’s imperial bodyguards glanced at Huang Qi gratefully and then kowtowed toward Han Minghong. One of them said, “Your Highness, before we could get to her, Miss Du had already encountered two groups of assassins.”

  “What did you say?!” Han Minghong exclaimed, springing to his feet. He asked worriedly, “Did Xiaoli get hurt?”

  “Your Highness need not worry. Miss Du didn’t get hurt,” the bodyguard replied. “The first time was yesterday afternoon. Members of Hitman Pavilion lay in ambush for her. There were around 50 or so of them. Right when we planned to go and rescue Miss Du, the members of Water Moon Paradise arrived and saved her instead.”

  “Water Moon Paradise? Why were they there? And why would they save a member of the Imperial Court?” Huang Qi asked puzzledly.

  “We didn’t understand either at first. However, what happened this morning allowed us to understand the reason why,” the bodyguard said.

  “What’s the reason?”

  “Miss Du’s Sound Arts!” The bodyguard answered. His words successfully astonished Han Minghong and Huang Qi.

  “She… She knows…”

  “Your Highness, Miss Du’s martial arts are very powerful. This morning, we followed them secretly. The members of Water Moon Paradise were always with Miss Du. At around midway through the return journey, they encountered the second group of assassins. Confronted with over two hundred people, Miss Du didn’t do much at the start. The members of Water Moon Paradise were the ones using Sound Arts to fight the opposing party. However, when their internal strength was depleted, Miss Du used flute sounds to kill off the remaining assassins, of which there was more than half of the initial number.”

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  Ch. 090.5 – Attack! (5)

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  “Her Sound Arts are that great?” Han Minghong asked with a cold expression. If this was true, just how many things was she hiding from him? Did that guy, Han Mingyi, already know about all these?

  “Miss Du’s Sound Arts are very powerful. Water Moon Paradise’s Fairy Shui Qing was also present at the time, and Miss Du’s Sound Arts were clearly much more powerful than Fairy Shui Qing’s,” the imperial bodyguard replied.

  If it was not for the fact that he had witnessed it personally, he too would not believe it. It was totally unexpected that the girl who had always been rumored to be a country bumpkin would actually have such amazing martial arts skills! Even within Water Moon Paradise, it’s likely that there were only a few, if any at all, who could catch up to her!

  “Your Highness, could it be that the rumored secret book of Sound Arts is in Miss Du’s possession?” Huang Qi surmised.

  Han Minghong didn’t speak, but he had come to the same conclusion.

  “Regardless, it is a fact that Miss Du knows how to use Sound Arts. Should we go snatch the secret book away and publicly disclose this matter?” Huang Qi asked.

  In the past, Prince Ren’s Manor had also put in quite a lot of effort to find the secret book, but ultimately, it had been to no avail. Now that they knew there was a possibility the secret book was in Du Xiaoli’s possession, Huang Qi didn’t know if Han Minghong would still want to snatch it away.

  Han Minghong glared at Huang Qi and berated, “Snatch? Snatch what?! If it’s really in her possession, then This Prince is even happier. The stronger Du Xiaoli gets, the more This Prince will like it. Perhaps, now that I know this secret, I may even be able to make use of it and have her obediently come over to my side!”

  If Du Xiaoli knew that Han Minghong was aware of her secret, would
she be willing to be together with him? Thinking of this, Han Minghong got into a really good mood.

  “Since the situation is like this, This Prince will spare your feeble lives! However, while you can be exempt from the death penalty, you cannot escape punishment. Go receive your punishment yourselves.”

  “Your Highness, thank you for your kindness in sparing our lives!” The two imperial bodyguards replied together. After that, they rose from the floor and left to receive their punishments.

  “Your Highness, do you need us to prepare anything?” Huang Qi asked.

  “There’s no need for that. This Prince wants to handle this matter personally. You can go first. Call for someone to come in and clean up this place.” Han Minghong leaned against the back of his chair and revealed a happy smile as he thought of Du Xiaoli.

  Once Du Xiaoli was done with her bath, she called for both Ying Ge and Qiao Zhu to return. She asked them for updates on what had happened during her two days of absence as well as the competition’s situation. After Du Xiaoli gained a clear understanding of everything, she had Ying Ge go and let Fu Wansan know of her return and also about the incident with Water Moon Paradise.

  When Ying Ge came back from doing that, she brought word that Fu Wansan had indeed dispatched some people to go after Du Xiaoli. However, they had taken the wrong route somewhere along the way, so they never did manage to meet up with Du Xiaoli. Meanwhile, knowing that Du Xiaoli had returned safely, Fu Wansan’s worried heart could finally be at ease.

  In the evening, Du Xiaoli made another visit to Northern Qi’s women’s courtyard to have a look at Beiling Yu. After taking the medicine, Beiling Yu’s complexion looked a lot better, and she could already get off the bed and walk around on her own. Seeing Du Xiaoli come into the room, Beiling Yu even waved at her.

  “Princess, I’ve come to examine the state of your health,” Du Xiaoli said with a smile.

  “Sure!” Beiling Yu agreed to it and went back to lying on the bed with her hand extended to let Du Xiaoli take her pulse. When she saw Du Xiaoli’s delicate and slender hand placed on her own wrist, Beiling Yu said, “Miss Du, you’re really amazing!”

  “What do you mean?” Du Xiaoli asked while lifting her head back up.

  “In the afternoon, Elder Brother told me all about it—that he was getting the herb with you during these couple of days. I never even imagined that I actually fell victim to such a powerful poison, let alone that you’d be so amazing to actually be able to neutralize it. I really have to thank you a lot this time. When I return home, I will definitely speak with Father and request that he bestows you with a reward!”

  “A reward? That’s not necessary,” Du Xiaoli stated as she stood up. “Princess, you fell sick here, so we naturally did our best to help you neutralize the poison. The poison has already been detoxified from your body, so it won’t affect your later matches.”

  “I too feel like my body is fine now. I don’t have any of that feeling of sickness from before. Regardless, I still want to thank you. If you come to Northern Qi in the future, I will definitely give you a good welcome!” Beiling Yu said, standing up as well.

  “If there is an opportunity for it, I will definitely go over for a visit,” Du Xiaoli replied. Then seeing the servant girl bring in Beiling Yu’s dinner, Du Xiaoli said, “Princess, you should eat first. I’ll go have a look at some other places.”

  “All right.” Beiling Yu knew that Du Xiaoli had many things to manage, so she didn’t try to make her stay.

  Du Xiaoli left the Northern Qi’s women’s courtyard and headed straight for the men’s courtyard. When Beiling Yicheng’s servant boy saw her, he led her to Beiling Yicheng’s room.

  “Miss Du, why have you come?” Beiling Yicheng was somewhat surprised to see Du Xiaoli.

  Du Xiaoli took out a medicine bottle and said, “It’s about time to change your wound’s wrappings, so I’ve brought the medicine over. The other thing is that I’ve instructed the kitchen to prepare some blood-enriching meals for you alone. You lost a lot of blood yesterday, so you shouldn’t move about for these couple of days.”

  “Mm, I understand,” Beiling Yicheng replied and accepted the medicine bottle.

  Du Xiaoli turned around to leave, but after taking two steps, she turned back to look at Beiling Yicheng who was examining the medicine bottle. She asked him, “7th Prince, do you regret it?”

  Beiling Yicheng blanked out for a moment. However, he soon realized Du Xiaoli was asking if he regretted not being able to participate in the competition due to having gotten hurt while obtaining the herb for Beiling Yu. He laughed and then said firmly, “I don’t.”

  Turning back around, Du Xiaoli left. She had already guessed his answer early on. Nevertheless, after seeing Beiling Yicheng’s expression of having no regrets, she still felt that it might not necessarily be all fighting and scheming within an imperial household.

  Soon after, she went to have a look at the other courtyards and sent Xia Yuan off to do some work, leaving Du Xiaoli to walk alone in the night. Suddenly, she sensed the pressure of a killing intent. Before she could even attack, she was pulled behind a rock garden by the opposing party, and her entirety was instantly enveloped by the killing intent.

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  Ch. 091.1 – The Annoying Prince Ren (1)

  Du Xiaoli stared fixedly at Han Mingyi, who enveloped her. Seeing the murderous intent in the latter’s eyes, she shuddered inwardly and asked: “What’s the matter, Xiao Yi-gege [1]?”

  “Who was it?” Han Mingyi asked.

  “What? What do you mean who?” Du Xiaoli was stunned by Han Mingyi’s reply. What was with this murderous aura rising from his body?

  Seeing the flabbergasted look in Du Xiaoli’s eyes, Han Mingyi realized that she had been frightened by his actions. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath before finally giving a reply: “Who was the one that sent people to assassinate you? Did you manage to get any information from those assassins?”

  So it turned out that the murderous aura radiating from his body was due to the assassination attempt on Du Xiaoli, and here she thought it was because something had happened to Han Mingze!

  “I’m fine, Xiao Yi-gege,” Du Xiaoli said. She showed an assuring smile to Han Mingyi before replying: “Haven’t I returned without a scratch?”

  Seeing Du Xiaoli’s nonchalant attitude, Han Mingyi suddenly lunged forward for a deep kiss. Embracing her tightly, he bit wildly at her lips and twisted his tongue about, prying her teeth apart to entangle with her small tongue. He wanted to taste her beauty and use these real, physical feelings to quell the unease in his heart.

  Du Xiaoli was stunned by Han Mingyi’s actions. It caused her to freeze up, allowing him to continue with his demands. Nevertheless, after sensing the terror and worry in his heart, she extended her arms and wrapped them around his waist, before taking the initiative to return his kiss.

  This was her first time kissing him back. This beautiful and wonderful feeling washed through his mind, slowly calming his frantically beating heart.

  Feeling an impulsive urge gush into his head, Han Mingyi quickly pulled away from Du Xiaoli’s lips. Gazing at her petite upturned face, he extended his hand to caress her delicate cheek.

  Leaning into his hand, Du Xiaoli continued to embrace his waist while asking: “Xiao Yi-gege, just then, you…”

  “Did I scare you?” Han Mingyi asked softly.

  Du Xiaoli nodded. Due to the heavy murderous aura radiating from him, she initially assumed that Han Mingyi had succumbed to demonic temptation. Had she not recognized him, she would have already attacked him.

  “I left for a city in the northern region this morning, and upon returning, I discovered corpses lying on top of a slope of yellow earth. I sen
t Leng Er and the others to check it out, and the results scared the hell out of me,” Han Mingyi murmured as he hugged Du Xiaoli tightly in his arms. “The information I received didn’t indicate it was you; it only mentioned a few girls and a guy encountering assassins there. But I immediately guessed that it was referring to you and Beiling Yicheng. After seeing the entire hillside littered with corpses, I was afraid that something might have really happened to you. If something did happen to you, I would definitely regret it for the rest of my life.”

  In this sort of situation, hearing an enchanting man speak such moving words under the hazy cover of night should clearly have made Du Xiaoli feel exceedingly touched. It would then allow her to take the opportunity to express her deepest feelings for him. So why did seeing Han Mingyi’s expression only stir up laughter within her?

  Han Mingyi’s expression turned dark upon seeing Du Xiaoli try to hold back her laughter. This was not the time for laughter, all right?!

  “Ahem. Erm, let’s head back to our residence first, Xiaoyi-gege. Let me tell you about today’s events.” Du Xiaoli pulled her hands back from Han Mingyi’s waist before pointing towards the imperial bodyguards patrolling in the distance.

  Han Mingyi gave Du Xiaoli’s head a knock, grabbed her hand, and led her out of the rock garden.

  As coming out, Du Xiaoli spotted Leng Yi and Leng Er standing a short distance away. Seeing her look over at them, Leng Yi exchanged greetings with Du Xiaoli by waving.

  At that point, Du Xiaoli broke out in a continuous wave of cold sweat. Could it be that her earlier words had been heard by Leng Yi and Leng Er?!

  When they arrived back at the guest house, Du Yunhan had also come over. Earlier that afternoon, he had been summoned to the palace by the Emperor, resulting in him being busy all the way till night time. After hearing that Du Xiaoli had returned, he immediately came here without even returning to the prime minister’s residence.