Chapter 12: Emperor Donghua was trapped by love (1)
Translator: Xu Kun
Proofread by Zhu Yuan
Since Bai Qingqing abandoned me that day, I hadn’t spoken to her for a long time. There were still many fairies willing to talk to me in the Zizhou State, but no one would listen to Bai Qingqing. For this reason, I decisively left Bai Qingqingalone to improve my interpersonal relationships.
“Li, I’m here to apologize to you! Can you forgive me just for once?We fox fairies shouldn’t hold on to petty grievances. Do you think so?” Bai Qingqing came to me again and tried to change my mind.
“Fairy Pine, please see her out!” I turned a blind eye to her while eating sunflower seeds. I should teach BaiQingqinga lesson or she would betray me again mercilessly.
Bai Qingqing was whining:“I know that I was wrong. I’ll never leave you alone again. If you don’t talk to me, I’ll die of depression…”She suddenly jumped towardsme, hugged my thigh and wailed. I had never seen her being so miserable.
I looked at her quietly for a while, thinking that she was really repentant this time, so Ikicked her away and said very calmly:“All right. Never make me remind you of it again!”
Bai Qingqing went back to her XingjiangYard with gratitude. I was very happy. I finally got rid of the impact Bai Qingqingon me.
Bai Xiaoshan, I was so strong, and even Bai Qingqing played second fiddle to me. Why didn’t you come back?Did you really have a crush on that Taoist nun?
Thinking of Bai Xiaoshan, I became melancholy again. Therefore, I let Fairy Pine report to the Emperor and I went down to the mortal world to relax.
There were many interesting things in the mortal world, but I was not in the mood to play until I found Bai Xiaoshan.As usual, I went straight to the restaurant. I always felt that as long as I waited there, I would definitely meet Bai Xiaoshan.Of course, the storyteller in the restaurant was actually the main factor that attracted me to stay there.
Every time I went to the restaurant, I would order a large bowl of rice, and then I would eat it up while listening to the story.I seldom ordered dishes. This habit was formed under the oppression of Bai Xiaoshan.In the past, when I was still with him, he only gave me some vegetablesat most to eat. I would drool over him, imagining that I was eating Bai Xiaoshan, the pheasant. Over time, I could eat the rice without any disheswhile looking at him, but it turned out that I was malnourished.
“Two thousand years ago, there was the State of Mu with unprecedented prosperity. At that time, a sagacious monarch was born in that country, who was known as Yinde Emperor in the history. Yinde Emperor was not only wise and virtuous, but also handsome and elegant. Therefore, all the women in the country wanted to become hisempress.However, YindeEmperor was indifferent to romantic relationships. Although there were a great number of beauties in the harem, only one noble concubine and two noble ladies had attracted his attention, and there was no empress.Everyone thought that one of the three beauties would become the empress in the future, but unexpectedly, Yinde Emperor brought back an extremely beautiful woman after a traveling incognito…” The storyteller spoke in high spirit.
I listened with deep interest, and stories of palace gossipswere the most fascinating.
“This woman was called Bai Ruoli. She was lovely enough to cause the fall of a city or a state. She wasexceedingly beautiful…”The storyteller started to be excited at that moment.
I twitched my mouth. This guy had never met with Bai Rouli, but he seemed to have seen her with his own eyes.
“Yinde Emperor had dotted on her. When she was just brought into the palace, she took the name of Consort Li. This ideal couple was a perfect match.In the three years after Bai Ruoli entered the palace, YindeEmperor had never touched any other concubines. Shehad won over all the love of the emperor and became the envy of the harem. All the women in the country were jealous of her.However, as Yinde Emperor was preparing to confer the title of empress on her, there was a disastrous event in Mu.”The tone of the storyteller suddenly became mysterious.
Everyone in the restaurant kept silent and waited for the storyteller to continue. The storyteller was quite satisfied with the response of his listeners, and he went on his narration.“Mu was originally rich and prosperous, but a plague befell it overnight. In less than a month, thousands were dead. The flourishing country suddenly became a land of wailing and despair. However, they didn’t know that this was not a natural calamity but a man-made disaster.And the origin of the disaster was unexpectedly the empress to-be, Consort Li…”
Hearing this, the crowd roared. I was also intrigued and couldn’t wait to know the following story.
“The wonderful concubine turned out to be a demon. But when we think back, if she had not been a demon, how couldshe have such a beautiful face? How could YindeEmperor, who had always been abstinent, fall in love with herso deeply? She must have bewitched him! It was the act of God to let people know that she was a demon. One day, Consort Liwas appreciating flowersin the royal garden alone. It was winter. She stood in front of a peony which had already withered. She blew gently on the flower, and the deadwood instantly turned to be a white peony. Unfortunately, this scene was seen by a maid.So the secret that Bai Ruoli was a demon was revealed!”