CH 96

December 4, 2022Merchie

Pei Zheng stood face to face with the giant; no one moved.

The giant finally couldn’t take it anymore. With a deep roar, he thrust his fist forward, but missed.

Pei Zheng held the folding fan and stood about a step away. Although that punch had been extremely powerful, it was far too slow.

The giant was obviously a bit frustrated. He threw a barrage of punches, but Pei Zheng dodged every single one.

Pei Zheng poured his internal energy into the fan. The folding fan was like a flood dragon swimming through water, extremely agile as it flew into the air, flipping and turning, continuously hitting different parts of the giant’s body, and attempting to discern its weak point.

Finally, when the fan circled the giant’s head, the giant covered it with his hands; he seemed to be terrified, and forgot to attack for a moment.

Pei Zheng’s gaze shifted. There.

Even more of his internal energy converged within the fan, and the fan suddenly opened, emitting a sparkling silver light, resembling the glint of a blade, before it began to whirl around the giant’s head, enveloping it in a blurry glow.

The silver light suddenly flashed, and the entire hall was as bright as a sunny day. Several rays of light pierced the giant’s palm and stabbed into his temple.

With a boom, the huge figure suddenly fell to the ground. He spasmed a few times as he lay on the floor, bleeding from all seven orifices, before his movements ceased.

Ah Mu Le gritted his teeth tightly; he didn’t want to reveal the displeasure and frustration in his heart.

But everyone else in the hall still had their eyes glued on the folding fan. Even when they saw the folding fan slowly snap shut and fly back into Pei Zheng’s hand, they were still immersed in astonishment.

“Amazing!”

A high, childish cheer piped up from within the crowd, accompanied by a soft smattering of applause.

Pei Zheng held the fan to his chest, and turned toward the source of the voice, his lips curling upward.

Everyone else couldn’t help but look over as well.

Only then did they see the flame-red figure hidden behind several people. Half of his face was covered by a thin gauze veil, but a pair of beautiful, shimmering eyes were exposed, filled with joy and excitement.

Realizing that everyone’s eyes were on him, the sounds of Shen Shijiu’s clapping gradually quieted, and he slowly lowered his head. He was dying to crawl underneath the little table in embarrassment; his earlobes were so red that they looked like they were about to drip blood.

“Pei-aiqing, you are indeed worthy of being my Prime Minister2, I wasn’t wrong about you! Come, reward him!”

The Emperor’s voice pulled everyone’s minds back to the present. The guests all lavished Pei Zheng with praise one after another, and the Prime Minister’s Manor received yet another substantial reward on this important occasion.

“Clan Leader Ah Mu Le, this folding fan…” Pei Zheng walked up to Ah Mu Le’s table, and purposely glowered down at him.

“Since Lord Pei is able to harness its true potential, I should just gift it to you. Will Your Majesty allow it?”

To take this fan back now would be too embarrassing; Ah Mu Le would rather just give it to Pei Zheng instead.

“Then let’s grant it to Pei-aiqing, aiqing deserves this fan.”

Pei Zheng held the fan, and cupped his hands toward the Emperor to thank him, before he returned to his seat and sat down.

The moment he sat down, Pei Zheng raised his hand and tossed the fan into Shen Shijiu’s arms.

Shen Shijiu carefully lifted the fan with both hands, looked it over, opened and closed it, and fanned himself a few times, before he began to secretly fiddle with it behind Pei Zheng’s back.

Pei Zheng glanced back at him and saw that Shen Shijiu was trying to do something to the fan. He wanted to make it fly as well, but unfortunately, he didn’t have a drop of internal energy in his body.

Pei Zheng reached out with two fingers pressed together, and poured some internal energy into the fan. He controlled the fan as it slowly rose into the air, and circled Shen Shijiu twice.

Shen Shijiu’s excited eyes sparkled. He softly clapped his little hands and cheered, “My Lord, you’re amazing!’

Pei Zheng withdrew his internal energy, and suddenly coughed lightly. He felt the internal strength in his body becoming a bit chaotic, and a bloody taste was beginning to surge upward.

He wasn’t supposed to be casually wasting his internal energy at all; his stubborn ailment had persisted for so long without a cure. But after Shen Shijiu had fed him that pill last time, he felt that his internal strength had actually recovered a bit. But it seemed now that it was only a temporary solution.

Shen Shijiu noticed that Pei Zheng looked a bit unwell, and asked hurriedly, “My Lord, what’s wrong? Are you feeling uncomfortable?

He gently placed his fingers on Pei Zheng’s wrist; there was something off about his pulse.

“I’m fine.”

Without batting an eyelid, Pei Zheng pulled his arm away, gulped down a cup of wine, and quashed the bloody taste in his throat.

The atmosphere in the hall became lively once again; having just wounded the barbarians’ pride, everyone was a bit excited.

Many of the officials’ family members had prepared small acts and skits to show off their talents in front of everyone. Some officials even had their daughters perform dances in front of the Emperor; it was clear what their intentions were.

It would be great if the Emperor, a prince, or even a high-ranking official took a liking to one of their daughters.

Ah Mu Le didn’t seem to have any interest in the performers in the hall, and kept his eyes fixed in Pei Zheng’s direction.

After all the performances in the hall were over, Ah Mu Le suddenly spoke up, “Tonight’s banquet was absolutely wonderful, but I somehow feel that something is missing…”

He paused, and seemed to have thought of an idea, “Lord Pei is such an illustrious person, so the people around you must be exceptionally talented as well. Could your companion show us a thing or two, and enlighten the rest of us?”

Pei Zheng’s eyes locked with his, and he stared coldly at Ah Mu Le.

As soon as he said these words, everyone else in the hall was reminded of the figure that was sitting beside Pei Zheng tonight. On this occasion, guests were supposed to bring their family members, so why did he bring a stranger instead of the Second Princess?

Everyone in the hall slowly quieted down; it looked like they were all waiting for Shen Shijiu to come out, but Pei Zheng didn’t say anything, so Shen Shijiu simply continued to kneel obediently behind him.

Ah Mu Le continued, “Lord Pei you’re so stingy, you won’t even let him come out and show off some of his skills? Or are you afraid of embarrassing yourself?”

Sehn Shijiu secretly poked Pei Zheng’s back, leaned upwards, and whispered, “My Lord, I’ve got some skills.”

He sounded a bit embarrassed, “I-I know how to dance.”

Pei Zheng’s back shifted.

He can dance?

He isn’t just well-versed in medicine, but he can dance as well?

Shen Shijiu did indeed know how to dance; his shifu, Shen Huan, had once taught him.

Shen Shijiu’s figure was as slender as a woman’s, and his thin waist was even more curvaceous. Shen Huan had also seen Shen Shijiu without a mask.

He was as beautiful as a fairy; if he were to start dancing, people’s souls would instantly be charmed and captured. So from then on, Shen Huan didn’t let Shen Shijiu dance without a mask on.

Shen Shijiu stood up from the cushion. Sure enough, everyone’s eyes immediately landed on him; even the Emperor stopped talking with the Empress and looked towards the audience.

Pei Zheng clutched the wine cup in his hand. He said to himself, Just this once, I’ll believe him.

Shen Shijiu walked to the center of the hall, stood in place, and respectfully bowed to the Emperor. His little heart was thudding wildly; in truth, he was incredibly nervous and absolutely terrified.

He took several deep breaths, imagining the audience to be a garden full of radishes, before he slowly began to dance.

The flame-red cloak fluttered left and right with that slender figure’s movements, mysterious and enchanting. That thin, curved waist seemed to be boneless, lithe and graceful, like the flight of a swallow or a swan.

After the first few steps of the dance, Shen Shijiu’s gaze flitted toward Pei Zheng. Those eyes were as clear as spring water, but also carried a nameless allure, leading those who looked to sink right into them.

He twirled, a lotus blooming with every step1.

When that scarlet-clad figure seemed to bloom with bewitching red lotus flowers, everyone seemed to forget how to breathe, holding their breath in excitement as they stared at the center of the hall.

Only when Shen Shijiu bowed in gratitude did everyone in the audience burst into thunderous applause.

However, Pei Zheng, who had been staring fixedly at Shen Shijiu’s figure the entire time, didn’t notice that the wine cup in his hand had cracked from how hard he was gripping it.

The others might not have understood the dance, but it was plain as day to Pei Zheng.

The dance he had just performed was a famous dance within the foreign clan, but those who weren’t from the foreign clan had probably never seen it before.

The reason Pei Zheng recognized it was because, when he first discovered that the little prince had foreign blood running through his veins, he had read hundreds of books about the foreign clan, through which he had learned about this dance.

Then how could Shen Shijiu know the steps to this dance? Could it be that he was also a descendant of the foreign clan?

The one other person who had also recognized the dance was the Emperor. He had once witnessed his beloved consort perform this exact dance, and had never seen it again since that time. He never expected that he would actually be able to see it again today.

Ah Mu Le sat below, and spoke as he applauded, “It really was a feast for the eyes.”

He suddenly smiled, “The dance itself is already this beautiful, so whatever is under that veil must be even more beautiful. Could you let us experience the beauty of a celestial being?”

Shen Shijiu immediately became extremely nervous, flustered and at a loss. He knew he was unattractive, both with and without a mask.

The sons and daughters of the families in the audience below were all very attractive. If he took off his veil, everyone would definitely make fun of him, and he would embarrass His Lordship.

Everyone in the audience was waiting for Shen Shijiu to take off his veil. Shen Shijiu looked toward Pei Zheng in helplessness.

Pei Zheng completely ignored Ah Mu Le’s request; he had given the man enough face tonight.

Pei Zheng spoke to Shen Shijiu, “Come back.”

Shen Shijiu was slightly relieved. If His Lordship told him to come back, he would come back. He didn’t have to worry about what other people wanted him to do.

Unexpectedly, Ah Mu Le was unwilling to let him go, and walked up to Shen Shijiu in long strides, blocking his path with his arm.

“You’re really obedient to your lord, aren’t you? Why do you look like such an idiot…” Ah Mu Le suddenly leaned down, so that his voice could only be heard by him and Shen Shijiu.

“Let me think, could it be that Pei Zheng simply has a type? I’ll tell you this, before you, there was a prince, your lord liked him very much. Oh right, his name was, Qi, Chang, Yi.”

Changyi?

Shen Shijiu frowned. He seemed to have heard this name before.

Earlier, didn’t someone mistake him for Qi Changyi?

A fan suddenly flew over and attacked Ah Mu Le from behind. He reacted quickly and caught it in his hand.

“Here, take this and give it back to your lord.” Ah Mu Le stuffed the folding fan into Shen Shijiu’s arms, “You should take care of your possessions, and be careful of those who will take your things and never return them.”

After he finished speaking, Ah Mu Le smiled at Pei Zheng, before he retracted the arm that was blocking Shen Shijiu’s path.

Shen Shijiu scurried back to Pei Zheng’s side.

Ah Mu Le ordered his subordinates to perform a wild dance of the barbarian tribe. The guests’ eyes finally shifted away from Pei Zheng and Shen Shijiu, and were pinned back onto the center of the hall.

After Shen Shijiu sat down, he gently tugged Pei Zheng’s sleeve, and called out in an extremely aggrieved voice, “My Lord…”

Pei Zheng gazed at him, his eyes complicated. He realized that he didn’t understand the person in front of him at all.

He turned around, his tall figure filling Shen Shijiu’s vision. Pei Zheng lifted a finger, slipping it beneath the veil, and gently caressed Shen Shijiu’s chin. His voice was deep and hoarse.

“Why… did you perform that dance?”

Notes

Wowiee the plot thickens

Thanks for reading~~

1.一步一生莲 (yī bù yī shēng lián): ‘A lotus flower with every step’. This is a Buddhist thing: when you walk through your crappy life, you should be like a lotus flower, blooming despite all the shit around you. Don’t let yourself be influenced by your environment, get in the right mindset!

2.百官之首 (bǎi guān zhī shǒu): the leader of all the officials, or another name for the Prime Minister.