CH 26

Chapter 26: Breathtaking

Wen Yantong looked forward to the Snow Prayer Festival, so she got up early, wrapped herself tightly, and waited for Fu Zixian to arrive.

Fu Zixian was a concubine-born son, and Wen Yantong was a commoner. Neither of them was qualified to stand at the altar for sacrifices, so it didn't matter if they were late.

So the carriage was not in a hurry on the road.

Unexpectedly, they collided into Mu Residence's carriage at the corner turn. Seeming as if wanting to add Wind Fire Wheels[1] to the carriage, they had no time to dodge.

Wen Yantong was helped out of the carriage. Looking at the broken wheel, she felt helpless and also a bit angry. She had gotten up early for naught!

When she saw it was Mu Yang, who got out of the carriage, she sarcastically said, "Why didn't you install a pair of wings on your carriage?"

Fu Zixian pulled her and shook his head, indicating that she should not cause conflict with Mu Yang.translate(d) by puretl . com / do not steal / re po/st

In fact, Mu Yang's temper was not bad. Although he looked down on Fu Zixian, who always spoke softly, he didn't usually trouble him. On the contrary, he got along well with Wen Yantong.

Mu Yang was dressed up today. He was wearing an ink-colored cloak. On it was gold thread tediously embroidered into a complicated texture. The collar and bottom hem were lined with snow-white fur, revealing a low-key luxury, which improved Mu Yang's aura, making him really look like a noble young master of a general.

He had a sad look on his face, but when he saw the two of them, he immediately exclaimed, "Aiya! I'm going to be killed by you!"

"??" Wen Yantong's face was full of question marks. "It seems that your carriage hit us, right? The person who caused the rear-end collision is fully responsible!"

"It's over. It's over! I’m done for!" Mu Yang didn't seem to hear what she said at all. He kept spinning around, looking completely anxious.

The more he thought about it, the angrier he became, and the attendant who led the horse was scolded. "You pig head. Do you not know how to drive a carriage!?"

Mu Yang lifted his clenched fist, but he suddenly caught a glimpse of Wen Yantong's leg wrapped in white gauze. His eyes lit up with a brilliant idea. "I got it!"

Wen Yantong frowned when she saw that he was being cryptic. "What are you plotting?"

"Servants, bring him into the carriage!" Mu Yang pointed at Wen Yantong and instructed.

The few attendants, who were afraid of Mu Yang's blaming them for the incident, naturally did not dare to delay their actions. They flanked Wen Yantong from both sides and quickly picked her up.

"Hey! What are you trying to do?! What are you going to do with me in the carriage?!" Wen Yantong shouted suspiciously.

Seeing this, Fu Zixian naturally wanted to stop them, but as soon as he moved, Mu Yang grabbed his wrist and pulled him hard. He dragged him into the carriage in a couple of steps and said, "Aren't you going to the Snow Prayer Festival? It just so happened that I was going there, too. Your carriage was damaged by me, so I will naturally take you there."

Fu Zixian opened his mouth and was about to refuse, but he didn't expect Mu Yang's strength to be so great. He couldn’t break free from his grasp no matter how hard he resisted, and soon, he was pushed into the soft cushion of the carriage.

Mu Yang hurriedly shouted, "Quickly start driving!"

Wen Yantong was confused. "Why are you so anxious?"

Mu Yang was so anxious that he almost caught on fire while picking up the teapot on the table and pouring the contents into his mouth.

Fu Zixian lifted his sleeves, glanced at the red finger prints on his fair and thin wrists, and quietly covered the marks with his sleeves again. He whispered, "Young Master Mu may be afraid to be late."

Mu Yang swallowed the water, wiped his mouth, and said, "Pei! pei![2] Don't say such unlucky words."

Wen Yantong frowned slightly and suddenly remembered that no matter how much of a dumb*ss Mu Yang looked, it didn’t change the fact that he was the legitimate son of the Mu Residence. His identity meant that he had a responsibility to attend  the Snow Prayer Festival’s sacrifice.

There was no detailed description of the Snow Prayer Festival in the original text. Either that or Wen Yantong forgot after reading it. Nevertheless, she still remembered that it was not a small matter for the people participating in the sacrifice to show up late.

That was why Mu Yang was so anxious.

Wen Yantong swallowed a mouthful of saliva. She seemed to have vaguely guessed why Mu Yang put her on the carriage.

The carriage galloped all the way without slowing down at all, which made Wen Yantong a little scared. If the carriage hits something again at this speed, it will not be as simple as breaking a wheel.

Fortunately, with the speed of the carriage, they were able to arrive before the start of the Snow Prayer Festival.

After Wen Yantong got off the carriage, she saw that the horse's butt was swollen. She sighed and lamented that the driver's hands were really black.

Mu Yang didn't give her any time to rest. He let the attendants pick her up and start running.

The venue for the Snow Prayer Festival was, as Fu Zixian said, extremely vast. As attendees step down from their carriages, they would be greeted with stairs that were about three hundred meters wide. Looking up, there were a hundred steps on the stairs, which were not relatively high.

When Wen Yantong and the others arrived, many people were still socializing and walking up the stairs one after another.

Two of the Mu's attendants opened the way in front and drove the idlers aside to clear the way. Mu Yang followed closely behind, skipping two stairs every step, his legs flying up. Wen Yantong fell behind and was directly picked up by the attendants. She didn’t need to move her feet at all. Fu Zixian could only chase after them seeing this.

In the end, two attendants were holding Wen Yantong. With their rushed appearance, their group attracted many people's attention.

How could Mu Yang care about them at the moment? He really wished he had the ability to fly as he ran with all his strength.

After going up the stairs, there was a vast open space. There was a large, elevated square stone platform in the middle with ten steps on each side. At the corners of the stone steps were pillars with carved patterns.

There was a giant cauldron in the center of the stone platform. From a distance, the gold plating seemed to be moving. This appearance of a liquid metal was an unbelievable sight.

Below the stone platform, officials dressed in black clothes embroidered with gold patterns were standing around.pure tl . com is the original tler / don’t re-post

About thirty meters further back were people who were unable to participate in the sacrifice. Some were lower-ranking officials, while others were the concubines of high-ranking officials. Mixed in with these two groups of people were commoners.

Mu Yang made a beeline toward his father. When he got closer, the servants saw him, so they hurriedly reported his presence to General Mu, who was standing on the side and was currently shouting, "Where is that unfilial son?!"

The shouting alarmed the people around him, so they all looked in the direction Mu Yang was running from.

Finally, the attendants hurriedly put Wen Yantong down, making her dizzy,  and swiftly tucked the crutches under her arms before stepping back. After panicking for a moment, she was quickly supported by Fu Zixian.

When she was finally able to stand firm, she heard a familiar chuckle. "Not late this time."

She looked up and was instantly amazed.

She saw Chi Jingxi standing among the few people in front. He was also dressed up.

He had on the uniform for the ceremony, which was ink-black and embroidered with golden silk ruyi patterns. The snow-white fox fur on the big cloak complimented his handsome and delicate face. The light smile in his curved eyes was extremely dazzling.

On his head was a suet jade crown inlaid with gold and embedded with an amber jade in the middle. His long hair was tied up, and occasionally, the loose hair that framed his face gently fluttered along with the cold breeze.

His eyes naturally moved from Mu Yang to Wen Yantong. The smile in his eyes had yet to completely dissipate, and the breath of the winter morning spread into Wen Yantong's eyes.

At that moment, it was as if a bell in Wen Yantong's heart was ringing lightly, filling her with emotions she could not yet describe.

The next moment, a flash of doubt appeared in Chi Jingxi's beautiful eyes.

.

.

.pure tl . com is the original tler / don’t re-post

.

Footnotes:

[1] Wind Fire Wheels - commonly used by the god Ne Zha. In the mythological story Fengshen Yanyi, the Immortal Taiyi gave Nezha a wind-wheel and a fire-wheel. These were stood on whilst chanting incantations, to serve as a magic vehicle. Image HERE

[2] Pei! Pei! - onomatopoeia for spitting. Not really spitting, though, just the act. It's like when people say “knock on wood,” hoping the unlucky words just said will not come true.