Chapter 66

For the rest of the day, Pei Xiaoyuan had no energy to do anything.

He didn’t have to worry about the emperor’s trip, as Han Kerang had just given him three days of vacation.

Over at Ci’en Temple…

Whether he was present or not had no impact on the ritual.

Truth be told, he still harbored some lingering hesitation. However, the unexpected revelation of this matter had undeniably struck him deeply. His hesitation was soon overshadowed by the overwhelming emotion and gratitude that surged in his heart like an unstoppable tide.

Recalling the scene of his chance encounter with her outside the palace gate in the morning, he felt that he couldn’t wait any longer and wanted to see her again and be by her side like before. Whether she was climbing mountains or painting, he would be there with her, accompanying her back to the city.

Pei Xiaoyuan asked Eunuch Cao about their route for today, and then he led his horse Jinwuzhui and chased after them out of the city. Jinwuzhui was extremely fast, and his attendants’ horses were not strong enough. They were soon left behind, and even his shadow could not be seen.

But the weather seemed to be not very good. In the evening, when he was halfway through the journey, there was thunder and lightning, and it started to rain heavily. He did not bring any rain gear with him, but he also did not want to delay his journey by taking shelter from the rain, so he continued on his way in the rain.

Just like the precious horse under him, which undeterred by the fierce wind and rain—in fact, spurred on to gallop even more vigorously—he, too, felt his anticipation undiminished. The weather did nothing to dampen his eagerness to see her.

That night, when he finally rode alone to the place where the group of people from the painting department were staying for the night, it was already pitch black, and he was soaked to the skin, with enough rainwater in his boots to raise fish. But he was even more high spirit than when he set out in the daytime, and even had a feeling of rare hearty excitement from galloping in the rain.

This villa was located at the foot of the mountain. The night rain had just stopped and the sounds of nature were quiet. He knocked on the gate and saw that the inside of the villa was brightly lit. In the direction of the main hall, there was a faint sound of string music and dancing, as if a banquet was being held inside tonight.

Before he set out, he knew that the owner of this villa at the foot of the mountain outside the city was Fan Ximing, the General of Longwu Guard. Although he had no personal relationship with him, they had a decent relationship.

The person who came out to open the gate for him was the gatekeeper. After hearing him introduce himself and saying that he was looking for a court painter who was staying here tonight, he hurriedly led him in.

Just as Pei Xiaoyuan had guessed, the gatekeeper said that a night banquet was being held in the hall and the person he was looking for should be there at this moment.

Pei Xiaoyuan walked towards the banquet hall, and when he was almost there, he met Zhang Dunyi standing outside the hall.

Zhang Dunyi was the deputy commander of the Jinwu Guard that Han Kerang had sent to Yongning’s residence. He was also the one who led the team to escort the people from the painting department out of the city in the morning. At this moment, he was on duty here in person. Suddenly, seeing Pei Xiaoyuan coming in all wet and soaked, he was very surprised and hurried over to greet him. When he heard that he was looking for Young Master Ye for something, he immediately nodded and said that the person was inside and led him in.

Pei Xiaoyuan casually asked who organized tonight’s banquet.

Zhang Dunyi said that Yuwen Zhi, Shizi of County Prince Xiping, led his team out of the city to hunt during the day and also stayed in the other courtyard. When he met the people from the painting department, he changed his arrogant attitude and held a banquet in the evening, inviting Song Bokang and others to the banquet. Everyone was flattered and naturally did not dare to offend him and happily attended the banquet. Now everyone was already inside.

Pei Xiaoyuan couldn’t help but be stunned.

Of course he knew that Fan Ximing was Yuwen Zhi’s superior and an old friend of County Prince Xiping. He usually took good care of Yuwen Zhi and it was normal for him to lend him his villa for hunting.

What he didn’t expect was that, by such a coincidence, Yuwen Zhi also appeared here on the same day.

At this time, he had walked near the banquet hall and heard loud music inside. The rhythm was rapid and exciting. He recognized that it was the music for battle formation dance.

“Should I ask Young Master Ye to go out?”

Zhang Dunyi knew that Yuwen Zhi had some grudges against Pei Xiaoyuan, and was afraid that it would be inconvenient, so he hesitated and asked.

Pei Xiaoyuan hesitated for a moment and told him not to disturb everyone’s mood.

He went up the stairs by himself and walked to the banquet hall.

Slowly, he stopped.

The hall was brightly lit, with banquets set up on the east, west and north sides. Song Bokang and the others were indeed there, and they must have drunk a lot of wine, their faces were flushed. Song Bokang seemed to be the most drunk, as he couldn’t even sit still, half-closing his eyes and leaning on the seat.

She was also there, sitting alone at a table, leaning against her seat, looking at the person dancing to the music in the hall.

The dancer was none other than the half-host of this villa tonight, the shizi of Prince County Xiping, Yuwen Zhi. The dozen or so female dancers who were supposed to dance to entertain the guests were now standing aside and watching the dance.

It turned out that the banquet was in full swing and they were dancing as usual, but Yuwen Zhi suddenly stood up and drove them away. He then drew his sword and said that the emperor would be leaving for Cangshan soon and he would be one of the warriors participating in the battle formation dance. He ordered the musicians to play its music and he would dance with the sword himself to liven up the banquet tonight.

When the banquet reached its height, it was common for the host to be swept up in excitement and personally perform music or dance for the guests—nothing unusual in that. However, Shizi appeared quite drunk; when he stepped forward with a sword in hand just now, his gait was visibly unsteady.

Everyone was a little worried at first, but since he insisted on doing it, who dared to stop him? They could only watch him go. Unexpectedly, despite his apparent drunkenness, once the music began, he moved in time with the rhythm. With a flick of his wrist and a spin of his foot, the sword moved gracefully, its light flashing like the wind. At times, it was powerful and solid, as if standing firm like a mountain, commanding the forces of nature; at other times, it was swift, like lightning tearing through the sky, its glow flowing like a stream. His strikes were swift and precise—sometimes horizontal, sometimes stabbing—his movements were as agile as a dragon, and his waist and back flowing with the fluidity of a snake.

This sword dance was so intense that people around could not take their eyes off him.

Suddenly, the music of battle formation dance stopped, and he also put away his momentum.

As the last sword light flashed through the air, he suddenly took a step back and held the sword across his chest.

When everyone came to their senses, they could see clearly that his last sword strike had actually chopped off a branch of the camelia blossom that was in a beauty vase on the table near him.

The charming flower branch now lay quietly on the three-foot-long sword in his hand. He looked around with a smile, as if looking for someone to present the flowers to.

This sword dance was extremely wonderful in itself, with both powerful strength and feminine beauty, which made people feel thrilling and dazzled. Moreover, shizi’s appearance tonight was striking—dressed in a red, magnificent robe with a golden crown atop his black hair. Perhaps the effects of alcohol had begun to take hold, for as he halted his dance, his face resembled a blooming peach blossom, and his eyes shimmered with the radiance of the setting sun.

When his eyes swept across the people around him, every female dancer’ hearts beat fast. They all stared with bated breath, secretly hoping that he would hand them the camelia branch.

Unexpectedly, his eyes finally turned to the young man in blue who had been sitting quietly behind his table. He stopped, raised the sword with lying flower, and staggered over. Finally, he stopped in front of the table, picked up the camelia branch with the sword, and presented it to the young man.

This scene was too surprising for the people in the hall. Not to mention the girls were disappointed, Wang Chunlei, Lin Mingyuan and others who came out of the painting department today were also stunned. Even Song Bokang, who had been too drunk to sit upright, opened his eyes in astonishment. In his heart, he seemed to understand why shizi had chosen to lower himself today and engage so warmly with them, the painters with whom he had no usual dealings.

For a moment, everyone had different expressions and the hall was completely silent.

Xuyu raised her gaze from the branch of camelia on the tip of his sword, and looked at Yuwen Zhi, who, she couldn’t quite tell, was either genuinely drunk or pretending, as he was just looking at her with a smile. She looked at him for a moment, slowly reached out her hand, and picked up the branch of flowers on the tip of his sword. Rising from her seat, she walked around the table to him, raised her arm, and tucked the vibrant camelia behind his ear, securing it in place.

Then, she smiled and said to everyone, “It’s late tonight, and Shizi seems to be quite drunk, so let’s disperse. People come, send Shizi to rest—”

Her gaze turned towards the banquet hall door and suddenly saw a figure. She paused, then reacted and walked quickly outside.

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