Chapter 67 Part 1

 

Pei Xiaoyuan retreated to the porch outside the banquet hall and stood there waiting for her. When she came in front of him, he smiled faintly and nodded to her.

There was a lantern burning under the porch, the light was dim, but it was enough for people to see clearly. Before coming here, he must have took a long journey at night in the rain.

Her eyes swept over his entire body, his dripping hair, his damp clothes, and the pair of heavy-looking boots on his feet that were obviously filled with water.

He must have sensed the surprise in her eyes. He followed her gaze and quickly glanced down at himself, which looked like a sorry figure. He seemed to be about to explain himself when he heard a series of footsteps coming from the banquet hall. It seemed that Yuwen Zhi was chasing her out.

He held the camelia flower that she had pinned behind his ear with his teeth, carrying it in the corner of his mouth as he walked, a bit unsteadily, until he reached her side. He stopped, casting a few glances up and down at Pei Xiaoyuan, then released the flower from his teeth and tucked it at his own waist before finally calling out: “Chief Pei? Why are you looking like this? I almost didn’t recognize you! Come on! I’m having a banquet in the hall. If you don’t mind, why not join us for a drink?”

His tone sounded extremely enthusiastic, and his attitude was no different from that of the host. As soon as he finished speaking, without waiting for Pei Xiaoyuan to speak, he called the maid loudly and ordered them to led the guest inside to change his clothes that were wet by the rain.

Several pretty maids came over in a hurry, cooing and surrounding Pei Xiaoyuan to take him to change clothes. Pei Xiaoyuan took a step back and declined. Yuwen Zhi did not force him and said with concern: “Chief Pei is a busy man, unlike me, who has nothing to do all day and can only play cockfighting and riding horses as entertainment. How come you have time to come out of the city tonight? Is something happened?”

Pei Xiaoyuan looked at her.

“You go away.” Xuyu spoke at this time.

Yuwen Zhi looked displeased and did not move.

Xuyu turned to him and frowned.

He immediately smiled, and said in somewhat coquettish and somewhat pleading tone: “I’ll go, I’ll go, I’ll listen to you!” After saying that, he really left, but did not leave completely. He leaned against a pillar under the nearby veranda.

“Is there anything wrong?” Xuyu asked Pei Xiaoyuan.

Pei Xiaoyuan paused, and when he met her eyes that looked as bright as stars in the night, he said, “It’s nothing important, but… today I went to see the family of my father’s old subordinates, and they said that someone had visited them yesterday in my mother’s name.

“Zhang Shun said that you asked him about them.”

Xuyu was stunned.

Ever since she heard about the anniversary of Lady Cui’s death from Qingtou, she had been thinking about it. Even if everything else was ignored, even if it was just to commemorate Lady Cui and General Shenhu, she felt that she should do something.

Ci’en Temple didn’t need her, and she thought of the people behind the group of Shenhu Army soldiers who died with Pei’s father. Even Pei’s father himself had not been completely vindicated until now, let alone his subordinates.

She recalled an incident that happened when Chengping and Yuwen Zhi had a fight behind Shenshu Palace when she first entered the palace.

She remembered Pei Xiaoyuan told her that if she had any problem, she could go to the palace eunuch named Zhang Shun. Apparently, the other person was an old friend of the Pei family. Therefore, she went to ask him, and sure enough, she got the answer.

What she didn’t expect was that he would find out about this so quickly and came looking for her.

“I told Zhang Shun not to tell anyone…” she murmured, feeling somewhat annoyed, as well as a sense of indescribable uneasiness and shame deep in her heart.

“It’s not his fault. I asked him to say it.” Pei Xiaoyuan stared at her, “Thank you very much.”

“This is what the court should do. It’s the court that has failed them. Why should you thank me? I’ve only done a smallest part, and it’s far from enough.” She said. This was her true feelings.

He was silent for a moment, thinking of the lively scene he saw during the day, the joy of the people there, and smiled: “Anyway, you have helped a lot. I still have to thank you.”

Xuyu could hear the sincere gratitude in his words, which finally eased the sense of shame she had always felt because of her identity. However, after he finished speaking, he fell silent. She, too, had nothing to say for a moment, and they stood facing each other in wordless quiet. She noticed a drop of crystal water slowly seeping out from his black hair, rolling down his full forehead, and disappearing into his handsome eyebrows.

“You’re soaked! Come with me and change your clothes first!” She was startled and hurriedly said, but seeing him hesitate for a moment, she continued: “I’m fine. His Majesty is about to set off and is very busy…”

He looked up and glanced at the sky.

“The rain has stop, I should get back on the road. It’s late, so go to bed and don’t worry about me.”

From here to Chang’an, it was not far, about forty or fifty miles, but it was not close either. It was so late, and the road was still muddy. He didn’t even change his wet clothes, and was in a hurry to go back.

Xuyu didn’t know what to say for a moment and just looked at him.

Pei Xiaoyuan nodded to her with a smile, then took a step and turned around to walk out.

She seemed quite comfortable here, and Yuwen Zhi served her very attentively. Even if he stayed tonight, it would only make things awkward. It was better to go back now, and Zhang Dunyi would escort her back to the city tomorrow.

Pei Xiaoyuan had indeed made up his mind. At this time, Yuwen Zhi, who was stood under the pillar, came back. Pei Xiaoyuan heard him shouting behind him: “Chief Pei, are you leaving? Then I won’t see you off! Have a safe journey!”

Pei Xiaoyuan could not help but notice that Yuwen Zhi’s tone was full of sarcasm. But with his upbringing, how could he argue with him? He ignored it, pretending he hadn’t heard it. However, when Yuwen Zhi’s flattering whispers were carried to his ears by the wind, his steps slowed down a bit.

Yuwen Zhi glanced at the departing figure and paid no further mind. He turned to Xuyu, pulled out the camelia branch from his waist, sniffed it, then tossed it aside. Moving closer, he said, “This camelia branch has no scent at all—no wonder you didn’t want it. Back when you stayed at my house, there was an osmanthus tree outside your bedroom window. Its blossoms were so fragrant, and I remember you even painted it. I saw some here earlier today, too. I’ll go pick a few branches for you later to place near your bed. The scent will be with you while you sleep, sweet and fresh, far better than incense. You will definitely like it…”

Yuwen Zhi spoke to her in a very low voice, almost like a whisper, but it did not escape Pei Xiaoyuan’s ears.

He could hear every word, even the breathing and exhalation.

He had already walked to the gate of the courtyard of banquet hall. At this moment, he slowly stopped and turned around. He saw Yuwen Zhi coaxing her to go inside, staying closely beside her. The two of them looked very intimate.

Further inside, behind the door of the banquet hall, there seemed to be a few figures swaying faintly. Perhaps the people from the painting department who were snooping.

No wonder they reacted this way.

The people in the painting department were different from him, and they didn’t know the inside story between Yuwen Zhi and her. In their eyes, to say that the scene played out in the banquet hall tonight was utterly shocking was not an exaggeration.

Pei Xiaoyuan couldn’t help but recall what he had just seen: Yuwen Zhi performing sword dance in front of her.

Even Pei Xiaoyuan had to admit that Yuwen Zhi’s sword dance was a seamless blend of strength and grace, flowing effortlessly like drifting clouds and flowing water. And that final flourish—offering the blossom on his sword to a beauty—was not something that everyone could do.

And this might be the biggest shortcoming in his life.

“Let’s go in! It’s windy outside! Ouch, be careful not to get your feet wet! There’s a puddle over there, why don’t you look at it! Come on, come over here…”

Pei Xiaoyuan saw Yuwen Zhi reaching out to her and was about to support her.

At that instant, Pei Xiaoyuan didn’t know what came over him. It was as if all the emotions he’d buried deep within, hidden away in the recesses of his heart and soul for so long, suddenly erupted at the very moment Yuwen Zhi reached out his hand to help her.

He didn’t even think about it. There was only one thought left in his mind, which was not to allow her to stay here any longer.

He was going to take her away, right now.

He turned around and walked back. The heavy sound of his boots startled Xuyu who had slowly turned to go inside, and also caused Yuwen Zhi to look back.

In a blink of an eye, he strode behind her, stretched out his arm to grasp her hand, and pulled her away from Yuwen Zhi. Then, he called Zhang Dunyi who was still nearby.

“His Majesty has summoned her for something else, so I’ll take her first! You can return to the city slowly tomorrow!”

He gave a brief instruction to Zhang Dunyi who was running towards him in surprise, and led her out of the gate of the villa under the gazes of many eyes behind him.

Jinwuzhui was waiting quietly outside the gate. Suddenly, seeing his master appear, he excitedly nodded his hooves a few times, making a light sound.

Only when they reached here did he let go of her wrist. Then, he lifted her up and put her on the horse’s back, after that he also jumped on it and sat behind her. Amid the shouts of Yuwen Zhi from inside the gate, he shook the reins, urged the horse, and left along the road at the foot of the mountain.

Behind him, Yuwen Zhi quickly caught up.

After the rainstorm, the night gradually cleared up, and the moonlight emerged from behind the dark clouds that kept changing shape with the wind, shining on the people on the ground.

Yuwen Zhi’s mount was naturally a first-class horse, but it was still not as strong as Jinwuzhui. The weight of two people did not slow down him at all. Yuwen Zhi was falling further and further behind, and he began to curse angrily. Pei Xiaoyuan heard him scolding him from behind, “shameless dog”, “Northwest thief”, he remained silent, but felt a rare joy. Naturally, these curses gradually became fainter, and finally, they completely disappeared from his ears.

He continued to ride forward, with only the whistling of the night wind through the forest in his ears. After going a little further and making sure that no one was catching up with him, he slowly loosened the reins and finally stopped.

This place was far away from the villa, down the mountain, surrounding by fir forests. The tall and short fir trees looked like pointed barriers in the dark night, enclosing him and her in the center.

It was very quiet, with only the long cries of a few night owls in the distance and the rustling sound of the night wind passing through the nearby treetops.

At this moment, she who was sitting in front of him suddenly moved, as if looking around, the top of her hair gently rubbed against his chin. This brief, unintentional touch jolted Pei Xiaoyuan back to his senses. Since he had forcefully grabbed her hand and led her away from that place, she hadn’t made a single sound.

Not only that, but he also realized another thing. His behavior tonight was reckless and impulsive. He brought her out without her consent.

Hesitating for a moment, he looked at the person who was still riding with him in front of him, and tentatively called her softly, “Princess?”

No response.

Is she angry?

He gradually felt a little uneasy in his heart and was about to dismount and apologize to her for his offense, when he suddenly heard a soft sneer in his ears.

“Scared?”

Pei Xiaoyuan was stunned.

“Weren’t you very brave just now? And His Majesty summoned me for something else? When did my father ask you to take me back?”

Following the ensuing laughter, she turned around and looked at him who was riding the same horse with her behind her.

The moonlight fell from above her head like silver frost, and her eyes reflected the moon, sparkling as if many tiny gems had fallen into them. Her tone was reproachful and mocking, but the corners of her lips were clearly slightly upturned, revealing a bright smile.

Pei Xiaoyuan found himself momentarily entranced, his gaze involuntarily fell upon the pair of lips just beneath his eyes, speaking softly to him.

What would it taste like to suck them?

Would it be as cool as the moonlight tonight, or as sweet as her favorite osmanthus flowers?

When Pei Xiaoyuan realized what his mind was thinking about, his heart started beating violently and he came to his senses completely.

Not daring to reveal too much, Pei Xiaoyuan dismounted quietly to put some distance between them, hoping to conceal the feelings he couldn’t let anyone know. Steadying himself, he replied calmly, “It was my fault. I shouldn’t have brought the princess out.”

“Since you’re wrong, then what should you do?” However, she seemed unwilling to let him off so easily, her tone carrying a subtle hint of playful teasing if one listened closely.

“Princess, you can punish me in any way you want.” He hesitated for a moment, but finally followed her tone and responded softly.

After he answered, he didn’t hear her reply. He looked up at her and saw her sitting high on the horse, looking down at him. After a moment, she suddenly reached out to him, asking for his whip.

“Give me!”

Previous     TOC     Next