Chapter 86

 

“Princess, Shizi Yuwen has arrived.”

Yang Zai’en walked up the long corridor, bowed and spoke softly.

Xuyu turned around, glanced at the figure standing at the steps of the corridor, then ordered everyone to leave.

Yang Zai’en agreed, called away the people standing nearby, and stopped at a distance.

Yuwen Zhi raised his head slightly, with a trace of disbelief and suppressed excitement on his face, and stared at Xuyu who was actively approaching him. It was not until she stopped in front of him and nodded with a smile at him that he came to his senses and hurriedly bowed down to pay his respects.

Xuyu asked him to get up.

“The moon is beautiful tonight. How about you come up and walk with me?” she asked.

“Alright!”

Yuwen Zhi was almost overwhelmed from favor bounding up the steps to the corridor in a few swift strides. That final step was nearly a leap, landing him right at her side.

Xuyu watched his childlike exuberance, and for a moment, it seemed she was about to laugh. A faint smile emerged in her eyes, but it quickly faded away. She paused briefly before turning and slowly walking along the corridor.

The waterside corridor was built along the lake, with red pillars and green tiles, and carved and painted eaves. From a distance, it looks like a long dragon coiled by the lake. During the day, it was a perfect spot for cooling off, admiring the lake, and watching the cranes.

It was late at night now, and the view was certainly not as good as during the day, there was not much scenery to see. But the shadow of mountains on the opposite bank were dark blue, and the moonlight was like silver water pouring down from the sky, causing patches of glitter on the lake. This scene was also quite relaxing.

Not to mention, the person walking beside him at this moment was actually her!

Xuyu walked along the corridor, initially silent, her figure seeming to carry some quiet thoughts. Yuwen Zhi did not dare to speak, quietly following behind her.

Walking all the way to the center of the corridor, he still had a sense of unreality like falling into a dream.

It had been two months. Ever since she suddenly appeared in front of him as a princess during the military parade the day after they arrived, he had never had the chance to get close to her, let alone like right now, with no one else around, just her and him, walking in this deserted lakeside waterside corridor late at night.

Although he knew that she couldn’t have asked him to come here to walk with her and admire the moon without reason, the secret joy still overflowed uncontrollably, until she slowly stopped in front of a pillar, turned around, and looked over.

Yuwen Zhi hesitated for a moment and asked, “Princess, do you have something to tell me?”

Xuyu nodded.

“There is indeed something I want to discuss with you. It’s about tomorrow’s Grand Archery Ceremony.”

Yuwen Zhi paused and said, “May I ask, Princess, what about the Grand Archery Ceremony?”

He suddenly felt a little nervous, and after asking, he stared at her without blinking.

“Shizi, I would like to ask you to withdraw from tomorrow’s grand archery ceremony.” She said this in a calm and clear tone.

Yuwen Zhi’s figure suddenly turned into a stone statue. He stood still in the corridor for a moment, secretly clenced his teeth, lowered his voice, and said stiffly: “Why?”

“Shizi, you should know the reason.” Xuyu spoke again after a moment of silence.

The moonlight shone in from the eaves carved into the shape of cirrus clouds above her head, dimly reflecting her picturesque face in the night. Yuwen Zhi stared at this face, and slowly, a hint of anger emerged on his face. At first, he closed his lips tightly and said nothing, but after a moment, he suddenly said, “Forgive me for being stupid and not understanding what Princess meant. Let me ask you one more question, was what Princess just said an order?”

“No.” Xuyu replied.

Yuwen Zhi nodded: “Since it is not an order, I am sorry that I cannot comply. The grand archery ceremony is about to begin. If Princess has no other instructions, I will take my leave first and prepare for tomorrow’s grand archery.”

There was a hint of coldness and anger in his voice. After he finished speaking, he bowed to Xuyu, then turned around without hesitation and walked away with big strides.

Xuyu looked at his back.

“Shizi, I know that what I just said should not have been said, but after considering it, I still called you here. Do you know why?”

“Because I consider you as someone I know well, my own person, different from others. That’s why I have called you here and spoken to you frankly.”

Yuwen Zhi had already walked away about ten steps. After she said this, he gradually slowed down his pace and finally stopped completely. However, he still did not look back. He just stood there stiffly with a stubborn back.

Xuyu walked towards him.

“Shizi, we became friend through conflict. You are far from being a good gentleman. You are arrogant, full of anger, and act at will without any rules. However, compared to many truly evil people in the world, I trust you more and more now. You have some genuine character. To be honest, I don’t hate you. In fact, I hold great expectations for you.

“You have a distinguished status. If nothing unexpected happens, you will inherit the title of the county prince and become a prominent regional governor of our dynasty. Compared to many officials of the central government who sit high in the court and are far away from the suffering of the local people, the well-being of thousands of people will be directly tied to you. I believe that in time, you will be able to live up to the glory of the title ‘Xi Pingpeaceful west‘ and shoulder the great responsibility that comes with these two words.”

She walked behind Yuwen Zhi and stopped.

“I understand that you have feelings for me, and I am very grateful. But other than that, I can’t promise you anything, I hope you can forgive me.

“Tomorrow, even if you win the Grand Archery Ceremony, I will not marry you. You don’t need an empty title of the so-called Qilin Warrior. So, there is no need for you to get involved in this matter.

“Also, to be honest with you, I have my own ideas, or rather, my plans, regarding tomorrow’s archery ceremony. I cannot tell you the details, but if possible, I hope you can help me realize my wish. This is why I invited you to meet here tonight.”

As she finished speaking, the surroundings fell silent. There was no other sound except the clear sound of the nearby lake water lapping against the stone base outside the corridor.

“Princess, you are really smart and good at speaking.”

After a long time, Yuwen Zhi turned around.

The corners of his eyes were red and there was a faint, crooked smile on his face.

“By helping you it means withdrawing from tomorrow’s grand archery ceremony as you wish, so as not to cause you any more trouble, right?”

“You can understand it that way.” After a moment of silence, Xuyu responded.

“Of course success depends on fate, but if you play, the variables will increase. So all I can do is to reduce the variables as much as possible.”

“Is it Lantai? I heard that His Majesty is very satisfied with him. You really chose him, right?”

Yuwen Zhi nodded, “Not bad! Not bad! He is the perfect candidate for the princess’s consort. Princess deserves such a prince consort. It’s ridiculous that I used to oppose Pei Xiaoyuan everywhere, but now I know that he’s just a fool who was used by you and then abandoned. No wonder I haven’t seen him recently!”

Xuyu didn’t say anything.

“But why should I help others succeed?” Yuwen Zhi suddenly changed the subject and sneered.

“I’m not as easy to talk to as Pei Xiaoyuan! What if I insist on disrupting your affairs and do not agree?”

Xuyu stared at the person opposite her: “Shizi, what I just said was just to ask for your help. If you are willing, I will be very grateful. If you are not willing, how can I force you?

“That’s all I want to say. It’s up to you whether you agree or not. It’s getting late. You should go back and rest. I should leave too.”

Xuyu nodded at him, then took a step, walked past Yuwen Zhi, and left.

A gust of night wind suddenly swept across the lake, cutting through the corridor, sending the silk shawl draped over her shoulders fluttering wildly. The sheer fabric, carried by the wind, suddenly brushed against his face. In that instant, a cold yet intoxicating fragrance, surged into his lungs, as if drowning him completely.

Yuwen Zhi’s breath faltered, and when he came to his senses, the piece of silk had already flown over his face and flew away.

Unable to resist, he turned his head, his gaze following her retreating figure down the corridor. His eyelids quivered, the rims of his eyes slowly reddening. Suddenly, he turned around, quickly caught up with her, grabbed her arm from behind, and with a pull, pressed her tightly against one of the pillars of the lakeside corridor.

Yuwen Zhi’s grip was extremely strong and Xuyu was caught off guard by him. After the initial shock, she quickly calmed down.

She did not struggle. She leaned her head against the pillar behind her and looked up at Yuwen Zhi’s face, which was pressing so close to her that she could almost feel his heavy breathing. She looked at him for a moment and suddenly smiled.

“Shizi, don’t be angry.”

She spoke softly, her tone as if she was coaxing a naughty child.

The corners of Yuwen Zhi’s eyes flushed red, almost as if they were about to bleed. His breathing increasingly became heavier, his chest heaving as he gritted his teeth tightly, confronting her with a desperate intensity. Yet he neither took a further step nor loosened his grip.

Xuyu sighed, raised her still movable arm, placed it on the back of his hand that was gripping one of her shoulders, and pulled that hand away from her shoulder.

In an instant, Yuwen Zhi’s hand, enveloped by her soft and delicate grasp, seemed to lose all strength. It became weak, as if turned into cotton. He dejectedly let her take his hand off her shoulder. At last, he let go completely, and she slipped free from his grasp.

“Go back.” She whispered.

Yuwen Zhi closed his eyes, stopped looking at her, raised his head and walked away quickly.

Xuyu watched him leave, then turned around, raised her eyes and looked at the opposite side.

There was a figure across several pillars.

Pei Xiaoyuan had heard and seen everything that had just happened.

Just a moment ago, when he saw Yuwen Zhi catching up with her and imprisoning her on the pillar of the corridor, he could no longer bear it, came out from his hidden place, and quickly climbed up the lakeside corridor.

However, he soon discovered that she had freed herself without him having to do anything.

At this moment, when he wanted to avoid her again, she had already spotted him and looked over. In the dark light of the lakeside corridor, her figure looked like a lotus floating quietly on the waterside under the moon.

Excuse me for being frank, but sometimes I even feel that Lantai is more suitable for the princess than you to be her husband.

He didn’t know why, but at this moment, Pei Xiaoyuan suddenly vaguely remembered the words Chengping said tonight.

He tried his best to suppress the uncomfortable feeling in his stomach that was rising again, calmed himself down, and finally took a step forward, walked towards her, and stopped in front of her.

“Princess, please forgive me. I didn’t mean to eavesdrop.” He explained, “I had a few drinks and just happened to come here and meet you.”

She said nothing and continued to look at him.

Pei Xiaoyuan secretly clenched his palm into a fist, then slowly released it.

“Prince Lantai is indeed the best choice to become the prince consort. This minister sincerely happy Princess has chosen a good man. Please rest assured, Princess, I did not hear a word of what you said to Shizi Yuwen tonight.”

Finally, he said in a serious tone.

The lakeside corridor fell silent.

“Master Pei, you don’t look well. If you are feeling unwell, I will ask someone to take you back to rest.”

After a long time, he finally heard her speak in front of him, saying this in a very polite tone.

“Dare not trouble Princess. This minister is fine.”

“If you’re fine, that’s good. I’ll be going now. Master Pei, return early as well.”

She nodded, didn’t linger, and turned away to leave.

Pei Xiaoyuan stood there and watched her gradually disappear. The palace eunuch Yang Zai’en came to greet her, and soon she was surrounded by people. When she reached the end of the lakeside corridor, her figure disappeared completely.

He continued to stand for a while, and suddenly, he rushed down the lakeside corridor, until he reached the water’s edge. There, he retched out everything he had consumed that night, vomiting until the sky seemed to spin and darken, stopping only when all that remained was bitter bile. He washed his face with the lake water, finally feeling a trace of relief, though now his head began to throb. Unable to hold on, he lay down right by the lakeshore, closed his eyes, and let himself recover for a while.

At dawn the next day, when he awoke, he felt disoriented, as though he had no sense of where he was.

It took him a moment to recall the events of the previous night. He remembered leaving Chengping’s place, slightly drunk, and accidentally wandering to the lakeside corridor, where he witnessed her summoning Yuwen Zhi. She asked Yuwen Zhi to withdraw from the Grand Archery Ceremony to give Lantai one less competitor. Afterward, she dismissed Yuwen Zhi—only to discover him…

He suddenly came to his senses, his heart jumped violently, and he sat up abruptly. He looked around and unexpectedly found that he was not lying by the lake where he passed out drunk last night, but in a luxurious room that looked like a palace hall.

At this moment, he was lying on the bed, covered with a quilt.

“Master, are you awake?”

Just when he was confused, he suddenly heard footsteps. He turned around and saw Qingtou running in.

“Where is this place?”

Pei Xiaoyuan rubbed his forehead, which still felt a little painful, and murmured the question.

“This is Baoguang Pavillion! Master, you passed out drunk by the lake last night! I saw you didn’t come back until very late, and I was worried. I looked for you everywhere, but couldn’t find you. I was getting anxious when I met Eunuch Yang. He said he saw you sleeping by the lake, so he asked someone to carry you here. I hurried over to serve you, Master!”

Pei Xiaoyuan let out a breath slowly, then sat there, motionless.

“Master, what are you still in a daze about?

“The Grand Archery Ceremony will take place today!

“It’s going to start soon!

“Master, why don’t you go now!”

Qingtou was already extremely anxious. He had already looked inside countless times and regretted that his master had not woken up yet. Now that he saw that the person had finally woken up, he kept urging him by calling out to him several times.

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