Chapter 87

Xiao Changyuan, worried about Yun Pianpian's safety, began training Buling Buling to catch cold arrows.
Yun Pianpian: “...”
In the end, Buling Buling bore all the burdens.
In the square before the bedchamber, Xiao Changyuan drew his bow and shot an arrow toward the target, while Buling Buling leaped up, caught the speeding arrow with its teeth, and wagged its tail vigorously at Xiao Changyuan, seemingly having a great time playing with him.
Yun Pianpian: “...”
Well, as long as Buling Buling is happy.
It was probably a matchmaker sent by the heavens specifically to save their relationship. Counting up, Buling Buling had connected their fates three times. The first time was when it found the Qi Qingning herb to save her while she was unconscious; the second time was when it led Xiao Changyuan to her after she lost her memory; the third time was when it guided them to Jiang Jiang. Without Buling Buling, she and Xiao Changyuan might have long since met a tragic end.
Fortunately, the heavens had sent it.
Buling Buling clamped onto a feathered arrow, happily ran up to Yun Pianpian, and wagged its tail desperately at her. Those moist, sparkling eyes were clearly begging for praise.
Yun Pianpian bent down and patted its head.
“Our Buling Buling is truly amazing.”
Buling Buling, having received praise, leaped three feet high with joy.
“Awoo woof!”
Xiao Changyuan slowly walked over.
His jade-like, cool face showed a hint of dissatisfaction.
“What about me?”
Yun Pianpian: “...”
The great tyrant never liked being outdone when seeking praise, not even by a dog.
Yun Pianpian said, “Husband, your archery prowess is truly outstanding, unparalleled, and beyond compare.”
Xiao Changyuan turned his face away expressionlessly, the delicate, jade-like earlobe tinged with a blush.
“Sweet talk.”
His voice was extremely cold.
But the corner of his lips curled upward uncontrollably.
All her sweet talk, in his heart, was nothing but honeyed words.
The emperor and empress, along with the royal pet, were as picturesque as a scroll.
The palace maids stood quietly before the hall.
Gazing from afar at the beautiful scene before them.
The young and handsome emperor was like a blooming flower in the underworld, tempting the palace maids to draw near.
They knew full well how dangerous he was, yet they couldn't help but feel their hearts grow warm, rushing forward one after another in an attempt to seduce him, to replace Yun Pianpian's position and become the next empress favored throughout the harem.
To stand shoulder to shoulder with the emperor.
On this day, after neglecting court affairs for a long time, Xiao Changyuan finally took pity and decided to attend one morning court session. In the pre-dawn hour, when the sky was still dark, the palace maids held the gold cloud, engraved washbasin to attend to Xiao Changyuan's ablutions. Although Xiao Changyuan disliked having palace maids serve him closely, the court robes were cumbersome and troublesome to put on. No matter how much he disliked it, he had to let these palace maids approach and assist him in donning the court attire.
Xiao Changyuan's expression gradually grew impatient.
Today, for some reason, these ants kept brushing against his body intentionally or unintentionally while helping him into his court robes. Their pace in dressing him was much slower than usual, which was utterly vexing. Their cloud, like hair was adorned with various fresh flowers, emitting a delicate yet cloying fragrance that made him frown.
“It seems you all wish to be punished.”
The emperor's jade, like handsome face was covered with a layer of icy frost, his voice dark and bloodthirsty.
“Then I shall grant your wish.”
The palace maids, hearing Xiao Changyuan's cold words, turned pale with fear and knelt on the ground, desperately begging for mercy.
“Your Majesty, spare us! This humble servant dares not.”
“This humble servant will never dare again.”
“Please, Your Majesty, have mercy!”
Xiao Changyuan's gaze was icy: “If you wake my empress, I will make sure you die without a burial place.”
Behind the low, hanging curtains, Yun Pianpian was sleeping soundly in the dragon bed. Hearing the commotion, she rubbed her eyes and asked, “Husband, what's happening?”
The palace maids, hearing this soft, delicate call from behind the bed curtains, trembled as if hearing the judge of the underworld demanding their lives. Their lips turned bloodless, and they shook like sieves. Everyone thought they would meet their end today, but one brave maid tremblingly pleaded to Yun Pianpian, “Empress, please save us! Spare your humble servants!”
Xiao Changyuan's cold gaze suddenly fell upon this audacious maid, his eyes gradually darkening with a sinister and violent aura, a cold smile curling at the corners of his lips.
“I can no longer keep you all.”
Hearing the disturbance, Yun Pianpian immediately threw on her clothes and stepped out from behind the curtains. Lifting her eyes, she saw a large group kneeling on the ground and found it rather strange. “What's going on here?”
Xiao Changyuan looked at Yun Pianpian and said, “These palace servants have been neglectful in their duties. Pianpian, do you wish to plead for them?”
Yun Pianpian shook her head and said to Xiao Changyuan, “I will not plead for them. Those who make mistakes should be punished.”
Having spent so much time with the tyrant, she knew that although he was cruel, he was not one to kill indiscriminately. It must have been these people who first crossed his boundaries and angered him, provoking his fury.
Xiao Changyuan ordered Liu Shun to take the palace servants for punishment. After Yun Pianpian learned the whole story, her years of experience with palace intrigue novels told her that these maids had tried to seduce Xiao Changyuan, but he had given them no opportunity to get close.
The palace maids in the bedchamber were subsequently replaced entirely. Yun Pianpian never saw those maids again. Liu Shun said that after being punished, they were expelled from the palace, and none of those driven out met a good end.
After that, whenever Xiao Changyuan held court, Yun Pianpian would take the initiative to get up and help him into his court robes, preventing other young maids from throwing themselves into certain death.
Life gradually returned to calm.
One day, Xiao Changyuan went to the Golden Hall for the morning court session.
Yun Pianpian stayed in the bedchamber reading storybooks. A young maid bowed her head and presented a tea cup. Yun Pianpian, flipping a page of her book, said, “You may leave.”
The young maid did not leave.
Yun Pianpian set down her storybook and lifted her eyelashes to look at the young maid. A stunned expression crossed her beautiful, captivating face.
“Jiang Yinyin.”
Zhao Rouyin’s face lit up with wild joy the moment Yun Pianpian recognized her. “You still remember me? Yun Pianpian, you must not have forgotten me, right?”
Zhao Rouyin was dressed in palace maid attire.
Two or three years had passed, and Zhao Rouyin’s originally enchanting and alluring face had grown even more radiant and captivating. An aura of heroic gallantry emanated from her, a beautiful mark bestowed by the passage of time.
Yun Pianpian naturally hadn’t forgotten Zhao Rouyin.
After all, she was her first named romantic rival.
Yun Pianpian asked, “How did you get into the palace?”
Zhao Rouyin immediately rushed over and seized the small hand she had long dreamed of holding. “I’ve come to take you out of the palace…”
She seemed extremely excited, which struck Yun Pianpian as odd. “But I don’t want to leave the palace.”
Zhao Rouyin’s voice grew urgent. “What’s so good about the palace? It’s a tomb that buries lives. Staying here too long will drive anyone mad. I heard two years ago about the assassination attempt on you, and I wanted to sneak in and steal you away then. But my master and my brother trapped me and wouldn’t let me come find you. Fortunately, my lightness skill has now surpassed theirs, they can no longer hold me back. Yun Pianpian, this place can’t hold you either. You don’t belong here. You should come with me, travel across thousands of mountains and rivers, and roam the world.”
Yun Pianpian broke free from Zhao Rouyin’s grasp. “This isn’t a tomb. This is my home.”
Zhao Rouyin lunged forward again, trying to grab Yun Pianpian’s arm, but accidentally tore open the collar of her dress, revealing a patch of fair, lustrous skin. On her delicate collarbone were scattered blue and purple bite marks, making Zhao Rouyin’s eyes redden. “How dare he treat you like this…”
She knew exactly what those marks were, which was why she was so furious, wishing she could kill Xiao Changyuan, that beast who knew nothing of cherishing beauty.
Yun Pianpian blushed and pulled her clothes back into place. “He is my husband. Naturally, he can treat me this way.”
Zhao Rouyin’s eyes were still red. “If Xiao Changyuan truly cared for you, how could he be so unkind? If it were me, I would never let you feel any pain!”
Yun Pianpian thought that after three years apart, Zhao Rouyin’s manipulative skills hadn’t improved in the slightest, she was still stuck in the same place. Although Zhao Rouyin was her romantic rival, Yun Pianpian found her pitifully foolish. With such clumsy tactics, it would be utterly unjust if she could actually seduce Xiao Changyuan. “You’re just sour grapes because you can’t have him. My husband treats me very well, I didn’t feel any pain at all.”
Zhao Rouyin, heartbroken, exclaimed, “You’re injured like this, and you’re still defending that tyrant?! No, today I must take you away. I can’t let you stay in the palace and continue to be tormented by that brute…”
As she spoke, she reached out to seize Yun Pianpian.
Yun Pianpian quickly dodged her. She thought Zhao Rouyin’s roundabout methods were becoming more and more bizarre and far, fetched. Evading her grasp, she cried out, “Even if you kidnap me from the palace, you still won’t get my husband!”
Zhao Rouyin was taken aback upon hearing this, her face blank: “Who said I wanted that tyrant Xiao Changyuan?”
Yun Pianpian asked in confusion, “Aren’t you deliberately trying to break us up just to get my husband?”
Zhao Rouyin stomped her feet anxiously: “Who said I’m trying to break you up to get Xiao Changyuan?”
“Then why are you doing it?”
“I’m doing it to get you!”
Yun Pianpian froze: “Wh, what did you say?”
Blushing, Zhao Rouyin confessed: “Yun Pianpian, I like you. Come away from the palace with me.”
Yun Pianpian stared at Zhao Rouyin, dumbfounded.
Zhao Rouyin asked, “Why aren’t you saying anything?”
Yun Pianpian replied, “Let me process this first.”
Zhao Rouyin gave an “oh” and waited for a long while before asking again, “Have you processed it yet?”
It took Yun Pianpian a long time to find her voice again.
“I’m sorry, but I only like Xiao Changyuan.”
Zhao Rouyin persisted, “How do you know you only like him if you don’t try being with me?”
Yun Pianpian said seriously, “Because my heart only has room for him and can’t fit anyone else.”
“Then kick him out.”
Yun Pianpian said, “I can’t bear to make him leave.”
Zhao Rouyin was nearly driven to tears by Yun Pianpian’s words.
“So you can bear to make me leave?”
Yun Pianpian nodded: “I can bear it.”
Zhao Rouyin, her eyes red, cautiously asked, “Then can I join you two?”
Yun Pianpian firmly refused: “No.”
Zhao Rouyin’s heart shattered into pieces: “How can you be so heartless, so cruel, so cold?”
“Because love can’t have a third person.”
Upon hearing this, Zhao Rouyin was overcome with grief and began wailing loudly in the bedchamber. Buling Buling, hearing the commotion, poked his dog head in from outside the hall. Though he sensed no killing intent from Zhao Rouyin, he still wanted to report the matter to his master.
Buling Buling gracefully leaped up the jade steps to the golden hall, lifted his head, and howled: “Awoo, woof!”
In the Golden Hall, Xiao Changyuan was holding court when his ears twitched suddenly. Frowning, he vanished abruptly from the dragon throne, leaving the entire court of officials staring at each other in bewilderment.
Xiao Changyuan, still in his court robes, rushed over. Seeing Zhao Rouyin in the bedchamber, his face instantly turned cold: “Zhao Rouyin, you dare come here to die?”
Zhao Rouyin, her face pale with fright, looked at Xiao Changyuan.
“How do you know my name is Zhao Rouyin?”
“Ask the King of Hell in the underworld.”
Xiao Changyuan raised his palm to strike Zhao Rouyin. She nimbly dodged using her lightness skill. Both worried about harming Yun Pianpian, so they fought their way from the bedchamber to the outside. Zhao Rouyin quickly found herself outmatched and tried to escape with her lightness skill, but Xiao Changyuan refused to let her go. Just as he was about to strike her severely, he heard Yun Pianpian’s voice: “Husband, don’t hurt her!”
Xiao Changyuan had no choice but to frown and withdraw his hand.
Meanwhile, Zhao Rouyin, upon hearing this call, immediately broke into a sweet, radiant smile.
“Yun Pianpian, you really do care about me!”
Xiao Changyuan’s face abruptly turned icy, and he raised his hand to strike Zhao Rouyin’s face fiercely. Suddenly, two figures descended from the sky. Wan Shanke intercepted the blow: “Shitou, give this old man some face and spare my wayward disciple.”
Zhao Mao tearfully grabbed Zhao Rouyin: “Sister, please stop! Your little brother still wants to live a few more years!”
Yun Pianpian’s eyes lit up with delight upon seeing Wan Shanke, and she immediately ran over: “Master!”
Wan Shanke responded with a beaming smile, “Aye!”
The reunion of master and disciple was a joyous occasion for all. Xiao Changyuan held great respect for his master, Wan Shanke, and out of regard for him, he spared Zhao Rouyin. He hosted a banquet in the palace for the three of them, master and disciples. Amidst the clinking of cups and lively chatter, Wan Shanke raised his glass and said with a laugh, “In recent years, my legs have grown increasingly unsteady, a sign of old age, I suppose. I can no longer roam the world as I once did. From now on, I’ll have to rely on you, my boy.”
Xiao Changyuan replied, “There’s no need for formalities with me.”
He bestowed upon Wan Shanke a grand residence and gifted him thirty thousand taels of gold for his retirement. Wan Shanke, delighted with his gains, left the palace in high spirits.
The nights in Luojing were especially vibrant and bustling.
As lanterns were lit, the sound of music and singing filled the air, pleasing to the ear.
Zhao Rouyin asked Wan Shanke for five thousand taels, disguised herself as a man, and went to a pleasure house to drown her sorrows. Inside, the air was thick with the scent of perfume and the sight of glamorous figures, accompanied by waves of laughter and merriment. Dancers, clad in sheer silks, performed on high platforms, shedding layers of clothing to the enthusiastic applause and cheers of the crowd.
Zhao Rouyin drank herself into a stupor, thinking to herself, These dancers aren’t half as skilled as I am.
Too bad Yun Pianpian had no interest in watching.
Suddenly, a voice full of surprise reached her ears.
“Jiang Yinyin?”
Zhao Rouyin lifted her flushed face. “Mu Yu?”
Xie Yu, his hair crowned in gold and dressed in luxurious robes, smiled with an air of charming roguishness. “What are you doing here?”
Zhao Rouyin, her eyes hazy with drink, mumbled, “I’ve been heartbroken.”
Xie Yu replied, “My condolences, then.”
They drank copiously, eventually passing out in a drunken haze. The next morning, Zhao Rouyin awoke completely unclothed, her body marked with bruises and bite marks, just like Yun Pianpian’s.
In truth, she hadn’t been entirely drunk the night before. She knew Xie Yu had only intended to help her back to her room, but she, craving release, had taken advantage of her intoxication to force herself on him.
Xie Yu had yielded to her advances with only half-hearted resistance.
As Zhao Rouyin slowly dressed herself, Xie Yu stirred awake, his expression awkward. “I’m sorry.”
Zhao Rouyin brushed it off indifferently. “Why apologize? It was clearly me who took advantage of you.”
Xie Yu replied with a pained tone, “But you were clearly…”
He never would have guessed that the fervent and passionate Zhao Rouyin from the previous night had, in fact, been an untouched maiden. The sight of the glaring bloodstain had shaken him.
Zhao Rouyin retorted, “So what?”
Although Xie Yu had indulged in pleasure and dallied with many courtesans, he had never been with a virgin. Thus, he felt compelled to take responsibility. “I will come to your family to propose marriage.”
Zhao Rouyin frowned and said, “You mustn't. If I were to marry, how could I continue to indulge in a life of pleasure?”
Xie Yu was taken aback. “Indulge in a life of pleasure?”
Zhao Rouyin retorted sarcastically, “Don't tell me you think only men can live such a life?”
Xie Yu replied, “But you are, after all, a woman.”
“What does being a woman have to do with it?”
Zhao Rouyin raised her lips in a smile. “I, Zhao Rouyin, will be the woman in Luojing who knows best how to indulge in pleasure.” Xie Yu was dumbfounded.
Though he himself was frivolous and cynical, he took responsibility toward women seriously. Worried that Zhao Rouyin had become this way because of him, he desperately wanted to marry her and persuade her to reform, to stop her reckless behavior.
It was as if he were trying to save a fallen maiden.
Thus, the bustling nights of Luojing grew even livelier. Every time that beautiful woman, disguised as a man, entered the pleasure houses to enjoy herself, two young gentlemen would follow behind her, weeping and wailing.
“Sister! Please stop this!”
“Yinyin! Enough playing around! Let's get married!”
The glorious nights of Luojing were filled with music and song for miles around.