Chapter 541: A Man, A Woman, Ignite!
Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
A brilliant display of stars.
They were dazzling in Fang Zhengzhi"s eyes. The pattern of the stars quickly formed various pictures, from picturesque mountainous landscapes to towering ancient trees. Eventually, these pictures merged into an expansive galaxy, within which flowed innumerable sparkling stars, twisting and turning freely.
After an unknown period, Fang Zhengzhi finally ceased the glorious light show in his eyes. In an instant, the brilliant galaxy of stars vanished. Now there was only pitch blackness.
Fang Zhengzhi glanced at the table in front of him. Beside the lukewarm tea sat a white jade bottle.
The jade bottle bore no words, no patterns, but it was a top-quality suet jade bottle without any trace of impurities.
"It is time already?" Fang Zhengzhi muttered. Surprisingly, he didn"t remark anything about her profligate expenditure. Instead, he opened the bottle and poured out a dark green pill.
"Gulp!"
He swallowed it with the lukewarm tea!
"Boss." Fang Zhengzhi shouted toward the door.
"Yes, Your Excellency!" The restaurant owner"s voice emerged from outside the door, but he never stepped into the pavilion.
"Bring me some of your signature dishes and a few pots of your best tea, I"ll take away." Fang Zhengzhi ordered.
"In a moment, Your Excellency!" The restaurant owner replied immediately.
Shortly after, the restaurant owner personally brought a few exquisite delicacies and two pots of brewed tea, then left after a bow.
Fang Zhengzhi stretched his hands and lightly loosened his blue gown.
A silver Heart Protection Mirror was revealed. But this was different from the Heart Protection Mirror that Chi Guyan gave him. Although they were of the same material, this one had a stone etched on it. A square stone.
This stone had a special name.
The Vast World!
Fang Zhengzhi caressed the stone while he immersed in deep thought. But in a moment, he snapped back to reality and kept the delicacies and tea.
Fang Zhengzhi stood up and walked out of the pavilion.
The abyss of the night.
Most of Yan Capital"s lights were out, except for the occasional surveillance street lights and a lanky figure.
A solitary figure walking on the street.
With a slow and steady speed.
And finally stopped upon reaching its destination.
As the largest state in Great Xia Dynasty, the Southern Region had set up a traveler"s lodge in Yan Capital. It had a simple name, Southern Lodge.
The design and décor of Southern Lodge were similar to those of the Southern Region palace. If it wasn"t for the differences in construction quality, it could be described as a scaled-down Southern Region palace.
Fang Zhengzhi was standing outside the Southern Lodge.
Four Southern Region guards in rattan armor stationed at the entrance stared closely at Fang Zhengzhi.
"Has the Southern Region Princess slept?" Fang Zhengzhi asked.
"No!" The four Southern Region guards answered without hesitation.
"Please inform her that I am here." Fang Zhengzhi nodded.
"Young Master Fang, please come in, Her Highness has been waiting for you for a long while!" The four Southern Region guards exchanged looks, then respectfully stepped aside, revealing a path into the Lodge.
"Thank you." Fang Zhengzhi thanked them and entered.
To many people, the Southern Lodge was a forbidden place. Without the emperor"s approval, even the Minister of Rites, who oversaw the Southern Lodge, dared not venture a step in.
But Fang Zhengzhi entered the Southern Lodge.
As he pa.s.sed the numerous guards in the main hall, none of them stopped him. Instead, they were very respectful.
"Young Master Fang, here, please!"
"Young Master Fang, please walk here!"
"Young Master Fang, turn left in front!"
"…"
With the help of these guards, Fang Zhengzhi reached a door. But this door was different from the rest. Stationed at the door were four female guards in rattan armor!
"Young Master Fang, please!" A female guard seemed to heave a sigh of relief upon seeing Fang Zhengzhi. Then, she lightly opened the door, and respectfully motioned a Southern Region bow.
Being treated like this…
Fang Zhengzhi indeed felt a little uneasy. He intended to bring some delicacies to the Southern Lodge and have a morning tea with Shan Yu, but there was still some time till sunrise.
But he had already reached the Southern Lodge.
Then he asked that question.
But little did he expect that Shan Yu was still awake, and even predicted that he would visit the Southern Lodge. This made him suspicious.
Speaking of plans…
Indeed, initially, he did not have such a plan. But after meeting with Wu Yuer at Fragrance Restaurant, he thought Shan Yu hadn"t tasted Fragrance Restaurant"s delicacies, so he decided to bring some here.
So, how did Shan Yu predict his arrival?
Fang Zhengzhi stepped into the room. Behind a desk was Shan Yu with a luxurious animal hide draped upon her body.
Bright lights illuminated her beautiful, smooth, tanned skin. On her hands was an ancient book.
t.i.tled Law of Dao.
"You"re here." Shan Yu closed the book and sat upright. Her black eyes gazed at Fang Zhengzhi as he walked into the room.
"I"m here." Fang Zhengzhi nodded.
But he felt a little awkward at this moment. In the dead of night, he had entered a lady"s room, and she was the Southern Region Princess.
"Have a seat." Shan Yu pointed at a chair covered in animal hide.
"Alright." Fang Zhengzhi nodded again.
"Have you come to me for any matters?" Shan Yu asked while Fang Zhengzhi took his seat. She didn"t address herself formally as the princess, but with a simple "me".
"No." Fang Zhengzhi shook his head.
"Oh…" Shan Yu fell into a silence, then reached a thought and said: "Shall I get them to bring us some food?"
"No." Fang Zhengzhi shook his head again.
"Aren"t you hungry?" Shan Yu wondered.
"I brought some snacks." Fang Zhengzhi said as he brought out the delicacies and two pots of hot tea from within his gown.
Shan Yu gazed at Fang Zhengzhi a little differently, this time surprised. Seeing the delicacies on the table, she reached out and took one.
A snack in her mouth.
"This is really delicious." Shan Yu praised softly, then raised the teapot and poured tea for Fang Zhengzhi and herself.
She had a little sip.
"The tea is even better!"
Then she put the cup of tea back on the table.
"Fragrance Restaurant"s tea has a rich heritage. It may not be the best in Yan Capital, but it is definitely authentic." Fang Zhengzhi explained.
"Yes, you have great taste as usual!" Shan Yu nodded and took another sip.
Fang Zhengzhi didn"t continue but laid back on the chair in a relaxed slouch.
But…
At this moment, Shan Yu moved.
An icy dagger charged towards Fang Zhengzhi, its tip pointed straight at him, so swift it blurred into a shadow.
Yet, the dagger did not pierce Fang Zhengzhi"s throat.
Because as the dagger as about to reach him, Shan Yu"s body fell on Fang Zhengzhi, as though she had lost her balance.
And at this moment, Fang Zhengzhi s.h.i.+fted his body to the side.
"Plonk!"
Shan Yu fell on the floor, kneeling on one leg. Her head hit Fang Zhengzhi"s thigh. She looked ridiculous, with her chair kicked aside.
"Your Highness!"
"Your Highness!"
The voices of two female guards emerged from outside and the door was pushed open. Four female guards entered with pikes in their hands.
Time seemed to stop.
Fang Zhengzhi looked at Shan Yu, Shan Yu looked at the four female guards. The four female guards looked at Fang Zhengzhi and Shan Yu, aghast.
"I deserve to die!"
"I deserve to die!"
"…"
The four female guards froze for a moment, then dropped to their knees.
"Get out. Without my order, do not enter again." Shan Yu slowly stood up, ma.s.saged her knees and waved the guards away.
"Yes!" The four female guards left immediately.
Fang Zhengzhi s.h.i.+fted his body forward to reach the food, took a snack and ate it.
"After more than a year, I thought you would"ve become gentler." Shan Yu picked up her chair and sat on it.
"I should be the one telling you this." Fang Zhengzhi curled his lips.
In fact, he had almost believed Shan Yu"s gentle appearance a moment ago. But some things just couldn"t change.
Especially a person"s true nature.
Just like Shan Yu.
In the span of a year, a wild lady had transformed into a gentle, calm lady who only wanted to drink tea and chat.
Was that possible?
"You"re still so shameless!" Shan Yu rebuked, then her expressions darkened: "Why did you return to the Southern Region a year ago to explain?"
"Do I need to?" Fang Zhengzhi quipped.
"Don"t you need to?" Shan Yu asked again.
"If you trusted me, I need not explain. If you don"t trust me, no matter how well I can explain, you would still not accept it. Isn"t it?" Fang Zhengzhi answered.
Shan Yu fell silent. A moment later, she nodded and asked: "You took the sword of the Icy Monkey Settlement, right?"
"That"s mine, to begin with." Fang Zhengzhi did not deny that.
"Why did you want to meet when you were at the Southern Region?"
"If we had met, what happened at the palace gate would not be possible."
"I"ll leave Yan Capital by the end of one month. Is there… enough time?" Shan Yu didn"t probe further and kept her dagger.
"For the Southern Region case, there is no need for a month. It will be solved in three or four days." Fang Zhengzhi replied after some thought.
"So fast?" Shan Yu was astonished.
If it was anyone else who said a year-long grievance could be solved within three or four days, Shan Yu would never have believed.
But since this was Fang Zhengzhi…
Then she believed this.
"Yes." Fang Zhengzhi nodded.
Shan Yu did not comment or ask further. Instead, she picked up a snack and stuffed it in her mouth, then drank a sip of hot tea. "Tasty snack, delicious tea!"
"Then you should eat more!" Fang Zhengzhi smiled.
…
Morning.
The earliest rays of the sun shone through the windows of a room in the Southern Lodge. In this room, a man and a woman sat opposite each other, enjoying delicacies and a morning tea. A peaceful sight indeed.
Yet, outside the lodge in Yan Capital, the atmosphere was tense.
The news of Su Qing"s arrival in the capital was only pa.s.sed to King Duan and the crown prince in the evening the day before. In other words, most of the officials in Yan Capital had already returned to their residences.
Besides the officials who were in the crown prince"s residence and King Duan"s residence, not many knew of Su Qing"s visit.
But…
When everyone woke up in the morning, everything changed. They couldn"t believe the news or think straight.
"Su Qing has arrived in the capital!"
"How is this possible? Why would he suddenly arrive at the capital?"
"Furthermore, he even wrote a confession explaining what happened in the Southern Region case. What is going on?"
Countless commoners were engrossed in discussions. They simply could not believe what happened. As a matter of fact, the sheer suddenness and strangeness of this were staggering.
But they had to believe.
Because the news had been spread throughout Yan Capital. In every street and alley, the same posters were hung for all to see. Su Qing"s confession.
With impa.s.sioned words, the confession described the entire process, including the intents and details, and even enumerated a few pieces of evidence. Quite immersive indeed.
From that, Su Qing"s writing skills were surprisingly outstanding.
"Is it true?!"
"Even if this confession was even more detailed, this can"t be true, right?"
"Well, how could we not believe? Even the Law Council has this confession pasted at the entrance. There"s Su Qing"s handwriting, his fingerprint, and the official stamp!"
"Are you sure?"
With the original confession hung on the entrance of the Law Council, the officials and commoners were completely bewildered.
In a night, Yan Capital was torched into a burning mess.
If it could be said the people were still recovering from yesterday"s unbelievable outcome, then the arrival of such news was the spark to a pile of firewood.
Burning into a fire that would engulf the capital!