"Prince Ding is here!" With an announcement from outside, Mo Xiu Yao appeared at the doorstep with Ah Jin following him. Everybody there had a sigh of relief. Murong Ting gave Ye Li a secret wink.
Lei Teng Feng, who was sitting in the chair, relaxed, sat upright the moment Mo Xiu Yao got in. His eyes which were as sharp as the edge of a knife glanced at Mo Xiu Yao"s calm and tranquil face, then turned over to look at Ye Li. Ye Li laughed secretly to herself that this eldest son of Prince Zhennan was probably calculating which was more important to Mo Xiu Yao, Sword of Lan Yun or his fiancée and wondering why did Mo Xiu Yao come.
"Honored to meet you, Prince Ding. I"m Lei Teng Feng. I"ve long looked forward to meeting you." Lei Teng Feng stood up, laughed and said.
"Prince, you are too polite. I had the chance to observe the splendor of Prince Zhennan when I was young. I haven"t seen him for many years. Prince Zhennan probably is as graceful as before, isn"t he?" Mo Xiu Yao nodded slightly and returned a politeness. The corner of Lei Teng Feng"s eyes jumped but he soon laughed and said: "My father is in good health. He told me a lot about your splendor back in those years. He hopes that my generation could follow your example." Mo Xiu Yao still looked the same and said calmly: "You are being too kind, Prince. Meeting you this time, I know that Prince Zhennan has a qualified successor to carry on his undertaking."
Seeing the two of them chatting politely in such a slow pace in an obviously tense atmosphere, Ye Li suddenly wanted to laugh out of nowhere. She once heard that diplomacy was only women"s activity.
After their exchange of greetings, Mo Xiu Yao pushed his wheelchair towards Ye Li and asked her in a soft voice: "I see you are in a good mood, aren"t you, Ah Li?"
Ye Li smiled thinly and said: "The eldest son of Prince Zhennan brought me a valuable gift. Since you are here, why don"t we admire it together, Your Highness?"
Mo Xiu Yao nodded with a smile, his eyes fell on Sword of Lan Yun, which was lying in the box. His eyes remained tranquil, as if it was only a normal sword in the box. He turned his head and said to Lei Teng Feng: "Thank His Majesty and His Highness for all the troubles they went through for this. This sword went missing for many years. I"ve never thought I would see it one day." Lei Teng Feng raised his eyebrows and said: "Sword of Lan Yun is the most precious treasure of Great Chu. We ought to return it to its owner in perfect condition. But I wonder if I have the honor to observe the magnificence of this famous sword?"
"Ah Jin."
Ah Jin walked up and took the sword from the Xi Ling guard with the greatest care and held it in both hands towards Mo Xiu Yao. Mo Xiu Yao took the sword with one hand. He lifted his head and asked: "Ah Li, what do you think about it?" Ye Li lowered her head, reached out her hand and touched the simple sheath lightly. She nodded and said: "Though I don"t know much about swords, but I can tell it"s a good sword." Indeed, Ye Li didn"t know a thing about swordsmanship. What she ever saw in her previous incarnation were Taiji swords wielded by grandpas and grandmas in the park. On a modern battlefield, though there was cold steel, weapons like short knives, daggers, and short ranges for close combat were more popular. Slowly, Ye Li grabbed the sword hilt, but she wasn"t in a hurry to draw it out. If this sword was really as hard to draw out and control as Lei Teng Feng described, there probably was some kind of mechanism in the sheath and on the sword. With a smile, Mo Xiu Yao put his hand on hers which was on the hilt, his other hand lifting the sword. In the gazes of everybody, Ye Li felt acutely that Mo Xiu Yao"s hand which was on hers moved slightly and then draw outwards. A dazzling gleam suddenly appeared, and the sword made a sound of dragon singing at that instant. The main hall was suddenly frozen, but it was just for a second. Soon, Ye Li felt the majestic will of war and gigantic aura of death oozing out of the sword. That danger could only be felt by someone who had really been to a battlefield. Not aware of when Mo Xiu Yao had already let go of her hand, Ye Li, with the sword in her hand, wielded it casually by her side and the ancient painting hanging on the wall not far away were torn into two parts. What a sword! Ye Li applauded the sword. The sword could cut an ancient painting by the Qi of its sharp edge. It would be fair to say that the sword could cut a hair that fell on its edge. Keeping the sword in her hand still, Ye Li looked indifferently at Lei Teng Feng, who was staring fixedly at her on her opposite.
Before everyone recovered from surprise, Mo Xiu Yao had already taken the sword from Ye Li and put it into its sheath. Looking at the ancient painting with only half of it left hanging on the wall, Lei Teng Feng exhaled after quite some time and sighed: "It is truly a great sword." n.o.body cared whether Ye Li could control the sword any more since she had already drawn it out of its sheath and had held it in her hand. It was enough that the third miss of Ye Family who lacked the strength even to truss a chicken could hold the sword still. Even the eldest son of Prince Zhennan, who came with an ill intent was embarra.s.sed to force her to wield the sword.
Seeing that, Minister Ye tugged at his neat beard with a smile. The daughter of Ye Family won the long lost treasure of Great Chu back and would take that as her dowry. What a great honor would that be.
Ye Li sighed secretly, thinking that if the sword was going to be kept in Ye Manor, the roof of Ye Manor would be destroyed by those who were after this sword. She didn"t believe that Lei Teng Feng was just going to give them such a valuable gift for nothing, but she couldn"t not take the gift.
"Prince, this sword?" Ye Li smiled thinly at Lei Teng Feng who was in a daze.
Lei Teng Feng gazed at the woman before him, then at the man who was sitting beside her. He smiled and said: "This sword is a congratulatory gift to you, Princess Ding. I wish you two live a long and happy life to a ripe old age together."
Mo Xiu Yao said: "Then, thank you for your blessings."
Lei Teng Feng stood up and told everybody present: "Since I"ve delivered the gift, I"m going to leave now. Prince Ding, I"ll see you on your wedding, then."
"Take care."
Seeing that the eldest son of Prince Zhennan was shown out, Murong Ting gazed eagerly at Sword of Lan Yun which was held by Ah Jin. She was only one step away from gazing her eyeb.a.l.l.s out while she was tugging at Ye Li"s sleeve and saying: "Ah Li, Ah Li… it"s Sword of Lan Yun… the real Sword of Lan Yun… Can I touch it?" Ye Li looked at her eager looks and turned her head to look at Mo Xiu Yao. Mo Xiu Yao lifted his eyebrows slightly and said: "It"s okay. Since it was given to you, it belongs to you naturally."
Ye Li looked at him and said: "I thought it is a treasure handed down from generation to generation of Prince Ding"s Manor." So it seemed that it wasn"t that important after all. Murong Ting didn"t care about that at all. She let out a joyous shout, s.n.a.t.c.hing the sword from Ah Jin, and kept it in her arms while touching it here and there.
Mo Xiu Yao nodded. It certainly was a treasure handed down from generation to generation of Prince Ding"s Manor. Given another thousand years, it would outshine great swords such as Gan Jiang and Mo Ye.
Murong Ting said while she was touching the sword with the greatest care: "In fact, it was said that in Sword of Lan Yun hidden were the book on the art of war and treasures belonged to Prince Ding. But that was not important. The most important thing is that every past Prince Ding had used this sword. Just a touch is more than a blessing. My father is going to be so jealous of me." Ye Li raised her eyebrows and thought to herself that it turned out no matter what dynasty it was, there were always going to be idols and fans. "The book on the art of war? Treasures? Is this sword still intact?" Xi Ling must have torn it apart and checked it thoroughly. Mo Xiu Yao looked at the sword that was in Murong Ting"s hand. A trace of warmth pa.s.sed his eyes. He said coolly: "They did. But the sword was not damaged itself."
"So?" Murong Ting had already forgotten who she was talking to, her eyes opened wide, waiting for Mo Xiu Yao to answer the question.
Mo Xiu Yao looked at Ye Li, smiled and said: "So it"s just a sword. It"s good to have it back. After all, it"s left by my forefathers. If I didn"t have it back, it will be the same to find a sword-casting master to make another one."
"What about the book on the art of war and treasures?" Murong Ting asked, disappointed.
Mo Xiu Yao looked at those present coolly: "Sword of Lan Yun was made when my forefather was sixteen. It costed him all his savings. He didn"t have anything else at that time."
The crowd went silent. All the world ever remembered was that Sword of Lan Yun was by Mo Lan Yun"s side all his life and was worn by all the past Prince Ding. Therefore, the world speculated that there must have been some secrets in it. But they forgot that the sword was made when Mo Lan Yun was still young. Back then the later immortalized Mo Lan Yun was just a profligate and unstrained youth from a n.o.ble family. He had not become the Prince Ding who fought alongside his brother and conquered the country twenty years after. Hearing that, even Minister Ye, an intellectual who knew little about Sword of Lan Yun was disappointed.
"If Sword of Lan Yun was so important, who would have taken it everywhere he went? How could it be lost so easily? Ah Li, I"m heading back. How about I send you a few more men later?" Ye Li nodded. She took Sword of Lan Yun from Murong Ting and threw it to Ah Jin: "You"d better take Sword of Lan Yun back to your Manor. I don"t have s.p.a.ce for it here." She wasn"t interested in having people on her rooftop every day.
Mo Xiu Yao nodded and said: "All right."
Seeing Sword of Lan Yun disappearing outside the door, Murong Ting hated to watch it gone but drew her attention back anyway.
Mo Jing Li stared at Ye Li with suspicion and said: "Do you really believe that there was no secret about Sword of Lan Yun?"
Ye Li nodded naturally: "If I have a book on the art of war and treasures, I won"t put them in a sword." As an often-used famous sword that was taken by the owner wherever he went and quite large in size, it was indeed not an ideal container for secrets.
"You philistines! It was what left behind by Prince Ding! What he left behind…" Murong Ting showed her contempt indignantly for those philistines that filled the hall.