Chu Tianyin’s strange news was none other than the fact that Young General Mu Qingwu of Tianan Country had gone missing! Long Tianmo and General Mu had even killed a few underlings to silence them while issuing orders unto death for the related parties to keep quiet so the news wouldn’t spread. Still, there were no such things as windproof walls in the world, especially in an imperial capital! It wasn’t long before Tianan’s n.o.ble consort Duanmu Jin found out.
As Mu Qingwu was Great General Mu’s only son, he was also the sole heir to the Mu Clan. If anything happened to him, then Duanmu Jin would be the first to report to Emperor Kangcheng. He himself was quite contradictory when it came to the Mu Clan troops. He could tell that Long Tianmo was under their thrall, so his original plans was to befriend General Mu and foist off a daughter to Mu Qingwu. But after discovering the Mu Clan troops had the skills to secretly control a deputy general in the Chu Clan troops, he now faced them with trepidation.
After all, Emperor Kangcheng had been screwed by the Chu Clan in the past and was now wary. If he married off a daughter to the Mu Clan and strengthen their standing in Tianan, then he might end up controlled by them, too. Thus, he had been all too happy to agree when Long Tianmo proposed a marriage alliance with himself. Then the man had proactively made Duanmu Jin his n.o.ble consort in a show of good faith, thus shaking Emperor Kangcheng’s previous convictions. As things stood now, Emperor Kangcheng was interested in every single action taken by Long Tianmo and the Mu Clan. He immediately issued orders to secret track down Mu Qingwu’s whereabouts once it came out that he was gone. No matter which side he favored, finding the man first would give him an extra counter on his side.
Unfortunately, Emperor Kangcheng’s subordinates weren’t very reliable. Although he’d issued secret orders, they were soon discovered by Chu Tianyin. Naturally, he didn’t know all the details, but he did find out that Mu Qingwu had vanished and that Long Tianmo, Great General Mu, and Emperor Kangcheng were all searching for him. Besides that, the secret missive also brought up the Hundred Poisons Sect. Even now, Chu Tianyin had no idea why Emperor Kangcheng wanted to show his hand at the event. Still, he guessed that the incident there had to involve Long Tianmo too. He already found out that letters between the two were very frequent as of late.
After reading the letter, Long Feiye headed for his rooms and walked inside. Not expecting this, Han Yunxi was caught mid-way back to bed. Long Feiye gave a start before he realized what was going on. His eyes twinkled with a brief flash of laughter. Then he shut the doors and leaned against them, crossing his arms as he examined her in amus.e.m.e.nt. Han Yunxi was still three to four steps from the bed with her back to him. Currently, she was frozen in place after hearing the door. Still, she quickly recovered and turned to ask, “It’s the middle of the night. Where did you sneak off to?”
When Long Feiye ignored her, she went to pour some water from the jug and feigned carelessness. “If I hadn’t woken from thirst, I would have never known you left.”
Long Feiye didn’t speak, but his gaze did turn more meaningful. Avoiding his eyes, Han Yunxi yawned lazily. “Are you still not sleeping? I’m so sleepy, I’ll go first…”
She rose for the bed, but Long Feiye hooked his finger towards her. Head bowed, Han Yunxi pretended not to see.
“I’m hungry. Since we’re still awake, come here and serve me,” Long Feiye said, putting special emphasis on “hungry” and “serve me.” If Han Yunxi didn’t know what he meant by now, she would definitely be faking. Looking up, she broke into a foolish grin.
“Still not coming over? Want me to find you instead?” Long Feiye arched a brow.
Actually, the results were the same either way. When had he ever not “served” her? No matter how it began, it always ended with him “servicing” her with all of his might and no reservations. Han Yunxi walked over step by step. Although things like “serving” him involved her limbs, she was very particular about visuals too. As she walked, she studied Long Feiye’s handsome, G.o.dly features and his refined, sculpture-like body. Already, she was one-third of the way to fall hopelessly to his charms. This man looks even more mysterious when wearing black at night. So s.e.xy.
Han Yunxi had seen him at his s.e.xiest, which was under his body while he was exerting his all with sweat dripping off his cold face and each of his muscles clearly defined as he lowered himself onto her. Now she stood before him and his depthless gaze, fully aware of the desire in his heart. Unconsciously, she bit her lip.
“Come a little closer,” Long Feiye ordered.
Han Yunxi obeyed and stepped close enough to bury her face in his chest. She a.s.sumed he’d hold her then, but he didn’t budge. What does he mean by this?
Han Yunxi glanced up to see Long Feiye looking down at her. “Is this your level of service?” he asked.
With a start, Han Yunxi wondered what he was doing. He’s leaning against the door, so how am I supposed to serve him? This is too… Abruptly, her face grew scarlet as she buried herself into Long Feiye’s embrace and gave him a vicious punch.
“Don’t even think about it!” she retorted.
He’s getting scarier by the day!
Long Feiye caught her hand and stuffed a piece of paper inside as he laughed. “Han Yunxi, why are you so fl.u.s.tered? I’m only asking you to cook some food, and you’re telling me ‘don’t even think about it?’”
Urk…
Han Yunxi grew blank as she looked up again. Long Feiye thought her flushed face was both dumb and cute and burst into laughter again. It had been ages since he’d laughed so contentedly. The best parts of a man were only know by the woman at his side; the stupidest parts of a woman were only known to the man at her side. This was a very appropriate phrase to describe Han Yunxi and Long Feiye.
Who in the world could ever see the cold-faced Long Feiye laugh so merrily? And who else in the world could ever witness the ever elegant, brilliant Han Yunxi have such a moment of idiocy?
Long Feiye lifted Han Yunxi’s chin and grinned. “Han Yunxi, I don’t mind you turning a little dumber.”
Han Yunxi was both embarra.s.sed and angry. She shoved him aside with a glare.
“Urgent news,” Long Feiye added, reminding her of the secret missive in her hand. She glanced at the paper and recognized it as the one used for the fastest messages from Western Zhou.
Quickly opening the letter, Han Yunxi poured over the contents and grew alarmed. “In other words, Mu Qingwu was kidnapped?”
Before Mu Qingwu sought refuge with Long Tianmo and the Mu Clan gave their daughter to Long Tianmo in marriage, Han Yunxi had an excellent opinion of the young general. In fact, he was only inferior to Gu Beiyue then. But after the incident with the famine crisis, Mu Qingwu chose to side with Long Tianmo and the imperial uncle for the sake of Mu Liuyue’s marriage. After that, Han Yunxi stopped viewing him as a friend.
“It’s been ten days or so, but the kidnapper still hasn’t shown his face. This is really something,” Long Feiye observed.
“Jun Yixie?” Han Yunxi guessed at a suspect. In the past, the man had laid plenty of spies in Tianning. Perhaps he still had agents in Tianan. But she quickly dismissed that idea. Tianan and Western Zhou had the strength of a chicken on the grand chessboard of Cloud Realm Continent. They were neither worth eating nor bad enough to through away, but they had no impact to the conclusion whether they were allies or enemies.
If Mu Qingwu wasn’t kidnapped for some public cause, could this be a private vendetta?
Long Feiye wasn’t very concerned about Mu Qingwu. The only reason he was consulting with Han Yunxi about this message in the middle of the night was a question worth asking.
He asked, “Why is Emperor Kangcheng so worried this time?”
“Duanmu Jin’s married Long Tianmo, so it’s a power struggle between the empress and n.o.ble consort?” Han Yunxi suggested. But it was clear that she was less sensitive to politic issues like these.
Long Feiye expounded, “Emperor Kangcheng might be getting old, but he’s not blind. He must be afraid of something, or else he wouldn’t get involved in this mess.”
Long Feiye didn’t know the truth of Emperor Kangcheng’s fears towards the Mu Clan, but he had guessed completely right. Western Zhou and Tianan didn’t share any borders and were now equally weak. Their alliance wasn’t a matter of mutual interests or benefits, because neither Long Tianmo nor the Mu Clan troops posed any significant threats to Emperor Kangcheng. It was perfectly reasonable for him to observe the current course of events. However, it would be different if Emperor Kangcheng was actually under some form of exhortion from Long Tianmo or the Mu Clan troops. Unable to sit still, he’d then get involved in the disappearance of Mu Qingwu.
After Long Feiye’s explanation, Han Yunxi immediately understood. She asked doubtfully, “But what could Long Tianmo and the Mu Clan troops threaten Emperor Kangcheng with?”
The two nations bordered the powerful south central regions and Tianning. Could Long Tianmo and the Mu Clan troops be threatening Emperor Kangcheng on the military front? But that isn’t reasonable. Chu Tianyin should pose the biggest threat to Emperor Kangcheng, ah.
Chu Tianyin was one of Long Feiye’s agents, so Emperor Kangcheng should ultimately dread Long Feiye. Another option was that Long Tianmo’s powers had infiltrated the Chu Clan troops, but Chu Tianyin should have discovered something like that ages ago judging from his skills. Even now, the Chu Clan troops were perfectly fine and had finished preparing everything. They were going to cooperate with Long Feiye in the coming spring to battle their way up north!
Han Yunxi had a hundred unanswered questions while Long Feiye was puzzling over it too. He took the matter to heart and wrote a reply to Chu Tianyin as soon as Han Yunxi brought him brush and ink. It was a reminder for him to check the army for any potential spies.
After a shadow guard left with the letter, Long Feiye shut the doors and discovered that Han Yunxi was already lying on the bed. Although it was the middle of winter, the Celestial Fire Qian Furnace kept rooms in the Medicine Requesting Cave nice and cozy. Han Yunxi was only wearing a fine silk gauze slip as she reclined lazily on her side against a pillow.
It was too late, so she was looking at him groggily. Long Feiye walked over and said in all honesty, “Han Yunxi, I really am a little hungry.”
That was enough to banish Han Yunxi’s drowsiness. She had no idea what he could mean by “hungry” now. He sounds so serious, so maybe his stomach’s actually hungry? But this guy’s never had the habit of midnight snacking. In fact, he doesn’t even like to eat when it gets too late at night.
Han Yunxi’s expression turned dumbly cute again as she struggled with an answer for Long Feiye…