Not bothering to spare him another glance, Helian slowly cleans his sword “My eyes can only see people, as for beasts… “. Helian smiles then shake his head. “Not one single human around, sigh…” (There is a common Chinese saying of “Less than an animal” referring to the sort of people who are without moral or without basic decency. So, this is what Helian is comparing the tribe leaders to.) 

All the “non-human’s” faces stiffened. Even Kelie, who was busy blocking Zhi Wei’s way to check her from head to toe and had not paid any heed to the explosion finally turned around to look at Helian.  However, his eyes soon darted back to Zhi Wei and sighed again with a frown “Ugly, ugly.” 

Zhi Wei didn’t spare Kelie a single glance but was focused on Helian. Hearing his words of “not a single human around…” Zhi Wei lets out a smile as she silently thought that His Highness trip to the Capital has sure taught him many underhanded methods of cursing people out. 

Kelie had originally started to look away with disappointment but seeing the smile, he saw this yellow-faced woman suddenly had an unusual allure and sparkle that added to her countenance. Muttering “Could almost be called a beauty when you smile…”, Kelie reaches out a hand to touch Zhi Wei’s face.

A yellowish thing shoots out like a lightning, heading straight right for Helian’s head. The thing was tiny, yet in such a short distance it somehow managed to cause enough disturbance in the air to emit a fierce wind like sound. Before Kelie’s finger is even extended, the thing has already reached him. 

Unflustered, the fox-like man abruptly averts his head and avoids the first attack. Ignoring the walnut shell that had turned back around right after it missed its mark, Kelie reached out his hand with gleaming metals attached to his fingers to grab Gu Zhi Xiao who is in Gu Nan Yi’s arms. 

As expected, Gu Nan Yi immediately floated backward with Gu Zhi Xiao. The walnut shell falls to the ground and with it, a lock of silver hair — only by the force of a round walnut cutting through the air, it had sliced a lock of Kelie hair off. If Kelie’s response was slower or if his fighting ability was lower, then perhaps what was sliced off would be more than just a lock of hair. 

The short interaction was not missed by the tent full of tribe leaders who were promptly stunned into silence. 

Feng Zhi Wei finally spared Kelie a glance– the interaction might’ve looked simple but Kelie showed exceptional fighting skill and frightening accurate judgment. He was amazingly able to tell that she is not a bad fighter so he didn’t attempt to use her as a hostage against Gu Nan Yi. 

The two people’s eyes meet. One with a serene smile and the other is with a provocative smile. Each with its own meaning. Feng Zhi Wei immediately looked away lazily while Kelie’s face turned a shade darker. 

“My darling Kelie….” Peony jumps out and reaches out an eager claw to touch Kelie’s face “I haven’t seen you for so long, your godmother have missed you so much. Come, let me touch…”

Jumping out of reach of her perfume drenched hands immediately, Kelie laughs “Godmother, you have become even more youthful and beautiful after not seeing you for a few days. You are so beautiful that Kelie can’t even stand steadily in front of you…”

“Really?” Peony promptly touches her hand to her face and says with a mix of melancholy and pride “Aye, I am old, getting old. Husband dead, Helian even has a wife, ha…” 

“Isn’t it more convenient to have husband dead? As for Helian, didn’t he have wives since he was ten years old?” Kelie glances over at Zhi Wei “Half of the people here in this tent are his father-in-law…” 

“Bah!” Peony swats at Kelie “What cheap father-in-law! Kelie, stop changing the subject. Come let me feel around. Has your little garlic clove grown into garlic bulb yet?” 

“……………..” 

With one backing away and one pursuing, somehow the two people ended up backing out of the tent. Taking a few steps back to lean against the tent door, Zhi Wei watches with amusement as her Peony chases after the silver fox– a man crazed woman is the best weapon to deal with a ruffian. On another thought, already a bunch of wives at ten years old? No wonder Helian is such a troublemaker and has grown up so beefy like a young wolf….as expected, he was still initiated too early in certain areas… 

———————————————————————-

Inside the study, heavy draperies hang over the windows, almost blocking out all the lights. Since his return from the south, Ning Yi’s eyes seemed to be extra sensitive to light and wind. In the room, with the traces of smoke from the burning royal incense swirling about, a slight sound of paper being shuffled about could be heard. “Official Wu in the construction department is the son of the nursemaid of the late crown prince” Flipping through a thick file as he sits on an elevated desk, Ning Yi says with an emotionless voice “Switch him out.” 

“Yes, Your Highness,” His expression somber without any of his usual joking manner, Xin Ziyan is the one sitting below. “How should we go about it?”

“Doesn’t he love to collect rare books?” Ning Yi replies casually “Since you are in charge of compiling “The Book of Tian Sheng” it should be extremely easy for you to trump up a charge for him.”

Xin Ziyan’s eyebrows twitched, he could hear the sarcasm in Ning Yi’s words. 

“Your Highness.” Xin Ziyan looks Nigh Yi straight in the face “About that matter—-“ 

“I am tired.” Ning Yi looked up, his face filled with obvious fatigue. Closing his eyes halfway, Ning Yi rubs his brows, not giving Xin Ziyan the chance to finish his words. “We will call it here.” Leaning back against his seat with his eyes completely shut now, Ning Yi’s posture is of one that rejects any sort of communication. 

Xin Ziyan, however, has no plan to accept his rejection. From the time Ning Yi returned to the Capital, he has been put through the wringer by his moody prince. Acting strangely, this person has been working nonstop regardless of the time of the day. Pouring his whole being into the political intrigue, he almost gives himself no time at all to rest. He spends all day in the study, refuses to converse with them on anything else that doesn’t concern political matters. 

His attempt today to raise this particular topic is the tenth time he has been cut off. He can recall the day when Ning Yi came back and heard the Emperor said in passing that they had barely missed sending the new King Helian off. When the Emperor finally explained clearly who Helain’s new queen was, Ning Yi’s body swayed as his face drained of all color in an instant. He remembers how the moment Ning Yi walked out of the palace he had grabbed the horse nearest to him and raced all the way out until he stopped at the city gate. Forlornly staring off into the far off distance for a long long time, Ning Yi eventually turned the horse back around. 

After that, he appeared completely normal. Only those closest to him knew that appearing normal is the most abnormal. 

As promised before, this is the extra scene between Zhi Wei and Peony back when they first met.

“What’s your name?” After being shoved into the tent, Liu Mu Dan immediately sits up. Her move was very smooth, seemingly quite practiced. While talking to Zhi Wei, Liu Mu Dan is also shoving a long strip of fabric into her chest. Zhi Wei finally realizes the thing the soothsayer Grand Queen was waving around was actually her undergarment. 

Seeing Zhi Wei’s gaze on her undergarment, Liu Mu Dan pulls the thing back out to show Zhi Wei proudly “I made this myself! Look at your mother-in-law’s skill!” 

Zhi Wei accepts the undergarment with both hands and proceeds to carefully admire her mother-in-law’s skills. 

The more she looks the more she marvels.  

Pink in color, the finest fabric that could only come from the Capital, with countless pearls on it. On the left breast the words “must gush forth” is embroiled while the right breast has the phrase “Will shoot out”. The embroiled writing looks like it was written by a toddler. The sewing would scare the gods. Turning the fabric inside out, there is even writing in the inside. On the left is “Mu Dan”, on the right is “Ku Ku”, and a red diamond shape picture in the middle. After guessing for a bit, Zhi Wei finally figures out that the diamond shape could be red lips? 

This is truly a piece of undergarment that could not be found either in heaven or on earth…

“It’s beautiful right?” Liu Mu Dan stares at Zhi Wei with bright eyes. 

“Yes, beautiful.” Zhi Wei replies sincerely “It has the towering bravery of a sinking barge yet it also has the exquisite and arduous love. Shining pearls, lips bright as flames combined to make one want to shed tears, even the flowers and the fowls in the air would hate to leave it.” 

“You people…from the Capital always use such flowery words, I can’t understand.” Liu Mu Dan smiles brightly, patting Zhi Wei’s hand heartily “But I know you are filled with admiration for me. Sigh, so many years, only you know of my world shocking talent that has been hidden away… As one would expect, the Emperor is good at choosing people after all. Even though you are a bit lacking in looks and would make it a bit difficult for me when I take you out, but your personality is pretty good. I like it.”

Zhi Wei smiles serenely and thanked her mother-in-law’s high praise. 

Liu Mu Dan holds up the dirty undergarment and says bashfully “Seeing that you like this so much, I should give it to you. Plus as your mother-in-law I should give you a gift at our first meeting, but this…” 

“How can Zhi Wei take something so precious from Grand Queen?” Zhi Wei quickly declines “An item so gorgeous and priceless, only you, Grand Queen’s charming and noble temperament is a match for it. To give to Zhi Wei, it would be a waste.” 

Thinking over it for a bit, Liu Mu Dan nods and puts the chest wrap on. “Alright. Your mother-in-law’s money was all controlled by your father-in-law anyway. So now that your father-in-law is dead, it is controlled by Lucky. You can just go ask him for whatever you want. Come, daughter-in-law, give me a hand.” 

Motioning Zhi Wei to go to her back to hook up a few strange looking buttons, Liu Mu Dan sucks in a deep breath, squeezed the two mounds of flesh towards the middle until they reached a height she is satisfied with. Turning to look at Zhi Wei, she says somberly “I see that you are not well developed in this area. Men place great importance on this so you can’t regard this matter lightly. Tomorrow I will give you a medicinal soup recipe. Drink it every day. Don’t worry, you might not become like me but you should at least be able to grow until at least to half my size.” Seemingly to emphasize her words, she even squeezes it with her hands as if she’s weighing a piece of meat in the market. 

Backing away in a flash, Zhi Wei says with a big smile “Yes, I am grateful to the Grand Queen’s gift.” Grow to half your size…how strange would I look like then? 

“Don’t worry about it.” All smiles, Liu Mu Dan says “You are technically the Queen now so you can just call me Peony. It sounds more intimate, don’t call me mother-in-law, that makes me old, I am just forty five!”

Yes, you are only forty five, people at this age are only holding their great-grandson. 

“Peony.” Zhi Wei quickly smiles at Miss Liu Mu Dan. 

Thoroughly pleased, Liu Mu Dan is feeling very pleased with her brand new daughter-in-law. She is thoughtful and considerate, not rough and fierce like the women of the wild grassland, yet also not too restrained and fragile like the women from the Capital. Good, very good. 

All text copyright @ www.Ninja-Reflection.com

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