Feng Zhi Wei buried her face in her shoulder. After a long while, she gently pulled away. Her expression had already returned to calm. She then took out a dark greenish-black wooden plaque from her robes. On the wooden plaque, there were several strange lines carved on it. She placed it into Hua Qiong’s hand.
“What is this?” Hua Qiong turned it over and over, examining it.
Feng Zhi Wei leaned close and whispered a few words into her ear, and Hua Qiong’s eyes lit up with joy, “Really?”
“Otherwise, why would I have stayed in Xilaing for so long?” Feng Zhi Wei smiled, “I was waiting for news from that side.”
Hua Qiong beamed as she joyfully put the item away, saying happily, “The odds of winning have increased by another big margin…how do you want to do this?”
“We still need to wait for the right opportunity.” Feng Zhi Wei said, “The force under my command is not a problem, but yours was formed with the imperial court’s help. Without a proper reason, you would have no legitimate justification to deploy. However…” She leaned in and whispered into Hua Qiong’s ear, “Changning will likely make a move soon. Go ahead and fight a few good battles and earn some military merit. Once your position is secure, then we’ll…”
“Marquis Wei.” After listening to her words, Hua Qiong’s expression suddenly turned serious and patted Feng Zhi Wei on the shoulder, “The need for you to play the role of a treacherous minister who brings chaos to the empire, that moment, has arrived. Please give it your best effort!”
Feng Zhi Wei, “………”
————————————-
After the late-night discussion at Deputy General Hua’s residence, Feng Zhi Wei headed north back to the capital with NingYi. Yao Yangyu and the others escorted them all the way to the border between Longbei and Longxi before reluctantly turning back. At parting, young General Yao clutched Feng Zhi Wei’s hand, gazing into her eyes with deep emotion, and was just about to launch into an impassioned speech that would have run tens of thousands of words, when General Chunyu, at the signal of Prince Chu, promptly tied him to the back of a horse and dragged him away.
Once Ning Yi and Feng Zhi Wei were left alone, Ning Yi was no longer in a hurry to continue on their way. He kept saying that last time he hadn’t been able to properly appreciate the scenery along the way, so this time he must not miss it. He dragged her sightseeing through the mountains and rivers. Sometimes they even bypassed the local government’s reception to secretly visit scenic spots. What should have been a journey of half a month at full speed ended up taking him more than a month.
Finally, Feng Zhi Wei reached her limit and protested one day, near Jianghuai, when Ning Yi suggested going to see the famous Pear Blossom Mountain, “I have accompanied you to see seven mountains and toured ten lakes. I refuse to look at any more!”
Ning Yi held up a teacup and looked at her with a smiling gaze. He suddenly raised his cup and toasted to the surroundings, “Though you and I are both from Tiansheng, we rarely have the chance to truly take in all of Tiansheng’s magnificent land. If we don’t take a good, clear look at it, then how will we plan for it?” (The word I translated as “plan for it” has a sense of calculation for gain.)
His word sent a jolt into Feng Zhi Wei’s heart. She looked up at him. His smile was as usual, but his eyes flickered with an unreadable light—just like her own, making it impossible to discern their true emotions.
“The one who ought to take the effort to appreciate and explore the vastness of this empire is Your Highness.” Feng Zhi Wei said, lowering her gaze. She turned away and poured herself a cup of tea, “This subordinate is merely fortunate enough to witness such prosperity.”
Ning Yi didn’t refute her words, only giving a faint “hm” and said, “In that case, we won’t go see Pear Blossom Mountain. But there is one place you absolutely must visit, this is something you promised a long time ago.”
“Oh?”
“The imperial traveling palace by Li Lake in Luo County is nearly completed. His Majesty has bestowed upon it the name Jiying” Ning Yi said, leaning down beside her, playfully blowing at the loose strands of hair by her temples, “You promised me before that you would go with me and beat His Majesty to it, and be the first ones to tour the traveling palace.” (It’s really more like a villa but since it’s the emperor’s villa, then it gets the title of traveling palace.)
Feng Zhi Wei reached up and tucked her hair behind her ear, raising her hand to cover his restless lips and said with a smile, “Alright, alright, we will agree on just seeing this. If we delay any longer, I am afraid His Majesty will start sending out a “where the heck are you” order after us.”
“Alright.” Ning Yi mimicked her tone and suddenly pressed his lips to her snow-white palm. Feng Zhi Wei felt a slight warmth and dampness on her palm. She let out an “Ah!” and quickly drew her hand back. She did her best to keep her expression normal, but her red ears betrayed her.
Ning Yi held his teacup, smiling as he examined her delicate, coral-bead-like earlobes, wondering what his chance of success would be if he took the opportunity to take a bite of it?
After thinking it over, he felt that in front of this little fox, the chance of successfully pulling off the same trick twice in a row was indeed quite limited. With some regret, he sighed and said, “We are not far from Li Lake now. It is not convenient to take you to go play in the imperial traveling palace in broad daylight, so let’s go there at night. You should also not dress as Wei Zhi. If someone sees the two of us wandering the traveling palace at midnight, they might think we are secretly plotting a rebellion.”
Feng Zhi Wei raised her eyes and looked at him with a faint smile. Ning Yi’s gaze remained as deep and unfathomable as ever. Though when he was with her, he smiled more, but there is still a sense of distance about him. Like a banner flying in the vast dark sky, swaying far away at the other end of the mountains and seas.
“I’d rather rebel against Your Highness so I am not forced to admire the same old mountains and rivers over and over.” Feng Zhi Wei said with a yawn, turning away.
“You want to rebel against me?” Ning Yi raised his hand and wrapped his arm around her waist, murmuring softly in her ear, “You are more than welcome.”
Before Feng Zhi Wei could resist, he had already let her go. Feng Zhi Wei glanced back with a smile, went inside, took off her mask, and changed into a dress. When she came out, Ning Yi looked at her, his eyes suddenly lit up.
This was a pale silver long dress, a color Feng Zhi Wei rarely wore. But today, the sight of her made one feel like she can truly wear any color and give them a different flair. The dress was simple yet exquisitely tailored, making her look graceful as a lotus flower. The pale silver was both noble and mysterious, like a pear blossom shimmering under the moonlight.
In Ning Yi’s eyes, it seemed as though the same moonlit pear blossoms were also reflected on a sky of water.
He smiled and gently took Feng Zhi Wei’s hand.
“Come, let’s go on a night exploration of the imperial villa.”
The two of them quietly slipped out of the inn. Ning Yi led out his horse. Just as Feng Zhi Wei was about to find another horse, she suddenly heard hoofbeats behind her, and a blur of shadow flashed behind her. Ning Yi came riding like the wind, and as he passed her, he leaned down, hooked an arm around her waist, and in one swift motion, easily swept her onto the horse.
Feng Zhi Wei didn’t struggle and sat obediently in front of him, glancing back with a smile and said, “This is the first time I have seen you show off your riding skill. It’s actually quite good.”
“Just ‘quite good’?” Ning Yi chuckled softly by her ear, “You are always so stingy with your compliments when it comes to me.”
All text copyright @www.Ninja-Reflection.com
😍
Awesome!
I love all Ning Yi’s remarks hinting at him knowing about Zhiwei’s plans and Zhiwei reacting to them (at least that’s how i read them).
I was late to the party when I finally caught up with the translations last year. Now i’m eagerly waiting for the next part every week and started to read everything all over again. Thank you for your translations (+ extremely helpful comments)!
I come back every few months so I don’t have to endure waiting. I just want to assure you that your work is appreciated by so very many of us readers. Happy to see our heroes back together and once again amazed at how much more the book has compared to the show. I hope once this translation is finished, you consider uploading the whole document all together.