Chapter Thirty-Three: The Chaotic World Melody (Part One)

  The Yuanchang family was known for its strict household rules. Whenever a noble guest departed, all the lower-ranking servants would kneel in place to bid farewell, while the middle- and upper-ranking servants who served in various gardens had to kneel at the gate of the Ziqiu Mountain Villa to see off the noble guest before they could stand up and return to their duties.

  The next morning, Yuan Qingjiang and the Xuan Yuan imperial family returned to Beijing. The white marble gate of "Zi Qiu Mountain Villa" was still majestic as before. Under the gate, golden carvings of phoenixes and dragons were arranged in front and back, with strict guards. A group of palace maids and eunuchs stood silently in a row, holding various items such as imperial fans, jade pendants, embroidered handkerchiefs, and dustpans. They stood in an orderly manner, their eyes cast downward.

  Fei Bai wore a white fur-lined cape over his white robe, covering the bruise on his neck that San Niang had given him. As for me, after applying a layer of snow-white jade cream to my face, the five fingerprints on my cheek had basically faded away after an hour. My left cheek was slightly red and swollen, so I deliberately applied a thick layer of pearl powder to cover it up. Fortunately, it wasn't too noticeable.

  However, I still held my head high and ignored Fei Bai, who looked at me with a cold expression. As soon as we appeared, everyone's eyes turned to us. Song Mingpei looked at me with a pained expression, his eyes filled with heartache. He glanced at Fei Bai, but Fei Bai calmly returned his gaze, his expression unreadable.

  Song Mingpei, who was usually gentle and courteous, now seemed cold and distant.

  For some reason, Fei Ju didn't show up. In the Yu Bei Zhai, only Guo Er Ren came with five young men to see us off. Yuan Qing Jiang was talking to an old man, who looked spirited and had piercing eyes. He wore a dark yellow robe with a jade belt, and must be King Jing Xia. Yuan Qing Jiang led his family to pay their respects to King Jing Xia, then knelt down to invite the Long Princess's sedan chair to depart. The original Qing Jiang and King Jing Xia slightly bowed their heads, while everyone else knelt down. As soon as my knees touched the ground, Fei Bai knelt beside me. I tried to move my knees away from this idiot, but he suddenly grabbed my hand, and I couldn't shake him off. In secret, I pinched his fingers hard, almost drawing blood, but he didn't budge or look at me, just coldly holding onto me as we paid our respects to the royal family. Xuan Yuan Ben Xiang was staring at the last sedan chair with a smile, and occasionally, a jade hand would lift the curtain, revealing the four elegant Persian dancing girls from Yu Bei Zhai. However, Xuan Yuan Shu Yi's gaze was fixed on me and Yuan Fei Bai, and when she saw him holding my hand, her smiling face remained unchanged, but her eyes turned icy cold as she looked at me. Jin Xiu stood below Yuan Qing Jiang, his face also slightly chilly. I could only grit my teeth, press my head against the stone steps, and remain silent.

  At this time, a soft and gentle voice came from inside the golden carriage: "Yesterday, the emperor's body was not feeling well and did not attend the banquet at Jin Furen's house. I heard that the new wife of Third Brother is extremely intelligent and it was she who proposed the method to exterminate the locusts. Is this true?"

  Everyone was stunned, and Yuanyuan looked at the figure in the golden carriage with a strange expression. I couldn't help but exchange a glance with Yuanyuan, who also showed a hint of confusion, but still spoke loudly: "Reply to the princess, there is a slight illness inside, fearing it will startle the princess."

  "Third brother said that the words came from there, what kind of guest is at home, please come quickly, let me see how it is!" A small yellow gatekeeper carried a dustpan and came over with great respect. Non-white had no choice but to follow him, leading me and non-white past, coming to the front of the golden carriage, where we both knelt down. The two palace curtains opened, revealing a beautifully dressed woman sitting inside, looking at me with great interest. Although she didn't have the delicate charm of brocade, nor the gentle warmth of Biying, nor the intelligent beauty of Feiyan, she possessed a kind of elegant refinement that belonged to the royal family, with a hint of innocence amidst her dignified and luxurious demeanor. Compared to Xuan Yuan's multifaceted cleverness, she had an additional touch of rare kindness.

  She smiled and gazed at me with a pair of curious eyes: "So you are Mu Yi, Song Huwei's sworn brother, Jin Furen's..."

  I nodded in agreement, and she asked me how old I was when I arrived at the Zi Qiu Mountain Villa, what books I usually read, and how I came up with the idea of using fire to get rid of the locusts. I answered her one by one, and then her questions became more and more numerous, as if she were very interested in me. Originally, Qing had no choice but to speak warmly and smilingly to her: "Shu Qi, it's getting late, a big group of people are waiting for you to set off!"

  "Husband, I understand." Xuan Yuan Shu Qi let out a light sigh, thought for a moment, took off the gold diamond bracelet on her hand and had Xiao Huang Men pass it to me. "Consider this as my meeting gift to you!" She then called out in a gentle voice: "Let's depart."

  I held the dazzling gold diamond bracelet in both hands, hastily retreating to one side, and knelt down with Fen Bai to send off Princess Chang's sedan chair. Yuan Fei looked at me and smiled, saying to Xuan Yuan Shu Qi inside the sedan: "I remember last time, Shu Yi asked you for this bracelet, but you didn't give it to her. Why are you so generous today?"

  "Husband, I don't know why, but I really get along with her..." Xuan Yuan Shu Qi's soft and coquettish voice was drowned out by the eunuchs' chanting, the large procession kicked up dust in Qin territory, blurring my vision. By the time I looked up, Fei Bai had disappeared without a trace, and there were only a few people left under the East Gate archway.

  Fate is a wonderful thing, making people like two fallen leaves in the autumn weather, drifting and colliding occasionally, only to part ways again. Yet this seemingly accidental collision can sometimes leave a lasting impact on one's life, just like my encounter with Princess Changping of the Xuan Yuan clan. Although I didn't know it at the time, that first meeting was also our last. However, the bracelet she gave me ended up saving my life years later.

  As for Yuan Fei and his fellow student... The dispute between the two of them surfaced again, and my heart was filled with a dull ache. This time, he returned to the capital with Jin Xiu, facing the stormy weather of the Dongting Imperial Court. How would the two of them get through this safely? What about the fate between him and me, between him and Fei, and how would we resolve our entanglements and write a new fate?

  In my sigh, Wei Hu and Su Hui quietly looked at my face, walked to my side, and took away Han Xiuzhu. Wei Hu was left behind to protect us. I was about to say that I wanted to ride a horse out for a walk when suddenly a thick smoke rolled in from behind, and a white horse galloped back. Wei Hu immediately blocked me, and after a while, his face relaxed again, letting him through. I stared blankly, discovering that it was actually Fei Bai, dressed all in white. How did he come back?

  I proudly raised my face to look at him, he was also staring at me intently on horseback. In the blink of an eye, Su Hui's voice rang out in surprise, and before I knew it, he had swept me onto the horse. His lips fiercely kissed mine, I struggled desperately, but he let go of me. All the servants in the Zi Xiu Mountain Villa who hadn't scattered yet stood frozen in place, watching us come down from the horse.

  This kiss was domineering and overbearing, twisting and sucking, intentionally teasing, just when I was about to suffocate, he let go of me. I immediately slapped him, the sound echoing clearly, amidst everyone's gasps, I panted heavily, staring at him with a belly full of resentment. Contrary to my expectations, he didn't hit back, but instead stood there, slightly panting, looking at me with a firm and cold gaze, deep and unfathomable. Then, he cracked open a smile I had never seen before, evil and sly, and said to me: "Didn't you say that this lifetime, I shouldn't think about touching you? Now that I've touched you, what will you do?"

  "You... shameless!" I was choked with anger and humiliation, but couldn't struggle free from his embrace. Wanting to make a move, he had one hand pressing back the sword that had been drawn, and the other hand pressing down on my cloak. Then his handsome face drew close again, and I turned my head to the side, his kiss landing on my slightly swollen left cheek: "Since you've decided in your heart that I'm so despicable, then I'll gladly fulfill your wish, and be shameless to the end. If you don't want to harm Fei Yu, then during these days when I'm not around, don't go provoking him."

  I struggled to hold back the tears welling up in my eyes, stubbornly refusing to look at him, but he leaned in close to my ear, his voice low and menacing like a demon: "As for the antidote that will keep us bound together forever? I can tell you, even if Master lets you go free, even if I get this antidote, you'll never be able to leave me for the rest of your life. I'd rather die than give it to you."

  Then he secretly pushed me, violently throwing me to Su Hui. Su Hui opened his arms to catch me, but because of using too much force, I and he fell to the ground together. Poor him, I was pressed down with my four limbs in the air. However, his reaction was still quite fast. He didn't even hum a sound, and hugged me tightly as I desperately struggled forward, conveniently pressing my mute acupoint.

  "Wei Hu," said the tall, non-white man above, without even looking at me, to Wei Hu who was kneeling on one knee: "If Miss loses a single hair, you will be the one to ask."

  Wei Hu calmly responded with a sound, looking at me with joy in his eyes. Su Hui also stuttered and smiled, saying "Congratulations, Third Master, congratulations, Mu Niang". I was streaming with tears, silently cursing in my heart, "You bunch of idiots, can't you see how much pain I'm in?"

  Yuanni turned his gaze to me, gritting my teeth, and stared at me deeply for a few moments. In his sparkling eyes, pain flashed by, and then returned to normal calmness: "Stay home and wait for me, it will take three days or half a month, I'll be back soon."

  Then, he suddenly turned his head and rode away on a tall white horse, disappearing from our sight in an instant.

  Su Hui put me down, just as I untied my dumb knot, I rushed out, picked up a stone and threw it with all my might in the direction where Yuan Feibai had left: "Yuan Feibai, you pervert, I hate you, I hate you..."