Zhao Chu also didn't know why he suddenly thought of Fang Linyuan at this moment.

The first article his mother taught him was "The Great Plan".

It wasn't until he learned more characters that he realized the proper text for literacy instruction was the "Thousand Character Classic", while "The Great Plan" taught the way of ruling. It spoke of how the emperor must govern with both firmness and gentleness, and how he should follow the will of heaven and bear the responsibility of upholding the great laws.  (1)

But at that time, he was nothing more than the "daughter" of the former empress, who could be easily humiliated by palace maids.

However, his mother said that learning calligraphy was useless; he needed to cultivate his mind first. He had to grow ambitions in the mire so he wouldn't be trampled underfoot and never see the light of day.

Zhao Chu remembered these words.

Indeed, the art of kingship made his heart as hard as iron, but it also made him stand high in the clouds, unable to see the ants beneath his feet.

People's lives had always been nothing more than cold, lifeless numbers on documents to him, but just now, he thought of Fang Linyuan.

The Turkic envoys had flaunted their power, making him anxious to enter the palace immediately. If he had known about the uprising in Jiangnan due to corrupt officials, he probably would have been eager to march out of the city with troops, wouldn't he?

Zhao Chu lowered his eyes, lightly stroking the jade beads on his wrist.

As the moonlight descended, the jewel reflected his figure in its glow, but he seemed to see another person in this display.

Just then, faint sounds came from a distance.

Both he and Shi Shen had extraordinary hearing, and they immediately recognized the sound as footsteps. Zhao Chu looked up at Shi Shen, who understood and swiftly clasped his fists, silently disappearing into the night.

Zhao Chu adjusted his robes slightly.

His skirt was dusted with snow, clearly indicating he had been through the woods. There was only one path to the plum garden, and rather than avoiding it at this moment, he might as well confront the person.

He lightly adjusted his cloud-like hair and stepped onto the path, bypassing the octagonal pavilion's cover and naturally appearing on the path leading out of the morning garden.

But at that moment, he heard a voice coming towards him, oddly slurred and tinged with alcohol.

"Ha, Princess?"

Zhao Chu suddenly looked up and saw a tall, burly figure walking towards him.

There weren't many palace lamps lit in the plum garden, and in the dim light, it seemed as if a wild beast had emerged from the jungle, blocking his entire path.

It was Naren Temüjinr.

Zhao Chu paused, halting his steps.

Naren Temüjinr approached. His steps were somewhat unsteady, one hand holding a jug of wine. The fur coat on his body emitted a scent unique to the borderlands, and beneath his thick beard was a face tinged red with darkness.

He seemed surprised to encounter Zhao Chu here.

His eyes gleamed, staring straight at Zhao Chu as he strode towards him.

Zhao Chu took a step back, furrowing his brows slightly.

It was those eyes again.

Greedy, filthy, filled with excitement of possession and abuse.

Dirty men were always like this. Once the brewed alcohol flowed down their throats, it would ignite the desires in their hearts, burning away their usual cowardice.

Zhao Chu squeezed the hand tucked into his sleeve slightly.

"Prince Naren."

When Naren Temüjinr was only three feet away from him, Zhao Chu spoke up and stopped him.

Naren Temüjinr halted his steps, then saw the extraordinarily beautiful yet cold as snow princess indifferently raising her eyes, her gaze as sharp as ice.

"I went out to sober up and am tired. If you have anything to say, wait until we return to the palace."

His voice was clear and cold, though somewhat hoarse, but perfectly poised.

Naren Temüjinr's eyes immediately lit up as if he had seen his favourite prey.

He licked his lips.

In more than forty years, he had never seen such a breathtakingly beautiful woman. So beautiful and noble-looking, yet seemed to have a strong backbone, making him even more unable to resist the urge to crush, defile, and break her fragile bones.

What excited him even more was that this was the wife of the Jade Yama.

The Jade Yama seemed to treasure her very much; others would catch fire just by looking at her a few more times.

He wondered how heartbroken and crazy the Jade Yama would be if he really touched her, trampled on her, and broke her bones?

Naren Temüjinr's eyes shone even brighter.

If he were sober at this moment, he wouldn't dare to truly provoke the Jade Yama, especially in their Xuan Dynasty's palace.

But today, Xuan Dynasty's wine was sweet and tasteless, so he had someone fetch strong Turkic liquor, mixed it, and drank it.

However, the combination of these two quickly clouded his mind.

He feared the Jade Yama, yet he also hated him. Precisely because he feared him, he hated him even more.

Naren Temüjin stared at Zhao Chu, smiling, then lifted the jug and took a sip.

Under his gaze, Zhao Chu slowly tightened the jade bead necklace in his hand.

Three years ago, he had killed a treacherous drunkard on a night like this. Such filth was never worth sparing, but today this person was a Turkic envoy.

He was in the palace, not far from the bustling Rehua Hall. If he were to kill someone, he would need to leave no trace, clean up the body, bloodstains, and the absence of an alibi all within an extremely short time.

The jade bead necklace creaked in his clenched fingers.

This was impossible.

Just then, the Naren Temüjin in front of him laughed again.

"Princess, you are truly beautiful."

Zhao Chu almost vomited.

His gaze was cold and sharp, his fingers under his sleeve clutching the beads so tightly that his knuckles turned white, suppressing the urge to kill.

"If you're drunk, let a palace servant take you to rest," he said.

But Naren Temüjin approached.

"The Jade Yama really likes you," he chuckled, his eyes like a hunting wolf in the night. "I've heard on the grasslands that he has a beloved woman, and it's you, Your Highness Princess?"

The strong scent of alcohol and musk suddenly pressed towards Zhao Chu. He frowned and stepped back.

But Naren Temüjin became even more excited.

"He killed my tiger years ago, and I haven't asked him for compensation yet," he grinned at Zhao Chu. "Why don't you do it for him?"

With that, he reached out to grab Zhao Chu's wrist.

Zhao Chu easily dodged his hand. But Naren Temüjin's body swayed, and the jug in his hand immediately tilted towards him.

The icy liquor splashed onto his shoulder.

The early spring night was extremely cold, and the alcohol soaked his clothes, chilling half of his body in an instant.

Zhao Chu raised his eyes, the icy killing intent in his gaze suppressed by the cold liquor.

He had been planning and scheming for years, and he couldn't ruin everything in the hands of this beast.

He withdrew his gaze, raised his sleeve to cover the silhouette of his half-soaked body, and, taking advantage of the distance between them, quickly walked towards the garden.

However, his attempt to conceal himself only fuelled Naren Temüjin's excitement.

He threw down the jug, the sound of it shattering shattered the surrounding silence.

"You women from the Central Plains always like to be shy," he laughed and lunged forward.

Zhao Chu's steps were fast, but the intricate and wide robes became his burden.

The billowing sleeve was grabbed by Naren Temüjin.

As he was pulled, Zhao Chu's eyes darkened.

Compared to killing, he couldn't afford to be discovered as a man.

The moment his sleeve was pulled, he grasped the jade buckle at his waist and crushed it in his palm.

Blood flowed down his hand, and the shattered jade, warm and radiant, finally revealed its sharp edge as it pierced his skin.

A woman without martial arts skills could always use this method to defend herself when faced with harassment. In the chaos, there was no distinction between friend or foe. If she accidentally killed a bold villain, it would only be a mistake made in panic and confusion.

Behind him, Naren Temüjin laughed loudly, pulling him forcefully.

Zhao Chu followed the force, turning around, and the jade buckle in his hand was just concealed by his wide sleeve, hiding the chilling edge.

The skin at the throat was delicate and vulnerable, with no protection. With just a light stroke, this villain would be sprayed with blood.

However, as he saw the face of this beast, the image of Fang Linyuan flashed before his eyes once again.

"Do you know what kind of treaty needs to be signed for negotiations?... He dared to be so arrogant even after losing the battle, won't he have to offer tribute and cede territory to us in the future?"

Just now, Fang Linyuan, wearing a thin silk shirt, stood before him, his eyes burning with determination.

He cared a lot about this negotiation.

In the blink of an eye, the broken jade in his hand changed direction, avoiding the throat, and aimed at Naren Temüjin's abdomen.

First, spare this beast's life.

But the Turkic fur coat was thick and solid, how could such a small piece of jade blade cut through it?

Even if he wanted to draw some blood, it would take a lot of effort.

"Clang!"

Suddenly, a dark shadow accompanied by a gust of wind, like a feathered arrow breaking through the air, struck heavily on Naren Temüjin's wrist with extreme precision.

 

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The author has something to say:

Just imagine if the Young Marquis hadn't come...

Zhao Chu would have pierced Naren Temüjin's clothes lining  :D

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Translator’s note

(1)

Thousand character classic : poem that has been used as a primer for teaching Chinese characters to children from the sixth century onward. It contains exactly one thousand characters, each used only once, arranged into 250 lines of four characters apiece and grouped into four line rhyming stanzas to make it easy to memorize. It is sung

The Great Plan or Hongfan 洪範, is a chapter of the Confucian Classic Changshu 尚書. It describes the world view of the Zhou period (11th cent.-221 BCE) in metaphysical terms.

Source: Wikipedia

 

Translator : DarNan