Chapter 118
Chapter 118
Yan Yu had originally wanted to appoint Fusheng Duan as a commander, hoping to keep him comfortable even on the battlefield, but he refused.
The man actually planned to travel light. Rather than march with the army, he intended to go ahead alone to Dazhang City on the frontier.
Yan Yu had wanted to dissuade him, but the realization that remaining inside the city would be far safer than entering the battlefield made her agree at once.
Go alone?
Not quite. What Yan Yu did not know was that Fusheng was taking Shengsheng Zhou with him.
There was no real need to bring Shengsheng along, but Fusheng could not rid himself of a certain unease.
After all, plenty of vicious dogs lurked in the shadows, coveting her. He would never give them an opening to exploit his absence and steal in.
“Shengsheng, are you going out to have fun?” Zhiyu Jiang lay sprawled across her bed, toying with a bed curtain hooked around her finger.
Shengsheng casually picked up a garment and folded it into her bundle. “That’s right. You need to behave while I’m gone and wait obediently for me to come back.”
She did not know what Fusheng wanted her to do at the border, much less understand why he insisted on going in person.
The original novel had never contained a plot in which the barbarians went to war with the Zhu Kingdom. This was probably another butterfly effect caused by her arrival. Fortunately, there was still some time before the part of the plot where Weiqing Song demanded someone be handed over. This interval should have consisted of ordinary scenes in which the heroine and villain developed their relationship.
Even though the villain was no longer in the palace at all…
All Shengsheng could say was that Fusheng truly lived up to being Fusheng.
The carriage they rode in looked drab and utterly unremarkable from the outside, but its interior concealed an entirely different world.
Who knew how they had managed to fit a couch inside? It came complete with fruit, pastries, and tea leaves. There was even a chessboard for entertainment, and a vase stood beside the window.
Shengsheng looked more closely and saw heather blossoms arranged inside it.
Because a certain someone had not slept enough after she stripped away his blanket that morning, he was now curled up on the couch, catching up on his sleep.
No matter how comfortably it was furnished, however, a carriage remained a carriage. It swayed constantly and jolted from time to time. Fusheng could not sleep well at all. At last, he sat up with an irritated expression, pinching the space between his brows. His eyes were tinged red from lack of sleep, his silky black hair hung loose, and his open collar revealed a smooth, fair chest like warm jade.
Shengsheng looked away.
*Seductive ghost.*
Far from angered by the insult, Fusheng smiled, his morning temper easing slightly. He held out a hand and said in a husky voice, “Come here.”
Shengsheng walked over and was encircled in his arms. She suddenly asked, “Your Highness, do you know many birds?”
Fusheng had only just closed his eyes. At her question, he opened them to a slit, and the first thing he saw was her plump, lustrous earlobe.
“I only possess one. Do you want to see it?” Pinching her earlobe, Fusheng suddenly recalled that Weiqing Song had kissed it before. His fingers grew heavier, kneading it with an increasingly indecent air.
Shengsheng: “…” This was absolutely turning into smut!
“No. I only wanted to ask whether Your Highness knows a little bird with pale yellow feathers. It looks adorable and is about the same size as Qingbai.”
Without pausing the movement of his hand, Fusheng blinked sleepily and answered without the slightest hesitation, “I don’t.”
*Wasn’t that answer a little too fast? Shouldn’t you at least have thought about it first?* Shengsheng wondered suspiciously. Why did she have the distinct feeling that Pecky definitely knew Fusheng?
This time, Fusheng closed his eyes completely, only for Shengsheng to wake him yet again.
“Your Highness, are you very sleepy?”
Fusheng answered with forced patience, “Mm.”
Growing bold, Shengsheng stroked his cool, silky hair. “Let me tell you a joke.”
Fusheng Duan’s instincts told him he did not want to hear it, but he restrained his irritation. “Go ahead.”
Shengsheng Zhou cleared her throat. “The Dragon King of the Eastern Sea was choosing a son-in-law in his dragon palace. A turtle came for an interview, and the old Dragon King required candidates to weigh ninety jin. But the turtle only weighed eighty-nine. A tiny shrimp nearby had an idea and said, ‘I can crawl into your ear.’ Sure enough, the turtle then weighed exactly ninety jin. But the Dragon King knew the turtle very well, so the turtle had to confess the truth. The Dragon King asked the shrimp, ‘Why did you crawl into the turtle’s ear?'”
“Your Highness, guess what the shrimp said.”
Shengsheng nudged the drowsy Fusheng. He had no choice but to lift his eyelids and play along. “What did it say?”
“‘I was telling a story to a bastard.'”
Fusheng: “…”
Now he was wide awake. What a fine double entendre.
Shengsheng met his gaze with perfect openness. Fusheng narrowed his eyes. “Why do I feel that you’re especially displeased with me today?” She had been targeting him at every turn.
Shengsheng looked shocked. “How could that be?!”
*You’re only noticing now???*
Taking a deep breath, Fusheng buried his face against her shoulder. When he raised his head again, the lock of hair Shengsheng had been holding slipped smoothly from her fingers.
“How did I offend Little Tail? Give me an example.”
Shengsheng pulled her lips into a lovely smile and said gently, “For example, perhaps a certain gift of tremendous volume and truly staggering quantity?”
Fusheng suddenly remembered. His gaze drifted toward Shengsheng’s chest. “Are you wearing one?”
*Like hell I am! Were those things even made for humans to wear?!*
Alarm bells exploding in her mind, Shengsheng instantly fled the scene. She smiled without warmth. “Is Your Highness hungry? This servant will bring you some pastries.”
Fusheng watched her with a beaming smile, thinking that he would have plenty of time to inspect her tonight. After all, this carriage had only one couch.
Looking at the pastries on the exquisite plate, Shengsheng considered slipping something into them that would make Fusheng sleep for three days and nights.
A-Pang mocked her. *Just now you tried everything to keep him from sleeping, and now you want to drug him to sleep. A woman’s heart is as unfathomable as the ocean depths.*
Shengsheng tapped his furry head. *What would you stinking men know?*
A-Pang truly did not understand, because he was only a male panda.
*But Shengsheng, you have been losing a lot of hair lately. Why does it feel like there’s no longer enough to cover my face?* His two black paws gathered Shengsheng’s hair together as he complained.
Shengsheng carried the plate over to Fusheng and retorted inwardly, *Have you considered another possibility–perhaps your face has gotten bigger?*
A-Pang’s eyes widened into perfect circles. *How could that be?!*
“Why couldn’t it?” Shengsheng teased aloud.
Then she froze.
“Hm?” Fusheng picked up a pastry and arched a brow. “What couldn’t?”
Shengsheng: “…” She had grown careless and actually said it out loud.
“Um, noth–”
Before she could finish, Fusheng suddenly seized her and pulled her down toward him.
Amid Shengsheng’s shock, an arrow suddenly tore through the air, grazed her ear, and buried itself deep in the carriage wall.
Shengsheng’s heart nearly leaped from her chest. Her entire body went rigid, leaving only her eyes able to move.
*This plot… I know it! Assassins!*
Fusheng inspected the ear the arrow had grazed. Fortunately, his reflexes had been quick, and Shengsheng had only lost a tiny patch of skin.
Yet even that was enough to ignite the fury in Fusheng’s eyes.
“Get down,” he ordered in a deep voice.