Chapter 8
Chapter 8
The night banquet had only just ended when I pleaded fatigue and asked to withdraw and rest.
On any other day, Lord Wei never would have allowed it.
But today, perhaps for the sake of preserving that small reputation for virtue, he smiled and nodded, letting me off lightly.
I had meant to return to my hall, but when I saw how dim the lamps were inside, I quietly took up a lantern and followed the imperial road deeper into the palace, arriving at Taibo Temple within Qi Palace.
The lamps here were dim, and no one stood guard. It was a place where I often lingered.
At this moment, the solemn God of the Five Sacred Mountains looked down upon me, his expression grave and awe-inspiring. I had just knelt to pray when the idol before me gave a soft shout. The voice was clear and gentle, yet filled with authority.
“What little child has come here?”
I was so startled that I leaped up from the prayer cushion.
I looked all around, but there was no one there. A chill ran down my spine. “Lord of Mount Tai, please forgive me! This-this humble woman slipped in only to pray for my lord…”
“Hmph!”
The deity quickly exposed my lie. “You claim with every breath that you pray for Lord Wei, yet your heart is not sincere!”
“The one in your thoughts must be some other man!”
“Speak at once, and I may yet spare you!”
This-this was far too divine!
I had never imagined the Lord of Mount Tai would be so spiritually perceptive. I nearly broke down on the spot, and that name almost slipped from my lips.
In the next instant, however, the very person I had been praying for-his black hair gleaming like lacquer, his gauze sleeves hanging loose-stepped out at a leisurely pace from behind the Lord of Mount Tai.
Me: “…”
Sensing my gaze, the man swept his long sleeve, a smile touching his lips.
“Man Ji, it has been a long time.”
The passage of years had not diminished his grace. The man before me looked at me with evident interest, ink-black hair spilling over his shoulders in a glossy cascade, refined and elegant.
Perhaps I should have hated him.
Hated him for deceiving me again.
And yet three years had passed, and the fact that he had not forgotten me made joy bloom out of my resentment. Without a word, I stood there dazed as tears began to fall.
Lord Fuyong froze.
Above us, a boyish voice rang out just then. “Congratulations, my lord. Once again, you have subdued an enemy without fighting!”
No sooner had he spoken than someone retorted, “Bah. Look at our lord. Does he look happy to you?”
Lord Fuyong paced in a circle. Seeing my tears fall like sleet, he could not help giving a long sigh. “Man Ji, oh, Man Ji. You have grown into a beauty who could topple cities and kingdoms. How are you still so utterly guileless?”
I had no answer.
“Forget it. It is my fault for teasing you.” As Lord Fuyong spoke, his brows drew together slightly. “But I remember that I sent you to the crown prince’s residence. How did you become Lord Wei’s favored consort?”
After my tears had run their course, I calmed considerably. “Perhaps your guards know the answer to that.”
“Silence!”
The next second, two gusts of sword wind swept past, and the hair at my forehead suddenly sheared apart.
The unseen swordsmen finally revealed themselves: a pair of tall, thin youths.
“Do not cause trouble for our lord!”
“This is the fate of a slave girl like you!”
“You should accept your fate!”
They flourished their swords at me, but Lord Fuyong stopped them. His tone was hesitant. “That day, I left in haste and had no time to look into your affairs. I knew Crown Prince Jie was gentle with women, but my elder brother…”
He paused. “He must not have treated you very well.”
At those words, my throat tightened.
The tears seemed ready to pour down again.
He stepped closer, his voice full of concern. “If you are willing, I can take you away.”
Lord Fuyong.
This man was skilled in the arts of cunning and deception, yet he happened to have a gentle, compassionate heart.
But now he could barely protect himself, and I was Lord Wei’s lady. If I forced my way out with him, I would only make his circumstances worse.
Afraid that he would go confront Lord Wei, I lifted my chin despite the tears in my eyes. “Why should I leave?”
“For a woman to reach the position I have, is this not already the summit?”
“Rather than worry about me, my lord, you should worry about yourself!”
“Why do you say that?”
“My lord, you are a commoner now too, are you not?” I looked down on him slightly, putting on an air of contempt. “But I am a formally invested lady. By rights, you ought to be the one bowing to me!”
This offense did not anger the man before me. Instead, it was his guards who bristled. “Our lord should have known long ago that slaves should never be treated like people. They only push further once given an inch!”
The two of them rebuked me harshly, leaving my face burning.
But Lord Fuyong did not chastise me. He only said calmly, “A petty man schemes for his own survival. A gentleman schemes for his state. A true man schemes for all under heaven. My ambitions simply do not lie in this small State of Qi.”
“…My lord, you will regret it.”
He did not offer a single word in his own defense. He merely shook his head, as though he truly pitied me.
Until the moment he left, he did not smile again.