The sound of the qin flowed on, melodious and cheerful. Exquisite dishes were brought to the table one after another. The Crown Prince took a bite and praised, “As expected of a chef invited from the capital’s foremost restaurant—color, aroma, and flavor all complete. Excellent! General Fu, you’ve been most considerate!”
With those words from him, it seemed as though this banquet had been prepared for him.
“So long as it suits Your Highness’s taste.” Fu Chou smiled with refined warmth. As he lowered his eyes, a faint trace of mockery lightly passed across the corner of his lips, gone in an instant.
Zongzheng Wuyou’s face was expressionless. His gaze swept, whether deliberately or not, over Princess Rongle, who sat quietly. The scent of rouge and powder on her had been covered by the fragrance of the food; he could no longer smell it, and so she seemed familiar.
Princess Rongle looked at the fine wine and delicacies before her with an indifferent expression, without the slightest appetite, merely sitting there in silence.
The music from the woman below suddenly changed, and a soft, alluring, graceful melody flowed from her fingertips. Outside the hall doors, eight women in blue entered in response, splitting into two rows and moving in with light, dainty steps. Their arms gathered together in the center and lifted high, their sky-blue water sleeves trailing all the way to the floor. When they reached the center of the room, the eight formed a circle. As the music played, their willow waists swayed gently, and sixteen long sleeves danced together, tracing a half-moon arc through the air. Suddenly, two rainbow-colored water sleeves rose into the air from the center of the circle formed by the blue-clad women. Amid the surrounding blue, they were like a rainbow abruptly ascending into a spring sky—dazzlingly beautiful—and at once drew the Crown Prince’s gaze.
The eight blue-clad women suddenly scattered. In the middle stood a woman dressed in a gauzy garment woven from seven-colored silk. Her waist was slender and supple, soft as though boneless; her dancing figure was light as a butterfly. Her creamy bosom rose and trembled faintly beneath the gauze as she moved, half hidden and half revealed. A veil of pale water-colored gauze covered her entire face, making her look indistinct and hazy; paired with her marvelous dance, it added a few more touches of mysterious seduction.
The Crown Prince stared at the woman in amazement, his body leaning forward again and again.
Zongzheng Wuyou was startled. Why did he feel this woman’s figure also resembled Aman’s? Had he suffered qi deviation? Was everyone he saw beginning to look like her?
“Good!” When the dance ended, the Crown Prince rose and clapped, crying out, “If Chang’e in the Moon Palace saw your dance, I fear she would be so ashamed she would die.”
His lecherous gaze swept the woman in colored robes up and down. The Crown Prince stepped down from his seat and reached out, intending to remove her veil. The woman hurriedly retreated a few steps, avoiding his hand. He was not angered; instead, his interest deepened. He simply clasped his hands behind his back, putting on the airs of the Crown Prince, and asked in a lofty tone, “Are you new to Tianxiang House? I’ve never seen you before. What is your name?”
The woman in colored robes bowed to him, lowered her head, and answered softly, “This humble woman is Henxiang. I entered Tianxiang House the day before yesterday.”
“Oh, Henxiang. A good name. Do you wish to leave Tianxiang House?”
Henxiang lowered her head further and remained silent, as if hesitating. There was no joy or tearful gratitude as the Crown Prince had expected. Displeased, he said, “What, do you think this Crown Prince’s residence cannot compare to a mere Tianxiang House?”
Henxiang hurriedly knelt. “This humble woman would not dare.”
“I should think you would not!”
The Crown Prince was lustful; everyone knew it. This was far from the first or second time he had brought women back from a brothel. Thinking of his own daughter, Lord Yu’s expression turned rather unsightly. He drank a mouthful of tea and gave a light cough, reminding them of the purpose of this trip. The Crown Prince understood, but his gaze still kept drifting toward Henxiang. Although he had yet to see her face, her dance and figure alone were enough to overturn one’s soul. He glanced at Fu Chou, seeming to have some misgivings. Fu Chou understood and smiled. “If Your Highness favors Miss Henxiang, that is her good fortune. Once the evening banquet is over, I will send someone to Tianxiang House to inform them. It should not be a major matter.”
The Crown Prince was delighted. He took Henxiang’s hand and led her to sit beside him.
Zongzheng Wuyou’s gaze darkened slightly. He stared straight at the lowered face of the woman covered by the veil, thinking: Zongzheng Xiaoren, you had best pray that the woman beside you is not her.
Fu Chou raised a hand and made a gesture toward the outside. A maid carefully entered the banquet with a sealed white jade wine pot held in both hands. Fu Chou smiled and said, “Pour for our honored guests.”
The maid acknowledged and lifted the lid. A rich, mellow fragrance that could intoxicate the heart and soul immediately rushed forth, filling the entire room in an instant.
Zongzheng Wuyou’s expression abruptly changed. He heard someone exclaim in astonishment, “Ten-Mile Fragrance!”
The Crown Prince and Lord Yu’s eyes lit up brightly, both staring at the wine pot in the maid’s hands in utter surprise.
Ten-Mile Fragrance was brewed by the Qin family in the outskirts of the capital. It was said that this wine was unique in all the world, its fragrance drifting for ten li.
Smelling the aroma of the wine, the Crown Prince sighed in admiration. “So this is Ten-Mile Fragrance. It truly lives up to its reputation. I heard that this wine no longer exists in the world. I wonder where General Fu obtained it?”
Fu Chou replied, “It was given to me by a friend by chance.”
Lord Yu said, “At that imperial banquet thirteen years ago, not a single civil or military official present failed to praise Ten-Mile Fragrance as the finest of wines. But no one knows what happened after that banquet that made His Majesty fly into a rage and issue an order to execute the entire Qin family. What a pity that such fine brewing skill did not even have someone to inherit it!”
Fu Chou glanced without a trace at Zongzheng Wuyou, who had not spoken all this while, only to see that his face had gone pale, and in the gloomy depths of his eyes, a storm was gathering. Fu Chou smiled and said, “Lord Yu is already drunk before the wine has even touched his lips.”
Lord Yu froze. He suddenly remembered that after the Qin family tragedy thirteen years ago, Emperor Lintian had issued a decree forbidding anyone from mentioning the matter; violators would be punished as traitors. And from that time onward, whenever banquets were held in the palace, not even a drop of wine was seen. At the thought, his heart jolted, and he hurriedly laughed. “Yes, yes, of course. Look at me… merely smelling the wine has already made me start spouting nonsense. I don’t even remember what I just said, heh… hehe…” He laughed until cold sweat broke out all over him.
To Princess Rongle, everything happening among them was as if she were merely a spectator, indifferent and calm. Occasionally, when she lifted her eyes and swept them across the room, she seemed to see Henxiang beside the Crown Prince’s gaze change faintly when Lord Yu mentioned the events of thirteen years ago. She could not help thinking that people in this world were all cold and fickle; they only regretted that the Qin family’s wine-brewing skill had been lost, yet no one sighed in grief for the lives that had died so miserably.
Fu Chou lifted his cup and said, “Today, with fine wine before us, let us not speak of anything else. Everyone, please.”
The Crown Prince was not polite either. He lifted his cup, about to taste the mellow wine, when he suddenly felt a chill pressing straight toward his face. Turning his head, he saw Zongzheng Wuyou’s wicked eyes cold as ice spikes, his entire body emanating an extreme, frigid aura. The Crown Prince’s heart trembled. He remembered that Zongzheng Wuyou seemed to have begun hating wine and women thirteen years ago.
“Seventh Imperial Brother, this Ten-Mile Fragrance is the finest of wines. You should make an exception and try it. Otherwise, it would be a great regret in life!”
Blue veins faintly throbbed on Zongzheng Wuyou’s forehead. His body was rigid as iron. Ten-Mile Fragrance, Ten-Mile Fragrance… Once those three words were mentioned, they lingered in his mind, refusing to leave. He forcefully suppressed the churning in his chest and raised a hand with a sweep. The jade cup the Crown Prince had lifted to his lips suddenly shattered, and the wine within condensed into a water pillar that grazed past the tip of the Crown Prince’s nose, sliced across the face of the woman beside him, and shot straight toward a nearby corridor pillar.
The wine pierced through the corridor pillar, leaving behind a tiny, pitch-black hole, then splattered onto the wall opposite.
The Crown Prince, who had just taken a turn around the gates of hell, stared with wide eyes, stunned.
The entire room was shrouded in a bone-deep chill, as if even breath would freeze. The mouthful of wine Lord Yu had just drunk was still held in his mouth, impossible to swallow. That mouthful of wine, to him now, was no longer fine liquor, but poison that could take his life at any moment.
Prince Li abstained from wine—such a major matter, and he had actually forgotten it! Lord Yu was filled with remorse. His lips parted slightly, and that mouthful of wine flowed from the trembling corner of his mouth, running down his neck and into his collar, like a venomous snake winding and crawling over his body, making him shudder uncontrollably.
For a time, there was silence. The atmosphere was so strange it was suffocating.
The light gauze covering Henxiang’s face had been cut apart by the water pillar and drifted to the floor, revealing an extraordinarily beautiful face.
Her brows were like distant mountain ink, her skin fairer than snow. Her beautiful eyes shimmered like rippling water. Though she appeared at a loss, as her gaze shifted, an irresistible radiance seemed to shine forth, alluring and captivating.
So the woman who had a similar figure and voice to hers had such a bright and dazzling face. Behind the pearl curtain, a mocking smile rose on Princess Rongle’s lips. That was right—she was Manyao, who had silently switched places with the fake princess in the bathing chamber. And the fake princess who had chosen a husband in her stead in the palace hall had, just as she had done before, slipped underwater. After they left, she transformed into a dancer of Tianxiang House, veiled, in order to divert Zongzheng Wuyou’s attention.
The Crown Prince turned his head and saw Henxiang’s gorgeous face. He was so pleasantly surprised that he even forgot the pain at the tip of his nose, praising, “Beautiful, too beautiful!” More beautiful than any wife or concubine in his residence.
Looking at the completely unfamiliar face of the woman in colored robes, Zongzheng Wuyou’s gaze flickered between brightness and shadow. It was not her? Suddenly, he no longer knew whether he had hoped that woman was her, or hoped she was not. He lowered his eyelids slightly and no longer glanced at the woman in colored robes. The spacious room was filled everywhere with the rich fragrance of wine, flooding his nose; his heart was already in turmoil.
Fu Chou maintained his gentle smile the entire time. From beginning to end, his emotions never fluctuated in the slightest, making that smile look more like a mask. Occasionally, the curve of his lips deepened slightly, so deep that no one could see the meaning within. He set down his cup, rose, and said apologetically, “It was my momentary negligence. I actually forgot that Prince Li abstains from wine. I am truly very sorry! Someone, quickly remove the wine and replace it with tea.”
The servants busied themselves. This banquet had already been filled with people each harboring their own thoughts; after this incident, everyone had even less appetite. The feast thus ended hastily.
Outside the general’s residence, Zongzheng Wuyou boarded his carriage. Manyao finally let out a breath. Though her heart felt empty, it gradually settled. She was just about to step forward and board the carriage when a low voice suddenly came from within the luxurious carriage behind her. “Princess Rongle, please wait.”
Manyao’s heart sank, and her body stiffened. Why was Zongzheng Wuyou stopping her at such a time? Could he have seen through some flaw? During this banquet, she was certain she had revealed no trace. She quickly gathered her mind, slowly turned around, and said calmly, “If Your Highness Prince Li has something to say, please speak.”
A different voice, yet such a calm tone, and the effortless elegance with which she turned around, all brought a faint sense of familiarity. It was extremely slight, so slight it could easily be overlooked—unless one possessed an exceptionally calm and clear mind. But at this moment, that was precisely what Zongzheng Wuyou lacked.
Zongzheng Wuyou sat lazily within the carriage, his gaze seeming as though it wanted to pierce through the pearl curtain and look into her eyes. But she had lowered her gaze, so his sight could only stop outside the fine pearl curtain before her. He said in a low voice, “In the great hall, Princess risked her life to obtain a period of half a year. Was it all to wait for General Fu’s triumphant return? Truly painstaking.”
So it was about this. Manyao relaxed, and a trace of a bitter smile appeared at the corner of her lips. The freedom of more than two months during which no one had disturbed her, as well as the false identity she had smoothly arranged for herself—on the very first day Fu Chou returned to court, the moment a fake princess appeared to choose a husband in her stead, everything before it seemed to have gone so smoothly as to be abnormal.
She said with a faint touch of mockery, “Yes, it truly was painstaking.” It was just that the one who had painstakingly schemed was not her!
What she sought was nothing more than freedom and sincerity. Now, freedom was lost. Perhaps she had never truly possessed freedom at all. During those two months, she had actually never escaped another person’s control. Her imperial brother had not stopped her only because the time had not yet come. And the sincerity she believed in… was even more laughable. A dream, nothing more.
Zongzheng Wuyou froze slightly, his gaze abruptly becoming sharp. Manyao immediately came back to herself and hurriedly smiled. “Prince Li’s words are mistaken. I am the princess of a nation. Since I knew Prince Li had no interest in me, I naturally was unwilling to compromise myself and become someone who invited humiliation. That is correct—setting a half-year period to make Prince Li change his mind was indeed a pretext. The true reason was that I wanted to use this opportunity to understand those noble sons better, so as to choose the most suitable man as my husband. After all, this marriage concerns the friendship between two nations. We could not simply choose someone at random as a substitute just because Prince Li refused the marriage, could we? Would that not cause me to utterly lose Qiyun’s face?”
She smiled faintly, just like the expression she had worn the first time she spoke to him in Qiankun Hall.
Zongzheng Wuyou said with a smile that was not quite a smile, “It seems you believe a great general who holds military power can enhance Qiyun’s face more than imperial relatives and nobles who, in people’s eyes, possess noble bloodlines?”
Manyao said mockingly, “Prince Li’s words are mistaken. That day in the palace’s Yiqing Hall, did Your Highness not also see it? When Rongle was choosing a husband, those princes and nobles avoided me like snakes and scorpions because my face was ugly. Only General Fu was different. If I did not choose him, who else could I choose?”
Every word she spoke was reasonable, making Zongzheng Wuyou recall the scene in the great hall. Seeing his thoughtful appearance, Manyao felt somewhat unsettled. At a time like this, it was not suitable for her to speak too much with him. She had to leave his sight at once. Thinking this, she smiled and said, “What is it? Does Your Highness Prince Li regret it? If you regret it now… there is still time.”
Zongzheng Wuyou gave a scoffing laugh, his eyes filled with mockery and disdain. He instructed the servants, “Return to the residence.” He did not look at her again.
Just like that, she escaped his control.
A scent-dispersing pill, a voice-changing pellet, a veiled dancer with a similar figure, a pot of aged fine wine that was taboo to him… These were originally schemes she used to extricate herself, but with Henxiang and Fu Chou’s cooperation, they became seamless, utterly flawless. Yet precisely because they cooperated too perfectly, she felt as though all of this had been tailor-made for her.
The luxurious carriage ahead gradually went farther away, disappearing from her sight. What remained imprinted in her eyes was only the pitch-black curtain of night. She lifted her head and exhaled heavily, but that heavy, suffocating feeling still pressed down on her heart, refusing to disperse.
“Zongzheng Wuyou, farewell!”
Boarding the carriage, Manyao also disappeared into this stretch of night.
Only then did Fu Chou step out through the doorway and gaze in the direction where the carriage had vanished. The gentle smile that always lingered on his lips slowly faded. No matter how wise Zongzheng Wuyou was, he would never have expected that the person he sought had actually been sitting openly by his side the entire time. That woman was truly meticulous in thought, skilled at making use of everything and everyone around her—including people’s hearts. The spacious bathing chamber visible at a glance, the emerald pool whose bottom could not be seen, Henxiang’s similar figure, the Crown Prince’s lust, Zongzheng Wuyou’s arrogance and taboo, as well as his own inevitable cooperation… all of it had been within her expectations. But there was one point she perhaps did not know: if the pot of wine he prepared had not been Ten-Mile Fragrance, then deceiving Zongzheng Wuyou’s eyes would likely not have been so easy.
Fu Chou stood on the steps with his hands clasped behind his back, looking into the distance, like one standing on high and gazing down upon all living beings. He lifted the corner of his lips slightly and laughed softly. The wedding in two days—he was looking forward to it more and more.