Chapter 72
Chapter 72
A Disturbance in the Winds (3)
Granny Jin let out an “Eh?” in her ears, and after a moment, said:
“This kind of destiny… that explains why…”
Zheng Wan’s spirits lifted. She instructed Luodai to shut the door and stay guard outside, then hurridly recounted everything that had just happened to Granny Jin, and asked, “Granny, is Heaven giving me a warning?”
“Tell me, where has that lover of yours gone to?”
Zheng Wan told Granny Jin that he had gone to quell the rebellion.
“Ah… no wonder,” she said. “He’s made a breakthrough to the next level, and as your hearts are connected, you’ve been affected by him and also entered the barrier. What you thought of and saw are all the things you fear the most.”
“Our hearts are connected?” Zheng Wan was shocked. “When did our hearts become connected?”
Love gu only caused their lifespans to be intertwined, so why would they…
“Your Phoenix Jade and his Dragon Jade were a pair of heavenly objects in the first place. 10,000 years ago, they were items that everyone fought over. Later, they had been taken by a powerful person and refined with the remains of an immortal; both he and his wife had one each, making a pair, but unfortunately……”
Granny Jin sighed. “Let’s not talk about this, they’re all sad stories. When you get the Moistening Essence and formally step onto the path of cultivation, you will naturally understand its benefits.”
“So, because of this Phoenix Jade, our hearts have become connected?”
“That’s right. If you betray him, he would be the first to know.”
“What if he fancies someone else?” Zheng Wan asked curiously. “Will I get to know?”
“When your cultivation level surpasses his, you will.”
Zheng Wan tossed her comb onto the table bitterly; how tyrannical.
“However, you must be prepared.”
Granny Jin’s voice suddenly dropped to a whisper, “Timing and destiny.”
“This is the landscape and environment that had nurtured him. By quelling the rebellion, he had saved countless living beings—this in itself is a great act of merit. Having broken through to the next cultivation level, he’s caused the landscape to quake and the environment to resonate—even that love gu, which he is under the control of, has been stirred by these movements.”
“It is still up in the air whether or not your lover has sensed it.”
Granny Jin said, “Little girl, what… do you intend to do?”
Zheng Wan looked out the window; that magnificent, powerful sword light was gone. She said indifferently, “I’ll pretend that everything is fine, and just take one step at a time I guess.” But her eyes were nowhere near as relaxed as her words sounded.
“Tok tok tok——”
There were three knocks on the door, and before she had recovered herself, it was opened from the outside. The crown prince entered drunkenly, and when he saw her sitting in front of the dressing mirror, he smiled.
“Wan’niang, am I in a dream?”
The door was closed from the outside with a sharp “pak”. Zheng Wan only saw the hem of a pink gauze; that pale peach blossom pink was exactly the same as the one she was wearing.
“Your Imperial Highness, you’ve come to the wrong place.”
Zheng Wan knew that she had fallen into someone’s trap.
She took a few quick steps—sure enough, the door has been locked from the outside. The windows were all so tightly shut that they couldn’t be budged at all, and there was no response when she shouted for Luodai.
The incense in the dressing room has always been very strong. Her first reaction was to use the water in the wash basin to put out the incense burning in the standing copper incense burner. In this world, it was too easy to ruin a woman’s reputation.
At this juncture, she did not want to get into any conflict with Cui Wang again.
“Wan’niang, what are you doing?”
The prince looked at her in confusion; his only thought was that her beautiful sweat-stained appearance made her more captivating than ever.
“Your Imperial Highness, Wan’niang, is trying to save your life.”
Zheng Wan told him seriously, “The State Preceptor told me that if you touch my left arm, he will cut off your left arm; if you touch my right arm, he will cut off your right arm. As for anything else… he will then see to the downfall of our Great Liang’s Imperial family, and ensure that you will have no descendants.”
The crown prince reflexively clamped his legs tightly together.
“R-really?”
“Absolutely,” Zheng Wan nodded. “Your Imperial Highness, tell me, how did you get here?”
There were so many dressing rooms in the palace, and he was so drunk— so how could he have found her room so accurately? Also, where did Luodai go? Zheng Wan would never believe that Luodai would betray her.
“I followed you here, Wan’niang.”
The prince blinked. “Pink, so beautiful.”
Zheng Wan instinctively thought of Third Lady Liu, but she probably didn’t have so much power to drag the crown prince under on her own. It was very likely that there was someone else pushing the boat along with the current2…
“Wan’niang, I’m feeling so hot.”
The crown prince patted his face, which was already thoroughly flushed, and began to tug at the ties of his robe.
——————
Cui Wang had set off early in the morning on his task, only coming back by the light of the stars and the moon3. It took him not more than an hour to cross the entire Great Liang.
The palace was filled with singing and dancing; everyone was drinking and having fun. When they saw him arrive, they even pulled him over to sit down. Cui Wang pointed to a familiar face, vaguely remembering that she was always happily trailing after Zheng Wan.
“Where is Wan’niang?”
Rong Yi looked at him, then said blankly, “Wan’niang went to the dressing room.”
Footnote:
2 pushing the boat along with the current: 顺水推舟shun shui tui zhou; A Chinese idiomatic expression, meaning that someone is making use of an opportunity to achieve their own end.
3 by the light of the stars and the moon: 披星戴月 pi xing dai yue; A Chinese idiomatic expression, meaning that someone is working very hard, going to work before dawn and coming home after dark.