Chapter 30: First Encounter with Yang Feng

  A huge moon is hanging in the sky, emitting a soft yellow glow. Qing Xia sat cross-legged by the pond, surrounded by silence, with only unknown insects making loud noises.

  In the blink of an eye, a month had passed, and everything seemed like a big dream. Her life had taken a huge turn with a strange curve. Many mornings when she woke up, she couldn't tell whether it was reality or a dream, as if she had never clearly faced this issue before. Although she was a soldier, she was also a woman, with an escapist mentality and things she didn't want to face.

  And this time, the death of the people in Lantingdian Palace shocked her deeply.

  It turns out that in this world, there is no such thing as being completely uninvolved.

  The entire East Palace was framed for suspicion of witchcraft, only the Orchid Pavilion and Cloud Soaring Pavilion were spared. The Empress didn't know how she discovered it, but she herself found hundreds of mysterious people with high martial arts skills hiding in the Plum Forest, so the Orchid Pavilion was spared, but it revealed a mistake to the enemy.

  No one in the palace knew her identity, so they naturally locked onto the two palaces that were not involved. At that time, the rebellion had not yet started, and killing her would cause unnecessary trouble and danger, so they blocked the news channels of the imperial palace and took the people from the two palaces to a place after the action began, just for convenience.

  How could she not have thought of such a simple and crude murder? If she had stayed there, she would never have allowed someone to quietly set fire and kill people.

  Unfortunately, she overestimated her own weight. She had always looked down on these ancient people, thinking that she had a higher level of understanding and knowledge beyond her time. She had always been like an outsider, coldly observing the people and things here. But it was precisely this arrogant mentality that led to today's situation.

  After the fire that day, she had seen with her own eyes the charred bodies of the people in Lan Ting Hall. Those gruesome corpses, unrecognizable as individuals, struck her heart like a heavy hammer, making her suddenly wake up from her dream and realize that she wasn't invincible after all? Such an attitude would only harm the people around her.

  Just like those palace maids who died miserably, and the completely disfigured Xiang Ju, as well as the innocent people of Yunxiang Hall.

  No longer able to be so careless and passive, Qing Xia stood up, furrowed his brow and looked towards the direction of the dead silent plum forest in the west.

  Is it the Thirteenth Prince? This loss, she won't just swallow it silently.

  Just as she was lost in thought, a sudden burst of noisy shouting came from the woods on one side of the pond. Qing Xia's train of thought was interrupted, and she quietly walked over, parted the branches, and saw that it was actually a group of low-ranking guards fighting with each other.

  The harem of Nanchu is different from the ancient times in Qingxia's memory, unlike the later generations where only eunuchs, who are not considered men, walked around. The guards and doctors of the Nanchu palace all had their own palaces within the harem. They would just slightly withdraw when noble women entered or exited. Now that the imperial palace has just been in an uproar, even more guards have been added, and occasional fights are a small matter, as long as they don't disturb those above.

  Qing Xia didn't want to get involved in the affairs here either, and turned around wanting to leave.

  "The Imperial Concubine's sedan chair has arrived!"

  A sudden cry of surprise rang out, and the crowd of guards who were beating him up heard it and immediately scattered, leaving only one young man wearing a suit of green leather armor lying on the grass, curled up in a ball, looking like he had been beaten quite badly.

  Qing Xia suddenly stopped in his tracks, furrowed his brow and looked towards a nearby dwarf tree. A young, green-clad guard suddenly jumped out from behind the tree, agile and quick, and ran to the side of the guard who had been beaten. He helped him up and said in a low voice, "A Yu, how are you?"

  "Mind your own business!" The battered guard pushed him aside, lifted his bruised face and said sternly: "Why don't you go fawn on that cheap woman instead? No need to waste time here with me."

  "Hurry up." The green-clad guard didn't seem to mind at all, and instead walked forward again, supporting the beaten young man, and said in a low voice: "If they find out later that Concubine Lan didn't pass through here, they will definitely come back."

  Afraid to walk by yourself, timid as a mouse, only knowing how to curry favor with those stinky women, useless trash! Ah Yu scolded and stood up, shaking off the support of the green-clad guard.

  "A Yu..."

  "Get out!" Ah Yu roared, shouting loudly: "Yang Feng, from today on, I no longer recognize you as my brother! The old master's revenge, I'll take it myself! And the miss, I'll rescue her myself too! I don't need a treacherous scoundrel like you!"

  Yang Feng was pushed by Ah Yu, and he retreated two steps in a hurry. Ah Yu stood trembling with rage, looking at Yang Feng with hatred, his face purple and blue, with a string of bloodstains still hanging from his nose. Seeing that Yang Feng didn't say anything, he continued to scold loudly, almost crying: "In the past, if it weren't for Miss, you and I would have starved to death on the streets of Shengdu. I, Chen Yu, am a person with a conscience! Not like you, who only knows how to fawn over those coquettish women every day. Have you forgotten the oath we swore back then? Miss is still suffering in that place, and you're having fun here, do you have any conscience?"

  Chen Yu wiped his nose, which was still bleeding, with his hand. Suddenly, he tripped and fell to the ground again, one leg gushing blood, apparently injured in the previous fight.

  Yang Feng originally didn't utter a word when Chen Yu scolded him, but seeing him fall down, he hastily ran forward and said in a low voice: "Is it a fracture? Let's hurry back to find Old Hu to take a look."

  "Whether I'm dead or alive has nothing to do with you, go ahead and pursue your own promotion and wealth!"

  "Ah Yu!" Yang Feng suddenly shouted, his sword-like eyebrows furrowed, and said in a deep voice: "From the age of eight, we fled from Nanjiang to Shengdu together. After more than ten years, don't you still know what kind of person I am?"

  "Yes!" Chen Yu shouted loudly: "It's precisely because I knew what Yang Feng was like in the past that I don't understand now, why have you become like this? You didn't go to the execution ground that day, Miss was sold into the official brothel, and you didn't go to rescue her! Now the Lin family has been confiscated, but you're here surrounding those women, how can you repay the kindness of Master's upbringing over the years?"

  "Right! I'm heartless, I won't go to the execution ground, I won't save the young lady! But Ah Yu, what makes us think we can rescue her from the execution ground, or even the official brothel? Is it because of you? Or is it because of me? We're two people with no money and no influence, and we don't know any martial arts. All we have is brute strength. Can we really fight against the imperial city guards? I won't go because I don't want to die!"

  "Ah!" Chen Yu spat in Yang Feng's face and shouted: "You coward, you finally dare to admit that you're afraid of death!"

  "Yes! I am afraid of death!" Yang Feng said sternly: "But if I die, I can save the young lady and rescue the old master. I will die immediately now. But my death would be useless, no one would remember you, and that scoundrel Tian Ze wouldn't even be slightly harmed. I don't want to die, not because I'm afraid of dying without value, but because leaving behind a green mountain is not afraid of having nothing to burn, do you understand?"

  Chen Yu pushed Yang Feng away, his face red with anger, shouting: "Three months ago you said that, now you're still saying it. What are you doing now? What is the green mountain you left behind doing? Is it flattering women?"

  Yang Feng suddenly stood up, pointing to his own chest with his index finger, and said word by word: "Yes! I am trying to please those women, but at least I'm still making plans for our future. What about you? You only know how to drink every day, play cards with those guards, get drunk and fight with people, and shout all day that you want to avenge your master. What have you done?"

  "I'd rather drink than be like you, you're trying to curry favor with women for future benefits, do you think I, Chen Yu, am a fool?"

  Yang Feng coldly laughed and said in a low voice, "What kind of place is this? It's the imperial palace! Everyone who comes and goes here are high-ranking officials and nobles. One opportunity can make us turn our fortunes around and rise to greatness. How many chances do you have in your lifetime to enter the imperial palace? I just want to find a way to stay here and wait for an opportunity."

  "Hmph!" Chen Yu sneered and said in a low voice, "Those palace maids can help you stay here, don't be foolish."

  "Yes, I also know the opportunity is small, but as long as there's a little chance, I'll work hard to seize it." Yang Feng suddenly lifted his head, his eyes shining with strong determination and confidence. He said firmly, "A Yu, today we are kneeling at other people's feet, but we won't always be kneeling. One day, I will stand up, trampling on all those who once trampled me. The grudge of the old master, I will never forget."

  "Who's there!" A sudden commotion of footsteps erupted, Chen Yu's face turned pale in an instant, Yang Feng furrowed his brow and stepped forward to support Chen Yu, just about to run when he felt they were already surrounded by a multitude of people. The palace at night originally did not allow guards to move about, private fights were even more forbidden, let alone they were outer camp soldiers temporarily assigned as palace guards, if discovered disobeying military orders, it would be a dead end.

  Yang Feng knew he couldn't escape, so he drew out the dagger from his waist. Chen Yu had been arrogant and domineering towards Yang Feng before, but now his face was as white as paper, and his body kept trembling with fear.

  "It's me!" A woman's voice suddenly rang out, and the guards outside were attracted to it. Only then did Qing Xia emerge from the clump of trees, her clothes elegant and refined, her face as beautiful as a peach blossom. Instantly, everyone recognized that this was none other than Consort Lan, the most powerful imperial concubine in the palace at present. Everyone knelt down on the ground.

  "Pay respects to Princess Lan!"

  "Get up." Qing Xia said faintly, and softly added: "I just came back from the East Palace Hall, I wanted to take a walk alone, what's with all this fanfare?"

  "Return, Princess. General Lu ordered us to guard the safety of the palace. Just now, someone reported that some temporary guards from the outer city were having a brawl here without knowing the rules. We came to capture them." The kneeling leader of the imperial guards said in a ringing voice.

  "Oh, I see." Qing Xia said slowly: "I've been here for half a day and haven't seen anyone. You guys go check somewhere else."

  "Thank you, milady," replied the captain of the guards, standing up and saying to his subordinates: "You, go take a look at the West Sixth Courtyard."

  Qing Xia saw that they were still standing there and said in a low voice, "It was very windy at night, my lantern was blown away, can you take me back?"

  "Yes!" The captain of the guard responded with a single word, and the soldiers behind him immediately formed a line, following Qing Xia's back towards the Lan Ting Palace.

  As she walked to the corner of the garden, Qing Xia suddenly turned her head back, only to see a pair of pitch-black eyes staring tightly at herself in the dense thicket of shrubs, shining brightly like black stars in the darkness.

  Qing Xia pulled up the corners of her mouth and smiled lightly before turning around and leaving.

  The master of the black eyes stood still in the pitch-black woods, feeling that the starlight in the sky had lost its color for a moment.