Chapter 26: Princess, why make things difficult for another princess

Xu Fengnian opened his eyes and whistled. A majestic peregrine falcon swooped down from the sky, landing steadily on the Young Lord's shoulder, tearing his clothes. The six-year-old falcon, completely white, stretched its head to nuzzle its master's cheek. Xu Fengnian paid no mind to the slight injury, flicking his beloved pet's crimson beak with a finger. He then squinted at the pale-faced, powdered man who was preparing to act, and sneered, "A hundred cavalrymen from Liangzhou are coming up the mountain, crossbows in hand. I'd like to see who kills whom."

The freckled woman, disguised as a young master, remained fearless. As if unjustly provoked, she said with an angry expression, "How dare you?"

Xu Fengnian laughed wildly, "In Beiliang, there's truly nothing this Young Lord dares not to do."

The Dongyue swordsman frowned. The secret report did indeed state that a hundred elite cavalry from the Fengzi Camp were stationed at the foot of Wudang Mountain, equipped with one hundred Beiliang Godly Crossbows. These specially manufactured Beiliang crossbows were far more powerful than ordinary bows and crossbows. Countless armored halberdiers of Western Chu had been shot down by these weapons on the battlefield years ago. Dozens of such crossbows might be insignificant in a battle, but a concentration of eight hundred or more was enough to strike fear into anyone's heart.

Xu Fengnian tapped his own nose, and with a lecherous grin, said, "Hey, little sparrow, come, get into this Young Lord's big bed, and let's have a good fight, a battle of three hundred rounds. If you're a young bird, that's even better. This Young Lord is skilled in all eighteen martial arts, and I'll make sure you come up the mountain full of excitement, but leave with weak legs."

The woman, who referred to herself as "this Princess," gritted her teeth. But this time, before she could kick or curse, the man, who stood like a ghost in the world of the living, took a single leap, closing the distance to Xu Fengnian to just five paces. He brought with him a chilling gust of wind, and his voice pierced their eardrums, "You are no son of man!"

At that moment, Xu Fengnian recalled the old, thin Huang, battling the wind and cold, walking ahead on a snowy night, yet still exposed to the biting chill from all sides.

Wang Zhonglou stood between the Young Lord and the beardless man, his Taoist robe billowing, inflated like a ball.

He took a direct palm strike.

Around the Taoist master's black, shallow-toed boots, a circle of dirt splattered outwards. Yet, the old Taoist's sturdy figure remained as unmoving as Wudang's main peak. The internal energy circulating within his robe not only did not diminish, but seemed to have been replenished, causing him to expand again.

The man with powdered cheeks quickly withdrew his hand and asked suspiciously, "Grand Yellow Court? You are Wang Zhonglou?"

The old Taoist, who had once had tea spat on his face by Xu Fengnian, indeed maintained his composure as always, not striking back. He smiled faintly and said, "It is I, your humble servant of the Tao."

The beardless man cautiously retreated to his original position, bent down, and spoke a few words to the woman Xu Fengnian had ridiculed as "little sparrow." Her expression was volatile, and she struggled to control herself. Her small hand, clutching two dragon-and-phoenix luminous pearls, rose as she pointed at the Wudang master and cursed, "You stinking Taoist! You're going to side with that fellow behind you? Aren't you afraid your entire mountain gate will suffer disaster? Those four characters, 'Xuanwu of Wudang Shall Prosper,' on the archway at the foot of the mountain, have been there for hundreds of years, haven't they? I think they look quite imposing. Do you believe I can smash them for you?"

The old Taoist chuckled, his hands dropping, and his sleeves, which had billowed without wind, slowly settled. He did not respond to the arrogant woman's insults, but turned to glance at the Young Lord.

Xu Fengnian returned the favor with a mischievous smile, "Oh, little sparrow sister, what big words from such a small mouth, I like it! You want to smash the archway? You'll have to ask your future husband if he agrees first."

Dongyue's isolated specters inwardly smiled bitterly. This Young Lord of Liang's mouth was sharper than any blade. How had Xu Quezi managed to raise such an unscrupulous and reckless son? Was he hard of hearing, not catching the words "this Princess"? Or was he feigning deafness, truly believing there was no one in the world who could contend with the Grand Pillar?

The one hundred skilled crossbowmen of the Fengzi Camp, having dismounted and ascended the mountain, were now in position, moving deftly through the bamboo forest. They only awaited the Young Lord's command to shoot the three into hedgehogs. It was common knowledge throughout the world that Beiliang's iron cavalry only recognized the Xu family banner, and Beiliang's valiant generals only recognized the Tiger Tally of the King of Liang.

The emperor was far away, and it seemed the Son of Heaven on the dragon throne had always held great trust in the last remaining king with a different surname. Years ago, he had even intended to marry Princess Suizhu to the Grand Pillar's eldest son. It was well known that even in the capital, anecdotes about the Young Lord circulated. Scholars and top examination candidates from the Liang region, upon achieving success, unanimously ridiculed and scoffed at the Young Lord. When speaking of Xu Fengnian with colleagues or mentors, there were always countless jokes. The common people of the realm worried for Princess Suizhu, fearing she would fall into a tiger's den. Meanwhile, the high officials and nobles in the capital, familiar with the palace's inner workings, eagerly awaited Xu Fengnian's arrival in the capital, expecting him to be beaten to death by the princess, who shared his temperament. After all, when had Princess Suizhu ever sneaked out of the palace to play without tormenting countless pampered noble youths to their deaths?

With the powerful old Taoist, the Wudang master of thirty years, by his side, and a hundred crossbowmen as his backing, Xu Fengnian seemed to gain immense confidence. He raised his Xiudong sword and pointed at the three, sneering, "You, little sparrow, you woman. You, the stray dog from Dongyue, you man. And you, who powders his face like a woman, neither man nor woman. The three of you, don't even think about leaving this mountain. All of you, obediently stay here and work like oxen and horses. Once the vegetable garden is tidied up, it depends on this Young Lord's mood. If I'm in a good mood, I'll let you crawl back to wherever you came from. If I'm in a bad mood, all of you, except for the sparrow, will be chopped up and fed to the dogs. Master Wang, are there dogs on this mountain?"

The old Taoist kept his eyes fixed on his nose, ignored everything, and refused to get involved in this mess.

In the bamboo forest, the mounted Grand-Uncle Master, who was surrounded by Beiliang crossbowmen, shouted, "Young Lord, there are many wild dogs on the mountain. They howl fiercely at night, probably because they're not full."

The old Taoist sighed, clutching his head. This junior martial brother, why was he stirring up trouble and fanning the flames? One wrong move and he could burn Wudang, which was already in a difficult position, to the ground.

The beardless man flew into a rage. No one in the world had ever dared to insult him so directly to his face.

The woman, who had unexpectedly acquired an unpleasant nickname, tugged at the sleeve of the enraged man beside her and quietly asked a few questions. The man looked quite helpless and answered truthfully. Her aura instantly plummeted. She glared at Xu Fengnian, her words still casual, "How much can this broken-down vegetable patch be worth?"

Xu Fengnian chuckled, "If I say it's worth a thousand taels of gold, then it's worth a thousand taels."

She flushed with anger, her small, cloth-bound chest heaving violently. Gritting her teeth, she said, "Fine, a thousand taels of gold it is."

She raised her hand and threw a luminous pearl, aiming it at Jiang Ni, who had been standing silently in the vegetable garden. "Here."

Probably indignant at her unprecedented show of weakness, she threw the other luminous pearl, the "female" one, from her hand with a sobbing cry, screaming, "Take them all!"

She hadn't expected that after she, out of character, humbled herself, the maid — who was only tolerably good-looking and had a rustic demeanor —

Not only did she not express gratitude with tears, but she instead maintained a straight face, with a hint of disdain in her eyes. She bent down, picked up the two mud-stained luminous pearls, one in each hand, and threw them back with such force that they nearly hit the woman, whose body was worth a fortune. Fortunately, the pale-faced, powdered man caught the dragon and phoenix pearls. For her, there was no principle of throwing something out and then taking it back. Suppressing her heartache, she gloomily ordered her attendant to destroy the pair of beloved luminous pearls she had played with almost since childhood. She then glared at the ungrateful maid, "Do you want to die?"

Jiang Ni calmly said, "I only want the vegetable patch. Make it look as it did before."

She repeated, emphasizing her words, "I only want the vegetable patch."

Xu Fengnian didn't have time to appreciate Jiang Ni's perfectly satisfying words. Seeing that neither-man-nor-woman, neither-yin-nor-yang fellow about to crush the luminous pearls, he shamelessly yelled, "Wait! My maid doesn't know their value. Give those pearls to me!"

The owner of the pearls and the maid Jiang Ni spoke at the same time:

"You want them?"

"I don't know their value?"

Xu Fengnian replied with a playful grin to both "princesses": "Little sparrow, of course I want the pearls. If you give them to me, we'll consider this whole mess settled today."

"Little mud doll, don't tell me, these pearls are slightly more valuable than you think."

The foreign woman, who had been forced into an unpleasant nickname, seemed to seize an advantage. She shot a look at her attendant and giggled nervously, "You want them? I definitely won't give them to you."

The two luminous pearls were immediately crushed to dust between the beardless man's two fingers.

Xu Fengnian wore a look of regret. It wasn't that such treasures were absent from the princely estate; on the contrary, there were quite a few. But weren't all good things in the world better to have more of?

Jiang Ni persisted, saying coldly, "Give me back my vegetable patch."

The woman retorted sharply, "With just you?"

Jiang Ni, quite unceremoniously, glanced sideways at Xu Fengnian.

Xu Fengnian felt a bit helpless. This was the "rascality" of Jiang Ni, the little mud doll: it was perfectly natural for her to want him dead, and it was entirely reasonable for him to bear the consequences when things went wrong.

The woman in luxurious clothes said sarcastically, "I've only heard of 'golden houses for beloveds,' never 'thatched cottages for beloveds.' Xu Fengnian truly dotes on you, doesn't he?"

Jiang Ni was incredibly quick-witted; she instantly saw through the last layer of pretense. "Dotes? Not really. At the very least, it's better than rejecting someone's marriage proposal."

The woman looked utterly bewildered. "What are you saying? I don't understand."

Jiang Ni extended her hand and said, "Give me back my vegetable patch."

This was the fourth time.

Princess against princess.

A tit-for-tat confrontation.

Xu Fengnian secretly found it amusing. Why should a princess make trouble for another princess?

My QT room has been opened: Feng Huo Xi Zhu Hou Official QT Room Number [1655].

Reader recommendation: