Yu Chengxuan smiled with a gentle and natural demeanor, devoid of any pretense, as if genuinely wishing to befriend Nan Shiying.
It was as if they had known each other forever, without a hint of calculation.
This was vastly different from the Yu Chengxuan Nan Shiying had heard about. Nan Shiying’s gaze flickered towards Ji Jinmo. Ji Jinmo picked up his teacup, tilted his head, and drank. As he set the cup down, it slipped from his grasp and crashed onto the table. The scattered tea and broken pieces seemed to have eyes, splashing towards Yu Chengxuan’s outstretched hand holding the jade pendant.
“Your Highness!”
Ji Fei’s expression changed drastically, and he cried out in alarm.
Yu Chengxuan, with an unruffled expression, tossed the jade pendant upwards, drew his folding fan from his waist, and opened it with a flourish. With a light flick of his wrist, the fan’s surface covered the incoming fragments and tea. With a casual sweep, the tea and fragments returned the way they came, even faster than they had arrived.
“Your Highness!”
The officials from Linyuan cried out nervously.
Ji Jinmo reached into Nan Shiying’s waist, drew out a silver needle, and flicked his finger. The needle struck a fragment, shattering it into powder. The powder absorbed the scant tea, then fell to the ground, coated in the liquid. The needle, however, was not impeded by the fragments. As if carrying a gust of wind, it shot directly towards the jade pendant!
Yu Chengxuan’s fan flew from his hand. The fan surface, made of some unknown material, directly blocked the silver needle. As the needle hit the ground, the jade pendant fell from mid-air. The opened fan caught the falling pendant perfectly. Yu Chengxuan grabbed the fan handle, swung his arm back, absorbing all the downward momentum, and then, as the fan neared the table, he flipped his wrist, placing the jade pendant onto the table.
The exchange between the two was over in a flash. Before everyone could comprehend what had happened, it was finished.
Seeing that neither Yu Chengxuan nor Ji Jinmo was injured, Ji Fei and the Linyuan officials simultaneously breathed a sigh of relief. Especially the Linyuan officials. Ji Fei only cared about Yu Chengxuan’s safety, but as the escort official for the Great Li envoys, he was responsible whether Ji Jinmo or Yu Chengxuan was injured.
Heaven knew how terrified he had been when Ji Jinmo made his move.
Nan Shiying picked up the silver needle from the table and glared fiercely at Ji Jinmo. She pulled out her needle pouch and threw it onto the table. After a moment’s thought, she tossed the needle pouch onto the floor.
This action utterly bewildered Ji Fei and the others.
Ji Jinmo chuckled softly. He picked up the teapot and poured her a cup of tea as an apology. “I understand. I’ll buy you a new set of silver needles when we get back.”
Hearing Ji Jinmo’s words, Nan Shiying’s expression softened slightly.
So, this one was upset because Ji Jinmo had used her silver needles without asking? There were few people in the world who could show displeasure towards Ji Jinmo!
Ji Fei’s perception of their friendship deepened once again.
He turned his head, looking at his Highness’s profile, and then his gaze swept over the jade pendant pressed under the fan surface. From his angle, he could see the shape of the jade pendant peeking through the fan.
Ever since he met Feng Luan, his Highness’s state had been somewhat strange. There was nothing specific he could point to, yet everything felt off. Ji Fei couldn’t quite grasp the reason or the depth of it.
Yu Chengxuan gripped the fan handle with more force, the veins on the back of his hand slightly bulging. His pursed lips were turned up slightly, as if smiling, or perhaps not.
Ji Fei felt that his Highness was like an oil drum filled to the brim, with flames dancing perilously close, their scorching heat causing the drum’s walls to heat up and deform.
The most terrifying thing was not an emotional outburst, but the suppression that preceded it.
Ji Fei’s hands were at a loss. He was genuinely worried that his Highness might do something rash. Just as he was contemplating whether to say something, Yu Chengxuan closed his folding fan and pushed the jade pendant towards Nan Shiying. “Consider it my apology to you.”
Ji Fei: “…”
Was his Highness perhaps a little too persistent?
Nan Shiying’s attitude had already conveyed her refusal. With Yu Chengxuan’s intelligence, he surely understood this. However, at this point, his repeated concessions made it impossible for Nan Shiying to refuse again.
The other party was not an insignificant figure; he was a prince of Great Li, the closest to the throne, and the most likely successor. While he appeared gentle and refined like jade in the moonlight now, his inherent pride and nobility could not be changed.
To refuse again would not be a mere rejection, but an outright humiliation.
Before Ji Jinmo could speak, Nan Shiying reached out and pressed down on the jade pendant, taking it towards her. She cupped her hands towards Yu Chengxuan in thanks. “Since that is the case, I shall accept your generous gift!”
Seeing Nan Shiying accept the jade pendant, a smile appeared on Yu Chengxuan’s face. Ji Jinmo’s expression, however, was less than pleased. Although he disliked Yu Chengxuan’s actions, he would not adopt a forceful stance to try and change Nan Shiying’s mind after she had made her decision.
As Ji Jinmo rose, he glanced at Nan Shiying. Nan Shiying took the cue and stood up.
“Your Highness, I have other matters to attend to, so I will take my leave.”
With that, she turned to Yin’er and said, “Yin’er, please attend to His Highness. All expenses for His Highness today will be put on my tab.”
Yin’er stood up and replied with a smile, “Alright, Yin’er understands!”
Yu Chengxuan did not try to detain her and rose to see her off.
After she left, Yu Chengxuan did not linger in Huan Cai Pavilion for another moment before also departing.
Upon returning to the inn, Ji Fei’s worried heart finally settled.
In the past, he had only heard of Ji Jinmo’s reputation from others. He knew that the Regent of Linyuan had a face like a peach blossom but a heart like a demon. However, compared to the fear martial artists held towards him, Ji Fei had always believed it was because Ji Jinmo had broken their spirit. But today, even though he had restrained himself somewhat due to Feng Luan, Ji Fei still saw a sky full of bloodshed in his gaze when he looked at his Highness.
Only his Highness could face it without fear!
However, more than these matters, Ji Fei was more curious as to why his Highness had given the jade pendant to Feng Luan, and even more so, why the cold-hearted and infamous Ji Jinmo treated Feng Luan so differently.
This Feng Luan, was she a poison?
In fact, there was one thing Ji Fei dared not think too deeply about, truly dared not. He dared not consider the true reason why his Highness had given Feng Luan the mandarin duck jade pendant, which symbolized ‘to have one’s heart with another, and grow old together.’
He could be willful.
But the Emperor of Great Li could not!
The Emperor of Great Li needed heirs!
Yu Chengxuan was of course unaware of Ji Fei’s thoughts, and likely didn’t care. Since returning from Huan Cai Pavilion, he had been holding Xiao Hua under the Silver Ling tree in the inn’s courtyard.
Xiao Hua nudged his hand and looked up at him.
“Ying ying ying?”
(Master, what’s wrong?)
Xiao Hua’s voice reached Yu Chengxuan’s ears. Yu Chengxuan did not look down at it but continued to gaze into the distance, his voice ethereal, as if it came from a place beyond ancient times.
“Nothing, nothing…”