Reign of the Phoenix

Quick witted in an emergency, Chiyun Yuexuan pulled Murong Zhining into the Gorgeous Scent House.

He whispered into her ear, “Someone’s tailing us. Act normal and follow me.”

He led her to the second floor and hid behind a pillar. As expected, the three suspicious men also entered the Gorgeous Scent House.

The trackers blended into the crowd while sticking their heads to look around for Chiyun Yuexuan and Murong Zhining. Murong Zhining recognized one of them to be Gao Chenghao’s bodyguard.

Chiyun Yuexuan took Murong Zhining into a room with the door left slightly open. “Princess wait for me here. I’ll lead them away and return to pick you up. Don’t run about, just stay in here. I’ll be back very soon.”

Leaving the room, Chiyun Yuexuan closed the door shut. Then, he casually scooped a yellow-clad young lady into his chest.

When the lady saw the tall and handsome Chiyun Yuexuan, she pressed herself against him and said in a sweet voice, “What are you planning to do to me, young master?”

Chiyun Yuexuan took out his handkerchief and covered her face with it. He whispered into her ear, “I want to play something exciting. Take me to the backyard where there’s no one around.”

The lady pulled on his hand. “Please follow me, young master.”

The two walked hand in hand down the corridor and took the stairs on the other side down to the backyard. The three men instantly followed them.

……

A shrill scream of a woman resounded in the backyard of the Gorgeous Scent House. The bustle lovers immediately rushed to the backyard. Qiu Shui, the lady dressed in yellow, was squatting and hugging her head in terror. Next to her, three bloody men writhed painfully on the ground.

Chiyun Yueuan hurried back to the room upstairs. Taking advantage of the chaos, he and Murong Zhining headed for the front door of the Gorgeous Scent House.

Murong Zhining’s hand was covered in blood from holding Chiyun Yuexuan’s hand. She anxiously looked at him. “Are you injured? Why is there so much blood?”

Chiyun Yuexuan abruptly halted. He pulled her to a shaded area and used his clothes to wipe the blood on her hand. “Don’t worry, I’m not injured, it’s those hounds’ blood. I didn’t want any trouble, so I didn’t kill them. I only severed their leg hamstrings.”

Murong Zhining panicked, “What are we going to do now?”

Chiyun Yuexuan was extremely calm. “I’ll first take you to Mister Lian’s estate – we must stay there for tonight. I’ll return to the inn for our belongings later.”

Murong Zhining grabbed his hand. “Don’t go, just leave the stuff there.”

Seeing her helplessly depending on him like this, Chiyun Yuexuan suppressed the urge to comfort her with kisses.

“I’m more than enough to deal with those hounds. I’m only acting cautious because I want to ensure you’re safe.”

……

“Oh my, if it isn’t our distinguished guest. Miss Murong, please come in.” Fifth Madam Jiao Lan came to the door to welcome Murong Zhining in person. Her eyes then rested on Chiyun Yuexuan. “I don’t think I’ve seen this gentleman before. How should I address him?”

Murong Zhining introduced with a smile, “Sister-in-law is too polite. This is my elder cousin, Chiyun Yuexuan. Since we’re strangers to this city except for your place, I would like to stay here for a night. I don’t know if it would be convenient for you to take us in?”

Jiao Lan laughed heartily. “As a distinguished guest of my husband, of course you’re very welcome to stay! Miss Murong, Mister Chiyun, please come in!”

Chiyun Yuexuan cupped his hands. “Please take care of Miss Murong for a little while. I’ll go fetch something and be right back.” With that, he left.

Murong Zhining chased after him to the door and tugged on his clothes. “Be careful.”

……

Chiyun Yuexuan observed the inn from the other side of the road for a while. Only after making sure that nothing was unusual did he enter the inn. Packing up their belongings, he led the two horses out of the stable and headed back to Lian Kun’s estate. Behind him, a black-clad person followed him with stealthy movements.

Back in the estate, Jiao Lan had the servants take the two horses to the stable backyard, then accompanied Murong Zhining with a chat in the living room. However, her eyes kept darting up and down Chiyun Yuexuan with admiration.

Chiyun Yuexuan was attracted by the calligraphy paintings on the wall. He walked over to observe them. Seeing this, Murong Zhining was secretly astonished by the similarity of their interests.

Murong Zhining also walked over. “Cousin, you’re also interested in calligraphy paintings?”

Chiyun Yuexuan shot her an angry look. “This is an authentic work of Yan Liben. It’s very rare to come by such a great painting. Ning’er, look at these comments. Goodness, they nearly destroy a masterpiece.”

Murong Zhining’s eyes went wide in shock. This tone was no different from hers.

Jiao Lan accompanied Murong Zhining and Chiyun Yuexuan for a chat, then led them to two arranged guest rooms. Before she returned to her room, Jiao Lan swept Chiyun Yuexuan a meaningful glance.

Chiyun Yuexuan vigilantly gave the compound a thorough check. Upon finding nothing unusual, he went to Murong Zhining’s room.

Chiyun Yuexuan stared fixedly at her with resentment. “Who called me her ‘elder cousin’ just now? Wasn’t I your uncle before? How did I just randomly get demoted?”

Saying so, he pulled her into a very tight embrace as if giving her a punishment. “Come, let uncle love you.”

Angry and embarrassed, Murong Zhining pushed against his shoulders. “General, have you no shame?”

“What’s shame? Don’t need any.” He pecked on her lips. “Stay alert. I’ll be right next door. Just scream for help if something happens.”

At night, someone knocked on the window of Jiao Lan’s room.

Her heart beating amorously, Jiao Lan walked to the window and asked alluringly, “Mister Chiyun, what are you doing knocking at my window in the middle of the night?”

The person outside said in a low voice, “Master ordered you to meet him at the gate.”

Jiao Lan’s heart leaped in fright. She opened the room door and looked around. After confirming there was no one around, she quietly snuck to the gate.

Dressed in a nightwalk outfit, Gao Chenghao was standing with his back facing the grand entrance of Lian Kun’s estate.

Jiao Lan came out in trepidation. “This woman greets Your Highness.”

Gao Chenghao turned around, suddenly grasping her neck with one hand. “I arranged you into the Gorgeous Scent House to be my spy. And look at you! You’re really something, soundlessly running off with a man. You dare betray me?!”

Jiao Lan tried to play up fawningly, “I’m your servant, Your Highness, how can I ever dare to betray you? I only played along with Mister Lian and moved into his estate to get access to more information.”

A ruthless glint flashed in Gao Chenghao’s eyes. “Then I shall give you a chance to prove yourself and make a contribution. The two guests in your house, I want to take them away.”

Jiao Lan bowed her head and dared not utter a word. She feared Gao Chenghao from the bottom of her heart.

Chiyun Yuexuan abruptly woke up from his sleep as a slight noise aroused his alarm. He turned his body, and under the faint light in the room, he looked at the window where there was a newly poked puncture. A bamboo tube reached into the room, issuing whiffs of smoke.

The situation was far from good, Chiyun Yuexuan figured. He leaped out of the bed and dashed for the door. Just as he opened the door, however, his legs went soft and he fell to the ground.

In his gradually blurring vision, he saw Gao Chenghao walk over with a dark face and give him a vicious kick in the abdomen. As his eyelids grew heavy and gradually dropped, he caught a glimpse of Gao Chenghao carrying the struggling Murong Zhining on his shoulder, heading out of the compound. Chiyun Yuexuan wanted to stop the guy but his body was too powerless to listen. Then, someone tied up his hands and threw him into a horse carriage.

Back in his estate, Gao Chenghao threw Murong Zhining, whose hands and feet were tied, onto the carpet in an extreme rage.

Murong Zhining furiously glared at him. “What are you doing, Fourth Prince? We’re in the land of my imperial father, so you must consider the consequences before you act. If you release me now, I’ll pretend that nothing ever happened. But if you obstinately persist in going about things the wrong way, my father will not let you off.”

Gao Chenghao squeezed her chin. “You are my prisoner now, yet you still have the heart to threaten me. Shouldn’t you be thinking about how to fawn over me? If you satisfy me, maybe I’ll give you a lighter punishment.”

Murong Zhining desperately twisted her body, trying to free herself from the ropes. “What did I do wrong that I should be punished by you?”

Gao Chenghao sneered, “Not only did you break off our marriage on your own accord, you even eloped with another man. You made me lose face in front of my subordinates! You think I would just let you trample on my dignity? Quit struggling and save your strength. Very soon, I’m going to make you so tired in bed you won’t even have the strength to beg for forgiveness!”

Murong Zhining glowered at him. “There’s no such marriage that’s established on the wishful thinking of one side alone. I did not promise you anything, let alone ‘break off our marriage.’ And I did not elope either. I’m only a Shangxia hostage temporarily detained by General Chiyun of Huayan. This action of yours will cause disputes among the three countries. Do carefully consider the consequences should Huayan and Shangxia ally up to launch a punitive expedition against Wuli.”

Gao Chenghao lapsed into a long silence. Even though his mind was full of the lust to conquer Murong Zhining, he knew his poisoned body was in no condition to cooperate. This actually calmed him down.

“While you have done nothing but give me the cold shoulder, I’m still head over heels in love with you. I won’t give up, but please rest assured that I won’t force you into anything you’re unwilling to do.” Gao Chenghao bent down and untied her ropes. “I promise I won’t hurt you, but you need to cooperate with me to find Beiyan treasure. I assure you, once we find the treasure, I’ll only need a book. The rest will go to you.”

Murong Zhining was startled – the fox finally showed his tail. In her mind, she was brainstorming how she should deal with this cunning and brutal Gao Chenghao. She said, “I know very little about the treasure, but I have a sheet music. It’s said to be one of the clues leading to the treasure.”

Gao Chenghao narrowed his eyes. “Let me take a look, maybe I’ll make out something from it.”

Murong Zhining confidently smiled at him. “I gave it to my mother when I just returned to Shangxia. However, the sheet music had accompanied me for over ten years, I know every detail by heart. Please prepare brush, ink and paper, I will draw it for you.”

After some time, Murong Zhining finally drew out a sheet music, which she had ingeniously made some minor changes.

As Gao Chenghao scanned the sheet, his face slowly brightened. “Indeed, you didn’t fool me. Since you’ve shown your sincerity, I’ll share with you my understanding of this score. The designer cleverly integrated the method to open the treasure into the lost qin rhyme ‘Stranded Jiaolong,’ and even recomposed it into a harmony for qin and se to increase the difficulty of the puzzle. The numbers on the footnotes should be confluence points on a map. As for the string of symbols below the score, they are the lost Xianbei language. And, the only Xianbei dictionary in this world is in my possession.”