Fragrance rises to dance

Chapter 64

Shengxiang glared at him, then patted his shoulder with a smile, "Dayu, whether this is true or not, you must not let Shangxuan know."

Yu Cuiwei said softly, "What if I insist on ignoring you?"

Shengxiang said, "If you don't listen to me, I'll jump into the river."

Yu Cuiwei sighed softly again, "I'm actually a little afraid you'll jump into the river."

Shengxiang made a face, "If I, this young master, were to die, you would feel it's a great loss and a disgrace to Zhu."

Yu Cuiwei smiled but did not answer. Sheng Xiang glanced at the snail she had brought and saw it had crawled into the teapot on Yu Cuiwei's table. She said, "You can find the mouse hole here. If you can't find it, we'll grow old together here and die together." With that, she waved and walked away gracefully.

Yu Cuiwei watched his departing figure, raising an eyebrow. Shengxiang said, "Her surname is Liu, and his surname is Liu too"—Liu Yi, the last ruler of the Southern Han Dynasty, also had the surname Liu. This was Liu Yi's territory. If Liu Ji was indeed Liu Yi's daughter, it was reasonable for her to build such a manor deep in the mountains, outside the jurisdiction of the Song Dynasty, and to secretly keep an eye on news from the Central Plains. It was just unclear whether Liu Ji had kept the four of them under house arrest to prevent them from leaking information, or whether she knew their identities and intended to keep them here for future use. Whatever the reason, if Liu Ji was truly Liu Yi's daughter, she would never have let four outsiders who had trespassed into her forbidden territory leave.

This matter is truly far too complicated. If Liu Ji is Liu Yi's daughter, then wouldn't she be a princess of the Southern Han Dynasty? This place might not just "resemble" a nobleman's residence, it might actually be a nobleman's residence. Yu Cuiwei smiled softly, lifted the teapot on the table, took out the snail, and carefully placed it back into the large garden outside the window.

Shengxiang listened to the pipa music of "Midnight Song" all the way to his room. He looked up and murmured, "How can one escape the sorrows and regrets of life? My soul is consumed by boundless emotions..."

"How can one escape the sorrows and regrets of life? My soul is consumed by boundless grief! I dream of returning to my homeland, but awaken with tears streaming down my face. Who will I climb the high tower with? I will always remember gazing into the distance on a clear autumn day. The past is gone, like a dream..."

The melody of Li Yu's "Midnight Song" still lingers in the sound of the pipa, beautiful and full of longing and yearning. Shengxiang leaps onto the roof and sits there watching the garden.

Under the warm autumn sun, the garden is quiet yet vibrant, with flowers blooming one after another, exuding the last breath of summer.

He gazed at the garden for a long time. The sound of the pipa stopped at some point. An old maidservant with white hair, carrying the pipa, walked towards the laundry room.

Whom is she reminiscing about? What is she yearning for? When the Southern Han Kingdom fell, she was perhaps still young and beautiful, perhaps she had many stories and many romantic affairs.

However, the fall of the Southern Han dynasty and Liu Yi's surrender to Emperor Taizu occurred many, many years ago.

Southern Han, Northern Han, King of Yan, late emperor, father, mother, Shang Xuan, count the good, common people, soldiers, emperor, princess... Sheng Xiang's breathing quickened with his thoughts. His eyes were wide open, staring at the fragrant flowers in the garden. His face turned pale in an instant, and his right hand gripped the lapel of his clothes, slowly tightening his grip.

How can one escape sorrow and resentment in life? My soul is consumed by boundless emotions... "Are you feeling unwell?" A soft voice asked from behind, and a hand gently rested on his shoulder. Shengxiang shuddered and instinctively dodged to the side, avoiding the touch.

Turning around, she saw Liu, the prostitute in green, standing before her. Shengxiang glanced at her, her expression blank for a moment, before she smiled.

He smiled silently, just for a moment.

For a moment afterward, the atmosphere was strange, as if the air was filled with many unspoken things. With the lingering spirit of the pipa, the rooftop seemed to suddenly detach from the reality of late summer and early autumn, and in that instant, it became a completely different world.

His face was still very pale, yet he wouldn't let anyone touch him. His smile, however, seemed to reach a world away from you. Liu Ji's mouth moved as if to say something, but Sheng Xiang suddenly stuck out his tongue at her, made a big face, swatted her on the head, leaped down from the roof, plucked a blade of grass, and grinned as he barged into Shang Xuan's room.

Watching him leap off the hill and disappear into the weeds, a blush gradually spread across Liu Ji's fair face. She touched her cheek with her finger, but before she could say anything, two figures swept up behind her, and an old voice said in a deep voice, "Impressive movement technique!"

Liu Ji composed herself, nodded and smiled, "No wonder he's someone who calls 'Heavenly Eye' and 'White Hair' brothers."

The old woman in gray behind her said, "Princess, be careful. According to the news from the capital, this person is cunning and resourceful, and his actions are illogical. You are young, so please be very careful and wary of him."

Liu Ji nodded, her eyes clear, her expression somewhat melancholy, and said, "I saw that he was pale just now. It seems that the rumors about this prime minister's son having a chronic illness are true. The pufa we put in the tea these past few days has begun to take effect."

The old man Pu Shidong, who was speaking behind her, said, "No matter what kind of chronic illness she has, it will definitely flare up within three days of taking Pu Fa. News has come from the capital that the Emperor of the Song Dynasty is quite fond of this person. If we can capture this person, it will undoubtedly be beneficial to the princess's restoration of her country."

The old woman, Su Qing'e, looked uneasy. Leaning on her cane, she slowly said, "Jiang Chenming has already sent an envoy, wanting to discuss marriage with us again. Heaven has eyes, letting these four people fall into the dark river and deliver themselves to our door. If we don't make good use of them, wouldn't we be wasting Heaven's good intentions?"

Liu Ji sighed softly, "Grandma Su is right."

Shengxiang plucked a blade of grass and barged into Shangxuan's room. Shangxuan was standing with his hands behind his back, looking up at the roof beam, seemingly lost in thought. Suddenly, a figure flashed, and Shengxiang was right in front of him, smiling as she poked his nose with a blade of grass.

Shang Xuan snatched the thing from his hand, threw it on the ground with a "whoosh," and yelled, "Are you ever going to stop?"

Shengxiang followed him and looked up at the roof beams. When she didn't see his furious expression, she innocently pointed at the beams and asked, "What's so interesting about it?"

Shang Xuan snorted and ignored him, his anger towards Sheng Xiang still lingering. But he had endured so much hardship in the past two years, and he had suppressed all his resentment and anger. Now that he was forced to go through hardships with Sheng Xiang, he was even less willing to say anything more.

The roof beams were carved with intricate and delicate landscape patterns, their lines flowing smoothly. As Shengxiang looked up, a thought suddenly occurred to her. Shangxuan, still frowning at the beams, stared at them for a long while. After a long silence, the awkward, forced atmosphere between them suddenly dissipated. Shangxuan's tightly furrowed brows relaxed slightly, and he suddenly sneered, "I told you this place couldn't possibly be without an exit!"

The landscape patterns carved on the roof beams depicted the entire valley, but the rivers clearly depicted on the map were nowhere to be seen in the manor. This place was located in the far south, a humid region with numerous rivers, caves, and strange peaks. To dig a tunnel through these mountains to reach the outside would require a large workforce, but if there were underground rivers, access via them would be both discreet and effortless. Shengxiang and Shangxuan, having both fallen into underground rivers, knew perfectly well that if the landscape map was accurate, the underground river within the manor must be the exit.

"Who carved such tedious patterns on these pieces of wood..." Shengxiang murmured, but he knew perfectly well: The craftsmen who built the manor were probably forced to die of old age here. Having lived in the valley for so long, they were intimately familiar with the terrain, and bored with their daily lives, they built the pavilions with extreme intricacy and detail, casually carving the familiar map of the manor onto the wood as a kind of illustration. He stopped mid-sentence, sighed, and changed the subject: "We'll be able to leave soon..."

The Supreme Mystery did not answer.

"How is Peitian?"

"She's gone."

Shengxiang took a deep breath, then exhaled slowly. "Do you regret it?"

Shang Xuan chuckled, "I'm not the one who should regret it."

Shengxiang looked at him with a strange gaze; Shangxuan had never seen him look at anyone like that before. Shengxiang slowly said, "I don't believe—you won't regret it—"

These words startled Shang Xuan, yet they seemed to ease some of the pent-up emotions in his heart, sounding like a gentle comfort. Shang Xuan immediately sneered, "No matter what, we can't go back, neither can I, nor can he."

The "he" Shang Xuan was referring to was naturally Rong Yin. Sheng Xiang smiled faintly, seemingly helpless. "He said—you can hate him, you can even go to the palace and report that he faked his death. He may deceive the emperor, but you cannot rebel." Before Shang Xuan could say anything, Sheng Xiang quickly added, "I think... if you can refrain from rebelling, he would rather... pay with his life."

Shang Xuan listened, only to hear Sheng Xiang pause before continuing, "You should know that Rong Rong is the kind of person who, if all you want is revenge, will pay with his life—he won't wait for you to exchange the blood of innocent people for his blood." Shang Xuan was about to say something when Sheng Xiang immediately interrupted, "If what you want isn't just revenge, if you really become a pawn in Jiang Chenming's or someone else's attempt to restore their kingdom—" Sheng Xiang's eyes became even more strange, flashing with a vast and profound light, her tone calm and her words brief, "he will kill you."

Shangxuan, who had seemed about to say something, fell silent. Shengxiang found a chair in his room and sat down, also staring at the ground with that same strange look, without saying anything more.

After a full meal's time had passed, Shangxuan suddenly asked, "How have you all been these past few years...?"

He asked with difficulty, and Shengxiang laughed, resting her chin on her hands and looking at him with a bright smile, "Zening and Huanling are back, Rongrong faked her death and married Gushe, Qiyang took Shenxin to his side, Tongwei married a female demon, and Yuxiu—ah!" He suddenly shouted, grabbing Shangxuan's hand and shaking it, "You'd never guess, Yuxiu, that blockhead I thought didn't even know what a woman was, married the owner of Baitaotang! He's now the big boss of Baitaotang, the number one brothel in Kaifeng, hahahaha..."

Shang Xuan was truly taken aback and couldn't help but chuckle. Seeing his lips twitch, Sheng Xiang immediately seized the opportunity, smilingly saying, "Liu Yin has finally won over the Emperor's favor, and I hear she's become incredibly beautiful lately, calling herself 'the most beautiful woman in the world.' But this young master has a skill that's absolutely no less than hers. Do you know what it is?"

Shang Xuan blurted out, "What?" He immediately regretted it, but Sheng Xiang had already opened her folding fan with a smile and great pride, "This young master is the 'Number One Matchmaker in the World,' honest and trustworthy, the best in the world!"

Shangxuan finally couldn't help but laugh, and Shengxiang opened her folding fan, smiling as she fanned herself. A cool breeze swept by, and Shangxuan realized that he hadn't laughed like this in many years. His smile suddenly froze. How could he not understand Shengxiang's good intentions? "The Emperor is your father's killer, don't you hate him?" he asked.