The Beauties of the Cold Palace A Subtle and Alluring Woman

Chapter 53

I looked at her calmly and said, "Yes."

She suddenly said to Sima Rui, "Stay here for a while, I have something to say to her." In the blink of an eye, she swept me away and disappeared from Sima Rui's sight.

We entered a secluded room with simple furnishings; I guessed this must be her usual living quarters. She placed me on the bed. Suddenly, she stepped back a few paces, knelt before me, and said, "Old woman greets her master."

"What are you doing?!" My whole body was limp and powerless; I wanted to help her up but couldn't. "If you keep doing this, you're really putting me through this. I can't take it."

She lowered her head and smiled, "I was the previous priestess. Since Feng Fei has already chosen a master, then he is the old woman's master."

So she was the original priestess? I couldn't comprehend her complete 180-degree change in attitude. Wasn't she originally going to—make me wish I were dead? How come now…? I was confused.

As if sensing my confusion, he explained, "Although Feng Fei can protect you by merging into your body, before the fusion is complete, it needs something to stimulate it. That Soul-Severing Rebirth Pill is not a poison, but rather it will replace your bones and meridians, making your body more perfect. However, this requires experiencing pain that most people cannot endure. I saw that you care about that emperor, so I devised this plan. Please forgive me, Master."

I see. I exhaled a warm breath, feeling completely relaxed. I knew that if it were really like she said, I would be dead, bleeding and oozing pus from all seven orifices. What a close call! Although I was very determined when I swallowed it, I really don't want to go through that kind of pain again; it would have really killed me.

Just as I was thankful that I was still alive, she suddenly said, "Please take on the great task of unification, Master. My Yan Kingdom and the Maya people all over the continent will assist you in unifying the world."

"What?" Unify the world? What does this have to do with me?

"We, the Maya, are scattered throughout the continent. The First Prime Minister of the Later Qin Dynasty, the current Prince of Jin, and some officials in surrounding small countries are all Maya people who have been hiding their power for hundreds of years, hoping for Feng Fei's reappearance. And you, you have appeared."

"The Wang family?" My mind was still reeling from the historical phrase "the Wang and Ma families share the world." Could it be that the Wang family assisted the Sima family in ascending the throne, yet never vied for power in the court, all to conceal their own strength? I never imagined that so many renowned figures were actually Mayan people who protected Feng Fei.

She continued, "When the Qin Dynasty fell, the king entrusted all his power to the Murong family, whom he had always trusted but who was just a famous merchant in the martial arts world. He asked them to lead the Maya people into hiding and gave us Feng Fei and the Holy Staff, instructing us to wait patiently for our master to appear and to reclaim all the places that the Qin Dynasty unified. We have waited too long."

I was completely dumbfounded: "How could you believe in a myth? Maybe I'm not the person you're looking for?"

She scoffed, "Isn't Master from another world?"

I was startled. "What do you mean?"

"The sacred words have been passed down that the master Feng Fei found cannot be from this world. Isn't the master himself?"

I was so shocked my jaw almost dropped. After a long while, I lowered my head, unsure of what to say. I fell into deep thought.

"Please lead us, Master, to unify the world," said the old priest.

Is this what they meant by "wielding absolute power" when they entrusted Feng Fei to me?

Volume 3, Chapter 106: The World (Part 2)

Before I left, the old priest told me a long-ago story that concerned her and the tragedy of her life, as well as a related love story.

She wasn't always so ugly. On the contrary, throughout the entire Yan Kingdom, and even the whole world, everyone knew of Murong Yuan, the reborn Zhao Feiyan. She was as light as a swallow, as beautiful as a flower, and could dance and twirl on lotus leaves on tiptoe, like a fairy. Her dance was as ethereal as a cloud floating in the sky, as dazzling as a star in the night, and as captivating as the winter sun, mesmerizing and even mesmerizing. Her dance made her as famous as Zhao Feiyan, who danced on the palm of a hand. But she fell in love with a musician. However, his father, the emperor, would never allow it. So, they chose to flee and elope.

But here, pursued by enemies, they were both forced to fall. There, too, was a sorceress, abandoned by a man in her youth, who no longer believed in love. She forced the old priest to take a potion that would make her ugly, but to save her, the musician had to take a soul-severing pill. Similarly, the sorceress gave the musician two choices: either take the poison to save her, or spare his life, but the old priest would suffer a torturous death.

After the demoness explained the effects of the Soul-Severing Pill, he was so frightened that he couldn't speak and chose to live alone.

In fact, the sorceress broke her promise. When the man chose to live, when he was too cowardly to abandon his lover, she killed him before he could react. As for the old priestess, after suffering endless torture and being disfigured, she survived. The sorceress took pity on her, seeing that they were kindred spirits. She didn't kill her, but instead left her there.

Before the old witch died, tears streamed down her face. She had spent her entire life searching for true love, but had always been disappointed. She told the old priest that if the musician had been willing to swallow that pill for her, she would not have made things difficult for them and would have let them go. But, in the end, there was no true love in this world. The old witch murmured these words, dying with resentment in her eyes, her death filled with unresolved grievances.

The reason she made things difficult for me was simply to test whether that old witch's words were true. She wanted to show her true love so she could die in peace. At this point, she suddenly stared intently at me: "You truly are the one and only special one."

I remained silent. Actually, I don't know what I was thinking at the time; I was just thinking that I couldn't let him die, it was that simple. If I did something unexpected, it was also an instinct.

Just as the will to survive is a human instinct, there is no basis for claiming otherwise.

After leaving there, we quickly left Liangmin Mountain following the directions she gave us.

But she made me leave, and in doing so, she made me make a promise. That promise became a huge shackle. I had nowhere to escape.

I didn't tell Sima Rui about my conversation with the old priest. I thought it was best that he didn't know. Although he was curious, he never asked about it.

I don't know why, but I always felt that the atmosphere between us was a bit strange after this incident. His attitude towards me was also a bit strange.

But before we could even explore our relationship, something even bigger happened.

Back in Jiankang City, the first thing I did was rush to the clinic to inquire about the situation. Seeing my safe return, everyone who had been frantically searching for me, like ants on a hot plate, waited at Qingci's clinic for news of me. The moment I stepped inside and saw the much more haggard Qingci, Xiaoqi, Yunying, Xiaoquanzi, and even Gekong, I felt as if it were yesterday, as if I had survived a great calamity, escaped death, and experienced a strange sense of rebirth. I saw that not only were their eyes red, but in fact, my own eyes were red too.

But we just stood there calmly, looking at each other for a long, long time, before Qingci finally stood up. His tone, barely suppressing his excitement, was as calm as ever as he said, "Welcome back."

I smiled slightly, as calm as a breeze, and said, "Long time no see."

Later, Qingci told me that after my disappearance, they quickly mobilized the entire Junjin to investigate and soon learned of Jimo's existence. They had already captured him and imprisoned him in Junjin's stone cell. They hoped to decide what to do with him after my safe return.

I said calmly, "Since I'm not dead, find a superior room in the manor, hire someone to serve him, and let him stay there for the rest of his life."

At this point, Xiao Qi smiled faintly and said, "Ji Mo has gone mad. He saw Young Master and that person fall off the cliff and concluded that Young Master was dead, so he went crazy with joy. We—" He choked up a little, "Ge Kong used the entire Yi Zhu Pearl, but we couldn't find your bodies at the foot of the mountain. Xiao Qi is so afraid that we will never see Young Master again..." He couldn't finish his sentence.

Everyone else looked at me with tears in their eyes.

I said, moved, "Don't worry, I'm fine. I can't bear to leave Junjin, I can't bear to leave you all, how could I die so easily?"

"Oh, right," I said solemnly, "herbs..."

“We have found all the medicinal herbs that were purchased in Jimo. The epidemic is under control, so please rest assured, young master.” Qingci smiled with delight as he said this: “Jun Jin’s reputation is known to everyone in the world.”

It was Jun Jin who saved them. Countless people believed this.

"Is that so?" I said calmly. "Those are just things we should do." It's simply our duty.

I looked at them and instructed them: "Each of you fulfill your duties and protect Junjin. Treat the people well."

"We understand," they said in unison.

"Alright, the matter is now settled, and I should return to the palace."

"Young Master—" Qingci hesitated, wanting to speak but stopping himself.

"Speak your mind." After this ordeal, I realized even more that they are my closest relatives. I want to cherish them even more. My state of mind is also more peaceful and calm. I understand the true meaning of life more deeply. I understand more clearly what is important to me and what I should cherish.

All three looked grave. Finally, Qingci said, "General Su Jun has rebelled, and the rebel army has already marched all the way to the capital. The palace is no longer safe. Young Master, you should return to Junjin."

"What?! Su Jun's rebellion?!" There was such a thing in history, but I didn't expect it to happen so quickly. And judging from their expressions, the situation must be extremely urgent. No wonder Sima Rui looked so grave after holding a court meeting upon our return, and then left for the palace ahead of schedule. So much has happened while we were away.

Su Jun, the Su Jun Rebellion. Isn't Su Jun Su Xun Nan's father? Then, what about the relationships among the Five Princes of Jiankang? I recall many years ago, in the Red Flower Pavilion, that boy with the somewhat sinister gaze who made me very uncomfortable. I recall that boy who lost his self-respect for his sister Dan Yi, repeatedly bowing and scraping, and that boy who treated my second sister's feelings as a plaything. I can't help but feel afraid of what the future holds.

Volume 3, Chapter 107: Suppressing the Rebellion (Part 1)

In the third year of the Xianhe era of the Eastern Jin Dynasty (328), Su Jun rebelled.

This was an inevitable consequence of the development of aristocratic politics and the decline of imperial power. Even if he hadn't rebelled, other aristocratic families would naturally have. For someone as familiar with the historical trends as I am, this was nothing surprising. However, it shook the entire state of Jin. The people and nobles of Jin, who had always lived a peaceful and luxurious life, were stunned and momentarily at a loss for what to do. The entire city of Jiankang was in chaos.

The imperial court reacted swiftly, dispatching the veteran general Huan Yi to quell the rebellion. However, less than three days later, news arrived that the general had been captured on the battlefield. Three days after that, he was brutally murdered, and his body was left exposed on the railings in front of the rebel camp for three days. This enraged the entire court.

Su Jun was too arrogant and insulted the old general. It was an outrageous act that angered both gods and men. Huan Yi's son, Huan Wen, was particularly affected, his personality changed drastically. He almost rushed to the enemy camp to avenge his father on the spot.

In fact, Huan Wen had reason to be angry.

The truth is, General Huan Yi didn't have to die. Before the general went to war, Su Jun's son, Su Xun'nan, used him to put a slow-acting poison in his father's food, causing him to be captured during the battle. This led to the tragic end of a great general. The betrayal of his friend and the death of his father deeply affected Huan Wen. After Su Xun'nan, the son of Nansheng, betrayed several of the former Five Gentlemen of Jiankang, the other four never imagined their longtime brother would do such a thing. They immediately severed their brotherhood with him, removed him from the Five Gentlemen of Jiankang, and declared that they had no connection with him whatsoever. On the contrary, they vowed to kill this traitor without mercy if they ever saw him again.

After the old general's death, the rebel army marched north, heading towards the capital, Jiankang. Huan Wen, the old general's son, volunteered to lead the army, not only to quell the rebellion but also to avenge his father. The emperor granted his request. However, military power was originally in the hands of Su Jun, and the court could only allocate 30,000 troops to him, while the rebel army numbered 200,000. Facing such a superior force, no one was confident of victory, yet Huan Wen resolutely decided to take on the task.

When he left, he came to the palace to say goodbye. In fact, he thought he was definitely not going back. On this point, I had no worries. Because he had lived for a very, very long time in history, there was naturally no need to worry that he wouldn't return. But I couldn't say anything.

I simply said, "Trust me, you'll be alright." It was both a promise and an expectation.

He gave a bitter laugh: "I hope so. Before I die, I will cut them all into a thousand pieces." He said bitterly. His face was haggard and somewhat bluish, presumably because he hadn't had a proper rest since his father's death.

I said worriedly, "Huan Wen, perhaps you need to rest. I am very saddened by your father's situation. One day, I will avenge your father and recover the debts they owed."

He showed no sadness, only coldly saying, "Those people will receive the punishment they deserve."

Take care.

As I watched him leave, he seemed to have aged considerably in an instant. The Huan Wen of the past was elegant, with his white robes fluttering, dashing and handsome. But now, it was as if he had become a different person overnight. Does losing the one you love most make you gradually stronger and more mature amidst pain and sorrow?

Learning to grow, learning to love. Is this how cruelly we experience everything?

"I want to go to the battlefield with Young Master Huan." He said it in a cold tone without any doubt.

"Pfft—" The hot tea he had just drunk was forced out and sprayed out.

"What did you say?" I finally managed to calm down and asked.

Suddenly, Su Da knelt down in front of me. Her voice was as cold as ever, but now it was pleading and urgent: "Wei Ying, you have a way, don't you? Can you let me go with Young Master Huan? I want to be by his side, I want to stay with him. Otherwise, I'm afraid, I'm afraid I'll never see him again."

I have never seen Suda like this before, never. So humble, so pitifully begging me. Is this love? Falling in love with him, she lowered herself to the dust.

Her face was very pale; this was probably the result of several sleepless nights.

"Are you sure? Do you know how hard it is for a young woman to go on military campaigns?" I knew that during the time I was away, when Huan Wen came to find me, her feelings for him had grown stronger. The feelings she had kept hidden in her heart before were all made clear after their encounter in the cold palace.

She chose to pursue her love without hesitation.

She lowered her head and whispered, "I know, I know all of this, and I was prepared for it. I also know that the person he loves isn't me, and may never be me. But I love him. I just want to stay by his side quietly, watch over him, take care of him, and do everything I can for him. I don't want him to fall in love with me or notice me. I've never asked you for anything before, but please, please say yes this time?"

I went over to her, helped her up, and gently hugged her, saying emotionally, "I promise you, I promise you, I'll promise you anything. But you have to take care of yourself too. I want to see you alright when Dajun comes back." Suddenly, I leaned close to her ear and whispered, "Trust me, he's fine. He won't die. You don't need to worry."

She was startled: "How did you know?"

I chuckled and replied shamelessly, "I knew it."

Looking at him with some relief, my cheeks flushed slightly as I thought of Su Da, I silently said in my heart: Huan Wen, Su Da, I truly hope you find happiness.

With Su Da being so resolute and devoted, I had no choice but to agree to her request. Huan Wen, I hope you will cherish the people around you.

Volume 3, Chapter 108: Suppressing the Rebellion (Part 2)

I taught Su Da some basic disguise techniques to make things easier for her during marches. And although it's not a big deal, it's best not to give herself away. Otherwise, Huan Wen might feel deceived.

With everything prepared, the day arrived for the army's departure. That day, the emperor, along with his ministers and several concubines, bid farewell to these heroes of the nation.

I looked up at the sky; it was clear and bright, with a gentle breeze—a beautiful sunny day in Jiangnan. But what awaited them? History records no victory on the first attempt to quell a rebellion; this mission was destined to be difficult and ultimately unsuccessful. I couldn't bear to see it, but I had no choice but to remain silent. I dared not imagine what would happen if I spoke out what I knew; would I be accused of treason or something similar? Or would they think I was insane, spreading rumors?

History is destined to flow, and my existence should not alter any part of it. Nor should I try to. I don't know what the consequences would be. Perhaps it would lead to lifelong regret, and I cannot try.

When Huan Wen stepped onto the platform to bid farewell to the emperor, and the emperor swore an oath of certain victory to boost morale, I handed Su Da over to him, saying only softly, "Take her with you, take good care of her, and take good care of yourself. Come back alive." I knew he understood what my repeated "take good care of her" represented—the profound expectation and concern it conveyed.

Huan Wen looked puzzled, but ultimately said nothing, only nodding and saying, "Okay." Although it was strange, because it was her, because it was the woman he liked, he agreed to all her requests unconditionally.

"Thank you," I said softly.

He nodded. His face held a heroic, tragic air. Without hesitation, he turned and left. Suda gave me a grateful smile, then followed him without looking back.

I looked at them and smiled with a mixture of relief and worry. I feared they might suffer some harm. But this was Huan Wen's choice, and Su Da's choice as well. And I chose to believe in and respect them.

Although they knew he would return alive and might even achieve a few minor victories, as they were the forces of justice, their numbers were limited. Su Jun, on the other hand, had allied with several princes, making him a formidable force. In particular, Su Jun's son-in-law, the Sixth Prince, was the most powerful and influential prince besides the Emperor. Given the strength of the rebel army, Huan Wen could not possibly achieve a complete victory; the disparity in troop strength was too great.

This is not the Battle of Red Cliffs, nor the Battle of Guandu, nor even the Battle of Julu from even further back. Those battles all required the right timing, location, and popular support. Now is not the most opportune time to create a so-called miracle.

"Don't worry, they will come back safely." A gentle voice suddenly appeared beside me, as if in a dream.

I looked at him differently, and felt a little uncomfortable. I nodded, turned my face away, and didn't say anything.

Seeing him grow increasingly haggard, as if he had aged considerably overnight, even forgetting to shave, I felt a pang of pity. He toiled day and night, discussing strategies to repel the enemy with his ministers, and I couldn't help but worry. If no countermeasures were found, and Huan Wen couldn't hold out much longer, the enemy would soon be breaching Jiankang.