Le Premier ministre stupéfiant

Chapitre 5

The person outside the door was Honglu. Chu Junfeng remembered that she was Mo Xibei's maid. "I wonder what business you have with me, Miss?" he asked politely from the doorway.

"My young master Mo invites Master Chu for a drink." Chu Junfeng's gentle gaze made Honglu's cheeks flush slightly. She suddenly realized that she was originally a girl from a modest family. Ever since she mistakenly boarded the "pirate ship" and met Mo Xibei three years ago... Honglu thought bitterly, everything has changed. She has become increasingly shameless, talking to anyone. And what's most hateful is that she has been in contact with more men than women. How will she ever get married? No, she must get a large dowry. She must extort a large dowry from Mo Xibei to compensate for her losses.

Seeing Honglu suddenly fall silent and stand there gritting her teeth, Chu Junfeng was no longer surprised. It would be strange if there were strange employees but strange bosses. So he left Honglu behind and went to the front hall.

Exquisite and authentic Hangzhou dishes, with dark red grape wine swirling in a luminous cup. Under the candlelight, a young man with jade-like skin smiles as he drinks alone. He doesn't possess stunning beauty, but he has a captivating charm that makes it impossible for anyone to look away.

Chu Junfeng often thought that it was at that time that Mo Xibei firmly embedded himself in his heart. That kind of carefree and unrestrained life, without any words, made him, a wanderer in the world chasing fame and fortune, feel envious and longing.

"Brother Mo, you seem to be in good spirits today." After pausing for a moment in front of the beaded curtain, Chu Junfeng had already suppressed the excitement he had felt earlier and came over with a slight smile, sitting opposite Mo Xibei.

"It's alright, we're almost at Henan Prefecture. I thought it was fate that we'd all be in this together, so I'll treat you to a meal to avoid leaving a bad reputation like being a miser," Mo Xibei said, swaying as if he were already a little drunk. "Oh, actually, my reputation isn't exactly good either, haha!"

"It takes ten years of cultivation to share a boat ride; it is indeed a rare fate." Chu Junfeng nodded and picked up the cup in front of him at Mo Xibei's prompting. Mo Xibei then raised the wine pot and poured wine for him. The bright moon and candlelight made his hand appear even more white and jade-like, with slender fingers that seemed to have no bones.

"Fine wine in a luminous cup, fine wine and beautiful vessel. If I fall asleep drunk tonight, Brother Mo, please don't be offended." Chu Junfeng suddenly felt an urge to say something and break the current scene. He was never like this before. Tonight, without drinking a drop of wine, he felt that he was already drunk.

"Drink today, for tomorrow we may die; who will laugh at you?" Mo Xibei muttered, swirling his wine glass with a hint of regret. "It's a pity we're on a ship. If there were some ice, the wine would taste even better. What a pity! It would be a wonderful treat to have it with steak, but good beef doesn't keep well and needs to be eaten fresh."

Chu Junfeng wasn't an expert on food. For him, the significance of food lay in providing him with ample energy. He could tell whether something was poisonous or not just by looking at it or smelling it. But what Mo Xibei was saying now was something he neither understood nor cared about.

"Why is Master Chu going to Henan Prefecture?" After a few drinks, Mo Xibei asked, "Is it also to become the son-in-law of the martial arts alliance leader and to propose to the most beautiful woman in the martial arts world?"

"Brother Mo, have you also heard of Murong Lianyun?" For some reason, even though it was a very simple question, Chu Junfeng suddenly didn't want to answer. Not only did he not want to answer, he didn't even want to mention it. However, since Mo Xibei had already asked the question, he seemed to have no choice but to answer.

"I've heard Honglu say it's beautiful, have you seen it? Tell me about it." Mo Xibei seemed to have perked up. He put down his wine glass and looked up at him for the first time all night. Chu Junfeng had always thought that Mo Xibei was drunk when he arrived. However, at that moment, he did not detect any trace of alcohol in Mo Xibei's eyes. Mo Xibei's eyes were clear and bright, radiating light as they moved.

"I haven't met her, I've only heard about her," Chu Junfeng said. "Brother Mo, do you also wish to marry this beauty?"

“You used ‘also,’ haha, I understand. You really do want to marry her. A beautiful and graceful lady is sought after by a gentleman. What’s there to be embarrassed about? It’s not very nice of you not to say so. Let me tell you, I don’t want to marry her. In my eyes, what’s the most beautiful woman in the martial arts world? She’s not as good as a dried duck from Yanzhou. You don’t know, I’ve been looking for that chef for a long time, but I’ve always missed him. This time I heard that he was invited to Luoyang to participate in a grand gathering of the martial arts world, so I came.” When it came to food, Mo Xibei became even more energetic. She boasted that she had three great hobbies in life: sleeping, looking at beautiful women, and eating delicious food. Among them, eating delicious food was the most important.

Chu Junfeng couldn't help but find Mo Xibei's answer amusing. Comparing a dried duck to the number one beauty in the martial arts world was already absurd, but what was even more absurd was that the number one beauty in the martial arts world was not as good as a dried duck.

If anyone else had said such a thing, Chu Junfeng would have thought that person was being pretentious. Marrying the daughter of the martial arts alliance leader meant gaining at least half of the martial arts world. No, for him, it was more than half of the martial arts world. What an allure and how important it was! But the person who said this was Mo Xibei, and only Mo Xibei could say it so confidently, making it impossible not to believe him. It turned out that the most beautiful woman in the martial arts world was indeed not as good as a dried-up duck.

Volume One: Ten Years in the Jianghu, Chapter Ten

"If that Miss Murong heard these words, she would probably be heartbroken," Chu Junfeng concluded.

"Haha, just hearing that, I know you don't understand women. You know, beautiful women are always proud and can't stand being ignored. I think if Murong Lianyun really heard that, she might have two reactions: either she'd chase me down with a knife, haha..." Mo Xibei seemed to see that scene and laughed non-stop, finding it very funny. After a while, he said, "But beautiful women are born to enjoy challenges. Since I don't like her, it's more likely that she'll fall in love with me and force me to marry her with a knife, haha..." He laughed for a while longer before muttering to himself, "Why do I always think she'll be carrying a big knife? A beautiful woman shouldn't be so rude. I must be really drunk."

Without waiting for Chu Junfeng to say anything, after saying the word "drunk," Mo Xibei really did fall asleep with a thud on the table.

Chu Junfeng shook his head and reached out to push Mo Xibei, telling him to go back to his room to sleep. However, as soon as he moved, he felt dizzy and lightheaded. He was alert and then leaned over the table.

In the still of the night, there was no sound except for the soft, gentle lapping of the river against the hull of the boat, propelled by the wind.

No one noticed when a slender figure appeared outside the beaded curtain. Dressed in black with a black veil covering her face, she was clearly a woman. Not only a woman, but a very beautiful one, because even the boundless night could not conceal her beautiful eyes. Round as apricots and sparkling like stars, her eyes, though slightly annoyed, did not diminish her beauty. Instead, they added a touch of mature womanly charm to her youthful appearance.

The beaded curtain was flung open by the girl who had just arrived, creating a tinkling sound like a bell. However, the two people lying on the table remained motionless, fast asleep.

"What famous hero, what boss of the Four Great Buildings, you're nothing special." The girl sneered. "With a bottle of 'Immortal's Drunkenness' on the table, it's all the same. I'd be better off sleeping you all to death. You actually dared to say that I'm not even as good as a plate of ducks. Just for that, you should have your tongue cut out." The girl glared angrily at Mo Xibei. "You money-grubbing bastard, who do you think would chase after you to marry you? You dead toad, we... hmph, we're too tired to even chase after you and chop you down. This time you've fallen into my hands, you'll be sorry. I'll teach you a lesson for talking such nonsense."

After muttering a few words and pausing for a while, the girl turned around and said to the outside, "They're all fast asleep, it's okay, come over quickly."

As soon as the words were spoken, two figures nimbly floated from the shore onto the boat, then stepped into the cabin and stood beside the girl.

“I say, why don’t we tie these two up, drag them to a room, then go down to the lower cabin and smoke them with some sleeping gas, and we can deal with them later when we figure out how to handle them,” the girl said.

“They are all honored guests invited by the host. Isn’t this inappropriate? Besides, the host said that he thinks highly of Young Master Chu.” One of the two who came later spoke up. It was a soft female voice. She seemed to be a little older than the first ones, but not very old.

"So what if they're honored guests? We won't kill them, but we'll teach them a lesson. Don't think that I... don't think that our young lady is someone to be looked down upon like this." Another voice spoke, also a woman's voice, but more crisp and clear.

"Then it's settled. Anyway, Miss will take care of anything. These two brats are arrogant and need to be taught a lesson to quell my anger. Hurry up and tie them up, then carry them to that room," the girl who arrived first casually pointed to Mo Xibei's room inside.

After that, no one spoke. The three girls seemed to each take out ropes from their pockets, tie up Mo Xibei and Chu Junfeng, and throw them together on Mo Xibei's soft bed in his room.

"This young man surnamed Mo is indeed rich. He even has such a beautiful bed on this ship." The three girls were immediately drawn to the bed as soon as they entered. After leaving the man behind, they casually ran their fingers over the roses made of gauze, praising them repeatedly. "Look at these flowers he made. They are so beautiful and lifelike. They even smell fragrant. They are much prettier than the new palace flowers sent from the capital this year."

“These past few years, I’ve always heard people say that Young Master Mo from Jiangnan has a unique talent for craftsmanship. It seems that it’s really true. No wonder our family specially sent him an invitation. Just look at this bed. This man is indeed quite interesting. It’s a pity that a grown man like him focuses his attention on these ingenious things.” The woman’s voice was crisp and clear.

"If you ask me, what kind of ingenuity is this? He's just a glutton who only knows how to eat. He didn't even notice the sleeping potion." The first girl said with dissatisfaction, "How can someone like him be worthy of being the most beautiful woman in the martial arts world? There has to be a real hero and a true man."

"This is not something a young lady should say." The older girl seemed unable to hold back and scolded, "A young lady shouldn't be talking about matching or not matching, aren't you ashamed?"

"I was anxious too—" The girl stamped her foot, about to say something, but stopped abruptly when she heard the faint singing voice that suddenly appeared. After a long while, she said, "Did you hear that? Who's singing? Why is someone singing?"

Volume One: Ten Years in the Jianghu, Chapter Eleven

Yes, if you listen closely, the soft singing, the woman's voice, that has been lingering around these ships for several nights, is still there. It is gentle and sweet, catching everyone off guard, and it just slips into everyone's ears like a charming lover whispering something in your ear in the middle of the night. But if you listen carefully again, you will find that there is no trace of it, as if what you heard before was just your own illusion.

"Miss, you stay here, we'll go take a look." Two women's voices rang out almost simultaneously, their voices tense and urgent, making it difficult to tell which voice came from which woman.

"Let's go together, how could this happen..." After a moment, someone said this, and then the three of them hurriedly left Mo Xibei's room.

“You should have gone out with them. It seems things are more complicated than we thought.” In the room, Mo Xibei, who had been fast asleep, opened his eyes.

“That’s what I think too.” Chu Junfeng nodded, but he didn’t move. At this moment, the two of them were tied up and lying on the bed head to head. They were so close that when they spoke, their breaths brushed against each other’s cheeks, making them feel ticklish.

"Then why aren't you going? They've gone far away. If something happens to them, you won't be able to become the son-in-law of the martial arts alliance leader." Mo Xibei suddenly became a little irritated and turned his face away.

"I wanted to go, but..." Chu Junfeng smiled bitterly, "but suddenly I realized that we were acting too realistically. No one expected that the martial arts alliance leader's family was so wealthy that the ropes they used to tie people up were made of silkworm silk."

Silkworm silk is one of the most troublesome rope materials. Once it sticks to the body, the harder you pull, the tighter it binds. Plus, the rope is so soft and thin that there's nowhere to apply leverage, making it difficult to break free even with the most refined internal energy. Mo Xibei thus fell silent. In fact, when she turned her head abruptly, she already felt the rope on her shoulders and back tighten, digging into her flesh and causing a burning pain. Although she lacked experience, she knew something was wrong and dared not move again. After a long while, the pain gradually subsided, so she asked, "Aren't you a great swordsman of the martial world? Do you know how to untie a silkworm silk rope?"

"I'll untie it with my hands," Chu Junfeng answered decisively.

"That's like saying nothing at all. Who can help you untie it by hand now?" Mo Xibei was furious. "Haven't you heard that silkworm silk loosens when it gets wet?"