Luck Reliant Beauty – CH 103

Chapter 103: I Am Him

The night was as still as water, and Cui Zi Xuan’s white clothes fluttered in the wind.

He did not answer Jiang Mi’s question at all.

Seeing his silence, Jiang Mi had no choice but to shut her mouth.

A short while later, the carriage entered the street where Chu Mansion was located. Almost immediately, hundreds of people emerged from both sides of the street, bowed in unison, and surrounded the two of them beside the carriage.

Then, the carriage continued forward.

Despite the large number of people on both sides, they were all incredibly quiet. Jiang Mi watched as the carriage gradually drove away from Chu Mansion’s vicinity.

Just then, a girl’s sweet voice rang out, “Brother Zi Xuan!”

A dozen or so young men and women suddenly rushed in front of the carriage, blocking Cui Zi Xuan’s path. The girl at the front, her eyes red-rimmed, choked out, “Brother Zi Xuan… I’m sorry! don’t blame my parents. It was me… I deliberately revealed that Sister Jiang was an absolute beauty…”

Under the moonlight, the girl cried pitifully, two lines of clear tears streaming down her pale cheeks, revealing a fragile beauty that even the most hardened heart could not bear to pursue further…

Jiang Mi had never seen such beauty before; with just a few tears, she could make the whole world forget her faults.

On the carriage, Cui Zi Xuan remained silent.

The girl cried even harder, and soon she was sobbing uncontrollably, as if she would faint in front of him if Cui Zi Xuan could not forgive her.

In an absolute silence, broken only by the girl’s sobs, Cui Zi Xuan spoke. His voice was cold and indifferent, revealing no emotion. “Chu Yan, you revealed more than just that Jiang Mi is a beauty… To seduce the Emperor of Nanping, you even used the backup plan you had in his palace, using every trick in the book, presenting him with several portraits, and managing to win him over. I never knew you were so capable, Chu Yan.”

Cui Zi Xuan spoke softly and gently, devoid of any human warmth. But as soon as his words fell… The boys and girls following behind the girl exchanged startled glances, then could not help but whisper amongst themselves.

Chu Yan’s face was deathly pale. She stared at Cui Zi Xuan in disbelief, screaming, “You, how did you know?”

Of course, she only met Cui Zi Xuan’s cold expression.

But Chu Yan knew perfectly well how heartless this man was. Since he had shown such an expression today, he would likely never forgive her in this lifetime.

Overwhelmed with panic and hatred, Chu Yan abruptly turned to stare at Jiang Mi in the darkness. The fragile, spring flower-like girl shrieked at Jiang Mi, “You, surnamed Jiang, don’t be so smug! Let me tell you, Young Master Cui approached you with no good intentions! What makes you think you deserve his favor? What makes this man who’s been through countless women treat you so well? Let me tell you, it’s because he…”

Just as Chu Yan finished speaking, Cui Zi Xuan made no move. A guard raised his right hand, and something was placed over Chu Yan’s mouth, causing her to make “mmm” sounds.

Then, several guards stepped forward, grabbed Chu Yan, and led the group of young men and women away, disappearing into the darkness in the blink of an eye.

As soon as they left, Cui Zi Xuan continued on his way.

As the carriage moved at a leisurely pace, Jiang Mi’s soft, hoarse voice drifted over, “Are you and he the same person?”

She asked cautiously, her voice even trembling slightly.

And it was clear that the “he” Jiang Mi spoke of was the masked noble young master who had captivated her, the Southern Tang strategist!

The only response Jiang Mi received was the night wind that whipped the torches and the billowing white robes of Cui Zi Xuan.

The surroundings returned to complete silence.

Jiang Mi glanced at Cui Zi Xuan, who refused to answer, and slowly drew back the carriage curtain.

The carriage moved for a while, then suddenly stopped. Then, Jiang Mi heard Cui Zi Xuan’s gentle whisper from outside, “Ah’Mi, we’ve arrived.”

Jiang Mi hummed in agreement and lifted the carriage curtain.

Before her appeared a mansion located on the outskirts of the city. The mansion was too dark for Jiang Mi to discern, so Cui Zi Xuan led her inside.

Following Cui Zi Xuan were his guards, who quickly busied themselves upon entering the mansion.

Cui Zi Xuan continued leading Jiang Mi forward, and when they arrived at a loft, he looked down at her and said gently, “I just had this loft cleaned. Ah’Mi must be tired today; go and rest.”

With that, he turned and left!

Watching his elegant figure disappear into the distance, Jiang Mi stood there, stunned. She had so much to say to him, so many questions to ask, but now, it seemed only she remained, reluctant to part.

After standing there for a while, suddenly, Jiang Mi called out to Cui Zi Xuan, “Young Master Cui!”

As Cui Zi Xuan stopped, Jiang Mi ran towards him. Reaching him from behind, she tilted her head and whispered, “Young Master Cui, thank you for saving me today.”

Cui Zi Xuan turned around.

Under the moonlight, this man possessed an indescribable, otherworldly beauty. Jiang Mi stared at him, and suddenly, she felt a sense of unease… This unease was not because Cui Zi Xuan’s gaze was unkind, nor because his expression when looking at her was unfocused; she simply felt a sudden pang of insecurity.

Jiang Mi was naive about love. She did not know that her insecurity stemmed from a longing for the man before her.

Cui Zi Xuan had been watching Jiang Mi. When he met the vivid, intense longing in her eyes, a slight smile played on his lips.

He stepped closer to Jiang Mi, lowered his head, and said softly, “By the way, did you not just ask me if he and I were the same person? Hmm, you’re right, he and I… are indeed the same person!”

Jiang Mi was stunned.

She stood there, stunned, her face alternating between pale and flushed. One moment she remembered the despair she had felt along the way; the next, she remembered what that person had said to her and the fear she had felt then.

After a long while, Jiang Mi asked softly, “But why? Why did you hide your identity? Why did you deliberately deceive me and scare me like that?”

Hearing Jiang Mi’s question, Cui Zi Xuan smiled. He reached out and gently stroked her face, saying softly, “Silly child, what other reason could there be? Did you not always say I was not a good person? Well, I wanted to show you how bad I could be back then.”

With that, Cui Zi Xuan chuckled softly, flicked his sleeve, and turned to leave.

Jiang Mi stood in the moonlight, staring blankly as Cui Zi Xuan entered a loft, watching several beautiful maids prostrate themselves to greet him, and watching several middle-aged scholars throng around him…

Jiang Mi tossed and turned all night, unable to sleep. Meanwhile, Cui Zi Xuan sat in the main seat, a smile playing on his lips, leisurely toying with a jade fan.

Below him, several middle-aged scholars sat in two rows. One of the middle-aged scholars spoke up, “Young Master, I’ve already sent a message to intercept those envoys from Zhou State!”

Another scholar chuckled, “Young Master is truly resourceful. He directly told the Nanping Emperor that you were the chief envoy representing Zhou State to Nanping. However, Young Master’s decision was sudden; he had not revealed a word beforehand, only deciding to act this afternoon after Young Lady Jiang entered the palace. It truly caught us off guard.”

The third scholar said, “Since Young Master has said such a thing, then tomorrow we will go with him, disguised as the chief and deputy envoys of Zhou State, to meet the Nanping Emperor. By the way, I heard that the people from Later Shu and Southern Tang are here for the blueprints for the ballista; why don’t we, Young Master, also try to compete for it?”

These scholars were all highly talented individuals, and Cui Zi Xuan had put in considerable effort over the years to win them over. He listened for a while, offering only a few minor suggestions, and then let them go about their own business.

Once the scholars left, the study fell silent.

Cui Zi Xuan picked up a book from a side table, flipped through it casually, and suddenly, he remembered the look in Jiang Mi’s eyes when he carried her out of the Emperor’s palace… Thinking of this, a slight, pleased smile appeared on Cui Zi Xuan’s lips.

After a while, Cui Zi Xuan slammed the book down on the table and stood up.

Seeing him rise, several maids quickly surrounded him, respectfully asking, “Does the Young Master have any orders?”

As Cui Zi Xuan walked out, he smiled faintly and said, “It’s getting late; you should all go to sleep. I’m going to visit Young Lady Jiang.”

“Yes.”