Luck Reliant Beauty – CH 106

Chapter 106: Wedding?

Jiang Mi blushed.

Ever since she learned that Cui Zi Xuan was the masked man, she had been hoping he would forget the words she had spoken to save her life that day.

After revealing his true form last night, he did not mention the incident, which relieved Jiang Mi. But just when she thought she had passed this hurdle, he actually said those words in this setting, in front of so many people. Although his voice was soft, and most people couldn’t hear it, Jiang Mi was still mortified, and her face turned dark.

Seeing her glaring at him, unable to speak her anger, Cui Zi Xuan chuckled. He grabbed Jiang Mi’s hand and strode towards the group of Later Zhou envoys.

The two of them walking together attracted many stares. The two, a handsome man and a beautiful woman, were both strikingly attractive. Coupled with Cui Zi Xuan’s identity, the envoys could not help but whisper amongst themselves, speculating about Jiang Mi’s origins once again.

Hearing those around her say things like, “She’s probably one of the women from The Five Noble Houses and Seven Surnames,” and “This woman has such an elegant, scholarly air about her; she must have an extraordinary background,” Princess Qingyue’s face turned ashen. She could not help but sneer, “What extraordinary background does she have?”

Princess Qingyue’s voice was rather loud. As the surrounding crowd turned to look at her, Princess Qingyue raised her chin, looking disdainfully at Jiang Mi, and declared loudly, “She’s the daughter of Lady Huarui of the Former Shu. Her birth mother was Consort Xu, and she herself is an illegitimate child of an unknown father. What extraordinary background could such a person have?”

Princess Qingyue’s voice was loud enough for many in the hall to hear. After learning Jiang Mi’s identity, the way these people looked at her changed—if she were a daughter of a noble family, she would naturally command respect, but Lady Huarui’s daughter was merely a plaything they could easily touch.

However, in such an important occasion, women were never truly important. Jiang Mi only attracted their attention briefly because of her striking appearance; they quickly forgot about her.

Jiang Mi did not hear Princess Qingyue’s shouts. She sat down next to Cui Zi Xuan shortly after, and from the envoys’ aggressive questioning of the Nanping Emperor, she immediately understood that these envoys had come for a weapon called a bed crossbow.

On one side, Cui Zi Xuan saw Jiang Mi listening intently. He leaned closer and whispered, “Ah’Mi, do you know about the crossbow?”

Jiang Mi turned to look at him, shaking her head. “I don’t know anything about weapons.”

It was quite common for Jiang Mi, a woman, to be unfamiliar with weapons.

Cui Zi Xuan smiled faintly at her for a moment, then asked, “Ah’Mi, you don’t know anything about any weapons?”

All weapons? Jiang Mi was taken aback, involuntarily thinking of the design for the Mo Dao, a type of long-handled sword, in her mother’s collection.

Cui Zi Xuan smiled as he watched Jiang Mi’s stunned expression. After a moment, he lowered his gaze. A while later, he leaned back lazily. He sized up the Nanping Emperor, whose face was ashen from being pressured by the various state envoys.

This mediocre, incompetent little state Emperor actually wanted to marry his useless daughter to him, using this method to tie himself and the Cui Clan of Boling to his beat up Nanping… Thinking of this, Cui Zi Xuan leaned back slightly, a cold smile creeping onto his face.

A moment later, Cui Zi Xuan looked at Jiang Mi to the side, noticing her head bowed and muttering to herself. He could not help but listen intently.

To everyone’s surprise, Jiang Mi was reciting the Analects: “The Master said, ‘He who aims to be a man of complete virtue in his food does not seek to gratify his appetite, nor in his dwelling place does he seek the appliances of ease; he is earnest in what he is doing and careful in his speech; he frequents the company of men of principle that he may be rectified—such a person may be said indeed to love to learn’…”

Cui Zi Xuan chuckled and could not help but interrupt her, saying, “Ah’Mi, why are you so diligent? Are you perhaps trying to pass the imperial examinations as a woman?”

Jiang Mi had been reciting unconsciously. Seeing his question, she blushed slightly and said softly, “I did not mean to… I just feel uneasy if I don’t memorize these things.”

In this chaotic world, what use was memorizing the Analects? Cui Zi Xuan truly did not understand her reasoning. He turned to Jiang Mi, and after a moment smiled, “Why are you uneasy?”

Jiang Mi couldn’t quite put it into words either. She tilted her head and pondered for a while before turning to Cui Zi Xuan and saying in a simple and honest voice, “I just feel that we need to study very, very seriously so that we can live a peaceful life.”

Seeing Cui Zi Xuan’s gaze suddenly soften with pity, Jiang Mi quickly added, “This is a habit I developed after my mother died. It’s not that my life’s not stable; it’s just that I’m uneasy…”

As he listened, Cui Zi Xuan reached out and took her hand.

His large hand warmed Jiang Mi’s small hand. After a while, he said softly, “I never knew… I thought you were very relaxed.”

“I’m very relaxed,” Jiang Mi replied lightly, not understanding the source of the tenderness and pity in his eyes. “I’ve always been relaxed… I just feel I should work very, very hard, because that’s how I can relax even more.”

For some reason, Cui Zi Xuan’s eyes welled up with tears. He reached out and gently stroked Jiang Mi’s hair, thinking to himself, “Such a beautiful woman; she should have everything perfectly right in the world, but she had lived in fear for too long, taking that unease for granted, and did not know what true relaxation feels like.”

Previously, back in Shu Capital, Cui Zi Xuan had seen Jiang Mi constantly forced by the Three Mothers to learn this and that, always assuming she was just naturally docile. Now he realized it was all for her own peace of mind.

Unfortunately, this foolish girl did not know that in this chaotic world, reading the most books was useless; this world only believed in force.

The two whispered among themselves when suddenly the hall fell silent.

As everyone looked up, they saw the Nanping Emperor stand up. This Emperor, clearly somewhat agitated, coughed and raised his voice, saying, “Now, I announce one thing: from this day forward, Nanping State will obey Shu State’s every command!”

What?

Almost as soon as the Nanping Emperor finished speaking, a deafening murmur erupted from the crowd.

Before Jiang Mi could react, Cui Zi Xuan sneered, “I told you Prince Kang was shortsighted, but he and Qingyue combined are utterly foolish!”

At this moment, Cui Zi Xuan stood up and said calmly to the crowd, “Let’s go.”

The hall erupted in commotion, and some envoys, upon hearing the Nanping Emperor’s words, chose to leave immediately. Therefore, Cui Zi Xuan’s retreat with his men did not attract much attention.

After leaving the main hall, Cui Zi Xuan walked quickly, several aides hurriedly following. Jiang Mi jogged to keep up, overhearing their rapid, hushed conversation:

One aide said, “I never expected the Nanping Emperor to pull such a stunt! His attempt to shift the blame was truly insidious!”

Another aide said, “He was even planning to recruit the Young Master as his son-in-law in the main hall; his plan then was also to shift the blame.”

“I’d heard people say that the Shu State lads were not very bright, and it seems they were right. Didn’t Prince Kang realize that once his alliance with Nanping was established, wouldn’t all the envoys from so many countries assume that the Shu people had obtained the blueprints for the crossbow?”

An elderly advisor shook his head and said, “Perhaps it’s not stupidity, but overconfidence. The Shu State has been peaceful and prosperous for years. The 400,000 troops of the Emperor of Shu has been well rested and prepared. Maybe the Emperor of Shu thinks he’s already very strong and fearless in war.”

“If the Emperor of Shu is not afraid, isn’t Prince Kang unafraid too? Isn’t he worried he will not be able to escape this Jiangling City?”

One of the aides said, “Young Master’s decision to leave now was the right one. If we dragged it out any longer, Prince Kang and Princess Qingyue would definitely ask Young Master for help. This is too murky; even if we were to intervene, we need to choose the right moment.”

The group walked and discussed, soon arriving at the plaza where the carriages were parked. Seeing Cui Zi Xuan and several aides board the same carriage, Jiang Mi knew they had something to discuss and quickly got into the following carriage.

Almost as soon as Jiang Mi boarded, another group of people emerged from the main hall. Looking up, Jiang Mi saw that it was Li Wu and his entourage striding towards them.

Watching the Southern Tang people quickly board their carriages, Jiang Mi lowered her eyes. Just as she drew back the carriage curtain to lower her head, suddenly, Li Wu looked up and stared intently at her.

With this sudden eye contact with Elder Brother, whether it was Jiang Mi’s imagination or not, she saw a kind of concern in Li Wu’s eyes.

Instantly, Jiang Mi’s eyes stung with tears. Not wanting Li Wu to see her lose her composure and look down on her further, she quickly pulled the curtain back up.

Even after the carriage had left the palace gates, Jiang Mi remained somewhat uneasy.

Li Wu had always been Jiang Mi’s mountain of support. No matter what difficulties she faced, as long as she knew Elder Brother was still there, she feared nothing. Now, suddenly estranged from Elder Brother, Jiang Mi knew that if Cui Zi Xuan had not appeared in time, giving her someone to rely on and trust completely, she didn’t know if she would have collapsed.

Just like last night in the middle of the night, Jiang Mi was still thinking that losing Mother and Elder Brother didn’t matter; at least Cui Zi Xuan was still by her side.

Soon, the carriage returned to the Mansion.

An hour later, Cui Zi Xuan dismissed his staff, then left his study and walked straight to Jiang Mi’s loft.

Arriving outside the loft, seeing the dim lighting inside, Cui Zi Xuan lowered his voice and asked, “Is she resting?”

Several maids bowed respectfully to him, one whispering, “Young Lady has been resting for about half an hour.”

Cui Zi Xuan nodded, waved for the maids to leave, and walked towards the inner room.

The bed curtains were low, revealing the petite figure of a beautiful woman. Cui Zi Xuan stopped only when he reached the bed.

In the dim light, he stood with his hands behind his back, silently watching the woman who had fallen into a deep sleep, remaining motionless for a long time.

Just then, Jiang Mi, huddled under the quilt, began to struggle silently, as if having a nightmare. Her movements were peculiar; she raised her hands, seemingly trying to embrace someone, but each time her hands reached out, they landed on empty air.

Cui Zi Xuan, still with his hands behind his back, quietly watched Jiang Mi struggle for a long time before she slowly fell asleep again, exhausted. A while later, Cui Zi Xuan went outside.

Upon leaving the loft, Cui Zi Xuan went straight to his study. He opened a letter, hesitated only briefly, and then quickly began to write.

A moment later, Cui Zi Xuan sealed the letter, handed it to a guard, and said, “Send this letter back to the clan, and let Mother and the Clan Head see it together.”

“Yes.”

After waving the guard away, Cui Zi Xuan looked at the dark night sky outside and muttered to himself, “Ah’Mi is still Princess Yihua of Shu State after all. It seems I will have to marry her from Shu State.”