Zhutian: My skills are not serious

Chapter 423 I...I am your woman

"Even if I owe you something, I've already paid it back, so why don't you let me die?"

Concubine Shu was trembling all over, biting her lips hard, and a trickle of blood flowed down the corner of her mouth.

Chu Pingsheng frowned. He didn't expect that this Concubine Shu, who looked gentle and non-competitive, actually had such a strong temper.

"You tried to stop me from committing suicide today, but you can't stay with me and watch over me day and night, morning and evening. I will die eventually."

"..."

"I only ask one thing of you. After I die, give this room full of ancient books to a book lover who is worthy of trust. Don't give it to Chengze, he doesn't deserve it."

Chu Pingsheng's heart moved, he picked up a blanket and wrapped her in it, then held her in his arms, jumped out of the hall, and flew away on the wind like a flying roc.

The numerous palaces below were retreating quickly; teams of guards were patrolling back and forth; the Taiji Hall was brightly lit; the eunuchs on the bell and drum tower were yawning...

Concubine Shu felt numb all over.

Now she knew how Chu Pingsheng got in. With his ability to fly across the wind and stay a hundred feet without falling, the high walls of the imperial palace, the imperial guards, and the dense secret sentries... were all like decorations to him.

"How many years have you not left the palace?"

When she heard the man's voice, her delicate body trembled. She counted carefully and realized that she had been living in seclusion in Shujing Palace for more than ten years. In the early years, she could often see Chengze, but since the emperor asked his son to move out of the palace and set up a mansion in the south of the city, it was not easy to see his son. If it were not for those ancient books to keep her company and relieve her loneliness, she really didn't know what the meaning of life in the palace was.

"Is this Kyoto City?"

She saw a young man from a wealthy family hugging women on both sides of the river, where flower boats were plying back and forth, and asking his followers to light wishing lanterns in an open area.

She saw the girls in the brothel sticking their heads out of the windows, winking and greeting passers-by on the street.

She saw actors singing and musicians playing the piano in the crowded brothels, while in the casino across the street, the crowd was bustling and excited. Those who won money cheered and treated guests generously, while those who lost money walked away dejectedly.

She also saw a blindfolded child chasing his friends in the courtyards along the street; a porter carrying an empty shoulder pole going home after work; a landlord with meat in his left hand and wine in his right hand, who had guests to entertain; a middle-aged woman climbing up a bamboo ladder and collecting clothes on the roof, cursing...

She had never seen these scenes since she married into the palace.

“Is the night view of Kyoto City nice?”

"..."

"I don't have time today, I'll take you to the street to play in a couple of days."

Concubine Shu thought that he was using these to tempt her to stay alive, but she had the common sense that scenery is something that will get boring if you see it too much.

"..."

At this moment, she realized another situation. Chu Pingsheng's flying altitude was getting lower and lower, and slowly landed on the roof of a big house.

As far as she knew, the emperor gave the house where Princess Ningyang once lived to Chu Pingsheng. She thought, this couldn't be his home. Could it be that... this guy wanted to imprison her here in order to prevent her from committing suicide?

But soon, she put this idea behind her, because a figure flashed behind the railing of the waterside pavilion a few feet away from where the two of them landed. The light of the lantern dispelled the darkness and reflected the man's face, which was her son Li Chengze.

It turned out that this was not the Chu Mansion, but her son's Prince Duan Mansion.

"Yes... um..."

A hand covered her mouth.

"Don't talk, just look carefully and listen attentively."

At the same time, Li Chengze, who was standing barefoot behind the railing of the platform overlooking the water and wearing a thick brocade robe, glanced behind him with a look of surprise, but found nothing suspicious, so he looked back.

"Xie Bian, did you hear any sound?"

"No."

"Really not?"

Sitting on a low couch covered with bedding, Xie Bian wiped his sword with a piece of white cloth and said, "Your Highness, I really didn't hear any suspicious movement."

Xie Bian is a ninth-grade master. Since he said there was no suspicious movement, Li Chengze was relieved.

"Have all the people going north been arranged?"

"Your Highness, rest assured. I will lead the team to the north this time. He Chun, Zhang Xia, Xu Qiu, and Cao Dong will each lead a group of assassins. When we reach the border between the two countries, we only need Ku He to lead away the Western Hu Grandmaster Bai Feng, Lang Tao and Haitang Duoduo to hold back the white ape, and Chu Pingsheng will have to rely on himself..."

"Remember, you must not reveal your identity."

"Don't worry, Your Highness. As long as Shen Zhong's intelligence is correct, even if Bai Feng returns safely, he will never doubt us when he sees the scene where his apprentice was killed. He will only think that it was done by Uesugi Tora and Sean."

"Do you want Fan Wujiu to go with you?"

"Your Highness, that is not necessary."

"I'm wondering whether I should keep Fan Xian in Qi as well."

"Your Highness?"

Judging from Xie Bian’s expression, it was obvious that killing Fan Xian was not part of the previous plan.

"Didn't Chu Pingsheng say that at the Four Kingdoms Banquet? He even dared to kill the prince. Where do you think this courage comes from?"

"Grandmaster Bai Feng of Xihu!"

"So, isn't it normal for Bai Feng to kill Fan Xian out of anger after seeing his disciple being killed?"

"Your Highness, Fan Xian... is your brother after all, and given the current situation, he and I have a common enemy. Will this..."

Li Chengze put his hands deeply into his robe sleeves. A gust of wind blew past, lifting the naughty hair on his left temple: "Do you think that father asked Fan Xian to go to Northern Qi just to exchange prisoners and rescue Yan Bingyun to prove that he did not leak secrets and sell out the country?" Xie Bian stopped wiping the sword and looked at his master with a puzzled look.

"The inner treasury has been in the hands of the princess for too long. Father no longer wants her to control it. However, because the previous arrangement was disrupted by Chu Pingsheng, he had to take a risky move and let Fan Xian go to Northern Qi to look for clues and collect evidence of the princess's crimes. I think... in order to make things go smoothly, he should have promised Fan Xian that as long as things were done, he would change the arranged marriage between Chu Pingsheng and Lin Wan'er."

"Hasn't Princess Chen been betrothed to Chu Pingsheng by His Majesty?"

Xie Bian felt more and more confused.

Li Chengze stamped his slightly red feet and said, "Who said that the emperor must keep his word? If Chu Pingsheng can return safely, then whoever has the greatest value will be married to Lin Wan'er."

Xie Bian was speechless. He didn't expect that Emperor Qing had such complicated thoughts, and he didn't expect that Li Chengze, as a son, would think so badly of his own father.

"Your Highness, your feet... aren't they cold?"

"chilly."

"Then why are you still standing outside?"

"Because I need to calm down."

"Does this calm you down?"

"Don't believe it? You can try it."

"I'd rather not." Xie Bian shook his head and refused.

Neither of them noticed that a dark shadow quietly left on the roof not far away.

……

After a cup of tea.

In Shujing Palace.

The silk quilt is damp with fragrance, and the breeze is bitterly cold.

The candlelight illuminated two dark shadows, one long and one short, one male and one female.

Chu Pingsheng stared at the dull, silent Concubine Shu for a while and asked, "Did you hear the conversation between Li Chengze and Xie Bian?"

"You...you...what do you want to do to him?"

"That depends on how you treat me." Chu Pingsheng stuffed the "Jin Ping Mei" that he had thrown on the ground earlier back under the bed, and threw those palace poems that had not yet been burned into the brazier, watching the papers turn into ashes.

"Let me tell you a secret. In fact, there has never been a Western Hu Grandmaster Bai Feng in this world. There is only Chu Pingsheng."

The scene of him taking her flying over the palace; what she heard from Hong Zhu about Bai Feng destroying the palace with one palm; the scene where Xie Bian, a ninth-rank master, was completely unaware of the two of them sneaking into Prince Duan's mansion; the rumor that Chu Pingsheng dared to humiliate Emperor Qing in public, these pieces of information flashed through her mind several times, and the Imperial Concubine understood.

"You...Bai Feng is you, and Chu Pingsheng is also you..."

"You can say that."

Concubine Shu collapsed on the ground. Her son had provoked someone he shouldn't have provoked.

"Please, don't hurt him. Chengze is actually a very good child. It's a pity... It's a pity, Your Majesty..."

"The emperor asked him to be the prince's whetstone, right?"

"Yes."

Concubine Shu sighed, as if she had known her son's situation for a long time.

"Whether Li Yunqian uses Li Chengze as a whetstone is his business and has nothing to do with me. The problem is that he wants to harm me now. I believe you have heard that Lai Mingcheng reported me and I killed him. Lin Youdao not only reported me but also wanted Emperor Qing to kill me, so I killed his entire family. Fan Xian was being clever, so I made him worship the real dead. Yuan Hongdao dared to lynch my woman and ended up being executed by slow slicing. Do you think I am an easy person to talk to?"

The Queen Mother's death was a clear proof of how powerful the Grand Master was.

"As long as you let him go, I'll do anything."

"So, are you still looking for death?"

She lowered her head, looked at the floor and shook her head slightly.

"So, from now on, whose woman are you?"

"..."

She hesitated for a long time, until the atmosphere in the hall gradually became colder, and then she said softly: "Yours."

"In this case, I will give your son a chance to escape unscathed, but those people around him..."

"I know, as long as I can save Chengze's life, I will be satisfied."

"Since I am your man, I want to stay here at this time. What should you do?"

Concubine Shu raised her head and looked at him for a few times, then stood up with shame, went over to help him undress, and went to bed with him.

At the same time, inside the Tai Chi Hall.

Li Yunqian was playing with firecrackers, the kind that can be put on arrows. As a result, when he pushed the stick down, the gunpowder exploded, leaving him with a big black face and unkempt hair, looking very miserable.

He set off firecrackers in the Taiji Hall.

Chu Pingsheng set off firecrackers in Shujing Palace.

It seems that the two people are quite destined to be together.

(End of this chapter)