Legend of Fu Yao

Meng Fuayo smiled at the Second Prince and pushed the gift towards him. “Will you receive it?”

The Second Prince immediately stood up and stepped back. “I don’t dare to, I don’t dare to.”

Thus, Meng Fuyao pushed the gift towards the Ninth Princess. “How about you?”

The Ninth Princess stood up and bowed. “I do not dare to overstep my boundaries.”

Even before Meng Fuyao could pass the gift towards the Prime Minister, the old man had already put his chopsticks down and retreated far away.

“Then I have no other choice.” Meng Fuyao placed the box down, and she asked for a pen and paper. As she wrote, she recited, “Tomorrow’s schedule will be canceled. The Crown Prince and I will enter the palace to meet the Emperor and the Empress, and the robbing incident shall become the main focus of our state-level discussion. This is all.”

When she walked to the door, she looked back and smiled. “Quickly inform your Emperor to be well-prepared. If not, when I enter the palace, he might not even have his pajamas on yet.”

Right before nighttime, under the bright crystal lamp located in the West Wind Building, many people sat for the welcome banquet, which had tumultuous undercurrents. Inside the Xuanji palace, however, the Emperor’s palace was dimly-lit. The dim rays of yellowish light were hidden behind layers of curtains, and they flickered slowly and silently under the hazy night sky. They resembled fireflies waiting to be set free from the bottle, but there was an invisible barrier in front of them.

Deep in the palace, there was almost no one at all. Since the Emperor had fallen very ill, it was said that he had been frustrated by hearing chatters. Hence, he had chased his close attendants away. Currently, most matters were personally settled and attended to by the Empress.

Behind the curtains, there were sounds of cutlery clashing with each other and silhouettes of two people facing each other. From the shape of the silhouettes, one seemed to be lying in bed, while the other person sat and fed the former with a ceramic bowl.

It was very quiet, and only the heavy and muffled breaths of the sick could be heard.

Moments later, the person who was sitting by the bed set the bowl down heavily on a nearby table. “You’re not willing to eat again! I wasted my efforts in getting the kitchen to take three days to boil this for you!”

It sounded like a woman who seemed neither young nor old.

The person behind the curtain seemed to have said something, and the woman silently listened. She replied with an impatient tone, “You’re indeed worrying about that matter. I said I’m not seeing them!”

Then, there was another string of muttering. Afterward, she still stood by her stand. “I’m not seeing them! Both of them are bastards! One retracted from Lotus’s marriage unreasonably, while the other embarrassed Lotus in front of everyone else. They even joined forces to harm Lotus! They dare to come to Xuanji? They can come, but they’re not leaving so easily!”

The person on the bed coughed for a while, and it seemed as though he was a bit angry, as he suddenly raised his voice and shouted, “You’re making that mistake again! What can you do to not let them leave!” After that, he coughed violently again.

There was a moment of silence before the woman spoke. “You’re so ill right now, so why care about those matters? And why must you wait until April? You can just abdicate your throne too…”

“Xuanji’s throne was always passed down in April. If I go against my ancestors’ traditions, I will be punished by the Heavens. What do you know!?”

The woman seemed unwilling to back down, and she wanted to retort back. However, when she looked towards the inner part of the palace, she stopped herself. In a cold tone, she made her remarks. “How impressive and authoritative she is to use the so-called robbery as a threat, and even change our court’s proceedings at her own will! And we have to be at her beck and call!”

Coldly, she stood up and waved her sleeves, sweeping the bowls and chopsticks to the floor, and they smashed into pieces upon coming into contact with the golden tiled floor.

Her voice was even sharper and colder than the sound of the ceramic shattering.

…

“Comrades, we’re now sitting on the same boat, but there are ways out for us.” Meng Fuyao drank her tea casually as she looked at Hua Yan and Feng Wu. The two of them had mixed amongst the guards and entered their accommodation area. Right now, they stared at each other uncomfortably as they sat opposite her.

“It’s up to the both of you, whether we will fight and survive at least another season, or we will give up and resign to fate.” Meng Fuyao crossed one leg over the other and grinned. “So, come, tell me all the inside information that you know, even if it seems insignificant.”

Though she faced both of them, her eyes were focused only on Hua Yan. It was obvious that the line was targeted at him.

Hua Yan hesitated for a few moments, and his expression kept changing, as though he was thinking deeply about a very important and sticky issue. Meng Fuyao chose not to hurry him, and she waited patiently. After a while, Hua Yan seemed to have made up his mind. He slowly stood up, took out a small pouch from his robes, and respectfully held it with both hands. Raising the pouch above his head, he handed the item over to Meng Fuyao and Zhangsun Wuji.

Meng Fuyao observed his extremely solemn and respectful attitude, and she saw traces of blood on the bright golden pouch, although she did not know whose blood it was. Then, she saw that the pouch was holding something very square, and the shape made her think of something very frightening. Her heart skipped a beat, and she screamed internally. ‘It cannot be that, right?’

With doubts in her mind, she reached out and opened the pouch. Layers of silk fabric were securely wrapped around the content, and when the last dark-red layer of fabric was removed, a flawless and exquisite piece of white jade was revealed. It was a beautiful chop that had a solemn and impressive golden dragon carved on top of it. At the bottom of the chop, there were very obvious words carved on the chop, and the words were ‘Emperor’s Imperial Seal.’

It was the Jade Seal!

That was why the Eleventh Prince had ceaselessly tried to assassinate Hua Yan, even if it meant alarming Meng Fuyao! So he was after the Xuanji’s Jade Seal!

It was indeed frightening!

On the other side, Feng Wu also seemed stunned at the object. She sat on her spot, wriggled her fingers, and rubbed her feet together uncomfortably. Even her breathing seemed to quicken.

The Jade Seal was the noblest emblem of any country, and it symbolized the epitome of the power to kill and command. Countless people lived and died for it, and went to war for it. Just as how history had turned out in Meng Fuyao’s previous universe, the Jade of the He Clan or the jade seals that had been passed down through thousand-year dynasties recorded the tumultuous war history that spanned thousands of years. There had been the violent Qin Dynasty, the rising Han Dynasty, the two dissolute Jin Dynasties, the diverse Sixteen Kingdoms of Five non-Han people, and then the impressive Southern Dynasties. One could continue the tour down history lane past the Turkic minorities and the fulfilling Tang Dynasty, before the traces of the jade seals had been lost during the era of the Five Dynasties. After that, there had been no longer evidence which had enough historical significance to prove the presence of the royal powers.

As such, one could imagine that if the Xuanji’s Jade Seal fell in the hands of someone with ulterior motives, the scale of successive troubles would be unimaginable!

As Meng Fuyao caressed the smooth and shiny object, she suddenly felt a bit surreal. The seal that belonged to Xuanji’s ruler, and the true treasure of an Emperor, had actually appeared in front of her in such an unexpected manner.

However, why would Hua Yan have this?

“The Emperor passed me this.” Hua Yan seemed to have understood her doubts. In a bitter tone, he added, “Two months ago, the Emperor called for my wife and me to enter the palace. I don’t know what happened inside the palace, but when my wife came back, she looked very frightened. She brought all the soldiers along and asked us to leave the capital with her. Then, we were attacked, and the soldiers that followed us slowly died in the long escape. We were injured as well, and there were many moments when I felt that it was impossible for us to escape. There were countless times that I tried to ask my wife the truth, but she always shook her head and refused to speak as she cried. Finally, when we neared the borders between Dahan and Xuanji, my wife could no longer persevere. Before she passed away, she passed this Jade Seal to me and asked me to head towards Dahan, where your land is.”

“What else did she say?”

“She said that this object must not be easily given away. If you save me and agree to help us take revenge, we will pass the Jade Seal to you for you to return it back to our Emperor in Xuanji. Our Emperor will then give you his rewards.”

“How strange,” Meng Fuyao said as she raised an eyebrow. “Is your Emperor bored to death? Why would he let your wife go out of the palace with such a treasure, tour one round in the wilderness while narrowly passing by death, harm so many other lives, and then let me send it back? Ridiculous!”

“I don’t know either…” Hua Yan shook his head. “I also can’t understand… Maybe the source of this seal is unclear. But no matter what, my wife has already died, and we can only ask HIs Majesty now. You’re entering the palace tomorrow, so please think of ways to pass this back to His Majesty.”

“Why don’t you ask him yourself? Or even try to use this Jade Seal to take the throne?” Meng Fuyao frowned at him. “You’re handing such an important item to an outsider like me? Furthermore, I don’t really have a good reputation.”

“My family has no control over the military force, so what use is the Jade Seal to me? In seconds, I will be shredded to pieces by the princes and princesses who are in control of different powers. And why would the generals, who have so much power in their hands, listen to me? This is not a jade seal, but rather, a sword that kills and harms others. I don’t have the fate to live that kind of life, and I don’t want my family to be broken further apart.” Hua Yan gave a long sigh. He stood up and added, “As to why I’m passing it to you…”

He stood silently and thought about how we led the 3,000 guards back into the city with Ji Yu. Along the way, he had observed how disciplined Dahan’s army was, and how efficient and accurate messages had been passed, or matters had been settled. He recalled how Ji Yu and the others had been talking about Meng Fuyao in almost an idolizing manner, and the stories he had heard along the way about the struggles this infamous woman had been through.

Those were stories that had left him deep in shock.

Moments later, he said, “I trust you. I believe that the leader whom subordinates like General Ji are highly respectful and loyal to will never disappoint me.”

“How stressful…” Even after Hua Yan and Feng Wu walked far away, Meng Fuyao was still sighing. “I am now so burdened without any prior notice at all.”

“The ones in power seem to be living an impressive life, but the responsibilities they bear far exceed anyone else, and you will have to get used to that sooner or later.” Zhangsun Wuji and Lord Yuan Bao were playing the game of “guess the number of dice” beneath the light. Zhangsun Wuji grabbed dice in his palm and let Lord Yuan Bao guess. Lord Yuan Bao stuck his butt up and tried to find out the answer from the holes between his master’s fingers. However, his master’s fingers seemed to be made of steel, and nothing could be seen. As such, he kept missing the right answer.

Lord Yuan Bao felt very frustrated. He felt that he was not very wise when he first chose his master. Why had he chosen Zhangsun Wuji?

Meng Fuyao, on the other hand, was very interested. She moved over and said, “Rat, don’t play this with him. Even if you guess it right, he will just move the dice discretely, and you will still be wrong. Come play a game of “twist your mind” with me.”

Lord Yuan Bao looked at her in confusion. ‘What did it mean to twist one’s mind? Wouldn’t the mind end up in knots?’

“Xiao Ming’s father had three sons. The eldest was called Big Fur, the next in line was called Two Fur, so what is the third son called?”

Lord Yuan Bao hugged his stomach and roared with laughter. It was too easy! Way too easy! So easy that it was an insult to his intelligence of a legendary creature!

He extended three fingers and squeaked.

Meng Fuyao asked, “Three Fur?”

Lord Yuan Bao nodded, feeling very proud of himself.

It was Meng Fuyao’s turn to roar with laughter. “Oh my dear Yuan Bao, if your father gave birth to three rats including you, and if your eldest brother was Big Bao and your second brother Two Bao, should you then be called Three Bao?”

Lord Yuan Bao opened his eyes wide and squeaked violently. Meng Fuyao observed his expression, which seemed like one of excitement. Confused, she turned towards Zhangsun Wuji, who translated it for her. “He asked how you knew that his eldest brother was called Big Bao.”