"Prefect Zhou, someone is looking for you."
As Zhou Fugui was idly reminiscing in the inn, a runner from the Yan You Province Inn entered his room and delivered the message.
Murong Huiying had left, accompanying her father to the west.
Before departing, the two had met at the Peach Blossom Nunnery on Wulong Mountain. Their hearts had intertwined, and they had sworn vows of eternal love, pledging themselves to each other.
They had still not crossed the final boundary. Zhou Fugui's reason for pulling back from the brink was to reserve the most beautiful moment for their wedding night. Apart from this, they had been deeply immersed in their nascent love, showering each other with affection and experiencing profound intimacy. Even after Murong Huiying's departure, Zhou Fugui found himself lost in fond memories, as if her fragrance still lingered on his fingertips.
"Who is it?" Zhou Fugui, annoyed, glared at the runner and asked.
Before the runner could reply, a young woman in foreign attire entered the room. Upon entering, she clasped her hands behind her back, her face flushed, and remained silent, gazing at Zhou Fugui with a hint of shyness.
The maiden wore a snow-white, dark-patterned, floral-embellished, off-the-shoulder long skirt. The fabric was genuine Jiangnan silk. She also wore a cotton vest and a red tassel hat. Her attire was opulent, signifying an extraordinary status.
Her delicate brows were sculpted like willow leaves, her cheeks rosy like peach blossoms, and her waist slender and supple. Though her beauty might not rival Murong Huiying's, with the echoes of snow and the contest of plum blossoms against snow, she possessed her own unique charm.
Most remarkably, the maiden's eyes were blue, the color of the sea.
"You... who are you? Are you looking for me?" Zhou Fugui, feeling increasingly uncomfortable under her gaze, asked with great surprise.
"Who else would I be looking for?" the maiden replied, tilting her head to look at Zhou Fugui with a slight pout. "Hey, are you Zhou Fugui?"
"That would be me!" Zhou Fugui replied, looking down at the maiden who was a full head shorter than him.
"I am Jing Lian," the maiden said.
"Jing Lian? Who is she? Do I know you?" Zhou Fugui asked, still utterly bewildered.
"His Majesty's eldest daughter, Princess Jing Lian," the old inn runner replied, before exiting Zhou Fugui's room and closing the door.
Who exactly is this person? the old runner mused inwardly after closing the door. First, it was the beloved daughter of Yan's Left Virtuous King, Princess Ziyue Murong Huiying, who had visited Zhou Fugui several times. There was clearly something going on between them; perhaps they had already been intimately involved... And now, Yan's eldest princess, Princess Jing Lian Murong Xiaoxiao, was also here. She had a large entourage of palace maids and eunuchs waiting outside the inn, yet she had entered alone to find Zhou Fugui. This suggested her relationship with Zhou Fugui was no ordinary one...
Could it be that two beautiful princesses of Yan were interested in the same man? And that detestable pretty boy intended to have his cake and eat it too, winning over both with a single stratagem?
When I was young, I was definitely stronger than him, the old runner thought through gritted teeth.
Emperor Yan Murong Xi was over fifty years old, while Princess Jing Lian Murong Xiaoxiao was only fourteen. In truth, she was not Murong Xi's eldest daughter. Besides the Crown Prince Cheng, he had an elder sister and two elder brothers. However, all three had died prematurely.
In this world, the average lifespan was very short, and a single misstep could lead to death, especially in times of turmoil.
"Oh... so you are..." Zhou Fugui, who had been in the inn room, suddenly came to a realization with a surprised "Oh," and then asked, "His Majesty's eldest... daughter?"
The idea that that fat man could have produced such a delicate young lady was something Zhou Fugui could never believe.
"What? You don't believe it?" Princess Murong Xiaoxiao asked, seeing Zhou Fugui's incredulous expression. She then puffed out her chest, which was considerably smaller than Murong Huiying's.
"Heh heh, of course, I believe it! I truly believe it!" Zhou Fugui chuckled and then asked, "Your humble subject did not know of Your Highness's esteemed arrival. Please forgive my ignorance! May I ask why Your Highness has graced me with your presence?"
"What crime have you committed?" Murong Xiaoxiao asked, looking at Zhou Fugui with a puzzled expression. "I just wanted to see what kind of person you are?"
"What kind of person? Two eyes, one nose, one mouth, and a pair of shoulders supporting a head. What other kind could I be?" Zhou Fugui shrugged.
"Pfft!" Murong Xiaoxiao couldn't help but giggle. As she suppressed her laughter, she put on a serious face and said, "If your head were chopped off, there would be nothing on your shoulders, hee hee... Humph... I want to see what kind of person you are to be able to charm Sister Ziyue?"
Murong Xiaoxiao was well aware of Murong Huiying's anxious concern at the Yan Palace training grounds. She still felt a lingering discomfort on her legs. Coupled with Zhou Fugui's impressive display at the training grounds, where he skillfully outwitted the Yan's Left Guard General Pu Yijian, Murong Xiaoxiao had developed a strong curiosity about him.
Princess Ziyue Murong Huiying was famously known as a frosty beauty.
"Charm... charm?" Zhou Fugui said, slightly displeased. "Your Highness, please choose your words carefully! To be frank, your humble subject and Ying... ah... Princess Ziyue do have some interactions. During our time in the army, she was the commander, and I was her subordinate, but this was a mutual agreement. How can you speak of charming? Moreover... regarding this 'moreover,' does Your Highness not know that such a thing as mutual affection exists in this world?"
So, she's here to demand an explanation? Zhou Fugui thought to himself. Would they dismember him or execute him simply because he had "charmed" Murong Huiying?
At the same time, he realized the significant obstacles he and Murong Huiying would face. This was just the beginning, and someone was already coming to confront him, he mused.
However, Zhou Fugui had misunderstood her intentions at this moment.
Despite Zhou Fugui's outburst, Murong Xiaoxiao did not get angry. Instead, she asked with a playful smile, "You and Sister Ziyue are mutually in love? Tell me quickly, tell me, how did you charm her?"
Curiosity filled Murong Xiaoxiao's pretty face, and the fire of gossip burned intensely in her heart...
"..." Zhou Fugui's face darkened, he was utterly speechless.
"Why are you looking like that? Are you going to tell me or not? Not telling? If you don't tell me, I will... Humph, humph, humph..." Murong Xiaoxiao huffed repeatedly.
"Are you a pig? Huffing and puffing like that. What will you do if I don't tell you?"
This little girl, trying to act tough in front of him? Zhou Fugui couldn't help but find it amusing. The room was just the two of them. If pushed, he could always... and then... what could she do? He just didn't know if there was anyone waiting outside.
Zhou Fugui glanced out the window as he thought of this.
"What are you looking at?" Murong Xiaoxiao, as if she had read Zhou Fugui's mind, said triumphantly with a smile, "All my people are outside. You are surrounded, and you can't escape, hee hee..."
"Oh..." Zhou Fugui's spirit immediately deflated upon hearing this. He lowered his head and said, "These matters... your humble subject finds them truly difficult to articulate. Your Highness may punish me as you see fit, but... everything can be discussed, can't it?"
Leaving room for maneuver, or knowing when to back down, was Zhou Fugui's consistent principle.
"Hahaha..." Zhou Fugui's demeanor made Murong Xiaoxiao erupt in laughter again. Her blue eyes twinkled as she said, "If you don't tell me, I'll punish you by accompanying me on... on... an undercover visit, yes, an undercover visit."
No wonder Ziyue was so smitten with him, Murong Xiaoxiao mused inwardly. Talking to him was incredibly enjoyable; she could talk to him forever. Unlike her father or the court officials who only knew how to nod and obey, they were utterly boring.
"Undercover visit? What sort of undercover visit?" Zhou Fugui asked with great surprise.
"What? You don't want to?" Murong Xiaoxiao asked stubbornly.
"Willing... How dare your humble subject disobey Your Highness's command?" Zhou Fugui thought to himself that if he didn't go with her today, he wouldn't get out of this predicament. An undercover visit? That meant sneaking out of the palace for a stroll. At worst, he could slip away halfway. So, Zhou Fugui nodded in agreement.
.........
"You call this an undercover visit?"
As Zhou Fugui accompanied Murong Xiaoxiao out of the inn, he looked at the crowd of palace maids, eunuchs, guards, and the sedan chair and horses amidst them. He said with a wry smile.
If a few more people were to clear the way, holding up banners that read "Make Way, Majesty," it would be like a government official parading through the streets...
"Oh, so what do you suggest we do?" Murong Xiaoxiao also felt something was amiss, so she asked.
"Tell them all to go back..." Zhou Fugui looked Murong Xiaoxiao up and down and said, "And your clothes! Are you afraid people won't know you're a princess?"
"Oh, oh..." Murong Xiaoxiao nodded repeatedly. "But... what should I change into?"
Zhou Fugui gestured with his chin towards a beggar on the side of the street and said, "Borrow his clothes."
Huh? Murong Xiaoxiao looked at the beggar, then at Zhou Fugui, her face filled with difficulty.
Murong Xiaoxiao might be willing to change into common clothes for fun, but how could she endure clothes as ragged and foul-smelling as those worn by the beggar?
So, this guy was playing a trick on me? Murong Xiaoxiao suddenly realized this when she saw a sly smile on Zhou Fugui's lips. She became furious and cried out, "Guards!"
"Your servants are here!" a chorus of guards and eunuchs responded.
Everyone had long been annoyed with Zhou Fugui. How could a mere Han man be seen chatting and laughing with a princess? Shameless and lawless! This is intolerable! All sorts of resentful thoughts filled their minds as they hurled the most malicious words they could think of at Zhou Fugui...
They were all waiting for Yan's Princess Jing Lian to give the order, and then they would arrest this brazen individual and beat him to death.
Although Zhou Fugui was a skilled archer and a brave general, who had killed the former divine archer and Left Guard General Pu Yijian in the Yan Palace training grounds, even the fiercest tiger fears a pack of wolves. It was unlikely he could withstand the onslaught of the crowd.
"Take off the beggar's clothes and put them on him! Hahaha!" Murong Xiaoxiao said, and then she burst into laughter herself.