Cheng Guan stared at Yu Xiaoxiao for a long time until he forgot what he was going to say next. Yu Xiaoxiao said, “Will Wen Fenglin try to kill you again?”
Cheng Guan shook his head. With things at this state, how could Wen Fenglin order another assassination? He’d be more focused on preserving his own life. “Princess,” Cheng Guan began, “We need to think of what to do after the junior master returns to Eternal Life Temple.”
Yu Xiaoxiao rose to her feet. It’s fine as long as Cheng Guan’s not in immediate danger, ah. Let’s talk about Wen Fenglin, Eternal Life Temple, and the armies of five nations tomorrow.
“Princess?” Cheng Guan saw that the princess had stood up and hastily asked, “You’re leaving?” When he begged her to leave, she wouldn’t, but now she was off as soon as things got serious?
“It’s not like it’s some big deal,” Yu Xiaoxiao said while slapping him on the shoulders. “Sleep. I’ll come see you again tomorrow.”
“That’s not it, princess…” State Preceptor Cheng Guan didn’t get any farther than that before Her Royal Highness flashed out of sight. By the time he chased her outside, the courtyard was empty exception for the moth orchids blooming enchantingly beneath the moonlight.
Hearing his master’s shouts, the young monk Wang Yue ran into the courtyard in a huff. “Master, what’s wrong?”
“Have you seen Her Royal Highness?” Cheng Guan askd.
Wang Yue shook his head. He had been guarding the gate to the courtyard and never saw Her Royal Highness leave. Cheng Guan rested a hand on his forehead before he said, “Come with me to the palace.”
“Master, the palace has long locked itself up for the night,” Wang Yue pointed out. “Will His Majesty see you?”
Cheng Guan walked down the stairs and out towards the exit. Eternal Life Temple’s junior master was poisoned and nearly died in Fengtian. How could I dare to not report this to His Majesty as quickly as possible?
—
Yu Xiaoxiao flipped over the walls of Safeguard Temple and glanced back into the darkness to see lanterns flickering within like stars. At first, she felt unlucky that meeting Wen Fenglin had brought her such misfortune, but rejoiced in the fact that she saved Cheng Guan’s life by stealing some food.
With a bang, Yu Xiaoxiao kicked off the wall and turned towards home. If she stayed any longer, it’d turn light out. The wall swayed a few times in her wake before minute cracks appeared on its surface. Autumn insects scurried about in the grass at the base of the wall, running for their lives.
Yu Xiaoxiao wandered about the dark city streets but didn’t find any shops open selling food, so she went home empty-handed. Gu Xingnuo had ended up waiting all night in the place where his younger sister-in-law had jumped over the wall. It wasn’t until nearly daybreak that the eldest Gu brother witnessed the princess jumping back inside.
“Huh, big bro?” Yu Xiaoxiao saw Gu Xingnuo standing beneath the osmanthus flower tree. Gu Xingnuo beckoned her over, so she walked to him while looking at the flower buds on the branches overhead. “Big bro, why are you here?”
Gu Xingnuo’s smile was rather stiff. Shouldn’t he be the one asking where Her Royal Highness had gone out that night?
Yu Xiaoxiao said, “Big bro, are you suffering from insomnia?”
Gu Xingnuo decided to stop beating around the bush. “Princess, where did you go?”
“I went to Safeguard Temple,” Yu Xiaoxiao replied.
“Why did you go to Safeguard Temple?”
“To find Wen Fenglin.”
“Who?”
“Oh, that Junior Master Fenglin. I just gave him a random surname.”
Eldest Young Master Gu rubbed his face. “Alright, let’s just call Junior Master Fenglin ‘Wen Fenglin,’ then. Princess, what did you find him for?” If he remembered correctly, Eternal Life Temple’s Wen Fenglin was a beautiful youth, right?
Yu Xiaoxiao pursed her lips. “I was planning to eavesdrop on him. Big bro, I smell a plot from Wen Fenglin.”
“Oh,” Gu Xingnuo said blankly. Actually, what do plots even smell like?
Yu Xiaoxiao continued, “And then I found out that Wen Fenglin was planning to kill the State Preceptor. Hmph, people can’t do bad deeds. He wanted to poison the state preceptor to death but ended up poisoning himself instead. Big bro, I was planning to throttle Wen Fenglin to death then, but the state preceptor wouldn’t let me. He said it’d cause Zhuri and the other five nations to set their armies on our Fengtian. Actually, even if all six armies come, I’m not afraid. But I saw that the state preceptor was about to cry, so I spared Wen Fenglin to stop his tears.”
Gu Xingnuo could only stare at his royal sister-in-law. There was too much meaning in her words for him to process all at once, so his head hurt. But the more he analyzed it, the more he wanted to die. Yu Xiaoxiao noticed his abnormality and wondered why her brother had stopped moving his eyes. “Big bro?” She tried waving her hands in front of his face, concerned. “Are you alright?”
Gu Xingnuo rubbed his face again, his voice a little weak. “I’m fine. Princess, let’s straighten out your words a bit.”
“Which part of my words didn’t you understand, big bro?” Yu Xiaoxiao asked.
Lord Grandfather in Heaven, Gu Xingnuo fretted. I didn’t understand a single thing, alright?
“Big bro, I see you’re not looking so good. How about you go back and sleep with big sister-in-law,” Yu Xiaoxiao suddenly wanted to check on her Little Gu. She wasn’t sure how he was doing after his shot of penicilin last night.
“You wait a bit, Xinglang’s still sleeping,” Gu Xingnuo said.
“Then why are you here, big bro?” Yu Xiaoxiao asked.
Gu Xingnuo sighed. Every night, he’d take the house guards to patrol around the grounds. Tonight, he just happened to glimpse Yu Xiaoxiao climbing over the walls. For the sake of preserving her good name, he didn’t tell a soul but stood waiting for her an entire night, gambling on the chance that she’d return by the same place. Although his gamble had paid off, it seemed like things would have been better if she never came home at all.
“Insomnia is a disorder, you have to treat it,” Yu Xiaoxiao said seriously. “I don’t know if your world has soporifics, but you should try some if they do, big bro.”
“You said that Junior Master Fenglin wanted to kill the state preceptor?” Gu Xingnuo asked. He could worry about whatever “soporifics” were later.
“Right, ah,” Yu Xiaoxiao nodded.
“Why?” Gu Xingnuo asked.
“I asked the state preceptor, but he wouldn’t say,” Yu Xiaoxiao replied.
Wen Fenglin said these were their Eternal Life Temple matters and for me to drop dead and not get involved.” (Author: Your Royal Highness, are you sure that’s what your ex-emperor consort said?)
“So the state preceptor’s fine, but Junior Master Fenglin was poisoned?” Gu Xingnuo asked next.
“That’s righto,” Yu Xiaoxiao said, “Doesn’t that just serve him right?”
“It really does,” Gu Xingnuo echoed, then asked, “But why was it Junior Master Fenglin that got poisoned?”
“Urk,” Yu Xiaoxiao stammered. “Big bro, if I say I accidentally switched the poisonous soup with the non-poisonous one, will you believe me? Actually, I don’t know why the two of them had the exact same dinner, either. Do monks all share the same taste in foods?”
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