Legend of Fu Yao

“It’s me, it’s me, it’s me, it’s me!” The leaves shook with a swishing noise, and a round face, accompanied by two round eyes, a round mouth, a round chin, and two round ears appeared.

Meng Fuyao’s mind went blank. ‘Has Doraemon also crossed time?’

Doraemon smiled at the seven sesame seed biscuits that Meng Fuyao was revealing and said sweetly, “Hehe… How come sister’s biscuits are always tastier than the ones at my place?”

Meng Fuyao’s vision turned black again. ‘Don’t tell me this is also what the Empress Dowager is using to select concubines, isn’t this way too unusual…

‘Wait a moment, the youngest concubine candidate was General Yang’s youngest daughter, the sixteen-year-old, Tang Yiguang…’

The sesame seeds above her head continued to fall as Tang Yiguang version Doraemon spoke incoherently while chewing her biscuit.

Meng Fuyao hurriedly jumped away from her area of attack and heard her say, “Hehe… Sister, your chest is so big… How did you grow it…”

Meng Fuyao lowered her head and stared at her chest. ‘It can’t be? I’m a 34B, but why am I looking at a 36D at least, and the other is probably 38E; I haven’t even reached the courtyard door, but my chest has already reached the front of the bed, how did Tang Yiguang grow her eyes?’

Doraemon was still stupidly and blindly investigating, “Hehe… How did you grow them…”

Meng Fuyao was about to fall apart. ‘This person should seriously be sent to childcare, not the imperial palace.’

The crumbs above her head fell even more vigorously; there seemed to be a hole in Tang Yiguang’s chin, and crumbs kept falling as she ate. Even more, she used a fishing rod to hook the biscuits—previously she had used this method and soundlessly taken another biscuit.

Meng Fuyao glared at the frightening hook swaying around her head, deathly afraid that this girl would carelessly hook an ear or something, so she hurriedly offered all the biscuits above her and said, “Can you please come down and eat, any more and my neck would be full of your sesame seed crumbs.”

Tang Yiguang giggled and stuffed the biscuit swiftly into her mouth. With a gurgle, she miraculously swallowed the biscuit which was larger than her palm and jumped down. She raised her head to look at Meng Fuyao and asked, “Is there any more?”

Meng Fuyao had seen the way she jumped down. ‘She actually knows martial arts’, she thought as her eyes flashed. Waving her hands, she smiled and said, “Yes, there is, but you have to tell me, why did you run up the tree?”

“Looking at my home…” Tang Yiguang licked the sesame seed crumbs on her fingers, looking nothing like a sixteen-year-old but more like a six-year-old. “If I sit high enough, I can see my home,” she said. Then, she blinked several times, and tears began to form in her eyes as she suddenly said tearfully, “I miss home…”

Her eyes roamed around Meng Fuyao’s chest, revealing a ‘This lady looks a lot like mummy, can I depend on her’ expression…

Meng Fuyao jumped up and said hastily, “Little An, bring a basket of biscuits to stop Lady Tang’s tears…” Then, she lifted her skirt and began to run—she had seen the girl’s furtive expression and was terrified that this girl who looked as if she still craved for milk would suddenly bite her chest in search for comfort…

She burrowed into the courtyard and shut the door, releasing a sigh as she leaned against the door. It was the first time she felt the feeling of “meeting one’s match”, damnit, she still thought she was peerless in the Xuanyuan imperial palace, and she could easily overcome anyone or anything that came her way. Yet, today she met a Doraemon who had her completely shut down.

Beside her, someone was chuckling softly. Meng Fuyao turned around and saw Shadow Blade laughing as he leaned against the door watching her, laughing. Her face reddened, and she thought, ‘Could he have seen what happened earlier? We’re still separated by a courtyard.’

However, she heard Shadow Blade say, “… That kid really doesn’t have a good eye for things…”

Meng Fuyao turned around angrily and shot back, “Bigger than yours is good enough!”

With a thud, Lord Yuan Bao’s biscuit fell from its paws in shock…

Shadow Blade was speechless for a moment, his pale face actually flushing slightly and Meng Fuyao realized that she said something wrong again, and her brain began to spin as she thought of any way to salvage the situation. Swallowing, she tried to escape into the room, but Shadow Blade was blocking the door. As Meng Fuyao attempted to slip past him, he suddenly reached out a hand and stopped her.

He was tall in stature and blocked the door completely, and with his hand up, Meng Fuyao couldn’t squeeze past at all, instead, knocking into his chest. She tried to move away, but he had already held onto her waist tightly as he leaned his head against her hair and said softly, “I once tried not to go near you… All I can bring you are deceit and darkness…”

Meng Fuyao held onto his waist, preventing any further bodily contact as she thought, ‘It seems like none of you have given me any kind of glory or honor?’ However, her mouth moved differently, and she unkindly retorted, “Then get away from me quickly.”

“But I changed my mind now.” Shadow Blade ignored her and held her shoulders as he continued, “There’s a type of person who was born to dispel the darkness, such as yourself. Since no matter where you are, you’re destined to always face deceit and danger, since you’re destined to never shake away the darkness, then why can’t it be me?”

“Are you having a fever again? What nonsense are you saying.” Meng Fuyao reached out and felt his forehead, yet her hand was grabbed by Shadow Blade as he placed her palm on his own face and told her clearly, “Yes, my heart is burning, and because it is burning, I am awake.”

The skin under her palm was not hot, even slightly cool, reminding one of the snow hidden atop the mountains, just like this devastatingly beautiful man whose temperament had always been slightly cold. However, his breath was hot, his gaze was hot, and the hand that was tightly holding onto her own was hot, and she felt a gentle warmth beneath the skin, a burning heart between the cool skin.

The room was empty as the man and woman faced each other, her palm pressed against his face silently in shock, and the surrounding air seemed to quieten into a tranquil lull that was hard to describe.

After a while, Shadow Blade turned his face into Meng Fuyao’s palm and pressed his soft and warm lips against it.

That kind of warm yet soft lips was as gentle as the silky texture of a rose petal, or a warm glow of the moon filled with emotion. It was as if he was trying to reach her heart through her palm and write his own story, all the past that was hidden deep within, the tears that were shed, the faint fragrance of the paint box, the cracks on the walls of the old cottage, the ones that were forgotten by the living but remembered by him; he hoped to share all of these memories with her.

‘My lips are written on your palm, it does not leave a deep impression, but I hope it will imprint on your heart.’

One print, as light as a dragonfly skimming the water’s surface, yet full of emotion.

After that, Shadow Blade let go of her hand and turned to leave, his robes billowing behind him as he moved. Meng Fuyao was left standing, stunned, her palm curled into a fist. The slight moistness in the center of her palm was soon burned away by the temperature of her body. Her heart was in shock, and she hadn’t managed to completely get over it yet. Finally, she forced her palm open, looked at the sky, and laughed helplessly.

Why the hell was it that when they were being charming, it was always so fast and sudden that she didn’t have the chance to pretend she didn’t notice?

Lord Yuan Bao was sitting on the table looking at Meng Fuyao as it pondered. It couldn’t help but think, ‘this brat really has quite a number of suitors, should I try telling the one at home?’ As a qualified and ultimate pet, from the perspective that it had to warn the prince, there was an urgent need. However, from the perspective as a suitor, as Meng Fuyao’s love rival, there wasn’t a need.

It was really a difficult situation…

That night, Xuanyuan Min barged in again, and Meng Fuyao locked him in the house, first giving him a punch, then stepping on His Majesty’s back and viciously asking, “That Tang Yiguang, how did she manage to sneak in among the concubine candidates? Does she actually meet some requirement from the Regent King’s Empress?”

The cross-dresser chortled in delight at being stepped by Queen Meng and said gleefully, “You’re right, she does meet the requirement. She was born into a top grade martial family. When she was four, she fell off a horse and hurt her brain, yet she still knows martial arts. She will only bring trouble to any family that she marries into, and it’s perfect for me—For such a simple-minded yet skilled empress, it will be the same as being tied up by eighteen different ropes; I won’t even hope to think of redeeming myself in this lifetime.”

Meng Fuyao smiled warmly, thinking of the antics that the little empress would offer the emperor. ‘She’ll drop crumbs all over…’ Her smile was perhaps too sadistic, and the cross-dresser turned around suspiciously. Meng Fuyao immediately switched expressions and shouted, “And hence you threw this annoying yam to me! I can’t hit her or scold her, and I can only resort to playing useless mind games on Lady Tang Yiguang… Oh, my sanity…”

“Long Live, given your brilliant and undefeated mind, it is but a trivial matter, what does it count for?” Xuanyuan Min wriggled his eyebrows and crawled up. “I am willing to be your vanguard and clear the road for you and defeat the enemy…”

Meng Fuyao, who was squatting on his back, suddenly fell over after he suddenly got up and was hence enraged. However, she suddenly heard something off and raised an eyebrow and asked skeptically, “Hm? What are you up to?”

“Tomorrow is the official selection of the consorts and be welcomed by the Regent King and me at the Jiuyi Palace,” Xuanyuan Min smiled, patting Meng Fuyao’s shoulder.

“Why don’t you just burn down, kill, or rob all of my palaces and courtyards!”

After twelve years on the throne, the heirless emperor of Xuanyuan, Xuanyuan Min, had finally to, under the invitation of the Regent King and court officials, select eight gentle, proper, virtuous and beautiful candidates. On the twenty-fourth day of the tenth month of the twelfth year, at the Xuanyuan imperial palace, he would pick his consorts, and the Regent King would oversee everything closely.

Eight consorts were selected, and they were all backed by powerful families with military or merchant backgrounds—of course, it all had nothing to do with Xuanyuan Min.

Among the eight, an empress would be selected, a Consort of Virtue would be selected, and the rest would either enter the harem if they caught the emperor’s eye or if they were not welcomed, they’d be bequeathed to a member of the royal family.

That day, two rows of red lanterns were hung, symbolizing that the official “Royal Concubine Candidates” carriage was entering through the gates. Under the guidance of the eunuchs, Meng Fuyao and the seven other candidates were presented before the palace steps and given a body check before greeting the Regent King. For Meng Fuyao, lowering her head to him was a great and painful humiliation, and with every bow, she swore to get back at Xuanyuan Min, and with every bow, she cursed Xuanyuan Cheng.

Perhaps she cursed too much because Xuanyuan Min kept sneezing on the throne and Xuanyuan Cheng turned around with a concerned look and asked, “Is Your Majesty feeling alright?”