Chapter 245: Spring Sentiment Fading

Chapter 245: Spring's Fading Charm

Outside the window, rain patters softly.

Large drops of rain strike the lake's surface, splashing up a crackling symphony. The autumn wind carries a hint of moisture; spray lands on the windowsill and on faces, adding a misty, dreamy clarity to the room's atmosphere.

A few stray strands at her temples, tousled by the wind, cling to her face. Vermilion Bird reaches up to smooth them, and Zhao Changhe's heart skips another beat.

Such a simple gesture, yet brimming with allure.

Vermilion Bird, perceptive as she was, heard his racing heartbeat as clearly as a drum beating before her, and finally couldn't help but laugh: "Little lecher."

Her laughter shattered the stillness, as if a frozen frame suddenly began to flow. The rain continued to fall, the wind howled, and the flustered young man finally averted his gaze, muttering, "How am I a lecher? We've traveled together all this way, and I haven't even touched your hand..."

"Really never touched?"

Zhao Changhe then recalled that he had accidentally held her hand once in Sword Lake City, but got beaten for it, and she never let him touch her again.

"Never touched," Zhao Changhe said, stiffening his neck. "Unless you let me touch you again to prove it."

"Hey," Vermilion Bird crossed her arms again. "Since you know my identity, you should understand you were mistaken before. The Venerable wouldn't send an imperial consort for you to toy with. It was all your own fantasy from start to finish. Earlier, with that piggish face of yours, you kept flirting. I only held back from hitting you for the sake of the sect's grand plan. And now you still dare to tease?"

Zhao Changhe truly didn't dare, but not for that reason.

Regardless of why the Vermilion Bird Venerable sent you, I could still pursue you.

The problem was that he dared not pursue an imperial consort; the self-reference "this palace" made him even more timid. Setting aside all ethical considerations, she was still a "married woman," truly improper.

Seeing his expression, Vermilion Bird smiled faintly and said slowly, "First meeting... My name is Huangfu Qing."

Zhao Changhe didn't respond to that. He slumped his shoulders in defeat and muttered, "You might as well have kept wearing the pig mask. You say you were holding back then, but I think that was when you were happiest. Now you're the one wearing a mask."

Huangfu Qing narrowed her eyes slightly, then suddenly laughed and stepped forward.

A fragrant breeze brushed his face, her red lips inches away. Zhao Changhe instinctively stepped back. At that moment, his mind oddly felt that these lips resembled Vermilion Bird's, and the pressure was similar—should he say it was fitting for a direct subordinate?

The thought flashed by in an instant, and Huangfu Qing stepped forward again.

Soon his back was against a pillar, with nowhere to retreat.

Huangfu Qing leaned close to him, her fingers lightly tracing his cheek, then stopping at his chin and tilting it up slightly. Then her fragrant lips approached his ear, less than half an inch away, and she whispered softly, "If this palace doesn't wear a mask, then I'll take a lover. Do you dare to accept?"

"Hey, no, that's not..." Zhao Changhe said, his face reddening. "Your Highness, please show some restraint..."

"See, earlier you were flirting and teasing, eager to push me against the wall and devour me. Now, with the rain outside and warmth inside, such an atmosphere, yet you speak of restraint." Huangfu Qing said seductively. "So... who is it that's wearing a mask now?"

Zhao Changhe stood there stunned.

After a long while, he said with difficulty, "That's different. She's a married woman..."

"But I'm not."

Zhao Changhe was stunned again.

Huangfu Qing said in a coquettish tone, "Do you know why the Wang family dares to show rebellious intent? Such matters cannot be known without witnessing them in the palace. Even Tang Wanzhuang, no matter how favored, wouldn't know."

Zhao Changhe almost forgot their current posture and asked instinctively, "What's going on?"

"Because the Xia Longyuan everyone sees now is just a fake. He knows nothing, and his martial arts are only at the third or fourth level of the Mystic Barrier. The so-called mishap with Xia Longyuan is simply because it's not that person at all."

Zhao Changhe was dumbfounded. "That works?"

"Of course. Xia Longyuan never wanted to rule. His mind was never on the mortal world. Why would he come to court every few days? Wasting time and energy—it couldn't possibly be him."

"Then where is the real Xia Longyuan?"

"The real Xia Longyuan is injured... or perhaps not injured, but in a state of secret combat from which he cannot extricate himself. I haven't confirmed the specifics yet. But what is certain is that he is definitely engaged in battle with someone and has no energy to attend to anything else."

"So the frequent blunders are also the fake's doing, because he simply doesn't know how to govern?"

"No, from my observations, the fake doesn't dare to issue any orders on his own. All the chaotic policies are likely directed by the real Xia Longyuan. The fake's 'seclusion' is actually for receiving instructions from Xia Longyuan himself. I also don't understand why Xia Longyuan would give such strange orders—it's almost as if he's deliberately letting the kingdom fall apart."

"...Could it be that he truly doesn't care anymore and wants the country to perish?"

"I don't know." Huangfu Qing smiled faintly. "That's why I entered the palace. The more contact, the more details I can learn."

"..."

"The Venerable threatened the fake with his identity and forced him to grant me the position of imperial consort. We did it deliberately. With this identity, it's easier to operate and investigate in the palace, and also to build up our influence as relatives by marriage. This is probably the only imperial decree the fake issued himself... Not to mention, the Wang family is furious. In the early days before Xia Longyuan rose to power, one of the agreements for the Wang family's full support was to ensure the Wang family's position as empress forever. This consort appointment is like tearing at the edges—almost tearing off the face entirely."

Zhao Changhe twitched the corner of his mouth.

Long ago, he had heard rumors in the martial world that Xia Longyuan didn't bring the Luo family's illegitimate son back to the capital because the empress's family was powerful. Now it seemed that such rumors were not without reason. Although Xia Longyuan's refusal to bring the illegitimate son home might not be solely for that reason, there was some basis...

Speaking of which, this fake really had nerve. Not only did he offend the Wang family, but the real Xia Longyuan behind him might not approve either.

Huangfu Qing could read Zhao Changhe's thoughts and laughed, "Of course, he has his own schemes. He has nothing, but allying with our Four Symbols Sect gives him some leverage. Perhaps he can even break free from the real Xia Longyuan's control and truly become emperor? Who would be willing to be a puppet for life?"

Zhao Changhe was stunned for a long time before finally saying, "If he were younger, it would be a protagonist's outline."

Huangfu Qing didn't understand that remark and didn't care. She just asked leisurely, "Tell me... am I considered Xia Longyuan's consort? Am I a married woman? Am I your stepmother?"

Zhao Changhe swallowed his saliva and stammered, "If you put it that way, it seems not."

All previous confusion suddenly cleared up. Why would such a proud young lady become someone's consort? Why would Xia Longyuan bother to accept this consort? Originally, neither side's intentions were understandable. But when that Xia Longyuan was just a fake, and both sides had other motives, everything made sense.

And such matters, Tang Wanzhuang and the others truly couldn't know. They didn't dare to recklessly test the fake like Vermilion Bird did. So they would never get the real answer, only painfully guess that there were secrets upon secrets, but no matter how hard they racked their brains, they couldn't figure out what those secrets were.

But there was one question: "According to you, Xia Longyuan hasn't actually lost control behind the scenes. How can he tolerate the fake causing trouble? And what if he comes to kill you?"

Huangfu Qing giggled, her fingers continuing to trace his face. "You worried about me?"

Zhao Changhe's face tightened. "Stop fooling around. We're talking serious matters."

"I don't know what he's thinking either. I was originally prepared to flee, but there's been no movement..." As the Vermilion Bird herself, since she dared to test the fake, she naturally had the confidence to escape from the real one, who was supposedly heavily injured. But she didn't want to tell Zhao Changhe that. Instead, she deliberately asked with a grin, "Hey, tell me, if the real one suddenly came demanding the consort's bed service, should I fulfill my consort duties?"

Zhao Changhe blurted out, "You dare!"

"Hehe..." Huangfu Qing's red lips drew even closer, almost touching the fine hairs on Zhao Changhe's face. "Then... between you and me now, who is wearing the mask?"

Damn it...

After all that talk, this was your real point!

He finally gritted his teeth, reached out to grab her waist, and at the same time lunged to bite her fiercely: "Today, let's have a piggy clash!"

But even though their bodies were almost touching, his grab caught only air.

Huangfu Qing deftly sidestepped, then casually pushed the back of his head, watching him stumble forward with his piggy mouth, and smiled sweetly, "Dream on, little lecher."

Zhao Changhe almost cried.

If Chichi was just a little enchantress who had just started, this one was a great enchantress who had long reached mastery.

Playing like this could be deadly!