Chapter 744: Vermilion Bird Arrives (2/4)

Chapter 744: The Vermilion Bird Arrives (2/4)

Over there, Gui Jinyang was even more dumbfounded, at a loss for words. With that pale face, dark eyes, and expressionless look of yours, who could you possibly resemble?

"Forget it." The Vermilion Bird waved a hand. "How are the living conditions inside?"

Gui Jinyang hurriedly replied, "We've been keeping the dark chamber clean, and the bedding was just changed today."

The Vermilion Bird nodded in satisfaction. "Alright, you may leave. I need to have a few words with this Buddhist disciple first."

Gui Jinyang cast a strange glance at Zhao Changhe, then bowed and withdrew.

The chamber quickly fell silent, with only the soft glow of the night pearl faintly illuminating.

Suddenly, the Vermilion Bird grabbed Zhao Changhe by the collar. "I saw you kissing her hand from afar!"

Zhao Changhe's cheek twitched. "So that's why you were so furious that your dharma form manifested and caused such a commotion?"

"So what if it was?" The Vermilion Bird snorted. "I'm different from you. You carry the Heavenly Book, coveted by gods and demons. I'm purely in a struggle for power. Do you think the Dao Venerable pays me any mind? As long as they don't move, how could the Li family, even with their barbarian allies, possibly keep me here?"

In theory, yes... Zhao Changhe sighed. "But Jiuyou is different. She would really kill you."

"Oh, so her name is Jiuyou! Wait a moment." The Vermilion Bird frowned. "That name sounds familiar."

Zhao Changhe reminded her, "It's recorded in the classics: 'The Night Emperor drove Jiuyou to the North Pole' and so on, mentioned in many places."

"The Night Emperor..." The Vermilion Bird was stunned. "So her hostility toward me is because of this?"

"Of course it's because of this!" Zhao Changhe stamped his foot. "She came to kill me, did you think she came to throw herself into my arms? And that she'd be jealous of you?"

The Vermilion Bird realized she might have misunderstood something, but still stubbornly snorted, "That's hard to say. You kissed her hand. With her strength, would she let you kiss her so easily? I think she's just a slut who wants a man."

Zhao Changhe didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He had no idea what the blind man was doing. You have the ability to silently restrict her hand, why not just beat her up directly? Now this whole mess...

Though the Vermilion Bird said that, she knew in her heart she had misunderstood, and her anger subsided. She pouted and said, "Anyway, I don't care. Seeing you with this new face makes me uncomfortable. Change it back."

Zhao Changhe readily wiped off the disguise, revealing his true appearance.

The Vermilion Bird looked him up and down, nodded in satisfaction. "This is still more pleasing to the eye. Ugly as it is, I'm used to it."

"Who's ugly?" Zhao Changhe stepped forward.

The Vermilion Bird stepped back, her eyes darting. "You, you! Like a pig!"

Zhao Changhe pulled her into his arms and bent down to kiss her. "Then the pig is coming to nibble on you."

The Vermilion Bird, who had just been so imposing outside, was now weakly cornered against the wall, kissed senseless.

"I just asked—the bedding is new," she panted, murmuring seductively.

Zhao Changhe lifted her by the waist, kicked open the door to the side chamber, and the two quickly tumbled onto the bed.

At the other end of Chang'an City, Jiuyou slowly walked along the brightly lit Vermilion Bird Avenue, savoring the name of the street, her eyes flickering.

A group of armored guards quickly approached from one end of the street. The leader knelt on one knee. "Miss, we've finally found you. The master is frantic with worry."

Jiuyou withdrew her gaze from the street plaque and said calmly, "Spread a rumor that Yuxu has colluded with the Four Symbols Sect. Let's see how he responds tomorrow. Also, go tell Kongshi, given the current situation, does he still insist on holding onto his Illusory Mirror?"

"Yes." The guard immediately obeyed, not needing to report back to the family head.

Seeing this, one couldn't tell whether she was the young miss or an ancestor.

◎ Evening Makeup Side Story (Part 2)

(This is the second part of the side story. The first part is before Chapter 723. You can read it on the Qidian app. It's a paid side story, currently no resources.)

—

Watching the girl across the courtyard directing servants to carry large bundles into the house, Huangfu Qing was furious. "Tang Wanzhuang! Are you deliberately trying to spite me?"

Tang Wanzhuang turned her head in surprise. "Can't I live in the capital? You're quite controlling."

"If you want to live in the capital, why not anywhere else? Why right across from my house?"

"Is this street yours?" Tang Wanzhuang looked her up and down, a mocking smile appearing. "Or is it that Miss Huangfu, who just moved to the capital, is afraid of me?"

Tang Wanzhuang, of course, was trying to figure out if this woman was really the Vermilion Bird, to facilitate close surveillance. Damn demon cultists, let them hit me.

Huangfu Qing, unaware that the other party had such deep suspicions, felt provoked. She was so angry that she forgot her reluctance to fight and risk exposing her Vermilion Bird cultivation. She stepped forward furiously. "Then let me see what makes the newly promoted Hidden Dragon No. 38 so exceptional!"

"Bang, bang, slap, slap..."

The hot-tempered girl Vermilion Bird and the upright girl Tang Wanzhuang, their second battle since Lake Tai and the first of many years in the capital, erupted abruptly at their doorsteps.

Countless heads poked out from all around, many holding peanuts and melon seeds to watch the show.

Pretty girls fighting is always a sight to behold... Really appetizing.

Not only was it good to watch, but they were also formidable. Their graceful movements contained extremely sharp transitions between offense and defense, turning many spectators from amused to solemn, thinking that if they went up, they'd be slapped to death by these two girls.

Damn, what kind of world is this? Are martial prowess and beauty directly proportional?

Come to think of it, Tang Wanzhuang had just been promoted to Hidden Dragon No. 38, so her strength was expected. But how was Miss Huangfu this powerful? She was holding her own!

In fact, neither of them was fighting at full strength. On the capital's ground, in public, Tang Wanzhuang couldn't use her sword. Most of the Tang family's martial arts power lay in the Spring Water Sword Technique; unarmed, she was indeed somewhat weaker. Huangfu Qing, not daring to use the Four Symbols Sect's techniques, used her family's martial arts, which were also half as strong. But her skills, aside from battlefield spear techniques, were mainly unarmed, making up for it in that area. Thus, the two ended up evenly matched.

The girls each used grappling techniques, grabbing each other's collars. At the corner of the wall, they pressed and rolled over each other, faces flushed red, glaring angrily.

A peddler carrying a load passed through the street. "Soy milk! Fine soy milk!"

"..." The two girls, faces tight, cursed inwardly: Damn little vixen, so young yet so buxom, truly born to seduce men.

One thought to herself: If I could release flames now, I'd burn you to death, you little vixen.

The other thought: I must train hard in the family's Blue Wave Clear Ripple Grappling Technique, and one day I'll use it to subdue her.

As for testing whether the other was the Vermilion Bird, that was long forgotten.

Half a big child poked out from inside the Huangfu Marquis's mansion, calling cautiously, "Sister, the debate at Zhengming Palace has started. Do you want to go?"

Huangfu Qing let go of Tang Wanzhuang's collar and said hatefully, "I'll deal with you next time."

With that, she strode off.

Tang Wanzhuang silently straightened her collar and followed Huangfu Qing.

"?" Huangfu Qing turned in surprise while flying. "What are you doing? Haven't you had enough?"

Tang Wanzhuang: "...I also want to go to Zhengming Palace."

Huangfu Qing was furious. "Am I your guide or something?"

"This is wisdom."

"Bang, bang, slap, slap!"

The two girls fought all the way along the street to Zhengming Palace.

...

"When the ruler regards his ministers as his hands and feet, the ministers regard their ruler as their belly and heart; when the ruler regards his ministers as dogs and horses, the ministers regard their ruler as a commoner; when the ruler regards his ministers as dirt and grass, the ministers regard their ruler as a bandit and enemy... The people are the most important, the state comes next, and the ruler is the least..."

Zhengming Palace was a public platform, not for teaching, but for the collision of various political ideas. It indeed had some flavor of the ancient Jixia debates, and was a feature of Xia Longyuan's early intention to govern well, but in recent years he had long since grown tired of it.

In the square, someone was debating. In the past, many people would listen, but in recent years, few did. The two girls quietly entered, sat far apart, each resting their chin in thought.

To the north of the square was a high platform, where the emperor, who rarely participated, sat, watching the speeches below without a word.

Hearing these famous quotes from Mencius, Xia Longyuan couldn't help but let out a "tsk," but made no comment.

In the middle school textbooks there were indeed these lines, originally quite meaningful words. But in this world's experience, they seem like nothing but flatulence. Based on what I've seen these years, the "people" these mouths speak of—that truly does not refer to the common folk. They say Mara dons the Buddha's robe and twists the Buddha's teachings—are these people any different?

And in essence, it becomes the great families' instruction to the emperor—Old Xia could never stomach such talk. A bunch of NPCs, and they think they can play me?

Hearing the emperor's "tsk," someone below immediately retorted: "These are words that deceive the sovereign and disrupt the state! A ruler is one whom all under heaven unite to support—thus secure; whom the masses join hearts to establish—thus honored; ministers keep to their strengths and exhaust their abilities—thus esteemed. If we follow your words, where lies the majesty of Heaven?"

The first speaker argued: "These are the words of a tyrant! The pure discussions of the scholar-officials have their own oversight, if only..."

Before he could finish, he was cut off: "So-called pure discussions are nothing but inner dissent in court and street gossip outside. Praising the ruler for fame, taking different views as superiority, leading the masses to slander. If this is not forbidden, then the ruler's power declines above, and factions form below. It is better to forbid it."

Both young women narrowed their eyes, lost in thought.

Turning to look at the high platform, they had expected Xia Longyuan to greatly admire these words, but earlier he had only "tsk"-ed, and now he actually spoke—and in rebuttal: "Forbid this, forbid that—forbid playing a game, forbid reading a novel. I hate this the most. I don't want to become the evil dragon. Shut up."

With that, he stood up and yawned: "This kind of debate, carried on for ten years, utterly useless. One side tries to instruct me, the other tries to curry favor by pandering to my tastes. Every one of them speaks of ancient classics, but in truth, the Six Classics annotate me—each schemes for himself. None of them are any good. The Hall of Contention is abolished from now on—a waste of my time."

He strode away from the square, turning to ask the minister following him: "Wenjing, what did you want to see me about? Can't you say it directly? Mumbling like that."

The minister, with a refined face, chuckled: "Nothing much, just tired of being an official, wish to return to the fields."

"You're only in your thirties and you say that?"

"Precisely because I'm still young, I don't want to be worn down by paperwork. I want to see if I can improve further, perhaps one day glimpse the triple hidden treasures... Ah, and besides, my wife is recently with child again, so it's a good time to accompany her strolling through the countryside and let her rest well."

"It's your Cui family that has a bunch of people in office—whether you serve or not doesn't affect your family's power. You think it doesn't matter, so better to practice your skills, right?"

"Uh..."

"Forget it... Since your wife is expecting, have you thought of a name for the child?"

"I have—Yuan Yang, it works for both boy and girl."

Their conversation faded into the distance. The two young women turned their heads in perfect sync, watching the sovereign and minister leave. One murmured to herself: "Seemingly clever and opinionated, but in truth, letting disputes rage while the ruler decides nothing—over a decade since founding the state, yet the nation has no direction. A muddled and perverse ruler. Cui Wenjing must think him unworthy of service, better to improve himself and bide his time—but the ruler himself doesn't realize..."

At the same time, the other muttered to herself: "At least he's not a cruel tyrant... If he had tolerance and could gain upright ministers to assist him, he might yet rule by non-action. Cui Wenjing resigns in his prime—this is the selfishness of the great families, seeking only their own benefit, of no use to the state."

They seemed to catch fragments of each other's words, then turned to glare, finding the other increasingly irksome.

—Political arguing has always been a quick way to drive even friends out of a group, let alone when two people already dislike each other.

Both stood up angrily to leave, but in that brief delay, they were suddenly surrounded by a large crowd:

"Miss Tang, Miss Tang! I am Yao Jiulu, the Little White Dragon of the capital. I have prepared a banquet at Wande Tower to welcome you—please do me the honor..."

"You're no Little White Dragon! Miss Tang, ignore him—my father is Vice Minister Lu of the Rites..."

"Miss Huangfu, my sworn brother is Wang Daozhong of Langya, who once met your esteemed father..."

"Miss Huangfu, I too know military affairs. I would gladly discuss battle maps with you over wine—what joy!"

The two felt like a swarm of flies buzzing around them, barely restraining themselves from throwing punches.

"Miss Tang, that Huangfu woman is too rude. You are a guest from afar, yet she blocked you at the city gate—we all feel for you!"

Eh... Tang Wanzhuang glanced at him.

"Miss Huangfu, that Tang woman puts on an icy air—who knows what she's pretending to be? You are far more spirited!"

Eh... Huangfu Qing glanced at him.