Chapter 278 Three Women Play a Drama
High-pitched as the woman’s voice was, she was strange to all the people. Her thin voice was mean. The next moment, a brisk woman in a red short jacket and trousers appeared at the entrance of East Garden. She had a pointed chin and a small face. She looked unruly and stubborn with the end of her eyebrows slightly up. There were silks tied to her wrists in the same color as her clothes, holding her slightly-open sleeves tightly to make it convenient for her to move. She was holding a soft whip made of fine cowhide in her hand, which was different from the long whip used for driving carriages. It was generally used for women to self-defense and learn martial arts because of its excellent hardness and toughness. It seemed that the woman was a martial artist.
“Miss...” Just when Qin Yunuan began to talk, she found that the lady in red was followed by many people, all in the same uniform as servants. The two servant girls behind the lady in red were also businesslike. It looked like a big deal.
Qin Yunuan stepped back slightly, letting Leng Changxi deal with them in the front.
“Which one is Leng Changxi?” scowling, the lady in red gave all the people in the yard an once-over. With just one glance, she focused on Leng Changxi, who had an extraordinary bearing. Smiling, she went downstairs and stood on tiptoes slightly to look at Leng Changxi from bottom to top in a rather short distance, “It’s you! General Leng in Qi! Don’t you remember me?”
Leng Changxi glanced at the woman and felt confused in his mind. He had been concealing his own identity all the way here. Even Cha didn’t know about his true identity until they were at the bottom of the cliff. Now it was only four hours since he entered West Liang city. How could this woman know that he was Leng Changxi?
“Miss, I really...”
“Don’t remember me,” the lady in red shook her head. With this movement, her face looked as charming as the clouds in the western sky, “Do you remember Mu Qingyu, the infanta of West Xia?”
Leng Changxi was distracted for a moment. Actually, he did remember that there was a little girl following the diplomatic corp of West Xia to Qi. However, there was contact no more than the meeting on banquets according to manners. Leng Changxi didn’t have much impression of Mu Qingyu.
Mu Qingyu raised her head and said to Leng Changxi proudly, “I reckon that you don’t dare to forget about me. Do you remember that you and I are engaged?”
“Engagement?” Qin Yunuan felt a lump in her throat. She had never heard that Leng Changxi had been engaged since she married him.
“Yes.” seeing that Qin Yunuan had been hiding behind Leng Changxi and her hair was tied up in a knot bun which only married women could have, Mu Qingyu may have guessed the relationship between Qin Yunuan and Leng Changxi, “Is she your wife? You have already married?”
Glancing at Qin Yunuan, Leng Changxi told Mu Qingyu in a quite firm tone, “That’s right. This is my wife, and she will be the only wife of mine. As for the engagement to you, I really don’t remember it at all.”
“Of course, you don’t remember. After all, important people like you always have a short memory. At that time, you cared about practicing martial arts and learning only. You didn’t even look at me. But it was no big deal. I had asked my uncle, the emperor, to propose marriage to the emperor of Qi at that time. Your emperor liked me very much. He ordered that I could select any man of the royal family at a suitable age as my husband when I grew up. Now I’m an adult now. Although I don’t know about the domestic affairs of Qi, nobody could be against your emperor. I used to worry that although you were the young master of a prince’s mansion, your father couldn’t be counted as part of the royal family because his family name was different from the royal one. However, now that everyone knows that you are the son of Elder Princess in Qi, you are definitely the royal family’s descendant. Leng Changxi, you just make good preparation to marry me.”
While the woman looked rude and unreasonable, her words made sense. The emperor’s promise was powerful. Now Leng Changxi’s identity was no longer a secret. If Qi was not in Sima Ray’s hands now, Leng Changxi’s name should be recorded in the family genealogy as well as in the ancestor’s temple. However, this woman was too reckless. While Qin Yunuan, Leng Changxi’s lawful wife, was still standing here, she was exclaiming her identity with Leng Changxi at any risk.
“Your Highness, I’m afraid that you get it wrong,” Qin Yunuan moved forwards with a gentle smile on her face, “Of course, nobody can oppose the emperor’s oral order. But now Changxi is married. According to the laws of Qi, a grown-up man can only have one lawful wife. Although you have the order of the emperor of Qi, you are noble too. It’s unreasonable for you to be a concubine. Even though you are willing to accept it, the emperor of West Xia and your father won’t allow it to happen.”
“You’ve got the point,” Mu Qingyu nodded. She pouted as if she were thinking deeply about something. Although Mu Qingyu and Qin Yunuan were of the same age, Qin Yunuan had been a wife, managing the huge Prince Ning’s Mansion. She always spoke and acted in such a calm and gentle manner, which was the most attractive to men.
“It’s easy, however,” Mu Qingyu smiled, “He can divorce you and marry me. Then the problem is solved.”
Leng Changxi said with a stern countenance, “What a dream you are having! I can’t do that.”
Mu Qingyu wouldn’t give in, “You don’t want to leave her? That’s all right. I’m a generous person. Indeed, you’ll need a caring person to serve you. It’s acceptable for you to marry me after degrading her as a concubine. I don’t mind addressing her as a sister.”
How rampant the infanta was! Qin Yunuan squinted slightly. Before she could speak, Leng Changxi had stridden ahead. He stared at Mu Qingyu steadily with cruelty and malignity. While he didn’t kill women, it didn’t mean that he wouldn’t threaten them, “Your Highness, no matter how noble you are in West Xia, or how the Prince Shun’s Mansion is favored by your emperor, I don’t care at all. There’s only one thing I’ll tell you. It’s impossible for me to leave Nuan. It’s even more impossible for me to marry you. I always keep the habit of not hurting women, but you shouldn’t force me to attack you.”
Mu Qingyu smiled suddenly. She got used to the favor to her in West Xia. She was the only daughter of Prince Shun. Her mother was Princess Muke, Jing Donghua’s biological sister. When the royal family sent Princess Muke to marry Prince Shun, the influence of their wedding ceremony was so large that people in West Liang had talked about it for three years. Jing Donghua, the emperor, even showed up at the celebrating ceremony of Mu Qingyu three days after her birth. In West Liang, or even in West Xia, there was nothing Mu Qingyu couldn’t get as long as she wanted it.
At this moment, Mu Qingyu didn’t even consider the possibility that Leng Changxi didn’t like her at all. All she knew was that she liked Leng Changxi, so she would definitely have him as her husband.
historical
“Do you want to attack me?” Mu Qingyu took a step backward and raised the soft whip in her hand. She smiled, “We can have a competition, then.”
At the end of her words, she threw the long whip towards Leng Changxi. He dodged to the other side and held Qin Yunuan in his arms. After putting her in a safe place, he turned back and shouted to Mu Qingyu, “Your Highness, don’t go too far.”
“I will go so far!” Mu Qingyu didn’t listen to him. She threw the whip towards Leng Changxi again. The whip cracked in the middle of the air, and Mu Qingyu got even more excited, “Leng Changxi, I’m telling you, I won’t choose someone whose martial art is not as good as mine. You must beat me. Otherwise, I’ll look down upon you.”
Humph, with Mu Qingyu’s showy but not practical skill, she wouldn’t win Leng Changxi even though Leng Changxi didn’t use his hands.
When they were attacking each other in the yard, a cold woman’s voice came from outside, “Mengzhu, stop.” Although the voice was much softer, any person with great inner Qi like Leng Changxi could identify that the speaking woman was definitely a master of Qigong with great inner Qi. Judging from the inner Qi only, a conclusion must be drawn that the woman was over 40. However, when the white figure went across the threshold, and the beautiful face appeared to all the people, Leng Changxi was a little surprised.
The woman was less than 20-year-old. Although she was of the same age as the infanta in red, her inner Qi was surprisingly huge.
However, the infanta who exclaimed herself to be Mu Qingyu was addressed as Mengzhu by the woman in white. It was getting interesting. Qin Yunuan was looking the woman in white up and down carefully from the other side. Compared to the infanta in red, her eyes were much brighter. If the woman in red was a pretty Peony in full bloom, then the woman in white would be an innocent Lily with dew on it.
Although they both have their own beauty, the woman was better because of her temperament as quiet as the flowing water as well as her peaceful atmosphere around her.
“Sister, why don’t you come earlier? Didn’t I send people to deliver a message to Prince Shun’s Mansion this morning?” The woman in red acted coquettishly at once. She stuck to the woman in white, capricious and mischievous.
The woman in white frowned slightly. There were indulgence and blame in her eyes, “Mengzhu, how naughty you are.”
Prince Shun’s Mansion? Mengzhu?
In the end, the woman in red was not the real infanta? Qin Yunuan walked forwards and smiled at the woman in white, “So many honorable guests come to visit today! It’s my fault to snub you.”
Although the words were modest, it implied her identity as the hostess here without a further explanation so that they wouldn’t dare to act recklessly.
Just now when Leng Changxi fought with the woman in red hand by hand, he was about to pull out the long spear in the weapon shelf beside. Fortunately, the woman in white had arrived in time.
The woman in white smiled and said to Qin Yunuan, “I’ve already heard that the Third Miss of the Qin Family in Qi is intelligent and generous. Today I find you are exactly like that.”
The first description of being intelligent was to praise Qin Yunuan for knowing the manner. The second description of being generous was obviously to persuade Qin Yunuan not to care about the woman in red’s provocation.
Previously, the fight between Leng Changxi and the woman in red was an obvious one with swords and spears. The fight between Qin Yunuan and the woman in white, however, was a secret one with mouths and tongues.
The woman in red said to Leng Changxi proudly, “You see? I was only trying just now. This lady is my cousin, the real infanta of Prince Shun’s mansion, Mu Qingyu. Her martial arts may not be inferior to yours.”
The woman in white, or the real Mu Qingyu, lowered her head a little and said to her cousin, “Mengzhu, do you remember that your father had told me to keep an eye on you to prevent you from looking for trouble with your martial arts casually? If your father knew that you came to challenge General Leng in courier station, he won’t let you go outdoors anymore.”
“I’m doing it for you!” The little sister in red tensed immediately. She said angrily, “Humph, it’s all because of Thirteenth Prince! We don’t know what happened in fact. He dares to let you marry the rude Grand Prince of North Di. That guy is strong and cruel. How does he deserve a graceful wife like you? All I want is to find your fiance who has been missing for so many years so that you can be free from the marriage proposal of North Di.”