The Phoenix Reborn Book II

Chapter 5 The Temptation of Safety

The deliberate sound of a strong breath to turn off the candlelight could be heard. The sight of the girl who did so seemed to grow darker as the candlelight disappeared instantly. The girl's head turned for a moment to look towards her master who had been lying on the bed. Then, he walked out of the room, not feeling there was any need to say a farewell greeting like the other maids used to do to their masters.

After all, the woman on top of that place would forever be her master.

After the squeaking sound of the door opening and closing sounded, silence completely enveloped the room. Only when the time of one incense stick passed did the woman on top of the bed open her eyes and shift the half-translucent curtains that limited her bed and room. Convinced that her ears would no longer hear any sound near her room, the woman slowly got off the bed and put on her footwear.

Before long, the door again squeaked open, shocking the woman. “Crown Princess?”

Hearing that voice, the woman heaved a sigh of relief. “Xiaoxue, help me put on my clothes,” Huang Wushuang said as her muscles stretched.

It didn't take long for Huang Wushuang to get ready with Xiaoxue's help. After all, it was indeed the servant girl who was in charge of helping him get dressed everyday as Yuanli observed the work of each servant, serving as a watch eagle.

“You've made sure he's back at the waiter's residence?” asked Huang Wushuang.

Xiaoxue nodded her head. “I am the one who is today in charge of taking care of you, Crown Princess. No need to worry. She can't be here until tomorrow morning,” said the girl with a confident nod of her head. “The bodyguards have also been given ‘gift’ as per your orders. They will not open their voices about our departure tonight,” he explained accompanied by a nod of Huang Wushuang's head.

With a black hood covering his head, Huang Wushuang came out together with Xiaoxue. The two guards in front of the terrace and the two guards at the gate of the residence lowered their heads, pretending not to see anything according to the agreement formed for the sake of some golden boulders. Something that is so ironic considering that the guards had sworn an oath when appointed as palace guards, he said, an oath that binds them to maintain order of the palace and does not favor anyone but the venerable Emperor.

It's bullshit!

In front of the treasures and wealth, almost everyone would submit and close their eyes to the transgressions.

Xiaoxue guided Huang Wushuang with quick short footsteps, showing that she was quite worried about meeting the patrol guards that she obviously had no chance to bribe. However, like the other servants, he knew the shortcuts that were able to help him to get to the destination faster.

In less than fifteen minutes, Huang Wushuang and Xiaoxue arrived in front of a large gate with two guards with terrifying looks waiting there. When he saw Xiaoxue's figure, the two bodyguards did not say anything and let the two women in. “Guifei has been waiting for you,” said one of the bodyguards coldly, not seeming to want to talk much to the two people in front of him. In the end, those who agreed to come to this place showed that they needed Li Guifei more than Li Guifei needed them.

A few steps were taken by Xiaoxue and Huang Wushuang who looked a little confused. The two never set foot in this palace, much less meeting Li Guifei in person because of his poor relationship with Emperor Weixin's concubines and the rest of the palace's inhabitants.

However, suddenly, Li Guifei's room door opened, revealing the figure of a cold-eyed woman. Looking at the high-ranking servant clothes the maid was wearing, Huang Wushuang was convinced that the woman was Shuixiang, Li Shijing's maid of honor since the woman had entered the palace.

“Sir Shuixiang,” call Xiaoxue while greeting respectfully when looking at Shuixiang.

Shuixiang nodded her head to Xiaoxue and glanced at Huang Wushuang. For a moment, he studied the Crown Princess with cold eyes, making Huang Wushuang honestly feel quite offended. After all, her status was that of a crown princess, how could a servant treat her like this?

Ah, Yuanli is an exception. That girl could kill him.

Who said Shuixiang couldn't do it? Ha ha!

“Greetings to Crown Princess.” Surprising, but Shuixiang bowed low, showing her respect for Huang Wushuang. As soon as his body was firm, he said, “Li Guifei has been waiting inside, please come in.”

Shuixiang led Huang Wushuang and Xiaoxue to step inside Li Shijing's room which was still illuminated by brightly lit candles. The door was opened by two guard guards who invited them in respectfully, making Huang Wushuang foolishly flattered by the treatment that Li Guifei's subordinates had given.

“Guifei, the Crown Princess has arrived,” Shuixiang said as she knelt in the middle of the room with Xiaoxue and Huang Wushuang behind her. Seeing Shuixiang kneeling down, Xiaoxue also followed the woman's actions. This made Shuixiang glance at him with a meaningful look, perhaps admiring the attitude of the young servant who was able to adapt according to the development of the situation.

After Shuixiang's speech landed on Li Shijing's ear, Li Shijing's reflection from behind the curtain that bound his bed moved to sit down. Bold fingers touched the part of the curtain that split and pulled it to the side, showing a charming figure that was so seductive.

In that instant, even Huang Wushuang who was said to be a royal Peony felt her throat choked at the beauty of the woman. ‘I-this Li Guifei?’ thought.

Ever since he married into the royal family, Huang Wushuang had seen all the concubines in his morning homage every day. However, as if so intentional or indeed there was a certain reason, Li Guifei had never been present in the morning gathering of the women in the palace.

The morning assembly was a mandatory ceremony in which young ladies in the court saluted women to a more senior or higher position. All women are obliged to attend, and all men are forbidden to come. This tradition had never been broken before, until Huang Wushuang finally heard about Li Guifei.

No one ever dared to discuss the reason why Li Guifei had never been present in the morning gathering. However, there are two possibilities. First, Li Guifei did not respect Empress Mingmei for knowing Emperor Weixin would not complicate her no matter what. Second, Empress Mingmei never allowed the woman to attend the morning gathering because of her poor relationship.

“Crown Princess, Huang Wushuang?” Li Shijing's voice that sounded like music, coupled with a smile that more resembled a grin on his face made Huang Wushuang's entire body shiver. “Indeed peony flowers according to rumors,” he said accompanied by a mocking tone that is difficult to understand.

“Huang Wushuang greeted Li Guifei,” Huang Wushuang said as she lowered her head and bowed slightly to her status.

Hearing the tremors in Huang Wushuang's voice, Li Shijing smiled. “You're afraid of me?” ask with interest.

This made Huang Wushuang a little surprised and raised her gaze in confusion. “Yes? Ah, no, Guifei. Of course, no,” the answer stammered.

“So you're not afraid of me?” The smile on Li Shijing's face slowly disappeared and showed a terrifying flat line.

Before long, a crisp sound of laughter sounded from Li Shijing's side. The woman laughed with a wide smile adorning her face, making Huang Wushuang sigh in relief and the muscles in Xiaoxue's body stretch limp. “Good son, come here.” Li Shijing waved his hand, hinting at Huang Wushuang to get closer.  Seeing Huang Wushuang only approaching four steps, still quite far from his reach, he looked at the woman deeply. “You said, you're not afraid of me. Then, why keep the distance that far?”

Hearing this, Huang Wushuang ventured to step forward very close to Li Shijing. The distance between the two was so close, just by sticking out his hand slightly, Huang Wushuang could touch the Great Concubine's face.

Li Shijing pushed his curtain to one side and patted the empty part on his bed. “Sit, Crown Princess.” She smiles. “Your words show that you are different from those who would rather fear than respect me. From now on, you are my sister. Thus, call me Big Brother and not Guifei.”

Huang Wushuang and Xiaoxue's eyes grew as Shuixiang's brows linked for a glance. “G-Guifei, that's inappropriate,” Huang Wushuang replied nervously. Calling this woman before him with the call ‘kakak’ will mess things up, including the royal family's ancestral tree.

Li Guifei was the concubine of Emperor Weixin, the man's woman. In other words, the woman was the stepmother of Wang Zhengyi. Thus, Li Guifei was indirectly his mother-in-law. How could Huang Wushuang call someone who is her mother-in-law with the call ‘kakak’?!

As if he had just thought about it, Li Shijing touched the side of his face, showing confusion that did not even have time to lose its beauty. Instead, the woman's attitude made her even more attractive. “True too. Your aunt, Huang Yan’an, is my age. If you call me ‘kakak’, a little inappropriate,” he said, thinking about it from another perspective. The woman then smiled sweetly. “Then, call me ‘bibi’. This ... doesn't matter, does it?”

To be honest, even that call was quite problematic for Huang Wushuang. After all, who did not know with the rumors that Li Guifei was someone who had high self-esteem and was arrogant?

However, Huang Wushuang had rejected him once. Rejection for the second time will certainly not bring good results. “Good, Auntie,” she replied with her lip muscles twitching slightly uncomfortably.

“Now, Shuang’er, the thing we are going to talk about now is very important. I hope you ...,”—Li Shijing glances at Xiaoxue shortly—“and your waiter will keep this a secret.”

***

“Goodbye, Crown Princess,” Shuixiang said as she bowed in front of the gate of Li Guifei's residence.

Before long, Shuixiang straightened her body and stared at Huang Wushuang's departure along with Xiaoxue in the darkness of the night. The woman's eyes couldn't be easily read, so much mist drifted and restricted people from reading her mind.

After Huang Wushuang's shadow completely disappeared, Shuixiang turned back inside Li Guifei's courtyard. He walked quietly and stepped into the room of his master.

Just as he set foot into the room, Shuixiang found Li Shijing's figure undressing. With the help of two other servants, the woman changed her nightgown and cleaned her hands and face, as if she had just done something so dirty.

“Aibi?” Shuixiang said the word with full question marks. “What is he worth, Guifei?” ask her again in disgust. The girl approached her employer and waved to replace the other servants to help her employer change her clothes.

After Shuixiang tied the tightening rope on his body, Li Shijing walked towards his bed whose two curtains were opened by two other servants. The woman sat herself down and lifted her feet up on the bed.

“Layak or not is not the question, Shuxiang,” said Li Shijing. The woman's eyes glanced at her servant, staring intently at Shuixiang before finally the two sides of the curtain blocked their view meeting. Li Shijing's shadow was seen laying down her body on the bed. “What matters is ... did he manage to be under my control?” A short hum followed by a sentence spoken from the lips of the Guifei, “A useless crown princess who was restrained by their higher power. If he meets a senior who appreciates and shows love to him, do you think ... will he be tempted?”

***

“Young Master Liang, can you ask the Princess about my intentions?” Huang Wushuang insisted with a face that was parched. “Maybe, the Princess will choose to accept my request,”.

Liang Fenghong's eyes looked increasingly smoldering in the face of the annoying woman. “Crown Princess, aren't you confident in your own voice?” liang Fenghong asked making Huang Wushuang put on a puzzled facial expression.

“I ... do not understand what Young Master Liang means.” In that case, Huang Wushuang really did not lie.

Liang Fenghong snorted, not hesitating to show that he was laughing at the stupidity of the Crown Prince's wife, maybe even had time to pity the man for marrying such a useless woman. “Your voice is so loud, do you think the Princess did not hear it until I had to re-introduce your intention? Or maybe, you consider Royal Princess Wu as deaf?” The stirring emotion given Huang Wushuang's involvement in the calamity that almost befell Huang Miaoling made Liang Fenghong's words slightly out of bounds. “Because the Princess didn't hold me back, it means she agreed with me.” His eyes look sharp. “Dia ... don't want to meet you.”

Hearing Liang Fenghong's words, a sad expression filled with pretence was painted on Huang Wushuang's face. Tears gathered in her eyes. “T-Young Master Liang, how could you speak—” His words stopped, hinting that Liang Fenghong's words had hurt him so much.

Seeing Huang Wushuang's expression that bak gave the code to him, Xiaoxue immediately pointed towards Liang Fenghong. “Young Master Liang! You've gone too far!” his yell. “Just delivering a message should be so disputed. Perhaps, inside the carriage was absolutely not Princess Meilan, but someone else!”

Xiaoxue's words made Xiaoming's forehead wrinkle, only to catch that it seemed like these two people were deliberately looking for trouble with them. He glanced at the figure of Huang Wushuang who was seen wiping her tears with a handkerchief. ‘Even his own sister ... so willing to work with an outsider to bring down his brother?’ thought Xiaoming. ‘This ...’ He glanced at Liang Fenghong. ‘Chairman, please endure ...’ His hand held on to his sword, ready to move if the unexpected happened.

“Other people?” Liang Fenghong raised his eyebrows, showing the first clear change on his face. He grunts. “Check by yourself.” He shifted to the side, giving way for Huang Wushuang as well as Xiaoxue to open the curtains. A terrifying smile that had just been first painted on Liang Fenghong's face made Xiaoming and the soldiers present in the place freeze. “Sure ... That's if you dare.”

___

A/S:

*Liang Fenghong smiled horribly* Author: Anjay\, hit by the effects of MIaoling or is his hidden nature like this jir?!