Chapter 1227

Yan Nujiao smiled and said, "My lord, you're used to grand scenes; this affair is nothing to you."

After the two got into the carriage, the carriage started moving slowly; Hu Xiaotian gazed at Yan Nujiao's emerald-like beautiful eyes and said, "You wouldn't be thinking of selling me, would you?"

Yan Nujiao whispered, "Who knows!" Being alone with Hu Xiaotian in the carriage, she instantly felt uneasy.

Hu Xiaotian reached out to embrace her slender waist, satisfied, and said, "Fragrant carriage, beautiful woman—tell me this isn't a dream."

Yan Nujiao couldn't help laughing, leaned close to his ear and whispered, "Tonight there will be a banquet at Jing Shui Xing Yuan; Da Yong's eldest princess Xue Lingjun will attend. From now on, you are Hu Dafu, I am your wife Yan Xiaoqiao, and we live at Zhichun Yuan on Haitian Street."

As they spoke, they arrived at Zhichun Yuan; Hu Xiaotian got out of the carriage first, looked up, and saw a lofty mansion ahead, with two bronze lions guarding the gate, mighty and imposing; two guards stood beside the gate, also tall and formidable.

Seeing Hu Xiaotian arrive, the two guards stepped forward, bowed, and said, "The master has returned, the mistress has returned!"

Since coming to this era, Hu Xiaotian has been a spoiled noble, a county clerk, a eunuch, briefly a doctor, an envoy, a city lord—but he had never properly been a local tycoon nor married. Unexpectedly, after a nap he found himself with a home, property, a wife, and servants—a goal others might struggle a lifetime to achieve, which he attained in one sleep. He couldn't help laughing heartily, nodding repeatedly, saying, "Good! Good!"

Holding Yan Nujiao's hand, he swaggered into Zhichun Yuan, while a group of servants followed closely behind; Hu Xiaotian waved his hand and said, "Don't follow me—this is my home, not some public place; why put on airs?"

Yan Nujiao laughed and waved her hand, whereupon the crowd dispersed.

Hu Xiaotian smiled narrowly and said, "My lady, where is our bedroom?"

Yan Nujiao's pretty face flushed as she pouted her cherry lips, her slight anger and gentle reproach utterly adorable; she countered Hu Xiaotian's teasing and frivolity with silence.

Hu Xiaotian pointed to the small building ahead and said, "Even if you don't tell me, I know!"

Yan Nujiao stamped her foot and said, "Bad person!"

Hu Xiaotian said, "Since we're a married couple, we must share a bed; otherwise people will surely suspect."

Yan Nujiao said, "In broad daylight you actually say such things."

Hu Xiaotian said, "As a married couple, we don't care whether it's broad daylight or pitch dark; whatever we do is perfectly natural."

Yan Nujiao listened to him speak increasingly nonsense; she snorted and said, "If you keep talking nonsense, I won't tell you what to do next."

This tactic indeed worked instantly; Hu Xiaotian stopped teasing her, pointed to the small building ahead, and said, "Let's go back to the room and talk."

The fake couple entered the room; Hu Xiaotian lay down on the bed as soon as he entered, saying, "Really comfortable, my lady—would you like to feel it?"

Yan Nujiao took out a map, spread it on the round table, and said, "My lord, if you don't look, I'll burn it!"

Hu Xiaotian rose and went to the table, his eyes falling on the map: "Huh? What place? Could this be the layout of Zhichun Yuan?"

Yan Nujiao shook her head and said, "This is the layout of Jing Shui Xing Yuan; look carefully. Tonight's host is Bohai State's richest man, Zou Yong, who has close ties to the Bohai royal family, is Bohai State's largest shipping magnate, and also holds the exclusive rights to operate Bohai State's sea salt."

Hu Xiaotian exclaimed in amazement, "That impressive? What exactly is his background?"

Yan Nujiao obviously felt a bit shy to speak; after hesitating, she said, "He is on very good terms with the Bohai State queen dowager, who has taken him as her adopted son."

Hu Xiaotian said, "Just an adopted son?" He could see from Yan Nujiao's expression that there was more.

Yan Nujiao wrinkled her nose and snapped, "Your mind is full of filthy thoughts—actually, Zou Yong is the queen dowager's male favorite."

Hu Xiaotian had already guessed as much; otherwise, a mere adopted son could not possibly cut such a figure in Bohai State.

Yan Nujiao said, "This is a palace scandal; outsiders have no evidence either—I only heard it rumored—so when you're out, you must never speak nonsense about it."

Hu Xiaotian couldn't help laughing; he remarked that the current Bohai State queen dowager should be Yan Nujiao's aunt, family disgrace shouldn't be aired, and Yan Nujiao clearly didn't want this scandal overly publicized. He whispered, "Actually, this isn't really a scandal—mutual love between man and woman is the most natural thing in the world, just like us: true feelings met, and things flowed naturally."

Yan Nujiao spat, "Who says they have true feelings for you? Who has ever gone smoothly with you?"

"That's thunder meeting earth fire." Hu Xiaotian grabbed Yan Nujiao's fair wrist; her delicate body trembled, and she whispered, "You always bully people."

Hu Xiaotian said, "You came to me yourself—it's not me bullying you." With a sudden pull he dragged Yan Nujiao onto the bed.

Spring nights are short; daytime feels especially fleeting—getting up from the bower of tenderness is for Hu Xiaotian an utterly cruel thing. He dressed, while Yan Nujiao's hair lay disheveled like dark clouds beside the pillow; she pulled the blanket over half her pretty face, revealing only a pair of emerald-like beautiful eyes, whose gaze held the tenderness of spring water.

Hu Xiaotian smiled and said, "My lady, stay home and wait for me, conserve your energy, and when I return from the banquet we'll go together to Mount Wu."

Yan Nujiao said softly, "Be careful; the invitation is already on the table. Tonight many important figures will appear at Zhichun Yuan; according to our information, Da Yong's eldest princess Xue Lingjun will also go there—you must be careful!"

Hu Xiaotian nodded, came to sit beside the bed, lifted a corner of the covers, and lightly kissed Yan Nujiao's snow‑white fragrant shoulder: "Don't worry!"

Yan Nujiao shook her head and whispered, "I just can't relax about you; Xue Lingjun is alluring and bewitching—if you see her, you'll surely have your soul snatched away."

Hu Xiaotian laughed heartily; he had thought Yan Nujiao was worried about his safety, but hadn't realized she was already jealous. He covered her with the blanket and said, "If you're worried I'll be seduced by her, just come with me—having such a beautiful wife beside you to keep watch, those flirtatious bees and butterflies won't dare approach."

Yan Nujiao laughed, "I'm too lazy to bother with you; forget it—I'll just stay home waiting for you, not to interfere with your old lover catching up, but you must come back tonight."

Hu Xiaotian grasped her soft, tender hand and said, "Certainly!" He rose to leave, but at the door he remembered something, turned back and said, "When I'm not home, you can practice your internal energy; it will definitely benefit you."

Yan Nujiao blinked her eyes, not understanding Hu Xiaotian's meaning—how could she know that just now Hu Xiaotian had, using the Sun‑Shooting True Classic, transferred a lot of internal energy to her?

At dusk that day, dozens of lavishly decorated carriages appeared before the gate of Zhichun Yuan, including the one Hu Xiaotian rode in. He had already put on a mask, swaggered up to the gate, showed his invitation to the gate guards, and swaggered into Zhichun Yuan without anyone stopping him. Many guests had arrived, quite a few of them acquaintances, forming small groups and exchanging greetings. Hu Xiaotian looked around and saw not a single familiar face, but he was always the type to make friends instantly; his gaze fell on a lone fat man, who had just been greeted by someone calling him "Brother Huang". Hu Xiaotian laughed and walked over to the fat man, saying, "Haha, Brother Huang, do you still remember me?"

The fat man was obviously taken aback; seeing this black‑faced man before him, he could not recall ever having met him anywhere, and he scratched his head, saying, "You are… Wu… brother?"

Hu Xiaotian laughed, "My surname is Hu, not Wu."

The fat man was also a quick‑acquaintance type, smiling broadly: "Yeah, yeah, look at my memory, Hu brother, Hu brother! Uh… I just can't remember where we met."

Hu Xiaotian said, "Brother Huang, you really forget things despite your high status!"

The fat man said, "Could it have been in Haiszhou?"

Hu Xiaotian nodded repeatedly, "Yes, yes!"

The fat man said, "Look at my memory—last time I went to Haiszhou for business, we hit it off immediately; back then it was 'a toast to a kindred spirit, a thousand cups still not enough,' and I drank too much, drank too much."

While chatting with him, Hu Xiaotian's eyes scanned the surroundings, searching for the eldest princess Xue Lingjun's figure; after a full look he saw no trace of her, suggesting she had not yet arrived.

Wang Pangzi said, "Hu brother, let's head to the banquet hall."

Hu Xiaotian looked up and indeed saw the steward of Zhichun Yuan coming over to guide everyone.

The guests followed behind, chatting and enjoying themselves; Hu Xiaotian also found the group, he and Wang Pangzi chatted, and soon others joined in—these merchants were mostly eloquent and adept at debate, and before long they were all thick as thieves, seeming like old friends of many years.

Zhichun Yuan's architecture bears a strong Jiangnan flavor, exquisitely delicate, with a view at every step; ancient trees tower within the garden, strange rocks are beautiful, flying springs cascade—pleasing to the eye. Many of today's guests are entering Zhichun Yuan for the first time, and this occasion lets them feast their eyes.

Wang Pangzi, despite chatting with Hu Xiaotian for a while, still couldn't recall what line of work he was in, so he seized a moment to ask, "Hu brother, what business are you in now?"

Hu Xiaotian smiled narrowly and said, "Jewelry!"

Wang Pangzi exaggeratedly slapped his own head: "Right, right, the jewelry business—look at my memory."

Hu Xiaotian secretly laughed at his newly set up cover; Yan Tianlu had thought everything through very carefully, fabricating his identity flawlessly, so Hu Xiaotian needed only to follow Yan Tianlu's arrangements and there would be little room for error.

Everyone arrived at Bai Hua Tai, entered the banquet hall, but outside they saw a person dressed in white that outshone snow, with a graceful and jade‑like bearing—truly a rare handsome man. This person was none other than the owner of Zhichun Yuan, Zou Yong. When Hu Xiaotian looked at Zou Yong, he was startled, for the man's appearance bore a seven‑tenths resemblance to Tang Jingyu, the young master of Luoying Palace; yet upon closer inspection, Zou Yong possessed an even greater air of scholarly elegance than Tang Jingyu. Hu Xiaotian secretly wondered what relation Tang Jingyu and Zou Yong had; although there are many look‑alikes in the world, because Luoying Palace had previously attacked the Mang Jiao Island, Hu Xiaotian naturally linked the two in his mind. (To be continued~^~)