Chapter 347

Although Hu Xiaotian had obtained the qi cultivation mantra of the Formless Divine Skill and practiced according to Li Yuncong's guidance, so far he still felt no effect; except when Li Yuncong used the Chinese fiddle to stir his internal qi, causing painful agitation so intense he wished to die, he normally felt nothing unusual. He even doubted everything Li Yuncong said; this group of Senior Eunuchs were extremely crafty, hard to say whether he was deliberately exaggerating his condition to frighten him, and only by using this method could he make himself obedient.

After Hu Xiaotian grasped authority of the Bureau of Imperial Gardens, he also set up a temporary residence on the second level of the wine cellar; the wine cellar is warm in winter and cool in summer, and even if he said it out loud, no one would suspect, especially now that he is already the head of the Bureau of Imperial Gardens, nobody dares to gossip about his affairs.

He bolted the wine cellar from inside, then Hu Xiaotian locked it with an iron chain, after which he took a lantern and followed the underground passage all the way to Zilan Palace. Hu Xiaotian was now thoroughly familiar with these three secret passages; upon reaching the fork, he paused briefly. The three roads led to three different directions: left to the Jade Pool, right to the Cangshuge, and the middle one to Zilan Palace; none of them led to Mount Piaomiao. Yet Li Yuncong spoke with such conviction, not seeming to lie—could it be that besides these three secret passages, there truly is another secret passage connecting to Mount Piaomiao?

Hu Xiaotian shook his head, snapped out of his brief contemplation, and remembered his main task tonight: to deliver winter peaches to the beautiful princess. He proceeded along the central passage, winding forward, and smoothly arrived at the well inside Zilan Palace. Hu Xiaotian's Golden Spider Eight Steps kept improving; the slippery well wall posed no obstacle for him. He climbed up to the well opening and found that this time the well mouth was not covered with a silk net and a small bell; he felt secretly pleased, thinking Princess Anping had indeed left a way for him, though it was also possible that Zijuan had not conveyed his words, and Princess Anping had no idea he would come in the dead of night.

He carefully lay on the well rim, looked toward Zilan Palace, and saw that the study still had its light on. Evidently someone was still awake. Hu Xiaotian's movement skills were now far superior to before; after observing the surroundings for any disturbance and confirming that no one was on duty in the inner court, he boldly climbed out of the well, tiptoed toward the study, and felt his way there.

It was nearly midnight; the palace was utterly silent, the eunuchs and palace maids had long since extinguished their lamps and gone to sleep, and the only lit place in Zilan Palace was the study.

Hu Xiaotian came to the window of the study, narrowed his eyes and peered through the crack. He saw a supremely beautiful figure seated at the desk, reading by candlelight—who else could it be but Princess Anping Long Xi Yue? He wondered whether she was staying up so late waiting for him, thought it over, and gently tapped the lattice window.

Long Xi Yue heard the sound and rose to her feet in an instant. Hu Xiaotian secretly rejoiced. Seeing her reaction, he was sure she had been waiting for him; Princess Anping truly possessed both beauty and wisdom, having grasped his meaning from just that single message relayed by Zijuan—as the saying goes, 'hearts in tune, a single point connects.' He figured Long Xi Yue had already sent away those palace maids and eunuchs; 'What merit do I have,' he thought, 'to make the bubbling-over beautiful Princess Anping fall head over heels for me, to suffer through the night awaiting my arrival?' Hu Xiaotian, Hu Xiaotian, just for the princess's affection toward him, this trip into the palace was worthwhile.

Long Xi Yue approached the window. She pushed open the lattice window; a blast of cold wind blew in, and she instinctively narrowed her beautiful eyes. At that moment Hu Xiaotian had already hidden himself in the shadows, so Long Xi Yue did not see his figure. She looked left and right, convinced no one was outside, then let out a soft sigh, closed the window, returned to her desk, seemed to recall something, went to the door and pulled it open—outside was empty, with not a soul in sight. She shook her head and, with a backhand, shut the door.

She returned to the desk, sat down, rested her chin on her right hand, and quietly gazed at the flickering candle flame, her beautiful eyes revealing boundless loss.

Suddenly a gust of wind blew from behind; the red candle on the candlestand flickered once and then went out, plunging the room into darkness. Long Xi Yue's heart jumped—doors and windows were clearly shut, so where did the wind come from? She cried out in alarm, 'Who?'

In the darkness a familiar voice answered, 'Me!'

Hearing the voice, Hu Xiaotian stood right behind her; Long Xi Yue's heart pounded with embarrassment and a hint of fear, she bit her cherry lip and whispered softly, 'Bold, in the dead of night, what are you doing here?'

Hu Xiaotian said, 'I heard the princess prefers bland flavors, so I have come especially to deliver winter peaches to you.'

Long Xi Yue spat, 'Who wants to eat your winter peaches.' She cupped her lovely face with both hands, already feeling her cheeks burning hot.

Hu Xiaotian thought to himself, 'You don't want my winter peaches, but I'd love to eat your honey peaches.' This thought flashed through his mind and was gone; he secretly scolded himself for being shameless—how could he entertain such a base thought in the face of such a pure beauty?

Long Xi Yue, hearing his lack of response for a while, thought her words had hurt his self-esteem; considering he had crawled from the Bureau of Imperial Gardens' underground passage in the middle of the night, which must have taken tremendous effort, and if she hadn't sought him out he wouldn't have gone to such trouble risking discovery, she felt that way—but once she spoke, it came out differently: 'You've been busy lately, huh?' Even Long Xi Yue herself hadn't expected to say that; it carried a hint of resentment, and feeling a bit embarrassed, she lowered her head. Fortunately the room was pitch dark and Hu Xiaotian stood behind her, so he couldn't see her expression change.

Hu Xiaotian secretly chuckled and said softly, 'Recently there have been far too many things going on in the palace; I actually wanted to come see the princess earlier, but I just couldn't find the time.'

Long Xi Yue gave an affirmative hum and then fell silent.

Hu Xiaotian said, 'I brought some winter peaches over.' He placed the winter peaches on the desk.

Long Xi Yue said, 'I don't want to eat.'

Clearly it was she who had ordered Zijuan to go to the Bureau of Imperial Gardens to have Hu Xiaotian bring the winter peaches over, yet now that Hu Xiaotian had delivered them, she said she didn't want to eat.

Hu Xiaotian asked, 'Princess, do you have something on your mind?'

Long Xi Yue replied, 'My wedding date is set for March sixteenth; in two months I will have to leave Dakang.'

Hu Xiaotian's heart jolted; he suddenly realized that today was the seventh day of the twelfth lunar month, meaning Long Xi Yue would have to leave Dakang for Da Yong in early February. Although this had long been decided, hearing the confirmation still deeply shocked him—he did not want Long Xi Yue to marry into Da Yong, and had even thought many times about taking her away from the palace to flee far and wide, but reality would not let him simply walk away; he still had relatives, friends, and too many people and things he could not bear to leave behind, yet how could he bear to watch Long Xi Yue step into a pit of fire?

After Long Xi Yue finished speaking, she noticed Hu Xiaotian still silent, and her heart gradually sank. A voice echoed in her ears: 'If you do not leave, I will not abandon you.' These days that phrase had constantly reverberated around her; it was precisely because of this saying that her previously despairing heart had begun to nurture a sliver of hope, but Hu Xiaotian's silence caused that tiny warmth in her heart to cool rapidly—perhaps this was reality, her fate was already sealed, she must face this cruel destiny, and her life ought to be thus.

Two crystal tears slid down Long Xi Yue's cheeks as she gazed toward the flower window, silently drawing a breath, afraid that Hu Xiaotian behind her would notice something amiss. Just as she was about to let him leave, her delicate body was seized from behind by a pair of strong arms and held tightly; Long Xi Yue's frame jolted, and acting on instinct she struggled a little, but then she heard Hu Xiaotian whisper near her ear: 'If you do not leave, I will not abandon—I, Hu Xiaotian, swear before heaven that even if I must stake my life, I will not let you marry into Da Yong.'

Upon hearing his words, Long Xi Yue's delicate body instantly softened, hot tears pouring forth like a breached river; Hu Xiaotian dared not harbor the slightest thought of defilement, he held her for a moment then quietly released her.

Long Xi Yue took out a silk handkerchief, quietly wiped the tears from her face, gave a choked sob, and steadied her emotions, saying, 'With your words I feel at ease—at least someone in this world still remembers me.' Although she believed Hu Xiaotian's words, she did not believe he had the ability to rescue her from the pit of fire, for after all he was merely an ordinary eunuch in the palace, and she already knew this eunuch was an impostor. Recalling this secret, her pretty face flushed involuntarily; if not for this matter, she might not have developed any special feeling for him. In fact, Long Xi Yue had thought about this countless times; in the sunken valley she had already felt a dependence on Hu Xiaotian, she still remembered that tranquil night, the countless fireflies dancing in the sky, and the bright moon hanging high.

Hu Xiaotian said, 'Princess, although I have not yet thought of a solution for the time being, I will certainly carry out what I have said.'

Long Xi Yue bit her chin and said, 'What heaven has ordained cannot be changed by human effort; perhaps our meeting was merely a mistake.' She rose, slowly walked to the window, pushed open the flower window, let the cold wind blow in from outside, closed her beautiful eyes, and her delicate body shivered and trembled in the chill.

Her face felt waves of chill; at some point the sky had begun to shed salt granules. The night wind carried the salt particles, striking her face with a prickling pain.

Hu Xiaotian walked over, closed the window, and said with concern, 'Be careful not to catch a chill.'

Long Xi Yue said, 'It's snowing; you should head back as well.'

Hu Xiaotian pursed his lips; in the darkness he could only see Long Xi Yue's vague outline. He suddenly seized her arm and, without hesitation, pulled her into his embrace, tightly holding her delicate frame—whether from cold or fear, her body trembled in his arms, her heart fluttering with shy embarrassment, yet she did not resist.

Hu Xiaotian's resolute face pressed firmly against Long Xi Yue's tender cheek, and he said in a low voice, 'I will not let you go—I don't care whether you are a Dakang princess, I don't want you to become a Da Yong consort; I only know you are Long Xi Yue, I want you to be my woman. Whoever dares to block me, I will fight to the death; whoever dares to bully you, I will certainly not spare them.' (To be continued~^~)