Chapter 60

【However, Huang Yaoshi was considerably older than Mei Chaofeng, and the latter was still his disciple. By the standards of public order and common morality of that time, a Master falling in love with his disciple was absolutely an act of grave impiety.】

【Although Huang Yaoshi was a man who disdained feudal propriety and ignored the rules of the jianghu, he had always been quite mindful of the great barriers of human relations. So in the end, he chose to suppress his own thoughts.】

【But although he never said it out loud, in a ci poem he copied in his daily practice, he had secretly hidden his true feelings.】

【That was Ouyang Xiu's "Wang Jiangnan"!】

【In that ci poem, there is this line: "Upstairs they toss the coins, downstairs they run; even then, when we met, my heart was already stirred. How much more so, until now."】

【This very line tells of this great ci-poet's forbidden love for his niece!】

【The reason Huang Yaoshi liked this ci poem was, in all likelihood, because he shared the same plight and felt a kindred resonance with Ouyang Xiu.】

Snap!

The diary copy in Huang Rong's hand dropped to the ground, her gaze blank, her pretty face deathly pale.

As white as those trembling, slender hands.

"Upstairs they toss the coins, downstairs they run; even then, when we met, my heart was already stirred. How much more so, until now. Wang Jiangnan… Wang Jiangnan…"

Huang Rong murmured and chewed on it a few times, then suddenly felt an inexpressible bitterness.

Because of this ci poem, she had truly once witnessed Huang Yaoshi copy it by hand!

Then what Jiang Sishui said—wasn't it… wasn't it…

Suddenly, Huang Rong thought again that Feng Heng was a lady from a great family, well-read in poetry and books from childhood, with outstanding literary talent. So did she know about this matter?

If she knew, then for so many years she had never uttered a single word of complaint—was it truly because she was broad-minded and didn't care at all, or was she silently swallowing bitter fruit?

If she didn't know, then being kept in the dark for so many years—wasn't she equally wronged?

Thinking of this, Huang Rong couldn't help but clench her fists.

【By chance, this handwritten copy of "Wang Jiangnan" by Huang Yaoshi was seen by his senior disciple Qu Lingfeng.】

【Qu Lingfeng had always been sharp-witted, and in an instant he understood his Master's thoughts.】

【After deliberating for a long time, he beat around the bush to sound out Mei Chaofeng, subtly conveying Huang Yaoshi's feelings to her.】

【Mei Chaofeng was still at an innocent age back then. Although she had quite a good impression of the Master she had always admired, she had no deeper thoughts.】

【So, faced with Qu Lingfeng's hints, she ultimately chose to pretend she didn't know.】

【A bond between Master and disciple thus fell into the awkwardness of "the King of Xiang having intentions, but the Goddess showing no dreams."】

【After making sure Mei Chaofeng had no feelings for the Master, Qu Lingfeng was overjoyed.】

【It turned out that the reason he had done this probing was not only for the sake of his Master, but even more so for himself.】

【In their daily interactions, he too had fallen in love with this junior sister of his.】

【Unfortunately, Qu Lingfeng was happy far too soon.】

【His true rival had never been his Master Huang Yaoshi, bound by the great barriers of human relations, but his junior brother Chen Xuanfeng.】

【Chen Xuanfeng was Mei Chaofeng's fated lover!】

"It matches up again…" Huang Rong sighed softly.

Her Mei-jiejie really had ended up with Chen Xuanfeng, and moreover, by eloping.

When she first heard of this past event, Huang Rong had wondered why the two of them hadn't asked Huang Yaoshi to preside over their wedding back then, but had instead fled Taohuadao. Now she understood.

But she also couldn't help but feel a sudden sense of helplessness.

【In fact, gentlemen like Huang Yaoshi and Qu Lingfeng, whose feelings arose from emotion but stopped at propriety, were liked by many women. What's more, they were also highly learned, which was a great bonus.】

But these things held very limited appeal for a girl in the bloom of her youth.

【Chen Xuanfeng was completely different from them—he was a man of great action.】

【After confirming that his heart was stirred by his junior sister Mei Chaofeng, he immediately launched an intense pursuit.】

【Every day he used flirtatious words to tease Mei Chaofeng, and chased the young girl with ardent gazes, every inch the seasoned hand in matters of love.】

【Where had a girl just awakening to love ever seen such a fierce assault?】

【So she was quickly won over by Chen Xuanfeng.】

【After realizing that the other party had also developed good feelings for him, Chen Xuanfeng grew bolder, and even forcibly embraced Mei Chaofeng under the pretext of delivering peaches.】

【In my previous life, Chen Xuanfeng's methods wouldn't be considered clever at all, but in an era that stressed such strict separation between men and women, such a direct pursuit was still quite devastating.】

【Most importantly, Mei Chaofeng came from a miserable background and lacked a sense of security, so she had little resistance to Chen Xuanfeng's sweet talk.】

【So, after a period of ardent pursuit, the shamelessly persistent Chen Xuanfeng finally pried open Mei Chaofeng's heart completely.】

【The two of them, behind their Master's back, privately pledged themselves to each other for life.】

065 "A pale likeness of you"—is Feng Heng a substitute?

【However, paper cannot wrap fire.】

【The state of their passionate love was quickly discovered by Qu Lingfeng, who was both furious and jealous, and was determined to obstruct them.】

【During their argument, Qu Lingfeng accidentally let slip the matter of Huang Yaoshi's love for Mei Chaofeng.】

【This act caused the proud Huang Yaoshi to lose face completely. In his rage, he abandoned his disciples and left Taohuadao alone.】

And the brave but witless Chen Xuanfeng henceforth lived in constant fear and anxiety, and at the same time began to harbor thoughts of fleeing Taohuadao.

【This also planted the seeds for the tragedy that would come later.】

"Tragedy?"

Seeing these two sensitive words, Huang Rong's attention was immediately drawn.

She had a premonition that this "tragedy" must be related to her mother.

【After leaving Taohuadao, Huang Yaoshi quickly developed the idea of taking a wife.】

【He felt that this would silence the wagging tongues of the public, and they would no longer gossip about his forbidden love for his disciple Mei Chaofeng.】

When a man of such personal charm and complete martial and literary talent as Huang Yaoshi wished to take a wife, it was naturally not a difficult matter.

【Before long, he successfully sought the hand of Feng Heng, a talented woman from Qingyuan Prefecture.】

【Feng Heng was well-read and sensible, good at understanding others, presentable in the hall and capable in the kitchen — truly a model wife for any man to marry.】

【As for why Huang Yaoshi took a liking to Feng Heng, the book gives no detailed description.】

【However, Mei Chaofeng once said this: "My Master's wife is very young, the same age as me — we were both born in the year of the monkey. Master's wife is very beautiful, her skin fair and tender, like milk. No wonder Master loves her dearly."】

【From these words one can tell that Feng Heng was a woman roughly the same age as Mei Chaofeng.】

【And such behavior makes it hard to believe Huang Yaoshi did not harbor a "merely someone like her" notion toward Feng Heng — it seems there was no true affection in his heart.】

【And Feng Heng's death is even stronger proof of this!】

Seeing this, no further evidence was needed — the women had basically all concluded that the one Huang Yaoshi truly liked was Mei Chaofeng.

Feng Heng, though good, was more like a substitute Huang Yaoshi had found.

Zhao Qiying could not help recalling the warm scene earlier of Huang Yaoshi driving the carriage for his wife, and her heart was full of feeling.

Who would have thought that a couple who appeared so loving might actually be dreaming different dreams beneath the same covers.

Thinking about it, one truly felt a pang of bitterness for Feng Heng.

One need not fear Huang Yaoshi being fickle and loving two people at once; what one feared was Huang Yaoshi being single-minded — facing Feng Heng while thinking of Mei Chaofeng.

【Speaking of Feng Heng's death, one must bring up a martial art — the "Nine Yin True Classic"】

【The "Nine Yin True Classic" was created by the eccentric Huang Shang, who spent several decades on it. Once completed, it was hidden in a mysterious place, only to later leak out by accident.】

【Because the True Classic contained methods to break the martial arts of every major sect, it was hailed as the "Compendium of All Martial Arts Under Heaven," thus sparking a scramble among the jianghu's heroes and unleashing a storm of blood and violence.】

"The Compendium of All Martial Arts Under Heaven? What a bold claim!"

The "Nine Yin True Classic" also existed in reality, and the women who had heard of it clicked their tongues, feeling this claim was far too grand!

Because, as far as they knew, the "Nine Yin True Classic" was merely a Divine Art — not even a Holy Scripture.

And the title of "Compendium of All Martial Arts Under Heaven" probably couldn't be borne even by a Heavenly Art!

【Zhang Sect Wang Chongyang of the Quanzhen Sect, to prevent endless jianghu feuding, proposed the "Huashan Sword Debate" — the victor would be the "Number One Martial Artist Under Heaven" and would obtain the "Nine Yin True Classic"】

【Once the challenge was issued, the jianghu fell silent, none daring to invite humiliation upon themselves. In the end, only Huang Yaoshi, Ouyang Feng, Duan Zhixing, and Hong Extraordinary Art ascended Mount Huashan.】

【After seven days and nights of sword debate, Wang Chongyang emerged victorious and obtained the "Nine Yin True Classic"】

Shanzhou, Mount Huashan.

Yue Lingshan gave a soft "Eek!" and laughed: "Mother, I didn't expect our Mount Huashan to have a share in this too."

Ning Zhongze: "……"

Their own mountain gate had been used by others as a venue for fighting and brawling — what was there to be happy about?

If there had been a Huashan Sect at the time, the Dangzhang Sect would probably have been furious enough to die of rage.

【Although the four were defeated, Huang Yaoshi and Ouyang Feng refused to give up.】

【Before Wang Chongyang was about to die, he discovered Ouyang Feng lurking around Mount Zhongnan, intending to steal the True Classic, so he feigned his own death.】

【Ouyang Feng took the bait and came, only to be gravely wounded by Wang Chongyang seizing the chance — his injuries took over a decade to heal.】