Unparalleled Beauty

Chapter C047

Within the waterside pavilion, the game was halfway through.

Those gathered at the tables to compose poetry were few; more were scattered about, either raising cups in merriment or conversing over tea. After all, not everyone came here seeking a suitable match.

Those who eagerly joined the fray were, conversely, more often those of less distinguished lineage. Families of high rank and power were always cautious regarding their children's marriages, not disposing of them carelessly.

Lü Songzhi smiled as he said to Zhao Jianzhi beside him, "Why don't you step forward and compose a poem? I dare say those noble ladies have lingered, unwilling to leave, precisely to await a masterpiece from you, this great talent."

Zhao Jianzhi was dressed in a cyan cloud-patterned brocade robe, his waist cinched with a deep-hued silk belt. His temperament was refined and gentle, like bamboo and pine, and even sitting there in silence, he was the focus of everyone's attention.

Upon hearing this, he did not speak, but merely glanced at the other before turning his gaze to the distance.

After a while, he suddenly stood up and said, "I shall go out for a moment."

Those nearby were unprepared for his departure, and some even chuckled, teasing, "Where are you going? Perhaps to a secret rendezvous with a little beauty?"

Zhao Jianzhi ignored them and left the waterside pavilion.

***

Zhao Lanzhi had also just left the waterside pavilion, but she did not expect to encounter her elder brother.

"Second Brother."

For some inexplicable reason, Zhao Lanzhi felt a little guilty.

"Where are you going?" Zhao Jianzhi asked.

"I'm going to find Minghui…"

Zhao Jianzhi looked at her, "Do you remember what I said to you last time?"

Of course, she remembered. That time, after Commandery Princess Minghui of Marquis Xuanping's mansion had hastily returned to the palace after an incident, Zhao Lanzhi, who had returned to Duke Zhao's mansion, was also filled with unease.

As a noble lady, even if she did not understand the affairs of the imperial court, she knew that this matter would not end well. Especially after seeing Marquis Xuanping arrive in haste, and then the solemn expressions of the elders in her family, Zhao Lanzhi knew that this matter might not be as simple as it seemed.

She hesitated whether to reveal the truth, such as what Commandery Princess Minghui had done behind the scenes that led to this incident, but she was also afraid of being reprimanded by her elders. Just then, her second brother, Zhao Jianzhi, arrived and pointed out that he had seen her and Commandery Princess Minghui in a pavilion not far from the small building where Sun Shixian's incident had occurred.

As for where he had seen them, Zhao Jianzhi did not say. What else he had seen, he also did not say, but he directly made Zhao Lanzhi reveal the truth.

Afterward, Zhao Jianzhi took his younger sister to see their father, Zhao Rui. Coincidentally, Zhao Rui and Marquis Xuanping had also discovered that Zhao Lanzhi had helped Commandery Princess Minghui in the affair. However, they did not expect there to be a cause behind it, only assuming that Commandery Princess Minghui had done this to frame Sun Shixian.

Who knew that the cause was actually to frame Third Miss Mei? And from Zhao Jianzhi's words, they learned that he had seen a woman run out of the small building where Sun Shixian's incident had occurred, and Prince Wei's figure gradually surfaced.

Of course, Zhao Lanzhi did not know these things. However, Zhao Jianzhi had told her afterward to stay away from Commandery Princess Minghui, but unfortunately, Zhao Lanzhi had not listened.

"Because of her status, she is in the midst of turmoil, and it is inevitable that those around her will be implicated. Last time, it was fortunate that you were not involved, but it still caused a lot of trouble for the family. You are young, and the family protects you, but you should also know what is important." Zhao Jianzhi's eyes held a faint reproach.

Zhao Lanzhi said in a panic, "Minghui said that after this time, she will stay peacefully in the palace and never..."

"What 'this time'? What have you done?" Zhao Jianzhi interrupted her with a frown. "Commandery Princess Minghui left her seat earlier, and another woman left with her. If I am not mistaken, it should be Eldest Miss Mei."

Zhao Jianzhi knew Mei Wuxia, having seen her at Marquis Xuanping's mansion. Although he did not know her name and did not have a deep impression of her, the reason he remembered her was because this woman had a shadow in the background of the last incident.

What Commandery Princess Minghui and Zhao Lanzhi were doing, Zhao Jianzhi did not know, but it did not prevent him from guessing. His gaze gradually darkened as he said, "You are planning to—"

Zhao Lanzhi hurriedly rushed over and grabbed his sleeve, pleading, "Second Brother, please pretend you don't know about this. I can't help it either. Minghui insisted on doing this. She is unwilling to be framed and does not want to marry Sun Shixian, so she had this idea. I didn't help her much, I didn't do anything."

Zhao Jianzhi naturally would not interfere in other people's affairs. The reason he said so much was because his younger sister was involved. As for what happened to Mei Wuxia, he did not care, and he also knew that this woman was not a kind person.

"Then what are you doing out here now?"

"Commandery Princess Minghui told me before she left to go find her in a little while," Zhao Lanzhi whispered.

Zhao Jianzhi said in a deep voice, "You are not allowed to go."

"But…"

"Just say you bumped into me, and I pulled you along for a stroll in the garden."

To match this explanation, Zhao Lanzhi could only follow beside her second brother, and their garden stroll began.

The Qixi Festival banquet held at the Princess's mansion naturally had more than just the floating wine cups as its main attraction. The outer gardens were also specially decorated, with lanterns every five steps. Combined with the moon in the sky, it was no different from daytime, but instead, the lanterns and the moon made it appear even more serene.

Many people had come out of the waterside pavilion, and the sounds of voices and laughter could be faintly heard in the distance.

Zhao Jianzhi saw his younger sister looking dejected, and wondered if he had been too harsh just now. He was about to say something to comfort her when he suddenly heard those few words.

"You are... seeking... death…"

These few words were uttered from his thin lips, one word at a time, as cold as ice and as sharp as a blade.

Wushuang was completely stunned, but then she suddenly heard Prince Qin laughing.

"My good third brother, your temper is still so violent. This Prince thought that after more than ten years at the border, you would have changed. How can you command troops with such a personality? Father Emperor is also acting recklessly, actually entrusting military power to you."

Wushuang thought to herself that this was bad, but Ji Yang had already darted forward.

Prince Qin's martial arts were not bad. Great Liang was founded on military strength, and from a very young age, the princes were taught martial arts by specially invited instructors in the palace. Moreover, Prince Qin was also followed by several highly skilled guards.

But all of this could not withstand Ji Yang's offensive. In the blink of an eye, he had somehow seized the blade from one of the guards.

The moonlight flowing like water.

Ji Yang held the blade in one hand, pointing it directly at Prince Qin.

His hand was slender and pale, with distinct knuckles. The black gauze of his wide sleeves covered his wrist, trailing down, and the blade in his hand gleamed with a chilling light. What should have been a scene of killing intent instead had a strange beauty to it.

Ji Yang should have struck directly, but for some reason, he froze. This gave Prince Qin an opportunity. He somewhat disheveledly took the sword handed to him by a guard, and in his anger, thrust it straight out.

Wushuang screamed and shouted loudly, "Prince Qin, what do you think you are doing? How dare you use a sword to stab His Highness!"

Prince Qin wanted to curse.

So, only Prince Wei is allowed to use a blade to strike me, but I am not allowed to use a sword to strike back? Of course, Prince Wei had not moved yet, but he had already moved, and it was indeed as Wushuang had said, no different.

What Wushuang did next made Prince Qin's grip on his sword falter.

She actually started crying, crying very loudly, and while crying, she said, "Prince Qin, you are truly extremely rude, first humiliating me, and then using a sword to stab His Highness... I will definitely go to the palace to report to His Majesty, and make clear your evil deeds..."

Just at this moment, Ji Yang moved, and when he moved, it was like a fierce tiger descending the mountain, his momentum was overwhelming.

The guard's not-light blade was like nothing in his hand, yet it unleashed an unstoppable force. After several rapid sounds of clashing weapons, the sword in Prince Qin's hand was actually broken.

None of the guards had reacted, because everything had happened too quickly. It was not until the cold light touched Prince Qin's cheek, and then returned to the tip of his nose.

Blood flowed from Prince Qin's face, the speed of the bleeding was extremely fast, and the amount of blood was also great. In the blink of an eye, half of Prince Qin's face was covered in blood.

And Ji Yang still maintained his previous posture. Except for moving a few steps closer, even his breathing was not disturbed.

Wushuang hurriedly rushed over and hugged his waist from behind.

She was still crying loudly, "Your Highness, let's go, they have more people, we can't win, we'll go to the palace to report to His Majesty, His Majesty will definitely make the decision for us."

She cried heartbrokenly, her voice choked and desolate, as if she had suffered immense humiliation and injustice.

In reality, she was using her hands to tightly clamp around Ji Yang's waist, pulling him with all her might. She could feel his body tense, his muscles trembling rapidly yet with minimal movement. She continued to exert force, attempting to use her slender arms to contend with a wild beast that had already broken free from its cage.

Those who had heard the commotion and rushed over were met with this scene.

In the eyes of the crowd, Third Miss Mei was crying in fright, yet trying to stop Prince Wei, who, unwilling to see his betrothed humiliated, was about to step forward to demand an explanation.

As for the blood on Prince Qin's face and the knife pointed at his nose, the crowd guessed that perhaps Prince Qin's skills were inferior?

However, no one dared to speak. In such a situation, with two princes drawing their weapons against each other, who would be so reckless as to speak? Even the guards of the Princess's mansion dared not speak, and hastily sent someone to invite Princess Changhe to mediate the situation.

Prince Qin could no longer manage a smile. His pupils had contracted to the size of pinpricks, and he dared not move, staring at the tip of the knife that was still dripping blood.

"Third Brother, what... what do you intend to do?"

On this side—

Wushuang's tears had already soaked his clothes. Ji Yang stiffened for a moment, still maintaining his posture of holding the knife in one hand, yet he reached behind him with his other hand to touch her cheek. Upon feeling this, Wushuang quickly placed her hand into his large palm, allowing him to hold it.

Realizing that he still possessed reason, Wushuang grew bolder. She moved in front of him, continuing to cry in his embrace, while her hands pushed against him.

"Your Highness, let's go…"

One push didn't move him, two pushes didn't move him, but the third push did.

Ji Yang lowered the hand holding the knife and, with a stiff body, walked away with Wushuang in his arms.

And during this time, Prince Qin merely stared blankly, not daring to pursue them.

Wushuang wanted to find a place to soothe Ji Yang.

Just as she was feeling flustered, she saw a figure in black appear in front of her.

He was truly dark; if not for the pair of eyes that were revealed, she would not have noticed that there was a person there.

It was An Yi.

"Princess Consort, please follow this subordinate."

Wushuang followed him, and soon arrived in front of a house.

There was no one inside, and it was pitch black. An Yi went in and lit a lamp, then disappeared.

Wushuang helped Ji Yang inside.

For some reason, Ji Yang still retained some reason and knew to follow her, but his body remained extremely tense. Wushuang had not had time to look at him before, but now, looking at his face, she saw that his eyelids were half-lowered, the corners of his eyes were extremely red, and the veins on his forehead were throbbing. Clearly, he was enduring immense pain.

Her heart ached terribly. She hurriedly tried to take the knife from his hand, but she could not take it on the first try. Only on the second try did he release it.

Wushuang threw down the knife and then helped him to sit on the couch, but his body was too stiff and rigid. She tried to help him sit, but instead, they both fell onto the bed. However, Wushuang could not concern herself with these things. She quickly pulled him into her embrace.

"Your Highness, it's alright, it's alright." She soothed him while frantically touching his forehead and temples. "It's alright…"

Ji Yang finally moved, tightly clamping her in his arms, and only then did his breathing gradually return, becoming increasingly heavy and rapid.

"It's alright, I'm alright, Your Highness is also alright, Your Highness, don't be angry…"

She pressed her cheek against his, murmuring words of comfort while rubbing her cheek and temples against his, as if to soothe him.

Ji Yang gradually relaxed.

Wushuang could feel him relaxing little by little, and she continued her actions, soothing him. During this, her soft lips inevitably brushed against his face. She hadn't paid it any mind until she was captured by his kiss.

Ji Yang's kiss was simple and crude, merely rubbing his lips against hers. As he rubbed, it transformed into licking, sucking, and nibbling. It seemed that even the most innocent of men possessed instinct. Wushuang was kissed until she was breathless, and she was flipped from being on top to being pinned beneath him. Her lips were bitten until they were swollen, glistening, and painfully tender, feeling as if they were about to break. The moment her tongue darted out to lick them and alleviate the pain, it was sucked into his mouth.

Dazed and muddled, Wushuang only felt her lips growing increasingly painful, to the point where she could no longer endure it. Just then, he suddenly froze. She didn't notice this, and reached out to push him, whimpering, "It hurts."

The person holding her stiffened for a few breaths, then slowly reached out, somewhat stiffly and helplessly, to gently stroke her back, comforting her.

The movements of his mouth did not cease, but rather became gentler, lightly sucking on her lips, as if to soothe her pain.