Translator: Jalyss
Proofreader: Odyssey
Chapter 45 – The Ice Lord’s Life (part 3)
“No, I’m sleepy,” Bai Xi replied. If she delayed her answer, that man would arrange for her to do something exhausting, like copying scriptures.
He stared at her eyes, which looked like black pearls, as if trying to see through her thoughts.
Bai Xi rolled her eyes. When she saw his arrogant expression suddenly shift into a smile, she was stunned. No, she was fascinated. That person never smiled.
It was a pleasant and gentle kind of smile. It was also the kind of smile that made people want to keep looking at it forever. She felt her heart stop and a little breathless. She stared at that incomparable smile, her pupils slowly widening.
Feng Ming approached her, and when the two of them were only a step away, he said, “You don’t look very lively.’
“Mm, I’m not very lively,” Bai Xi repeated.
“There is a saying where the teacher must love the apprentice. It seems that I have to love you well.” Feng Ming smiled slightly. Bai Xi couldn’t do much before she was in Feng Ming’s arms.
“You…”
“If you’re tired, take a break.” His voice wasn’t indifferent anymore, but was unexpectedly gentle, with signs of doting.
It was as if his voice had a magic power, or perhaps she was really tired, but she closed her eyes obediently. Her breathing gradually evened out as she fell asleep. It only took her 5 minutes to fall asleep.
Feng Ming held the already sleeping Bai Xi and walked forward towards the wind. When he turned around, his expression had returned to its usual arrogance. He coldly glanced at the imperial court hall doors.
“Qing Wu, keep up.”
“Yes.” Qing Wu took a while to reply, but his tone was cheerful. This time he was in a good mood.
Hah! So he didn’t see incorrectly. His master actually laughed and smiled like that. With such a brilliant smile, master shouldn’t be swayed in love. The most important thing was that his master actually hugged Young Miss Bai Xi and gently coaxed her to sleep. It looked like his master was quite happy.
Qing Wu was then struck with a rock. He groaned, putting a stop to his imagination, before running after his master.
Behind him, Bai Yu Jie had an ugly expression while Bai Jin Hang looked surprised. All the other officials and eunuchs were petrified.
Bai Xi didn’t know how long she was asleep for, but her nose itched unbearably. She had no choice but to open her eyes. It was a piece of dog tail grass1 held by the man who let her rest before. What was he doing? He was the one who wanted her to rest, and yet he was interrupting her sleep. Did he think she had a good temperament?
When Feng Ming saw her wake up, he threw away the piece of dog tail grass without a sound. He clasped his hands behind his back and faced the wind.
“Young Miss Bai Xi, you would have missed a good show had you not awoken,” Qing Wu said. Now, he regarded Bai Xi as his half-master. He didn’t dare to call her madam.
“A good show?” Bai Xi raised her head and looked around only to see a soft couch beneath her. The decorations in the room were familiar. She finally remembered that this was the restaurant that she went to during the Qi Xi Festival, called Yi Pin Lou. This was the room she ate in previously, so no wonder it felt familiar.
Did this room have a balcony? How did she not notice last time? Maybe it was because she was too hungry at that time, so she hadn’t paid much attention to the room.
“Come.”
“Young Miss Bai Xi should come watch this show,” Qing Wu said excitedly. They made their way to the balcony, and Qing Wu’s eyes were smiling.
After Bai Xi heard Qing Wu’s explanation, she hopped off the couch. She had no idea what kind of good show would happen, but she could guess it was a marriage based off the sound of the suona (instrument). Today was the day that Ye Zi Ning was to head to Bei Liang to get married. The good show that Qing Wu mentioned should be related to Ye Zi Ning.
She stood next to Feng Ming and saw that under the balcony was the main street. She could see the scenery below easily. There was a long wedding line consisting of hundreds of people. There was an honour guard, a drum band, and a hundred imperial guards. It was just a crippled princess getting married. What kind of good show was this?
Just as Bai Xi started to have doubts, groups of well trained and organised men in black clothing appeared on the street. Those men in black clothing dealt with the people in the wedding line effectively. A small group in black charged directly for the wedding sedan2 to get to the bride. They didn’t seem to have the intention to kill the bride. If one looked closely, one could see that the bride in the sedan was not scared or flustered. Instead, she was relaxed.
The men in black clothes were skilled and had the advantage against the many people in the wedding line. The bride also seemed to be perfectly fine with being captured by these people in black. However, when the bride was about to be carried away, the road was filled with the imperial guard. The men in black were surrounded by hundreds of imperial guards.
“Aren’t you watching?” Bai Xi watched Feng Ming walk into the side room. She thought he was here to watch the show. Why didn’t he watch it now at the most exciting part?
“The outcome has already been decided.”
Bai Xi glanced downstairs before turning to follow him into the side room. The scene below the balcony was just a ceremonial aspect, where the groom pretended to kidnap the bride. No, it was a self-directed kidnapping. If she couldn’t see such an obvious ploy after 20 years, then she was too naïve.
The imperial guards escorting Ye Zi Ning were too weak, and Ye Zi Ning’s reaction gave it all away. Rather than being afraid in the face of someone who may want to kill her, she was actually happy. Ye Zi Ning also had the cooperation of that one person. How could Bai Xi not tell?
“It seems that the empress dowager is behind this.” In the entire imperial family, the only one that Ye Zi Ning can trust in this regard is the empress dowager.
“It’s not that stupid.” He glanced at Bai Xi.
“I don’t think she will give up. Bei Liang is thousands of miles away from Xi Yue. It’s easy to have another accident.” However, she didn’t understand why this woman didn’t choose to start this farce when she was outside of the city. Wouldn’t it be easier to succeed once she was out of the city?
Feng Ming glanced over at the balcony and said indifferently, “Qing Wu.”
“Yes.”
“Dispatch some forces from the Eagle Team to escort the princess safely to Bei Liang.”
“Wait. Remember to spread the information that there will be guards. These guards shouldn’t protect from the shadows; they should make it obvious they are there to protect the princess. It would be best if everyone knows that the guards were dispatched in the name of the Feng family.” After Bai Xi finished speaking, she leaned back in the chair and looked up with a smile on her face.
1. (狗尾巴草) Dog Tail Grass
2. Wedding Sedan – for anyone who doesn’t know what it looks like.