Chapter Fifty
Pearls served as corridor lanterns, silkworm gauze draped as curtains, and gilded pillars adorned with coiling dragons. The phoenix-shaped incense screens were embellished with jade and colored glaze. Gazing around, the bright moon and stars made the pearls appear even more crystalline, their reflections shimmering on the rippling water beneath the corridor, evoking the ethereal beauty of the Moon Palace. Standing amidst the soft, glowing radiance, one couldn't help but feel as if the Milky Way was their blanket and the moon their pillow.
Guyu, who followed closely behind Yixiao, gaped in awe at the surroundings, her face gradually lighting up with joy. Mumbling, she said, “This is the Moon Palace.” Qin Yu chuckled warmly, “Does the Minor Imperial Concubine like this place?”
“Is this the place Qin Lao mentioned?” Yixiao turned to him in confusion. “This is…”
“The Moon Palace,” Guyu stubbornly repeated. “This is the Moon Palace.”
“This way, Minor Imperial Concubine,” Qin Yu said, stepping forward to lead the way.
After passing a screen wall adorned with nearly a thousand small gilded Buddha statues, they entered a small inner garden. Qin Yu pointed toward a room illuminated by a soft yellow glow and suddenly quickened his pace, calling out loudly, “Phoenix Prince!”
Yixiao halted abruptly, causing Guyu, who had been following closely behind, to nearly stumble into her.
“Qin Lao…” Feng Suige responded, pushing the door open and rushing out. When he spotted Fu Yixiao and Guyu behind Qin Yu, he froze for a moment before blurting out, “Why are you here?”
Yixiao forced a faint smile but didn’t answer. Qin Yu hurriedly explained, “Forgive this old servant, Prince. I feared my clumsy words wouldn’t convince the Minor Imperial Concubine, so I brought her here to see for herself.”
Guyu nodded in agreement. “So Guyu came too.”
Feng Suige’s expression turned somewhat odd as he mumbled distractedly, “Ah, yes, you’re here.” Noticing Yixiao had already turned her gaze away, Qin Yu coughed lightly. “Why don’t the Prince and the Minor Imperial Concubine talk first? I’ll take Guyu to look around elsewhere.”
With Feng Suige’s nod, he led Guyu away.
After a long silence, Feng Suige asked softly, “Do you like it here?”
Yixiao lifted the corner of her lips. “It’s beautiful.”
“I bought it from Qin Lao,” Feng Suige hesitated slightly. “I originally planned to renovate it before telling you.”
Yixiao showed no trace of joy. Her eyes wandered as she idly took a few steps toward the lit room. “It’s already stunning. Is it meant to be a retreat, or are you planning to move the Prince’s mansion here?”
Feng Suige subtly blocked her path, gesturing in another direction. “The decorations over there are quite unique. Would you like to see? I’ll have someone light the way.”
The moment he moved, Yixiao stopped. Her gaze flickered between Feng Suige and the lit room before a faint, mocking smile curved her lips. “No need. I’d rather return.”
Seeing her expression, Feng Suige quickly grabbed her hand. “There are no women inside.”
“Did I say there were?” Yixiao laughed, but her eyes were cold. “Even if there were, what does it matter? One day, the entire kingdom will belong to the Prince. What’s a woman or two?”
Feng Suige grew frantic and tugged her toward the room. “You won’t believe me no matter what I say. Then see for yourself!”
Caught off guard, Yixiao was dragged several steps before she angrily struggled free. “Fine, there aren’t any! Must you resort to pulling and shoving?”Feng Suige pretended not to hear, dragging her all the way into the brightly lit room before pushing her forward petulantly and pointing at the corner. "See? The woman is there." Yixiao was already stunned—a jade box on the tall stand held various painting pigments like ochre, azurite, gamboge, and rouge. On a wooden frame in the corner was tightly stretched a massive piece of parchment, depicting a heroic woman in red robes with a silver bow. Though unfinished, with the face left blank, the attire and posture were strikingly reminiscent of the battlefield-dominating—Fu Yixiao.
"Did you paint this?" she asked dazedly. "Is that me?" Even as she spoke, she couldn't help but step forward to examine the unfinished parchment painting closely.
On it, the coral-red armor was riddled with sword and blade marks, tattered and torn, with one corner clearly missing a long strip of fabric—likely torn off to serve as an emergency bandage for some soldier. This was real battle armor, the kind no court painter could capture with a brush, something only those who had witnessed war firsthand could depict.
"I didn’t know you could paint, and so well at that," Yixiao murmured, entranced, her fingertip lightly touching a spot on the parchment. "Here, the shoulder guard was made of hardened leather, with eight protective folds. The fourth, sixth, and eighth folds were carved with the Brocade Dynasty’s emblem. The clasp here isn’t right either—it should have been a leather strap pulled across the chest and secured with rivets..." She turned back with a radiant smile, her eyes especially bright under the lamplight. "But I’m still impressed by your memory. If not for this painting, I’d have forgotten what my old armor looked like."
"Really? Then I’ll redo it tomorrow," Feng Suige said, his earlier displeasure forgotten at her delight as he leaned in, pointing at the painting. "You have no idea how hard it was to find this coral-red pigment. I scoured all of Su Sha City just to find a tiny box of it." He exaggeratedly circled his thumb and forefinger to show a very small size. "Luckily, Qin Lao returned. I spent a whole day rummaging through his storeroom and finally gathered enough pigments. Otherwise, this painting would’ve been finished long ago. I originally planned to give it to you for your birthday."
Yixiao laughed in surprise. "Was it really that hard to find? Honestly, I never liked this color—I just thought it could hide bloodstains..." "What did you say?" Feng Suige jumped up, staring at her for a moment. "Last time, didn’t you say it was to lure enemies on the battlefield?"
Yixiao immediately rolled her eyes. "Did I say that? The armor I used to wear was silver-white, but by the time we withdrew from battle, it was always covered in blood, drawing too much attention. His Highness was the type to make a fuss over nothing—seeing me drenched in blood, he’d always panic and call for a physician, turning even the tiniest scratch into a spectacle for the entire camp. So later, I specially had this red armor made. Didn’t you notice while painting? Bloodstains don’t show up on it. Lure enemies? Did you think everyone was as foolish as you?" She burst into laughter.
When she mentioned Xia Jingshi, Feng Suige’s heart twinged momentarily, but he quickly let it go—she had worn it to hide bloodstains, not to protect that man by luring enemies away!With this realization, he also burst into hearty laughter, his voice even louder than Yixiao's.
Yixiao, who had been laughing as well, paused in confusion at his uncontrollable mirth. "What are you thinking about, laughing like that?" Feng Suige shook his head between chuckles, "Nothing, nothing. I just thought of something—laughing it off is enough..." Yixiao pursed her lips, initially intending to tease him further, but seeing how happy he was, she couldn't help but let out another snicker.
"Yixiao," Feng Suige's eyes sparkled with laughter, his smile lingering as his expression grew more solemn. "Can you surpass them?" The corners of Yixiao's lips still curved in amusement as she asked, puzzled, "Surpass who?" "Them," Feng Suige's gaze brimmed with tenderness and adoration. "Can you surpass them—not just with Qin Lao's help, but with your own strength? Prove to the world that you can surpass all women, even—them?"
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