Chapter Fifty-Two: Bai Yifei

“Husband! Don’t you think Honglian seems odd today?” Zi Nu gazed at Honglian, who was practicing with a wooden sword in the courtyard, a nagging sense of something off prickling at her heart.

“Maybe she’s just grown up. Who knows, perhaps she’s found someone she likes,” Li Yu replied, half in jest.

Zi Nu shot him a suspicious look. She knew well enough that Honglian’s heart had long since leaned toward Li Yu—and Li Yu was a notorious admirer of beauty.

Watching Honglian’s awkward movements and the secret glances she cast at Li Yu, Zi Nu’s suspicions only grew.

“Ow! Wife, why are you pinching me?” Li Yu looked at Zi Nu, puzzled as she squeezed his arm.

“Come clean! What have you done to my disciple?” Zi Nu’s brow furrowed, her tone stern.

Li Yu grinned sheepishly. “You noticed, Zi’er? The feelings between us are mutual. Ow, wife, be gentle!” he quickly raised his hands in surrender.

“Master, why are you bullying Grandmaster?” Honglian, seeing her master bullying Li Yu, couldn’t help stepping forward to ask.

“Good disciple, do you still remember the words you spoke when you first became my apprentice?” Zi Nu looked at Honglian, her brows knitting in stern reproach.

“Oh Master, that was so long ago, I’ve forgotten,” Honglian protested, her cheeks flushed as she feigned ignorance.

“Hmph! To think a princess would dare act but not dare admit,” Zi Nu scoffed, her gaze sharp.

Seeing she’d been found out, Honglian threw caution to the wind. “Yes, I like Grandmaster! We’re about the same age. He’s handsome and capable—it’s your fault for not keeping a closer watch!”

“Well, aren’t you bold, Princess? Perhaps we should ask someone else to judge, say, your royal father?” Zi Nu, unwilling to be outdone by the bold girl, countered directly.

“Zi Nu—Sister—Master—I was wrong!” At the mention of her father, Honglian wilted instantly.

“And what exactly did you do wrong?” Zi Nu’s eyes narrowed.

“I shouldn’t have fallen for Grandmaster. But Master, I can’t help it…” Honglian pouted, clinging to Zi Nu’s arm and shaking it pleadingly.

“Still calling me Master?” Zi Nu eyed her, amusement flickering across her face.

“Then what should I call you?” Honglian asked, momentarily confused.

“Call her ‘Sister,’” Li Yu chimed in to support her.

“...Sister?” Honglian repeated, uncertain.

“Now, tell me—are there any other sweethearts in Han you’re hiding? Speak now, for next time I won’t be so forgiving,” Zi Nu confronted Li Yu without preamble.

“Zi’er, could I really hide anything from you?” Li Yu replied with a good-natured laugh.

“Do you really think I’m that easy to fool? Who was that girl at the Scorpion Sect last time?” Zi Nu pressed, laying things bare.

Li Yu inwardly cursed Wei Zhuang for being such a snitch. “She’s a confidante I met by chance. I admit I’m taken with her, but nothing further has happened between us,” he confessed.

“No one else?” Zi Nu was not convinced.

“No one else! I’d tell you if there were.” Li Yu hurried to reassure her. Lady Mingzhu couldn’t be revealed for now; otherwise, others might tolerate it, but Honglian would be the first to explode.

“There’d better not be.” Zi Nu refused to harp on it, not wanting to seem petty.

Li Yu chuckled, taking Zi Nu’s delicate hand in one of his, and Honglian’s slender fingers in the other. “To have met you both in this life is a blessing I must have earned in a past one.”

“Clearly you were blessed indeed,” Zi Nu replied dryly, immune by now to his sweet talk.

“Princess Honglian, don’t trust a word this silver-tongued man says,” Zi Nu advised her little disciple as a senior.

“Sister, I just like listening to him,” Honglian replied shyly, lowering her head.

“You’re hopeless,” Zi Nu shook her head.

“My lady, on such a memorable day, let me honor you both with a Manchu-Han Imperial Feast,” Li Yu said cheerfully, pleased his two ladies were getting along.

“What’s a Manchu-Han Imperial Feast?” the little cutie asked curiously.

“It’s his cooking skills—though I must admit, thanks to you, he’s quite impressive,” Zi Nu replied, a hint of jealousy lacing her words.

“Really?” Honglian was rarely surprised, finding Li Yu an inexhaustible source of delightful surprises.

...

Royal Palace of Han

Lady Mingzhu’s Residence

“You’re no longer pure.”

A low male voice echoed.

“Cousin, what brings you here today?” Lady Mingzhu, in her enchanting voice, replied.

“Who is he?” the man pressed further.

In the hall, aside from the bewitching Lady Mingzhu, there stood a man in blood-red robes, striking and coldly handsome, as tall as Li Yu, with a touch of wickedness in his eyes.

Tide Moon carried herself with alluring grace, her figure accentuated by a fitted purple-black gown. Her long, seductive eyes shimmered with a faint smile—she made no effort to conceal the truth and nodded softly in answer.

She knew well there was no hiding the matter from him.

Bai Yifei’s senses were acute, especially regarding women, for his unique cultivation required the blood of pure maidens. He was particularly attentive to any changes in a woman’s scent.

In other words, Bai Yifei was a connoisseur of blood.

The taste of a virgin was distinct—his family nose could tell at a whiff.

“Who was it?” Bai Yifei’s gaze was icy as he questioned.

“Why, cousin, are you so invested in my private affairs?” Lady Mingzhu wound a lock of hair around her finger, smiling sweetly as she answered with a question of her own.

She saw nothing significant in it.

Bai Yifei frowned at her indifference, lowering his voice, “Don’t forget your status. He may be weak and useless, but he is still the King of Han, and you are his consort. There must be limits to your recklessness!”

“That wasn’t a position I wanted. You all forced it upon me,” Lady Mingzhu replied with a cold, mocking smile.

No one had asked her will years ago, nor cared for her future.

So what if she was reckless? What could King Han An say?

Bai Yifei drew a deep breath, reining in his chill. After a moment’s silence, he said, “I’ve given you as much freedom as I can, but not to be foolish. Find men if you must, but clean up after yourself. Don’t get caught, and don’t leave evidence behind!”

“And what if I fall in love with him?” Lady Mingzhu’s smile deepened, her beautiful eyes glinting with amusement.

“Love?” Bai Yifei sneered. “For every man you love, I will kill one.”

His icy words made no pretense.

“Then right now, I’m in love with Fang Yu. Why not kill him for me? After all, this body is now his—and that boy has bullied me quite a few times,” Lady Mingzhu teased, running a hand over her cheek, her gaze sultry and playful.

“How much do you know about him?” Bai Yifei asked, frowning.

“I’m not interested in his past, only in the man himself—like his strong body,” Lady Mingzhu replied, licking her lips, her eyes smoldering with seductive fire.

Bai Yifei closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them to regard his alluring cousin coldly. “I’ve investigated him. His history is a blank slate, as if deliberately erased. Only a force of great power could have done that.”

His face grew grave.

“But no matter who he is, as long as he’s in Han, he’ll have to bow to me.”

“Are the preparations ready?” His eyes flashed scarlet, his tone low and chilling, as if a starving beast.

Compared to their previous exchange, this was his true purpose for coming to the palace.

“They’re ready, as always,” Lady Mingzhu replied, her voice soft but glinting with coldness. Her enchanting beauty was as deadly as it was breathtaking.

“Good,” Bai Yifei nodded and left for the palace gates.

Lady Mingzhu watched him go, her long, seductive gaze growing thoughtful. Biting her plump lower lip, she sighed softly, “You troublesome man…”

Bai Yifei’s attitude toward Li Yu left Lady Mingzhu hesitant—some things, it seemed, could not be disclosed to him directly.

Though Bai Yifei was her own cousin, even a cousin was not as intimate as one who’d become close over time—like Li Yu.

Perhaps even she had not realized how her heart was shifting toward Li Yu. Especially after she accepted his ring, her attachment only grew deeper.

She found herself unconsciously thinking of their future together, her heart softening for him.

After all, women are creatures of feeling—if you can reach the softest part of her heart, you’ll discover endless tenderness.

...

At this moment, Li Yu was holding Zi Nu with one arm, Honglian with the other, while Nongyu picked dishes for herself, contentment written all over his face.

Han Fei sat across from them, watching his headstrong sister, who sat obediently by Li Yu’s side, and felt utterly speechless.

“Brother Fang, isn’t it time you explained yourself?” he asked.

“Dear brother-in-law, Honglian and I fell in love over time—her adorable nature won me over long ago. I’m grateful for your help,” Li Yu replied shamelessly.

“When did I ever help you?” Han Fei asked in confusion.

“If you hadn’t been running off to Zilan Pavilion every few days, how would Honglian have followed you? And how else could I have gotten close to her?” Li Yu replied brazenly.

...

Unable to stand the awkwardness, Honglian pinched Li Yu’s waist with two fingers.

Li Yu grimaced in pain, then quickly planted a kiss on her lips, making the little princess blush and hide in his arms.

Han Fei, watching his cabbage being nibbled by his friend, could only sigh and ask, “What are your plans with my sister?”

Li Yu smiled, “I would never disappoint the adorable princess. Soon I’ll ask your father for her hand—so, Han Fei, don’t refuse me then.”

Han Fei shook his head. “As long as you truly love Honglian, I won’t stand in your way.”

Li Yu laughed heartily. “It’s a promise, then!”

After the meal, Han Fei intended to escort Honglian back to the palace, but Li Yu insisted on doing it himself.

Watching Honglian clinging to Li Yu, Han Fei could only shake his head with a sigh as he walked alone back to the Sike Residence.

Under the frightened gaze of a palace maid, Li Yu personally escorted Honglian to her room.

The night was enchanting, the moonlight soft as sand.

The adorable little princess gazed at Li Yu, who knelt before her.

“My beloved princess, I, Li Yu, vow to guard you all my life, to cherish and protect you, in poverty and in wealth, in sickness and in hardship, never to abandon you, faithful unto death. Princess Honglian, will you be my wife?”

Li Yu’s sincere eyes gazed at the blushing little beauty before him.

“I—I will.” The princess’s face glowed with happiness as Li Yu, kneeling, slipped a ring onto her finger. Suddenly, she realized something.

“Wait—why did you call yourself Li Yu? Who is Li Yu?” She had felt something was off. Thinking back, he had called himself Li Yu, not Fang Yu.

“My beloved princess, Fang Yu is my alias. My true name is Li Yu, of Qin. I disguised myself as Fang Yu to win your heart, moved by your talent and beauty. The heavens took pity on me, touched by my sincerity, and gifted me such a beautiful and kind soul.”

“I’m not as wonderful as you say…” The little princess, overwhelmed, hid her blushing face in her hands, cuter than ever.

“Every word I speak is from the heart.” Li Yu pulled her gently into his arms, kissing her thighs and slowly moving upward.

Though the princess had experienced intimacy once before, she was no match for the seasoned Li Yu and soon surrendered.

Running her fingers through his hair, she leaned back with closed eyes…

...

“Husband, why did you use the name Fang Yu?” After their passion, the little princess lay languidly on Li Yu’s broad chest.

“Princess, if I’d used my real name, how could I have won your heart?”

“Why not?” the little darling asked, still a bit lost.

“I am the prince of Qin. If I’d come with my true identity, it would have been like a diplomatic marriage—far from the natural closeness we share. I dislike forced unions.”

“You’re… the legendary Li Yu?” The princess finally understood, sitting up in shock.

Li Yu quickly pulled her back into his arms. “Let’s not talk about this now, and don’t tell anyone—not even your brother Han Fei.”

“Why? My brother wouldn’t harm you.”

“Your brother wouldn’t want the prince of Qin to steal away his little sister in Han. Besides, I came alone—if the wrong people found out, I might never return to Qin.”

“Oh, that’s true… Husband, will you really ask my father for my hand?”

“Of course, my little princess. I never imagined your natural scent would be so enchanting. I thought you wore perfume, but it’s just you—my fragrant princess.”

“Stop—it tickles—husband, quit it—ah!”

“You dare bite your husband? Well, if you bite me, I’ll bite you back—grrr!”