Volume 3 Chapter 16
Chapter 16: The Devil-like Chu Mobei
"That's right! He's an outsider! It's good that you have that straight." A trace of warmth surfaced in Yao Mowan's heart when she saw Ye Junqing's bright smile.
Two days later, Kubu Zheer was finally able to get off the bed and walk around again. Her beauty had been restored. In fact, she seemed even more devastatingly beautiful than before. To express his gratefulness to great Shu and Mystery Nation, King Loulan decided to split the three thousand iron mines into two portions and gift them to the two nations. Thanks to Kubu Zheer, Yao Mowan also obtained a document of eternal friendly relationships between Loulan and great Chu.
That night, Yao Mowan was in the corridor counting the stars with Kubu Zheer. As the night breeze swept by, the leaves rustled softly. It was a very peaceful night.
"If it weren't for Big Sister, Zheer would already have become a star in this sky." Kubu Zheer's clear eyes shone like shooting stars were flashing through them.
"Princess should be thanking the crown prince of great Shu and that envoy from Mystery Nation. Mowan believes that she hasn't done anything worthy of thanks," replied Yao Mowan lightly.
"But Zheer remembers. That night, Big Sister had so resolutely told Zheer that you would make sure Zheer lived regardless of what it took. Zheer believes that if it hadn't been for what Big Sister said that night, Zheer wouldn't necessarily have the chance to sit here and look at the stars with Big Sister." Kubu Zheer turned to look towards Yao Mowan with dazzling light whirling in her bright eyes.
"Perhaps…" Yao Mowan didn't try to explain things and just looked at the stars as complicated emotions swirled in her heart.
"Imperial Father said that Big Sister seems very similar to a person. Due to this similarity, Imperial Father is willing to grant Big Sister a wish. If Big Sister ever has need, you can come to Loulan to look for Imperial Father. He'll definitely help you." Kubu Zheer's childish voice was exceptionally firm.
"Similar to whom?" asked Yao Mowan in surprise.
"Back then, when Imperial Father was rushing about looking for blood celery, he had encountered bandits while traveling to Mangyuan. Although Father had a lot of martial arts experts with him, they had been ambushed and ended up captures. At that time, fortunately there was a caravan passing by and they saved Imperial Father. They even sent people to escort Imperial Father to a safe location. Although Imperial Father doesn't know that person's name, he remembers that the caravan was called 'Yao Manifest Trade,'" said Kubu Zheer, her eyes shining with gratitude.
"Ha… Then hasn't Mowan ended up taking that caravan's benefits?" Yao Mowan chuckled softly. The so-called 'Yao Manifest Trade' was the trade name she was using in Mangyuan. She never expected that she and King Loulan actually had such a connection.
"There's a snake!" Kubu Zheer suddenly cried out in alarm. Before Yao Mowan even had a chance to react, a figure jumped out from the shadows.
"Where!?" Chu Moxin abruptly pulled out his sword and rushed in front of Yao Mowan and Kubu Zheer protectively as he shouted this.
"Even if there really was one, you would've already scared it off." Kubu Zheer giggled. Her laughter was like the clear tinkling of water. In the moonlight, her delicate face was beautiful enough to steal one's breath away.
"You sure have guts, to actually dare to trick this prince!" Chu Moxin angrily put his sword away and turned around to sit down next to Yao Mowan.
"Little Prince, since you're here, why did you hide?" As Yao Mowan looked at the two children next to her, her heart ached slightly.
"Who was hiding? This prince was just passing by!" refuted Chu Moxin.
"You were passing by? Then you can leave now, what did you sit down for?" Kubu Zheer blinked innocently as she looked towards Chu Moxin. Every single one of her words could choke a person to death.
"You!" Chu Moxin's cheeks puffed up angrily, but he couldn't come up with any retorts.
"Alright, that's enough. We're going to have to part tomorrow, but you guys are still acting like such enemies." Yao Mowan patted Chu Moxin's shoulder lightly.
"Big Sister Mowan, we're going to have to part tomorrow. I don't know when I'll have a chance to see you again." Chu Moxin looked towards Yao Mowan with a crestfallen expression.
"There will definitely be more chances." Yao Mowan knew that Chu Moxin couldn't bear to part with her. She also couldn't bear to part with them.
However, there existed no banquet in the world that did not end. The next day, after Yao Mowan and the rest said goodbye to King Loulan and the sunshine princess, they started heading back to great Chu.
"Big Sister Mowan, goodbye!" Outside Ye City, Chu Moxin poked his head out from a luxurious carriage and waved vigorously as he shouted. Yao Mowan lifted the curtain of the carriage and looked over. When she saw that familiar figure, her body reflexively tensed up.
That exceptionally enchanting face was flawless like pure white jade, with no imperfections that could be picked out. His long hair that was black as the feathers of a raven draped over his shoulders. The few strands falling over his face lifted due to the breeze, in a sight as beautiful as the vicissitudes of life. The most irresistible part of this sight was those bewitching phoenix eyes. Those unique hazel pupils contained unbounded mystery that seemed to capture an onlooker's soul.
Currently those bewitching eyes were looking in Yao Mowan's direction. It was a light glance, but it somehow seemed to contain an aura that could subdue all living things. Those thin lips were curved, clearly in a smile, but Yao Mowan couldn't shake off the sensation of a chill running down her back.
"It's Chu Mobei. Since he came, why didn't he show himself in Loulan?" asked Ye Junqing after he looked over, following Yao Mowan's line of sight.
"That damned thief always acts in unpredictable ways," said Yao Mowan angrily as she yanked the curtain down.
"There are very few women that are able to say something this coarse after seeing him." Ye Junqing lifted his brows as he looked towards Yao Mowan. He didn't know why but his mood was a lot better.
"Prince, if someone else reached over and tore away half the duck you were already holding, you'd probably be cursing even more than Mowan." Yao Mowan shrugged angrily.
"This prince is sure that Chu Mobei is definitely thinking the same thing right now," replied Ye Junqing.
"Achoo, achoo…" Right after Ye Junqing said that, Yao Mowan was hit with a burst of sneezes.
Top quality eaglewood emitted a faint fragrance inside the carriage. Chu Moxin was currently sitting next to Chu Mobei, crestfallen and deep in thought.
"Yao Mowan isn't the benevolent sort. In the future, it's best if you don't interact with her as much." The clear voice that was like the sound of rain tapping on porcelain spilled out from between Chu Mobei's lips. His gaze was currently very stern.
"She's really nice! Big Brother will know after interacting with her more that she's just as intelligent as Big Sister Moxin!" Chu Moxin rarely refuted Chu Mobei's words, but since it was related to Yao Mowan, he wanted to make things clear.
"The Yao Mowan that you think is really nice just called your imperial older brother a damned thief. Furthermore, she's not intelligent, it's that she's extremely skilled in schemes," corrected Chu Mobei sternly.
"In any case… Moxin believes that she's a good person…" muttered Chu Moxin quietly. He didn't doubt Big Brother's words. Big Brother had always been skilled in lip reading, but that didn't interfere with his trust in Yao Mowan.
Chu Mobei's elongated eyes flickered with faint, unreadable light as his lips curved in a meaningful smile. She had been able to grab ahold of his younger brother's weakness in such a short time. This Yao Mowan…
On the way back, Yao Mowan reused the old trick and secretly had Yan Nansheng's people get in the way of Qing Long and the others so that she and Ye Junqing could go on a scenic tour on their way back to the imperial city of great Chu.
Her relaxed mood instantly tensed up the moment she entered the city. She could allow herself to relax temporarily, but she couldn't allow herself to become undisciplined. Hence, after returning to the imperial city, Yao Mowan's heart sank down again with calm determination.
According to Liu Xing's report, quite a few new incidents had occurred during the time she was gone. Not only did Yao Suluan regain imperial favor, the corpses of palace maids would appear from time to time. The only incident that made Yao Mowan happy was that Ming Yu had been transferred into working inside the pill refining room.
"Your Highness, two days ago, His Majesty even gave an edict to make Yao Suluan Noble Consort Li. As of now, Yao Suluan is getting more and more unbridled in the palace," reported Liu Xing.
__________Credits: Translated by Chiyomira
[Chiyomira's Corner]Tbh, when typing up the descriptions of the beautiful characters, this TLer's thought process is: Yes, he's beautiful. Typical ancient Chinese era mature pretty boy with silky black hair. What's vicissitudes? This character's supposed to have like an elegant calm aura + intelligence. Yes yes. *nods to self* Let's check that word, fits well enough, let's throw it in. Hopefully I'll be more sane when editing and everything will magically be whipped into something that makes sense. #toomuchtranslating #@[email protected]
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