Flower Stealing Master

Feng Ziying, Liu Xianglian, and the others were dumbfounded by what they heard, though they couldn’t help feeling a bit of schadenfreude. ‘Serves you right for not being loyal to the group.’

Song Qingshu was so furious he nearly exploded with rage. ‘This girl really needs a good sp@nking. Next time I get the chance, I’ll definitely teach her a lesson.’

Tempting as that thought was, there was no way to act on it at the moment. Watching the Xuanming Elders close in, Song Qingshu fell into deep indecision. With his current level of cultivation, he had countless ways to deal with the Xuanming Elders. But everyone present was sharp—he wasn’t sure if some observant person might notice something off, leading to his identity being exposed, which would mean all his efforts had been for nothing. Yet having his legs broken was even more unacceptable.

“Screw it. I’ll just have to try something.” Song Qingshu secretly removed a pearl from his clothing. His gaze swept over the surroundings, planning to flick the pearl from an unexpected angle, have it bounce off the walls several times, and then strike toward the Xuanming Elders from a different direction. They would think some hidden expert was targeting them and become suspicious and hesitant, buying him a way out of this immediate crisis.

But this move would easily arouse suspicion. Even if no one present figured it out immediately, they might think back on it later and connect the dots—especially Zhao Min, who was craftier than a fox. She might very well guess something.

Just as the Xuanming Elders were only a few feet away, and Song Qingshu’s hand, hidden in his sleeve, was about to flick the pearl, a commotion suddenly arose.

“Where is Young Master Jia?” said a eunuch, his voice high and thin.

The Xuanming Elders abruptly stopped. It wasn’t the eunuch they were wary of—it was the Imperial Guard behind him.

Zhao Min frowned slightly. Privately roughing up a few princelings was one thing. Although they came from powerful families, they didn’t hold official positions. But these were bona fide Imperial Guards. A conflict with them would have far greater repercussions.

Xue Pan had been lying on the ground playing dead, but now he sprang up as nimble as a rabbit, scrambling and crawling to the eunuch’s side. “Esteemed eunuch, save me! These country bumpkins from who-knows-where dare to bully people right under the Emperor’s nose…” Opening his mouth wide, he embellished the earlier events and laid them out.

Song Qingshu watched with jaw agape. ‘I thought I was being shameless earlier, but this guy takes the cake.’ Earlier, Xue Pan had only stuck his nose in because he was drooling over Wanyan Chongjie’s looks, and after he got himself thrashed, he tried to throw his family’s weight around—only to find the other side didn’t give a damn. But in Xue Pan’s retelling, he didn’t mention a word about them using their connections to intimidate anyone. Instead, he said they’d noticed Zhao Min and her companions acting suspiciously, like rebels, and had stepped forward to investigate for the sake of the court’s security—only for the other side, guilty as charged, to attack first. He was basically trying to nail down the accusation that Zhao Min’s group were rebels.

Song Qingshu glanced at Feng Ziying and Liu Xianglian. Neither showed the slightest objection. He sighed inwardly. ‘These spoiled princelings really know how to exploit their family power—and they’re utterly ruthless.’

He’d been somewhat worried about Zhao Min, but the eunuch completely ignored Xue Pan’s tearful pleading. Instead, he walked straight up to Song Qingshu. “Young Master Jia, I just came from your residence and learned you were here, so I hurried over.”

Song Qingshu was puzzled. “Might I ask, Esteemed Eunuch, what business you have with me?”

The eunuch smiled. “Consort Jia heard that you had returned, young master, and specifically summoned you to the palace for an audience.”

“Consort Jia?” Song Qingshu was momentarily taken aback, then realized that Consort Jia was Jia Sidao’s older sister. As a young woman, her extraordinary beauty had secured her marriage to Zhao Gou, then the Prince of Kang, as a secondary consort. She had always been favored. Later, during the Jingkang Incident, Zhao Gou’s primary wife, Lady Xing, was captured and taken north by the Jurchens. At the time, everyone assumed the position of Empress would fall to Consort Jia. [G: Jingkang Incident – 1127 capture of Emperor Qinzong and much of the Song court by Jurchen Jin forces, leading to the fall of the Northern Song.]

But Zhao Gou unexpectedly issued an edict stating that in memory of his first wife, he would never again appoint an Empress. Consort Jia didn’t complain in the slightest—instead, she served Zhao Gou with complete devotion. Moved by her loyalty, Zhao Gou’s respect for her grew. So although Consort Jia was now old and her beauty had faded, her position in the palace was unassailable.

“So it’s my aunt. I’ve been missing her as well. Let’s go quickly.” Song Qingshu’s reaction was swift. He’d been worrying about how to handle the mess here, and heaven had sent him a way out. As for what would happen when he entered the palace… ‘Devil take the hindmost,’ he thought. ‘First, get out of this den of trouble, then worry about the rest.’

“This way, please, young master.” The eunuch’s eyes narrowed into slits as he bowed and gestured.

“Hey—” Xue Pan was dumbfounded, having been ignored as if he were invisible. Just as he was about to blow his top, Feng Ziying quietly restrained him.

“Don’t be impulsive. She’s acting on Consort Jia’s decree.”

Xue Pan was still seething. As the son of the Deputy Prime Minister, he’d never been dismissed like this in his life. “But—”

Liu Xianglian also came over and grabbed his arm. “Let’s take the chance to get out of here first.”

Only then did Xue Pan remember that terrifying pretty boy. He shuddered, stopped his squawking, and followed behind the Imperial Guards as they left. Their attendants, helping one another, followed as well.

“Commandery Princess?” The Xuanming Elders had returned to Zhao Min’s side and lowered their voices.

Zhao Min’s brows relaxed slightly. She gave a humph. “They got lucky this time.”

Meanwhile, Xue Pan and the others followed for a stretch when the eunuch suddenly turned around and looked at them with some impatience. “I say, how long are you planning to follow us?”

“You!” Xue Pan had been bottling up his anger. ‘Fine, I let that other guy slide, but you, a castrated slave, think you can put on airs in front of me?’ He rolled up his sleeves, ready to throw a punch.

Feng Ziying and Liu Xianglian quickly stepped in, one on each side, holding him back. Then they addressed the eunuch, “Esteemed Eunuch, please don’t take offense. We’ll take our leave now.”

Thinking about how they were all friends, and putting himself in that position, Song Qingshu realized it would be too strange if Jia Baoyu remained completely silent. So he seized the moment to smooth things over. “Esteemed Eunuch, they’re only seeing me off.”

Feng Ziying and Liu Xianglian quickly chimed in, “Baoyu, we’ll see you off this far. Let’s meet up again next time.”

Song Qingshu nodded, bid them farewell, and followed the eunuch toward the imperial palace.

Watching their retreating figures, Liu Xianglian suddenly spoke. “Which eunuch’s subordinate was that? I don’t recall seeing him before.”

Xue Pan spat. “Of course you don’t. He definitely didn’t recognize us. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have dared be so arrogant.”

Feng Ziying laughed. “There must be eight or ten thousand eunuchs in the imperial city. There are bound to be some we haven’t seen. Don’t let this ruin our mood. Let’s find another place for a drink.”

But Xue Pan was still furious. “How can I drink before we’ve saved face? I’m going back to gather my household’s experts. If I don’t sell that pretty boy to a male brothel today, I’m not ‘Little Tyrant’ anymore—I might as well be ‘Stupid Tyrant’ from now on.”

Feng Ziying chuckled darkly. “Why trouble yourself, Brother Xue? I’ll go to the Pengri Army right now and pick some experts. We’ll make that neither-man-nor-woman bastard sorry.” [G: Pengri Army – one of the Song imperial guard divisions.]

Xue Pan’s anger turned to delight. The group threw their arms around each other’s shoulders and headed off toward the military headquarters. As for what happened when they gathered their experts and returned to the Louwailou only to find Zhao Min long gone—that’s a story for later.

Song Qingshu followed the eunuch through a side gate into the imperial palace. A wave of emotion washed over him. ‘In the past few years, I’ve set foot in the palaces of many dynasties. Now, entering a palace feels almost like coming home.’

Although this was his first time in the Southern Song imperial palace, his experiences in the Qing Forbidden City and the Jin imperial palace allowed him to take in his surroundings with a single glance and form a general mental map.

The only difference was that the Forbidden City and the Jin palace were more magnificent. The Southern Song palace was charming and lovely but lacked grandeur—an apt reflection, perhaps, of the current state of these dynasties.

The Imperial Guards stopped at the outer city. The eunuch then led Song Qingshu through several more palace gates before being replaced by a palace maid as his guide.

Song Qingshu found this odd, but then considered that the Southern Song court was known for its excessive formality. Finally, the maid led him to a palace hall and said, “Consort Jia will return shortly. Please wait here for a moment, young master.” Then she withdrew.

‘Consort Jia specifically summoned me, and she’s not even here? What’s that about?’ Song Qingshu was annoyed. But his real reason for coming was to escape the crisis at the Louwailou, not to see Consort Jia.

Moreover, he wasn’t the real Jia Baoyu, and he didn’t know how familiar this “aunt” was with the real one. In theory, having married into the imperial family as a young woman, even her familiarity with Jia Baoyu couldn’t compare to that of the household members. But nothing was certain—who knew what complications might arise?

He mentally rehearsed some possible questions Consort Jia might ask while he waited. Before he knew it, half an hour had passed.

“How much longer?” Just as Song Qingshu was growing impatient, he heard the sound of footsteps at the entrance.

‘Finally back.’ Song Qingshu perked up. He imagined how Jia Baoyu would behave and bowed respectfully at the waist, waiting to greet his aunt.

‘Strange. Only one person is coming in? Why have all the palace maids withdrawn?’ He didn’t need to look up—his ears alone gave him a clear picture of the situation outside.

‘Is Consort Jia drunk? Why is she staggering?’ Song Qingshu noticed that the woman entering had an unsteady gait, which puzzled him even more. He dutifully said, “Your nephew pays respects to his aunt,” and raised his head.

But what met his eyes wasn’t the middle-aged, fading beauty he’d expected. Instead, it was a delicate young maiden with dazed, absent eyes!

That wasn’t even the most shocking part. What astonished him most was that he recognized this young lady. She was none other than Li Yuanzhi, who had gone to great lengths to save him in Yangzhou, risking her own reputation as a young lady.

Li Yuanzhi had always been clever and mischievous. On ordinary days, she either dressed as a man or kept her appearance clean and simple. But today, she was wearing a brightly colored palace dress. Its collar was cut rather low, deliberately revealing her snow-white, delicate neck. The ensemble made her look both noble and elegant while exuding a hint of subtle seductiveness.

“So hot,” Li Yuanzhi murmured as if she didn’t even see Song Qingshu. She began loosening her cl0thes. “Hurry—draw me a bath. I need to soak myself.”

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