Chapter 144 - Deep in the Flowers
TL-Checked by Sassystrawberry; Co-TL and edited by Animeart
Finally, the middle-aged man in customary court clothes finished blathering on, and he concluded with: “Xueyu is very talented with the zither, would your Highness be willing to listen to a performance?”
Ling Fengxiao put down the wine cup in his hand and indifferently said: “No need for that.”
The middle-aged man in court clothes seemed to be flustered.”
Ling Fengxiao raised his eyes again and looked at the boy named Xueyu and said: “You come over here.”
The middle-aged man in court clothes could not restrain the joy that flashed across his face.
Several other middle-aged men who were also dressed in court clothes, cast envious glances at him.
Lin Shu continued to look on coldly, thinking that it was probably because the entertainment presented by the other court officials – the songs, dance performances and other programs, did not win Ling Fengxiao’s favor, but only the gift presented by this middle-aged man was sufficiently unusual. Ling Fengxiao called the boy over without even having to hear him play the zither.
Those middle-aged men in court clothes began to titter amongst themselves. With Lin Shu’s current cultivation, his hearing was very acute, and he could make out the gist of their conversations: “So it turns out that her Highness prefers this one.”
“Sshh... It seems like there was a rumor that Her Highness, whilst she was studying in the Academy a few years ago, kept a male pet.”
“So it was like this. I see. Her Highness has always been very temperamental. I didn’t expect that she had such interests.”
Of course, there were people looking to sow discord: “Brother Chu, you see, No matter how much power she holds...she is still ultimately a woman... Hmph!”
Brother Chu said, “Brother Chen, you speak the truth, this woman is still just a woman....”
As they were gossiping, the boy named Xueyu, hugging his zither, timidly glanced at Ling Fengxiao.
Ling Fengxiao repeated, “You come over here.”
The tone of the voice was cold and indifferent, bringing with it a slight frosty hoarseness, the listener would not be able to discern any pleasure or annoyance. Xueyu bit down gingerly on his soft, pale lips, went forward, put down the zither, and knelt down obediently in front of Ling Fengxiao.
Ling Fengxiao maintained a stoic face, taking a gold fan from Xiao Lingyang, he expressionlessly used it to tilt up the boy’s chin.
Xueyu was forced to look up at him.
Lin Shu continued to look on coldly.
A sixteen or seventeen year old youth, his physique was inevitably still a little slender, coupled with the exquisite facial features, he really looked very obedient and pretty.
——Not to mention when his face was raised, the reflection of the light from the nearby lamp danced within the dark pupils, adding a warm yellow glow and accentuating the vaguely uneasy look in those eyes, making him resemble a frightened little rabbit.
Lin Shu continued looking on coldly.
Ling Fengxiao held up the boy’s face and seemed to be examining it carefully.
Looking at it for a while, he raised the corners of his thin lips and smiled.
With this smile, the boy’s beautiful eyes seemed to melt into a clear stream of water , and softly called out: “Your Highness...”
However, the next moment, Ling Fengxiao’s facial expression changed abruptly!
The folding fan in his hand was brutally smashed onto the ground!
The folding fan rolled a few times and fell down on the jade steps with a crisp sound.
The boy became even more like a frightened rabbit, shivering and trembling.
The middle-aged, obese man in court clothes, also began to shiver in fear.
However, Ling Fengxiao, who made such a startling move, didn’t express any anger, nor did he raise his voice.
It’s just that, he was very cold.
As frigid as the un-melting snow and ice of a deserted valley.
He moved his lips gently and said slowly, “You ... what sort of insignificant creature are you?”
The boy was so terrified that he could only say incoherently: “Your&#k2026; Your Highness, I&#k2026;”
As he spoke, he looked towards the middle-aged man in court clothes and silently pleaded for help.
Lin Shu looked at the boy.
Had it been Ling Xiao or Xiao Shao, perhaps the situation would not be thus. Unfortunately, this lovely boy faced Ling Fengxiao.
Ling Fengxiao’s temper had always been poor.
Actually, it was not merely poor, it was terrible.
Unfortunately, the youth asking for help from the middle-aged man was to no avail. The middle-aged man was even unable to ensure his own safety, let alone another’s.
He considered all this silently, and saw the boy huddle into a ball and incessantly cry out, “Your Highness”.
Ling Fengxiao, originally in order to look at him, had leant forward slightly. Now he leaned back against the gold high seat. His hand was propped up on the seat to support his head. The lights flickered on his face. Lin Shu saw his well-defined face. Under his half drooping eyelashes, there was no emotion in those eyes, showing his astonishing indifference.
His voice was as cold as his eyes, and towards the boy who was weeping beautifully like raindrops on pear blossoms and trembled like a snow pear branch being buffeted by strong winds, he spoke curtly, “Get lost.”
The boy was still clueless and continued with his whimpering and crying.
The guards were still alert to what was going on, and came over to bring him away.
But Ling Fengxiao’s expression did not improve in the slightest.
Another guard looked towards the zither that the boy had left behind and whispered, “Burn it”
Ling Fengxiao’s expression still did not ease.
A few more guards looked at each other and walked toward the middle-aged, defeated looking man in court clothes, and dragged him down as well, in spite of his loud pleading for mercy.
The rest of the men in court clothes went silent as a cicada in late autumn.
Then Ling Fengxiao picked up the onyx wine cup again, gently swirled the wine in the cup, and said slowly, “My...temper is not good. Just now I had a momentary lapse of control. Forgive me, my Lords.”
He said, “lapse in control” and “forgive me”, but anyone with ears to hear, would notice the condescension and arrogance in his tone.
The middle-aged men who were usually chattering noisily continued being silent.
Ling Feng Xiao took a sip of the liquor and said, “If there are no other issues, then... proceed.”
The music of woodwind and stringed instruments rang out faintly at first, and then gradually returned to normal.
The atmosphere that had sobered up, gradually recovered, and everyone acted as if nothing had happened.
Lin Shu studied the scene carefully.
This incident alone demonstrated what degree of power Ling Fengxiao now held within his grasp.
The middle-aged men in court clothes were all senior ministers or nobility in the capital. Yet all they did at the banquet was to curry favor with Ling Fengxiao, and when Ling Fengxiao threw a tantrum, no one dared breathe a word of dissent. If Ling Fengxiao said nothing happened, then nothing happened.
And Xiao Lingyang, that creature garbed in bright golden finery, what he did was to——
Serve food to Ling Fengxiao.
Pour wine for Ling Fengxiao.
Give pointed glances at the guards.
Lin Shu found it all rather interesting.
He remained hidden in the shadow of the eaves at the top of the palace and extended a wisp of spiritual energy to probe Ling Fengxiao’s aura.
The aura was stable, and had even reached the realm of crossing the tribulation. Outwardly, all seemed well.
However, he looked thinner than he had been three years ago.
He watched Ling Fengxiao drink wine.
From when the youth named Xueyu had been presented till now, the frequency of his drinking had increased. Drinking whilst looking down from the dais at the merrymaking crowd.
One cup followed another.
Xiao Lingyang said, “Don’t drink anymore, don’t die.”
Ling Fengxiao said: “What do you care if I die.”
Xiao Lingyang: “Then you hurry up and die.”
Ling Fengxiao laughed, but he drank less wine and sipped it slowly.
Just that his usually domineering gaze was covered in a layer of mist, and he seemed to be slightly tipsy.
A drunken beauty was even more pleasing to the eye.
But who in the banquet would have the audacity to raise their eyes and watch closely?
Ling Fengxiao suddenly coughed once, picked up the silk handkerchief beside his hand to cover his mouth, and then put it down.
Xiao Lingyang glanced this way: “Your lipstick is really heavily applied.”
Ling Fengxiao’s face was expressionless: “Get lost.”
But Lin Shu could not take his gaze from the snow-white silk.
He could see clearly from the angle he was hiding from, that certainly was not lipstick?!
Clearly, it was blood.
He wrinkled his brows slightly in a frown.
Previously, Yingying told him in the Dreamscape that her father had coughed up blood.
Looking at the current situation, it seemed that there was indeed something wrong with the little Phoenix’s health.
As the banquet continued, he saw Ling Fengxiao vomit blood twice.
Finally, when the moon was high in the sky, the banquet was finally over, and the festivities ended.
Ling Fengxiao did not say a word, and headed towards the back.
Xiao Lingyang shouted “Hey!” and tried to follow, but was stopped by the middle-aged men in court dress.
Lin Shu continued to lazily listen to these fat men prattle on in search of information, trying to find out why Her Royal Highness Fengyang was so angry.
He heard Xiao Lingyang being unable to control himself, and said, “She dislikes listening to people play the zither, dislikes seeing people in white clothes, and most of all she hates people who wear white clothes and play the zither. You all should remember this from today onwards.”
Those people continued to question him, but Xiao Lingyang became impatient, walked back, left the crowd behind him, and called out “sister” a few times.
But the palace rang emptily, and the figures of the flowers in the garden swayed gently, but there was no sign of his sister.
Xiao Lingyang snorted annoyingly, and then left.
Lin Shu moved his gaze away from Xiao Lingyang’s direction, and continued to look at Ling Fengxiao.
After Ling Fengxiao left the banquet, he walked alone through the palace building and came to a small wooden pavilion, hidden deep in the flower road.
It was the season when the peony flowers were in full bloom.
The shadow of the flowers was heavy, and they swayed slightly in the night wind, so Xiao Lingyang couldn’t see him.
Lin Shu just watched him from a high place. He saw that Ling Fengxiao was drunk and had a swaying gait as he walked. He leaned on the pavilion pillar, then sat down and looked up at the full moon in the sky.
He took out a bamboo flute. It seemed that he wanted to play a tune. The flute touched his lips, but he put it down again.
The moonlight was like water, and the lights in the distance were fading.
Lin Shu came down from the eaves and walked towards the pavilion.
His steps were very light, and Ling Fengxiao probably didn’t hear the sound, so he didn’t look back.
When Lin Shu came to the small wooden pavilion through the flowers and stood behind him, Ling Fengxiao slowly turned his head.
At the first sight of those misty eyes, Lin Shu was sure that this person was really drunk.
Ling Fengxiao looked up at him and stared fixedly at him, then stretched out his arms towards him.
That action was surprisingly similar to Yingying’s way of asking for hugs.
Lin Shu took a step forward and was hugged at the waist by Ling Fengxiao and fell backwards.
He was caught off guard, Ling Fengxiao and he fell in the midst of the dense peonies.
Ling Fengxiao propped up his body and looked at him. His eyes were misty, he smiled in a silly manner, reaching out a hand to trace his eyebrows.
Lin Shu didn’t move, didn’t speak, letting Ling Fengxiao do as he pleased.
After he finished tracing, he leaned down and said in Lin Shu’s ear, “It’s been a long time since I dreamt of you ......”
After saying this, he laughed again.
Lin Shu looked into his eyes.
A pair of eyes, glittering as the moonlight melts into darkness of the night.
Did Ling Fengxiao think that this was a dream?
Ling Fengxiao also looked towards him and gently said, “I...”
After the “I”, there were no following words, but Lin Shu looked at him and felt that he was on the verge of tears.
Ling Fengxiao opened his mouth again, but in the end didn’t say anything.
Lin Shu asked, “How is your health?”
Ling Fengxiao lay down, leaned against his chest, grabbed his sleeve with his right hand, and his voice was very low: “Health, all good...”
His voice slowly trailed away.
Lin Shu looked at him and saw that the man had closed his eyes.
He took Ling Fengxiao’s pulse, and found that the condition was not good at all.
He then sighed softly without knowing why, and got up from the peony bush.
Although Ling Fengxiao was unconscious, he still clutched at Lin Shu tightly, so he picked him up in a princess carry.
When he was picked up, Ling Fengxiao’s hair brushed against the flowers next to him.
Lin Shu looked around and saw a vast sea of peonies, all blooming with fragrance and elegance.
Within his arms, Ling Fengxiao lay quietly with his eyes shut, garbed in a crimson Palace dress, the silk of his clothes fluttered in the night breeze. Perhaps it was because he was drunk, the corners of his eyes were flushed a faint red.
Although Lin Shu practiced the heartless sword intent, he was fortunate that he still retained some aesthetic sense and could appreciate beauty.
Only the Peonies were truly outstandingly beautiful. The visage of its blooming flowers touched the hearts of all who lived within the capital.
R𝑒ad latest chapt𝒆rs at f(r)eew𝒆bnovel.com Only