Chapter 70 Only for His Looks?

The construction of the new Prince Xiang’s residence in Yan City was personally overseen by Huangfu Xiaoyun. Once the mansion was completed, Huangfu Xiaoyun even paid from his own pocket to purchase a great number of maids and servants for the new prince’s household—these were intended as his gift of introduction to Prince Xiang.

However, a few nights ago, a division of the Ziyu Guards suddenly took control of the prince’s mansion, expelling all the servants and maids from within. Now, not even Huangfu Xiaoyun himself could set foot in the residence. Just last night, when he tried to pay another visit, he was left standing outside, denied entry.

Huangfu Xiaoyun had poured considerable effort into the construction of the new prince’s mansion. He had assumed that, with such service rendered, he would become a frequent and honored guest once Prince Xiang took up residence. He imagined himself free to come and go, perhaps strolling through the gardens with the prince’s daughter, composing poetry, playing music together, and enjoying all the refined pleasures of courtly life.

Yet, to his dismay, he had not even caught a glimpse of the prince’s daughter. Last night, he returned home seething with frustration, breaking quite a few objects in his anger. His servants tried to comfort him, suggesting perhaps the prince’s daughter was so unsightly that her father was embarrassed to let her meet anyone, or perhaps she was afflicted with some strange illness and unfit to be seen. After all, in the past two days, many cultivator physicians had been seen coming and going from the prince’s mansion—presumably to treat her.

Huangfu Xiaoyun found both explanations plausible. He also stationed secret watchers outside the mansion to observe any developments. Sure enough, early that morning, he received word from his informants: a carriage had departed the prince’s residence, heading toward the magistrate’s office.

Upon hearing this, Huangfu Xiaoyun hurried to the magistrate’s office, only to be intercepted at the entrance by two Ziyu Guards. Not to be outdone, he discreetly employed a movement technique to slip inside and made his way to the rear courtyard.

To his surprise, a lavish banquet had been set there. Seated at the table were several people he recognized, all except for the young woman in the blue dress beside Song Ye. The moment he saw her, his gaze was utterly captivated; it was as if she drew away his very spirit.

Huangfu Xiaoyun had spent most of his life among beauties, priding himself on having seen all the loveliest women under heaven. But only now, seeing this young woman, did he finally understand what true beauty was. At last, the poet’s phrases—“fish sinking, geese falling,” “cities lost to her”—had found their rightful subject. With her face now engraved in his mind, all those women he had once so lavishly praised now seemed ordinary by comparison.

Yet, he failed to realize that his sudden intrusion into the rear courtyard had already vexed the young lady.

She turned to Qi Shuyi beside her and said, “Qi Shuyi, remove anyone who has no business being here.”

Qi Shuyi nodded to Qin Xuanxi. “Yes, Your Highness.”

Huangfu Xiaoyun, still staring at Qin Xuanxi in a daze, thought to himself, So she is the princess!

Suddenly, with a thunderous crash, Huangfu Xiaoyun was sent flying into the courtyard wall, half his body embedded in the stonework as bricks tumbled down around him. Qi Shuyi stood poised, leg still extended from her strike.

“Be gone! Out of respect for your family name, I’ve already shown you mercy,” Qi Shuyi said coldly.

Huangfu Xiaoyun climbed down from the wall, wiping blood from the corner of his mouth. Fortunately, his internal energy had protected him; an ordinary person would have perished from such a blow. Qi Shuyi had indeed held back.

Even so, Huangfu Xiaoyun did not leave. Instead, he called out to Qin Xuanxi over Qi Shuyi’s shoulder, “Your Highness, I am Huangfu Xiaoyun. The very mansion you now reside in was built under my personal supervision. I wonder, does Your Highness find the accommodations satisfactory?”

What did it matter that he’d taken a kick? Before him was a beauty the likes of whom he’d never encountered; he would not miss the chance to speak with her.

Qin Xuanxi, however, paid him no heed. Instead, she ladled a bowl of soup and placed it before Song Ye. “Brother Ye, this is ginseng chicken soup. You work so hard patrolling the streets; you must keep up your strength.”

Song Ye, having only eaten half the mountain of food on his plate, now found another bowl placed before him. How long would it take to finish all this?

Witnessing this, Huangfu Xiaoyun was consumed with envy. He could not fathom how a lowly constable had become so favored by the princess.

“Huangfu Xiaoyun, if you don’t leave now, I won’t show mercy a second time,” Qi Shuyi warned again.

Qi Shuyi herself was a woman of considerable beauty—under other circumstances, Huangfu Xiaoyun might have pursued her with a fortune. But now, with her standing between him and Qin Xuanxi, he found her nothing but a loathsome obstacle.

“Hmph! You lackey of the court, do you think I, Huangfu Xiaoyun, am truly afraid of you?” he snarled at Qi Shuyi.

But then, the air around them began to stir sharply, Qi Shuyi’s robes billowing with the force of her surging spiritual energy.

Clearly, this time she was prepared to act in earnest.

“Your Highness! Urgent matters at home require my immediate attention. Next time, I will bring generous gifts to visit you at the prince’s mansion!” Huangfu Xiaoyun called as he slipped behind the courtyard gate—plainly, he had lost his nerve.

He knew well the vast gulf in cultivation between himself and Qi Shuyi; he was no match for her. It was all he could do to throw out a defiant remark before fleeing for his life.

After Huangfu Xiaoyun’s departure, Qi Shuyi returned to her seat. The conversation at the table struck her as dull, so she remained silent.

She could not understand why the princess was so taken with Song Ye, a mere patrol constable. He showed no trace of cultivation—he was, by all signs, an ordinary mortal. In Qi Shuyi’s eyes, aside from his handsome appearance, Song Ye had no other qualities worth mentioning.

For Qi Shuyi, only men of great spiritual power could hold her interest. Mortal men lived but a few short decades—no matter how deep one’s feelings, they could not keep pace with her, and might even become burdens on the path of cultivation.

In her view, the only true love for cultivators was dual cultivation—partners mutually benefiting, progressing together in power.

As the princess was a direct disciple of the Solitary Jade Sect, her cultivation was not insignificant. As one of the immortals, she ought to understand these truths as well.

Then again, Qi Shuyi reasoned, perhaps the princess was drawn to Song Ye simply for his looks, hoping that their future daughters would inherit his beauty.

That would make sense, after all—within the Solitary Jade Sect, the continuation of the sect depended on producing descendants. The princess’s daughters would, in turn, become the sect’s next direct disciples.