The Cry of the Phoenix Which Reached the Ninth Heaven-Volume 3 Chapter 52
Chapter 52: Three Person Interview
That night, Yao Mowan only stepped out of her room after dressing herself up exquisitely. As of now, Ye Junqing had already been waiting in the main hall for four hours. However, when he saw Yao Mowan's outfit, he swallowed back all of his complaints.
He was stunned by the sight of Yao Mowan. Just one glance caused him to be utterly capitvated. It wasn't as if he hadn't seen her dress up before, but even the outfit that she had worn to the empress coronation paled in comparison to this.
The colorful faint pink dress had a circular collar that extended downwards, revealing her elegant neck and distinct collarbones. Paired with a deep violet silk shawl, it made her skin glimmer like luxurious flawless white jade.
The hems of the purple pleated skirt were embroidered with rainbow butterflies which had their wings spread, seeming about to fly off. As the wind swept past, the butterflies seemed to dance. The aesthetics were extremely beautiful and the touch of cosmetics emphasized her beauty. Her brows were like strokes painting the outline of distant mountains, her eyes were like the moon reflected in a lake, and her slightly hooked vermilion lips seemed to contain a mysterious charm that caused a person's heart to ripple uncontrollably. Her earrings made of bloodstone swayed slightly, emitting red light.
Her silk-like hair had been pulled up into a flying fairy hairstyle, and a single jasper hairpin was inserted into her hair. Its slender silver tassels of pearls draped down in a gorgeous and magnificent sight.
Just as Ye Junqing's gaze move upwards, his expression suddenly stiffened, because he saw that the immortal phoenix tail hairpin was impressively inserted into Yao Mowan's hair. It was dazzling brightly, like a great eyesore.
"Prince, don't you think my master is really pretty tonight?" asked Ting Yue with a smile when she saw that Ye Junqing couldn't peel his eyes away.
"No comment on looks, but the attire is extremely poor!" Ye Junqing gave a cold humph, then stepped out of the main hall. Outside, Ben Lei had already finished preparing the palanquin. When Ting Yue saw Ye Junqing leave angrily, she looked towards her master with a disappointed and wronged expression.
"Your Imperial Highness, sorry…"
"What does he know? It's fine as long as this empress likes it. Let's go, we shouldn't make King Loulan wait." Yao Mowan naturally knew what Ye Junqing was pointing to, so she didn't bother to bicker with him. Her heart actually felt warm and happy.
After about an hour, two palanquins stopped in the most flourishing part of Mangyuan. As Yao Mowan looked towards Melancholic Spring Courtyard, she couldn't help but sigh in admiration. It wasn't inferior in any respect to the Harmony Pleasure Quarters of the capital.
The outer wall of Melancholic Spring Courtyard was painted crimson and embedded with several hundred rainbow-colored glass. Red lanterns were hung on both sides and the silk draped from windows sway lightly in the breeze, adding a gentle charm to this vivid beauty.
As of now, a Loulan maid had already come to greet Yao Mowan and Ye Junqing. The two didn't speak and just allowed the maid to lead them into Melancholic Spring Courtyard.
"Big Sister Mowan! Zheer missed you so much!" Yao Mowan had just stepped into the lobby when Kubu Zheer ran over and wrapped her arms tightly around her waist. Yao Mowan glanced down at the girl in her arms with a faint smile. Her cheeks were tender and fair and her eyelashes slightly curled. She seemed to have gotten a little taller than before, and her body seemed stronger as well.
"Big Sister also missed Zheer." Yao Mowan stroked Kubu Zheer's long hair affectionately, her heart filled with warmth.
"Junqing salutes King Loulan." When Ye Junqing saw Kubu Dan walk in, he immediately saluted him respectfully.
"This old one is happy that Esteemed Prince was able to come. In reality, this old one has always admired Prince, it's just a shame…" King Loulan's voice faded off, but Ye Junqing didn't ask any further and just allowed the maid to lead him to a seat.
In any case, things that followed after it's just a shame wasn't anything good, so there was no point hearing it, was what Ye Junqing was thinking. At the side, Yao Mowan took in King Loulan's expression of great pity and her lips curved slightly.
"Who would've thought that after parting for just a while, Noble Consort Yao has already become empress? Congratulations!" King Loulan turned towards Yao Mowan, his voice gentle as always.
"To Mowan, the seat of empress is meaningless. It's the business in Mangyuan that's the most important. If King Loulan could help Mowan through this difficult time, Mowan would be extremely grateful." Yao Mowan kept one arm on Kubu Zheer's hand as she curtsied slightly with a sincere expression.
"Not at all. It's rare for Zheer to find such a good friend. The fact that this old one can help you is an honor. It's just…" Before Kubu Dan could finish his words, a distinguished calm voice leisurely came from behind Yao Mowan.
"Mobei kowtows in salute to to King Loulan."
Upon hearing this voice, Yao Mowan felt a chill down her back, then her back became covered with cold sweat. Although she knew that she'd have to face Chu Mobei sooner or later, she hadn't expected this day to come so soon.
Back then, she had fallen into Chu Mobei's traps so many times and often suffered double losses. The only good thing was that Chu Mobei wasn't able to get much free advantages from her. But whenever she recalled those days of racking her brains to come up with strategies, she'd feel a headache. It was so bad that she almost believed that she must've stolen his child and jumped into a well with the child her last lifetime, that was why Chu Mobei kept refusing to let her off.
"Yao Mowan! You came too!?" Yao Mowan finally snapped out of her thoughts when she heard Chu Moxin's voice. She slowly turned and saw that Chu Mobei was in a purple robe that made him look as if he had descended magnificently on the wind. However, Yao Mowan only saw a ferocious-looking demon that was eerily floating over, it made her instinctively want to run.
"Why's it you? The ghost sure refuses to depart!" said Kubu Zheer in an annoyed tone when she saw Chu Mobei. She wrapped her arms around Yao Mowan even more tightly.
"Do you think this prince had wanted to come? Look, this prince's name is on the invitation! It was you guys that invited this prince!" refuted Chu Moxin. As the two kids bickered, Chu Mobei had already walked to Yao Mowan.
"Mobei is honored to have the chance to meet Yao Manifest Trade's proprietor." The melodious voice arose unhurriedly. Chu Mobei narrowed his eyes slightly, causing his phoenix eyes to lift at the ends. His good-looking thin lips hooked a suitable amount as he smiled charmingly towards Yao Mowan.
"If Mowan had known from the start that Thousand Paths's proprietor was the crown prince of Shu, Mowan definitely would've enacted a strategic withdrawal. What a shame." Yao Mowan lifted her brows. Her voice was humble but also contained a severe coldness. Although Yao Mowan didn't like interacting with Chu Mobei, it didn't mean that she was scared of him.
"Ahem, Guests, please take your seats." Kubu Dan could sense the smell of explosives in the air, so he quickly tried to mediate.
At the banquet, Yao Mowan finally found out how Chu Mobei had such robust wealth as to openly confront her. Who would've thought that he had gone to look for King Loulan way earlier? That was why he had been so confident. As of now, her money was also coming from Kubu Dan, so the current situation was quite awkward.
"The reason this old one has come to Mangyuan, one is because Zheer's fourteen's birthday is coming up soon. This old one wanted to bring her to take a walk around and see some old friends. The other… This old one also knows a little about Mangyuan's matters. In reality, this old one really doesn't lack money. A couple dozen million in gold is nothing. If you two weren't fighting against each other, this old one definitely would support it and would've supported to the end.
"However, this kind of situation is clearly like this old one is using his right hand to hit his own left hand. Regardless of whether it's based on reason or emotion, it really doesn't make sense." Kubu Dan straightforwardly put the difficult situation on the table. His voice was a bit helpless.
"It was Mowan's negligence. If Mowan had known from the start that it was King Loulan supporting Thousand Paths, Mowan wouldn't have made things hard for King Loulan. However, the ignorant can't be blamed, so Mowan hopes that King Loulan won't take offense at Mowan's rudeness," said Yao Mowan humbly while deliberately shooting a glance at Chu Mobei.
"Mobei had also been negligent. Mobei should've guessed that the only one in this world that could compete in wealth with King Loulan could only be King Loulan himself." As Chu Mobei spoke, he looked towards Yao Mowan. When their eyes met, sparks seemed to fly.
Kubu Dan didn't mind their words. He was well aware that they were just shooting stabs at each other. However, when he saw that Kubu Zheer and Chu Moxin were jabbing at each other nonstop, his brows finally furrowed slightly. Even if this was the person he had chosen, he still had to get his daughter's approval.
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Credits: Translated by Chiyomira
[Chiyomira's Corner]
Enjoy~
