Tome of Troubled Times

Chapter 245: Spring is Waning

Outside the window, the rain fell steadily.

Large raindrops struck the surface of the lake, creating a symphony of pitter-patter. The autumn wind brought a slight dampness, and drops of water splashed onto the windowsill. There was a misty and refreshing atmosphere in the room.

A few stray strands of loose hair fluttered in the wind, brushing against Vermillion Bird’s face. She reached up to smooth them, causing Zhao Changhe’s heart to skip a beat once again.

Even her simplest actions exuded a captivating charm.

Vermillion Bird was a figure of such great abilities that the sound of his accelerated heartbeat was as clear to her ears as a drum being beaten right in front of her. Unable to contain herself any longer, she chuckled softly. “You little rascal.”

Her laughter broke the silence, and it was as if a still image suddenly came to life. The rain continued to fall, the wind howled, and the little man with a racing heart finally averted his gaze, muttering, “Why am I a rascal? We’ve been traveling together all this time, and I haven’t even touched your hand...”

“Really? You haven’t?”

It was then that Zhao Changhe remembered the time he accidentally held her hand in Sword Lake City, which had swiftly resulted in him getting beaten up. He then never dared to try again.

“Nope, never,” Zhao Changhe replied stiffly. “Unless you let me touch it again to let me make sure.”

“Hey,” Vermillion Bird raised her arm. “Since you know my identity, you should understand that your previous fantasies were nothing but your imagination. The venerable would never send the imperial noble consort for you to play with. It was all just your imagination. You flirted with me quite shamelessly before, and I refrained from beating you up only for the sake of the cult. But now, do you still dare to flirt with me?”

Zhao Changhe truly did not dare, but not for that reason.

Regardless of what reason Venerable Vermillion Bird sent you to me for, I could flirt with you. It’s just that when you bring up the fact that you’re the imperial noble consort, I no longer dare to do that. At the end of the day, you’re still a married woman, so that’s inappropriate.

Seeing his expression, Vermillion Bird smiled slightly and said slowly, “Nice to meet you... My name is Huangfu Qing.”

Zhao Changhe did not respond to this. His shoulder slumped slightly as he muttered, “It would have been better for you to keep wearing the pig mask. You claimed you were restraining yourself back then, but I feel like that was when you were happiest. Ironically, you seem more like you’re wearing a mask now.”

Huangfu Qing narrowed her eyes slightly and suddenly smiled. She then took a step forward.

A fragrant breeze brushed past his face, and her red lips were suddenly right in front of him.

Zhao Changhe subconsciously took a step back. At this moment, he felt a strange resemblance between these red lips and Vermillion Bird’s, and the pressure she was exuding was quite similar as well. Well, I guess she truly lives up to her status...

These thoughts only flashed through his mind for a moment before Huangfu Qing took another step forward.

Soon, his back was pressed against a pillar behind him, and there was nowhere for him to retreat.

Huangfu Qing leaned in closer, her fingers lightly tracing his cheek before stopping at his chin. She then lifted his head slightly. Then, her fragrant lips approached his ear, and when her lips were barely a finger’s width away, she whispered softly, “Even if I was wearing a mask, would you dare?”

“Uh, no, it’s not...” Zhao Changhe suppressed his old face and said, “Imperial concubine, please...”

“See, in the past, you were flirting and trying to seduce me at every turn, but now, even with the romantic atmosphere created by the rain outside and the warmth in this room, you’re preaching restraint.” Huangfu Qing’s voice was sultry as she spoke. “So... Who is really the one wearing a mask right now?”

Zhao Changhe was stunned.

After a long while, he finally managed to open his mouth with difficulty. “But it’s different now, this... You’re already married...”

“But I’m not.”

Zhao Changhe was stunned again.

Huangfu Qing said in a teasing tone, “Do you know why the Wang Clan dared to reveal their opposition? This is something impossible to know unless you witnessed it yourself in the palace. Even Tang Wanzhuang, no matter how favored she is, would not know about this.”

Zhao Changhe almost forgot what position they were in and subconsciously asked, “What happened?”

“It’s because the Xia Longyuan that is before everyone’s eyes is just a fake. The one everyone deems the emperor is only at the third or fourth layer of the Profound Gate. The reason why Xia Longyuan has supposedly been making mistakes is simply that he is not the real Xia Longyuan at all.”

Zhao Changhe was stunned. “Is that even possible?”

“Of course, Xia Longyuan never had any intention of governing the nation. His mind was never on the mortal world. Why would he bother to attend court regularly? To him, it’s nothing more than a complete waste of time and energy. So naturally, what follows is that the person doing all that is not him.”

“Then where is the real Xia Longyuan?”

“The real Xia Longyuan is injured... or maybe not, but rather engaged in a covert battle with someone and unable to extricate himself. I have not confirmed the specifics yet. But what I have been able to confirm is that he must be engaged in combat with someone and has no energy to consider anything else.”

“So the frequent mistakes were merely the actions of the fake? And it was all because he does not really have an idea of how to govern anything?”

“No, according to my observation, the fake does not dare to actually issue any orders on his own without authorization. All the chaos should have been directed by the real Xia Longyuan. Whenever the fake goes into seclusion, it’s actually just to receive instructions from the real Xia Longyuan. I also don’t understand why Xia Longyuan has been giving such strange orders. It’s almost as if he wants to gradually lead the empire to collapse.”

“...Could it be that he’s truly neglecting his duties and seeking the downfall of the nation?”

“I don’t know.” Huangfu Qing smiled slightly. “But regardless, the more time one spends in the palace, the more they’ll know about things.”

“...”

“The venerable found out about the fake Xia Longyuan and used that knowledge to pressure him to grant me the position of imperial noble consort. It was intentional on our part, and we did that because it makes it easier for us to operate and investigate within the palace. This also allows us to strengthen our influence among the relatives of the imperial family. This was probably the only imperial decree personally issued by the fake. In any case, the Wang Clan was furious because of this. In the past, before Xia Longyuan rose to power, one of the agreements he had with the Wang Clan to receive their full support was to have the position of empress reserved for the Wang Clan forever. Bestowing the title of imperial noble consort to someone else was like tearing at the edges of the agreement, and tearing apart their face while he was at it.”

The corners of Zhao Changhe’s mouth twitched.

A long time ago, he had heard rumors in the jianghu that Xia Longyuan did not bring back his illegitimate child in the Luo Clan to the capital because the empress’ family was too powerful. Now knowing about the agreement, it seemed that there was some truth to those rumors. Although Xia Longyuan’s refusal to bring back his illegitimate child may not be solely because of this reason, it did have some part in it....

Speaking of which, this fake is really daring. Not only does he dare offend the Wang Clan, but he may have even stepped on the real Xia Longyuan’s toes by doing so, no?

Huangfu Qing could see Zhao Changhe’s thoughts and said with a smile, “Of course, he also has his own plans... With nothing to his name, forming an alliance with our Four Idols Cult gives him some leverage. Maybe he can even break free from the control of the real Xia Longyuan and become the actual emperor? Who would willingly be a puppet for their entire life?”

After a moment of bewilderment, Zhao Changhe eventually remarked, “If he were younger, he might just be able to embody the archetype of a protagonist.”

Huangfu Qing did not understand what exactly he was saying, nor did she care. She just casually asked, “So, do you think that... I can really be considered Xia Longyuan’s concubine? Do I really count as a married woman? Do you think I’d count as your stepmother?”

Zhao Changhe swallowed and muttered, “If you put it that way, then I guess it doesn’t really count.”

Suddenly, everything became clear. Why would such a proud young lady become someone’s concubine? And why would Xia Longyuan bother to accept a concubine? Originally, both sides’ intentions had been incomprehensible. But if this Xia Longyuan turned out to be fake, and both sides had their own agendas, everything suddenly made sense.

Moreover, this kind of thing was not something that Tang Wanzhuang and others could really know. They would not dare be as lawless as Vermillion Bird and test for fakes. And because of that, they would never be able to get the real answers, and they would always only be able to guess that there might be something going on inside. But some inside stories simply cannot be completely figured out no matter how much one racks their brain.

However, he still had one question, “According to your explanation, Xia Longyuan has not lost control from behind the scenes. How can he tolerate the mess made by the fake? What if he comes after you?”

Huangfu Qing smiled and continued to lightly stroke his face with her fingers. “Are you worried about me?”

Zhao Changhe pulled back his face in annoyance and said, “Stop messing around and focus on the matter at hand.”

“I don’t really know what he’s thinking. Originally, I had prepared to run away, but nothing happened.” With her being Vermillion Bird herself, since she dared to test the fake, she was naturally also confident that she could escape from the real one, who seemed to be seriously injured. However, she did not want to tell Zhao Changhe that. Instead, she deliberately smiled and asked, “Hey, what do you think? If the real one suddenly comes and summons the imperial noble consort to his chambers, should I fulfill my obligations as a concubine...”

Zhao Changhe blurted out, “You wouldn’t!”

“Haha...” Huangfu Qing’s red lips drew even closer, almost coming into contact with the sweat on Zhao Changhe’s face. “Then... between you and me, who really is the one wearing the mask?”

Damn it... After all this, you’re still on that topic!

Finally, he gritted his teeth, reached out to grab her waist, and viciously bit down, “Alright, you witch, the fight is on! Pig versus pig!”

However, despite their bodies having nearly been pressed together, he only grabbed at empty air.

With incredible agility, Huangfu Qing dodged to the side and gave him a push on the back of his head. Watching him stumble forward, she smiled sweetly. “Dream on, little pervert.”

Zhao Changhe almost cried.

If Chichi was just a little beginner witch, then this one was already a fully-grown witch.

Playing with someone like this can kill them, you know?!