Legend of Fu Yao

So Zhangsun Wuji did not drag her away by force, but even then, he did leave a message for her, along with a few trusted guards. He also leaked information about her to Zhan Beiye, leading him to bring his own horsemen. In that case, even if Yaocheng was being schemed against, it would not be ruined.

It turned out that King De had actually offered Yaocheng up and Zhan Beiye had met with one of the ten strong fighters on his way. “Fog,” who usually appeared unpredictably within the Five Region Continent, had surfaced in Wuji Nation at that exact time. All three coincidences had stacked up to lead to a bloodbath in Yaocheng. It could be said that it was God’s will that had caused her such a calamity.

‘Just…’ Meng Fuyao continued thinking. Zhangsun Wuji must have had his doubts when it came to King De’s motives. He was baiting him, and because of that, he avoided monitoring King De’s movements and armed force in the southern border. ‘He… had wanted King De to rebel.’

Sweat accumulated over her body at this conclusion. This man had dared gamble his own land!

‘But why didn’t he destroy King De in Jingcheng? Why did he let him out and even gave him 200,000 soldiers to create a commotion?’ Meng Fuyao couldn’t wrap her head around his decision and eventually pulled her quilt down. She had decided to consult Zhan Beiye when he returned. He must know since he was a political figure himself.

A sobbing sound could be heard.

It was remote and drifted from outside the courtyard wall, which wasn’t considered high. The sun had set and the clear, moonlight night, made the cry sound even more mournful.

Meng Fuyao frowned, tossing the quilt aside and sitting up. “Ghost? I fear ghosts the least! Damn! Come cry in front of me if you dare!”

The sobbing stopped, and someone’s footsteps could be heard approaching fast. Yao Xun’s pale, long face appeared by the courtyard wall, and he walked in, smiling in gloat, “Hu Sang’s crying.”

“Eh?” Meng Fuyao uttered. She was aware of what the lady had done and hadn’t thought of a punishment for her. Why was she crying already?

“Prince Zhan’s beyond handsome…” Yao Xun appeared infatuated. “Do you know, Miss Meng, she’s already been crying for 3 days now…”

His brows twitched as he spoke, and Meng Fuyao was in shock.

Three days ago, upon finding out about the city gate being locked, petty Zhan Beiye set his eyes on Hu Sang since there was no point being calculative with the ignorant citizens. He had pinned no hope on them to remain calm and clear-headed in times of danger since humans were selfish creatures. Yet, he couldn’t forgive Hu Sang, who was purposefully vicious. For three days and night, Hu Sang’s father and herself had been pleading for forgiveness. Soldiers from the Dark Wind Horses spat on the ground they knelt on, jeering, “Bah! You think you can fight with us? Do you think you’re worthy of setting yourself against the mayor? You’re not even fit to carry her shoes.”

They then produced a stack of bills, mentioning that the delay in her family’s delivery of materials had caused them losses. Seeing the figures on the bill, Hu Sang fainted. Upon waking up, she heard someone speaking coldly, “Master Zhang of the western city is willing to pay your debt. All you have to do is to work as a servant.”

At that, Hu Sang fainted once more. Everyone knew that Master Zhang had a thing for servant girls. He had no wives and concubines. Instead, he collected servant girls to have fun with before tossing them aside when bored. It was a convenient, one-off thing for him.

But the man was not done. “Master Zhang is only settling half of your debt. As for the other half, Master Liu from the south city has arranged for you to be a laundry lady.”

Hu Sang fainted again. Master Liu’s so-called “laundry ladies” were actually stripping ladies. Master Liu was a fan of art involving the human body, and the washing ladies at his place had devilish figures despite their ordinary-looking faces.

The soldiers dumped the bills and swaggered off, threatening to press them for payment until the Masters divided up her day and night time. Hu Sang held onto the stack of bills and sobbed for days, receiving no help and support from neighbors. She only had herself to blame, and those who insisted on keeping the city gates closed were filled with guilt and couldn’t plead on her behalf.

It was in the middle of the night when Hu Sang with swollen eyes from all that crying, set up a long, pitifully preparation to end her own life. Fortunately, upon her third try, she was spotted by Tie Cheng, who had just received a beating from training with Zhan Beiye. He then pointed a way out for her – beg the mayor. No one else had the power to forgive her.

Beyond grateful, Hu Sang repeatedly kowtowed before Tie Cheng’s feet, even repaying what she had owed him twofold.

Hu Sang was crying outside the wall. As a shrewd lady, she knew that crying outside the main entrance might be less effective. Hence, she went straight to where Meng Fuyao was resting, so that the latter wouldn’t be able to ignore her existence even if she wanted to.

Frowning and puffing her cheeks out, Meng Fuyao wondered how accepting the girl’s handkerchief for Zhangsun Wuji had caused such a big problem. Indeed, Zhangsun Wuji wasn’t one to be provoked. ‘Offend him, and heaven will punish you. Look, isn’t this great? Hu Sang’s here to punish me now. What a crier! She’s not going to let me sleep and recuperate in peace until I let her in.’

“Mother, who’s owing whom…” Meng Fuyao waved, continuing, “I don’t wish to see her, and I won’t pretend to forgive her. Ask her to scram, as far as her dreams take her. It would best if she committed suicide somewhere far away and never appeared before me again. Otherwise, I might just stab her in the stomach when in a bad mood.”

Yao Xun rolled his eyes, responding, “You don’t really plan to stab her, do you? You’re being too lenient, no? She almost killed you.”

Meng Fuyao threw a quick glance at him. “I’ve always been a nice person to negotiate with. Someone’s betrayed me twice, but I let that go too, didn’t I?”

Yao Xun kept quiet, proceeding to scratch his nose. Some time later, he added, “Hu Sang begs to see you and insists on apologizing to you, face to face.”

“Mother, she’s pushing it.” In a fit of anger, Meng Fuyao kicked over a stool by the bed. “Alright, you want to torture me? Let’s play.”

Hu Sang walked timidly into the room, and Meng Fuyao almost couldn’t recognize her.

How did a beautiful girl turn into this ghost-like figure in a matter of days? So frail and pale. She could star in a horror movie without any makeup.

There Meng Fuyao was, judging someone else’s appearance when she herself wasn’t any better. She was even thinner and paler, no different from a sheet of paper that could easily be crushed.

Hu Sang lifted her head slowly, meeting Meng Fuyao’s gaze but quickly retracting it. She felt her legs going limp.

“Mayor Meng… it’s my fault… I must have been possessed… please forgive me…”

She cried like a pear tree blossoming in the spring rain, ceaselessly smashing her head against the ground beneath Meng Fuyao’s feet. Meng Fuyao glared at her coldly, without the slightest bit of sympathy, only feeling increasingly irked.

There were always girls in this world who were overconfident about their beauty and brain, and they believed that everyone would pacify them when they were unhappy. As such, when angry they would rage and retaliate without considering the validity of their standpoint and justification.

Such people were despicable and repulsive. They were scums who squandered resources in the world. Meng Fuyao would be glad to see her commit suicide as a means of escaping punishment, but Hu Sang was unwilling. Plus, it wouldn’t be easy for Meng Fuyao, not because she would feel sorry for her or because she wanted to change her. The main reason was that she was the one who had started it all. She had willfully forced Zhangsun Wuji to accept the handkerchief, and it was then that Hu Sang’s love was shot dead. Otherwise, none of these would’ve happened. She was the one who had struck Hu Sang with another blow of disappointment, which had ultimately led her onto the path of evil.

Since she was the one at fault first, she had given up the thought of killing Hu Sang. Furthermore, a heartbroken girl was capable of doing anything and never could be treated as a normal human being. Meng Fuyao kept her gratitude and grudges well and clear, but she should investigate the mastermind behind the encirclement of Yaocheng and not a small figure like Hu Sang. ‘King De, King De… just you wait.’

Yet, she wasn’t going to feel satisfied without teaching her a lesson. Was she a practitioner of Buddhism? Or was she the Holy Mother herself? Fancy letting someone who had almost caused her life off. Her initial plan to throw Hu Sang in jail for a few days before letting her experience the best torture equipment they had in the nation to kill off her vicious currents was about to go down the drain.

Why? Before she could go into details as to how she would torture Hu Sang, Zhan Beiye had entered the room.

He walked in, looking her straight in the eye, while the kneeling girl went unnoticed until her hand got stepped on.

“Ah!” she let out, instantly pulling her hand out and crying. “Deafened,” Prince Zhan continued walking forward as if there was no one else in the room. Every step he took created a vigorous gust of wind that blew Hu Sang to a side.

Over there, Lord Yuan Bao had appeared randomly, waiting for Hu Sang with his eyes lit up. As Hu Sang flew over, he immediately untied a bag by his side.

Balls of donkey dung rolled out and were smeared all over Hu Sang’s face.

Lord Yuan Bao squeaked in delight, dashing over to the girl, who was screaming incessantly. Reaching her shoulder, the guinea pig started pissing a fountain that penetrated the incoming dung balls before they splashed onto and down her whole face.