Unruly Phoenix Xiaoyao

Chapter 119: His Majesty says, you humans are too complicated

Yan Hong watched as the rain outside the windows stopped and daylight crept into the room. Still, the people who were supposed to beg her for antidote never came. Her expression grew bewildered--how could this be?

Grand Preceptor Xie had been leaning against his chair the entire time with his eyes closed. When he heard the rainfall lessen, he opened his eyes and looked out the window. “It looks like your Drunken Flower Fragrance was useless against Lou Zigui and his men.”

Yan Hong leapt to her feet in alarm. She stood there blankly for a moment before kneeling at Grand Preceptor Xie’s feet. “Grand Preceptor, this servant didn’t betray you.”

--

“If I go to Fragrant Gauze Alley now, will I be able to grab Yan Hong’s corpse?” Ning Xiaoyao was currently sitting on the edge of Lou Zigui’s bed. “I’ve been thinking it over all night. It’s too terrible for humankind if we leave such a disaster such as her in this world.”

Lou Zigui pinched his brows after he’d been slapped awake by Ning Xiaoyao. He still felt weary after falling asleep. “You can’t just barge into a man’s room as you please. Forget it, what did you find me for?” Lou Zigui asked as he gave up on talking about relationships between men and woman.

“I was asking you about Yan Hong,” Ning Xiaoyao replied.

“If I sent someone to beg for the antidote last night, that woman would’ve died for sure,” Lou Zigui said.

Ning Xiaoyao paused in the middle of stuffing sugar beans into her mouth. “But you didn’t send anyone last night, did you?”

“None,” Lou Zigui replied. “I’ve thought it over. That woman can’t die yet.”

“Why not!?” Ning Xiaoyao exclaimed.

Lou Zigui patted Ning Xiaoyao’s hand to hint that she shouldn’t shout. His voice was still hoarse from sleepiness as he spoke. “Judging by that woman’s skills, she was probably in charge of locking up Ning Xiaoluo and the rest. If Xie Wenyuan suspects her of being a spy, then he’ll definitely figure out that Ning Xiaoluo’s still alive. Then it’ll be nearly impossible for Third Young Master Ning to return safely to Fengzhou.”

Ning Xiaoyao stuffed a few beans in her mouth and munched on them until they entered her stomach, but she still didn’t speak.

“Why aren’t you saying anything?” Lou Zigui asked. “Did you not understand?”

“If you sent people over, then Yan Hong’s a spy,” Ning Xiaoyao muttered. “If you don’t, then she’s not a spy. Aren’t you humans a little too complicated? What’s the logic behind all this?”

Lou Zigui laughed out loud. The way this girl put it, it was as if she wasn’t a human at all. Ning Xiaoyao crossed her legs to sit in front of him. “Explain it to me,” she said.

“It’s not complicated at all,” Lou Zigui half rose to a sitting position. “Xie Wenyuan knows you have some sort of miracle doctor by your side. Wouldn’t it only be natural that the doctor could treat Drunken Flower Fragrance?”

“Suppose the miracle doctor couldn’t?” Ning Xiaoyao asked.

“If the doctor couldn’t, then Xie Wenyuan wouldn’t offer the antidote, either. That means Fang Tang and the rest would die without fail,” Lou Zigui said. “If I sent men over to Fragrant Gauze Alley and didn’t get the antidote, but Fang Tang and the rest survived all the same, then he’d only conclude that Yan Hong was actually on my side. Would you have any other explanations?”

Ning Xiaoyao blinked, then asked, “How did you grow a brain like that?”

Lou Zigui tousled Ning Xiaoyao’s hair and laughed. “You still don’t get it?”

Ning Xiaoyao always felt like she had an insufficient IQ to interact with the humans of this world. What to do? She decided to eat a few more sugar beans to get over the shock.

“You really still don’t understand?” Lou Zigui asked as he watched her eat.

“It’s a crime to let people like that Yan Hong loose, you know, Supreme Commander?” Ning Xiaoyao said unhappily. “Moreover, you’re treating Ning Xiaoluo as someone way too useless, alright? You’re that certain he won’t make it home if the Grand Preceptor sends men after him?”

“.........” said Lou Zigui. What kind of skills could a guy like Ning Xiaoluo have?

“Forget it,” Ning Xiaoyao said. “Let me take care of Yan Hong.”

“What are you planning to do?” Lou Zigui tried to grab Ning Xiaoyao, but missed.

“I haven’t decided yet,” Ning Xiaoyao said as she jumped off the bed. “You should hurry up and get up. We need to send off Qin Xuan and Miss A’Xin before Grand Preceptor finds a replacement for Tao Chen. Quickly.” Lou Zigui sat in his bed and watched Ning Xiaoyao run off like the wind.

“Miaow~” Big Boss Black leapt onto the bed, his eyes opened wide as he meowed at Lou Zigui.

Lou Zigui stroked his head and said, “I didn’t see you all last night. Where did you go?”

“This cat went looking for news about your big brother, ah!” Big Boss Black meowed at Lou Zigui. “Supreme Commander, don’t you worry. Xiaoyao will definitely save your brother, miaow~” He meowed at Lou Zigui for quite a while, but it was a pity the man didn’t understand him.

“Are you trying to talk to me?” Lou Zigui smiled at Big Boss Black, but the smile didn’t reach his eyes.

“Meow,” Big Boss Black’s head hung as his tail drooped.

Meanwhile, Grand Preceptor Xie was leaving the estate while being supported by Xie Anshi. Yan Hong followed behind as he ordered, “Seal off the stone door to the basement. In the future, never open it again.”

“Yes,” Yan Hong obeyed.

“Three days from now, I’ll go find a suitable new courtyard. You should all prepare as well,” Grand Preceptor Xie added. Yan Hong understood his words. Now that this courtyard had been exposed as the Grand Preceptor’s property, it was useless. They needed to move to a new place.

Yan Hong watched Grand Preceptor Xie entered his sedan chair before she said charmingly, “Grand Preceptor, don’t worry. This servant understands.”

“Hurry and find out who detoxified the Drunken Flower Fragrance,” Grand Preceptor Xie’s voice came from inside the sedan chair.

Yan Hong immediately made a noise of assent.

“Or perhaps,” Grand Preceptor Xie’s voice grew cold, “You should see which member of the poison sect betrayed this old man.” He didn’t stop to wait for a reply, but kicked at the floor of the sedan chair to indicate they should leave.

“Rise,” the steward outside shouted in a hurry. The sedan chair bearers lifted the ride and headed towards the entrance of the alleyway. By the time he disappeared, Yan Hong was still standing by the door. She touched her throat and felt a thread of fear at how close she’d come to death today.

--

“To the palace gates,” Grand Preceptor Xie ordered once they left Fragrant Gauze Alley. The sedan chair bearers quickly changed directions to head towards the imperial palace. At the same time, Ning Xiaoyao stood pounding the doors outside Qin Xin’s room.

“Miss Qin, Miss Qin, it’s time to get up!”

The mama in charge of serving Qin Xin quickly came to open the doors. Qin Xuan rushed out from his resting quarters next door and saw Ning Xiaoyao with one foot poised to enter the room.

“Is Your Majesty planning on going inside?” Regional Commander Qin asked.

Ning Xiaoyao glanced at Qin Xuan, then lowered her head to look at her foot, before withdrawing her leg. She almost forgot that she was supposed to be a man right now. Qin Xuan rushed before Ning Xiaoyao and knelt down, preparing to offer his respects.

“You still have time to worry about that?” Ning Xiaoyao hauled him upright. “The fire’s already burning your butts!”

Qin Xuan’s face changed as he grew serious. “What did the Grand Preceptor do this time?”

“He and Tao Chen are planning to kill you and Miss Qin on the road,” Ning Xiaoyao said as she patted her chest. “But I took care of both of them last night.”

Qin Xuan was shocked. “Your Majesty killed them?”

“Urk,” Ning Xiaoyao said, “I knocked them down with bricks.”

Qin Xuan had difficulty imagining how His Majesty had vanquished that father and son-in-law pair with bricks.

“Pack your bags,” Ning Xiaoyao pushed at the stupefied Regional Commander Qin a few times. “Take Miss Qin and hurry back to Jiangnan. Supreme Commander said before, you guys will be safe as long as you reach the Jiangnan navy.”

Qin Xuan glanced at the mama standing before the door. Ning Xiaoyao told the mama, “Mama, don’t you just stand there. Go help pack the bags. Bring along anything that’s worth money. And don’t forget about food, either. That’s the most important thing.”

The mama didn’t understand her last words. If travelers had money, they could buy food along the way. Did someone with Qin Xuan’s status need to pack their own food? It wasn’t as if they were heading off to war! Still, the mama went to do as she was ordered. By now, Lou Zigui had reached the courtyard. After paying respects to Qin Xuan, he glanced at Ning Xiaoyao before smoothing out the stray locks of hair on her head.

Qin Xuan said, “Your Majesty, could we change to a different place? This subject has words to tell Your Majesty.”

Ning Xiaoyao arched a brow. “No way, right? You’re already getting ready to leave. It can’t be that you have another sweetheart back in Jiangnan as well?”

Qin Xuan quickly shook his head. “This subject has no one!” He’s not going to cancel the union between Elder Sister A’Xin and me just after bestowing our wedding yesterday, is he?

“Oh, then that’s alright,” Ning Xiaoyao walked forward. “Then speak up, what is it? Haha, even if you tell me the Earth will explode tomorrow and turn humans into zombies, I’ll still be able to take it, ah.”

Regional Commander Qin looked towards Supreme Commander Lou. Do you understand any of His Majesty’s words? Supreme Commander Lou simply pretended he hadn’t seen Regional Commander Qin at all.

Soon enough, the three of them were sitting in Qin Xuan’s temporary quarters, where Qin Xuan unfurled a map on the table. Ning Xiaoyao glanced at the map and said, “General Qin, are you going to discuss travel routes with me? I suggest you guys take the direct route.”

Qin Xuan coughed and said, “Your Majesty, this subject knows the way back.”

“Oh,” Ning Xiaoyao replied as she dug her fingers into her palms. Once again, she stuffed a sugar bean into her mouth. If he wanted her to study military tactics with him on this map, she’d have nothing to say. Qin Xuan took a brush and drew two circles on the map.

Ning Xiaoyao said, “Big Carp Island and Little Carp Island? General Qin, are you going to feed me some carp?”

Qin Xuan wanted to sigh. Why didn’t His Majesty think of anything else besides eating carp when he circled those two island names? Could it be that His Majesty couldn’t eat carp at the palace?

As Qin Xuan stared at Ning Xiaoyao, Lou Zigui spoke up. “You say your piece.”

Qin Xuan said, “Your Majesty, there are silver mines on these two islands.”

“Oh, so it’s not carp, but silver mines. Silver--wha, what did you say?” Ning Xiaoyao jumped up from her stool and cried out in excitement. “Silver mines, so silver?!”

Her shouts made Qin Xuan nod his head in a hurry. He knew that His Majesty lacked money, but he never expected him to be so moved.

Pah! Ning Xiaoyao slapped the map on the table. “You can’t lie to me. If you try to cheat a pauper into thinking you have money, it’s immoral!”

Qin Xuan said, “This subject doesn’t dare to trick the sovereign.”

Ning Xiaoyao felt like the sun was shining and the skies were clear, that hundreds of flowers had burst into bloom and all the zombies were dead. Qin Xuan’s lips twitched at the sight of the overexcited emperor. Is His Majesty so happy that he’s starting to dance?

“You didn’t tell Xie Wenyuan about them?” Lou Zigui asked coolly as he grabbed the foolishly happy Ning Xiaoyao. Ning Xiaoyao felt her heart and stomach tremble at the sound of ‘Xie Wenyuan.’ Her eyes grew wide as she turned on Qin Xuan.

If he says he’s told him, I’ll bite him to death!