Chu Wang Fei

by Ning er

  “Xiaojie, this is…” Mu Chun carefully observed Yun Qian Meng's expression. Seeing that although she was shocked, her expression was filled with unlimited joy. The wooden box looked like it was made from precious wood, but she knew that the thing inside was surely very precious. Thus, she made a wild guess, “Xiaojie, could this be Hu Ge?”

  Only Ying Xia and Ying Qiu had been able to see the Hu Ge; thus, Mu Chun was only guessing. Unexpectedly, her guess was right. She saw Yun Qian Meng nod and knew that houye's life could be saved.

  But after that moment of joy, Yun Qian Meng became curious.

  How much Hu Ge was in Western Chu? Why did it seem like all the noble families had a box on hand? Where did this box from Rong Yun He come from? And how did he know that she was looking for this precious herb?

  How could she ever repay such great favor and generosity?

  Her hands unintentionally held the precious box of Hu Ge tight. Yun Qian Meng's heart was wavering. She was contemplating whether or not she should use it to save her jiujiu or give it back to Rong Yun He.

  If she could not repay him for such great favor in the future, then she could really hurt his feelings.

  “Huh?” when Yun Qian Meng opened the wooden box again, she saw that there was a piece of paper inside. She took it out, unfolded it and saw a line of beautiful calligraphy written on the paper. It read: 'A person's life is more important.'

  Seeing these words, Yun Qian Meng understood that this box of Hu Ge from Rong Yun He was meant to be used to save Qu Ling Ao. Even if she gave it back, he most likely would not accept it.

  “Mu Chun, we are going to Fu Guo Gong Fu.” Finally making up her mind, Yun Qian Meng immediately ordered Mu Chun to tell the driver to change the route.

  Chapter 94: part 2: Hu Ge Falling from the Sky and into the Hand | Chu Wang Fei

  When they arrived at Fu Guo Gong Fu, they unexpectedly noticed that all the servants passing by looked unhappy. Yun Qian Meng stopped a yatou, who was just about to leave after greeting her, and asked, “What happened?”

  The yatou almost cried and sadly said, “Xiaojie, a while ago, houye suddenly stopped breathing. Laotaijun, furen, and xiaojie are all rushing to Qing Song Yuan now. Xiao Nie daifu is now keeping watch over houye, scared to even move a step away from him.”

  Hearing that, Yun Qian Meng was greatly shocked. She held the wooden box in her sleeve even tighter and quickly walked towards Qing Song Yuan.

  As soon as she stepped in Qing Song Yuan, she heard the weeping sounds inside. Even if Yun Qian Meng was usually calm and steady, in front of death, her calm heart still beat faster than usual. She forcefully cleared away her ominous presentiments and ran into the room.

  Currently, laotaijun and the other two were pressed over Qu Ling Ao's body, crying. Xiao Nie daifu stood to the side with his eyebrows closely knitted while holding a thin long silver acupuncture needle.

  “Jiujiu…” Yun Qian Meng felt that her heart had skipped a bit. Her face was pale and her eyes were staring at Xiao Nie daifu.

  Xiao Nie daifu slightly shook his head then said, “Only three to seven days left. Laotaijun, I have disappointed you. I beg for your punishment.”

  Yun Qian Meng felt bad. She shifted her gaze to Qu Ling Ao and saw that his face was already deadly pale and his breath was so light that it almost could not be sensed. He laid on the bed without any sign of being alive, as if he was really dead.

  “No! Xiao Nie daifu, please save father! He…” Qu Fei Qing pulled on Xiao Nie daifu's sleeves and swayed them forcefully as teardrops fell down from her clear and bright eyes continuously.

  “He has already lived for so long. Please give him more time!” although laotaijun still had tears on her face, her eyes were still rather sharp. She could not allow Xiao Nie daifu to give up so easily.

  Yun Qian Meng immediately took out the Hu Ge and medical prescription from her sleeves to hand them over to Xiao Nie daifu. “This is the Hu Ge and its prescription. I request Xiao Nie daifu to please examine them. If there's no problem, it's still not too late to start making the medicine.

  Everyone was shocked to hear Yun Qian Meng's words. Xiao Nie Daifu was the first to recover and immediately opened the wooden box to examine the Hu Ge. He then took out the prescription and carefully examined it. Xiao Nie daifu's face brightened up as he said with relief, “I'll go make the antidote right now.”

  At that, the other three people's facial expressions changed as well. They all looked at Yun Qian Meng disbelievingly. Gu laotaijun was the first to speak out, “Meng'er, hasn't this herb…”

  Yun Qian Meng smiled and briefly replied, “It was a gift from a friend. The most important thing now is to save jiujiu.”

  Gu laotaijun understood that she did not want to reveal the identity of the friend. Thus, she only nodded, then looked at Qu Ling Ao, who had been suffering from shock. With worry and remorse, she said, “Recently, your biaoge was also secretly visiting a lot of places, but he didn't have any progress. Now, seeing that your jiujiu is already…”

  “Wai zumu, please don't worry too much. Now that the herb is found, Xiao Nie daifu will surely do his best.” Yun Qian Meng approached Gu laotaijun and helped her stand up. The two of them left the room together. At this same time, Qu Zhang Qing walked over with big steps.

  “Zhang Qing, your father can be saved!!” Gu laotaijun seldom had moments of this kind of extreme excitement, she even talked first before Qu Zhang Qing could greet her.

  Qu Zhang Qing had felt rather down because he was not able to figure out anything after searching for so many days. Now that his zumu told him that his father could be cured, he was not able to react to it right away. He then looked at Yun Qian Meng beside Gu laotaijun, and somewhat understood the reason.

  “Meng'er, you…” Yun Qian Meng was still a young lady, how was she able to find the cure? Qu Zhang Qing was very afraid that Yun Qian Meng might have made a deal with someone in order to save Qu Ling Ao.

  But Yun Qian Meng only lightly smiled and did not claim credit for herself. Instead, she calmly said, “It was with the help of a friend. Now that jiujiu's life is saved, this is really the best news I've heard recently!”

  Qu Zhang Qing did not force her since Yun Qian Meng did not seem to want to talk about it but he still took note of the matter. Knowing that the Hu Ge was extraordinarily precious, he naturally could not let Yun Qian Meng to shouldering the burden alone. If the time came that Yun Qian Meng really needed his help, he definitely would not refuse her.

  Xiao Nie daifu only took one day to finish the antidote.

  But this time, just to be sure, the antidote was first mixed with dog food and fed to a dog. After seeing no irregularities, they let Qu Ling Ao drink it.

  Ji Shu Yu held Qu Ling Ao's body up herself and slightly straightened his body so that he could take the antidote more easily.

  Ying Xia and Ying Qiu had originally planned to make the antidote into pills, but the current situation of Qu Ling Ao was different. No matter how small the pills were, he would not be able to swallow them. The only solution now was to make a tisane so the liquid could flow into his stomach easily.

  Laotaijun held Qu Ling Ao's chin up herself so he could be fed the medicine more conveniently, so Xiao Nie daifu did not hesitate anymore. He scooped some medicine with a silver spoon and patiently fed the medicine into Qu Ling Ao's slightly opened mouth little by little.

  “Xiaojie!” during the evening, Mu Chun along with Le Yao, Qu Fei Qing's yatou, walked into Qi Luo Yuan together. Yun Qian Meng was relaxing under the big tree when Mu Chun called her attention.

  “Nubi greets xiaojie.” Le Yao had a joyous expression, so Yun Qian Meng knew that the Hu Ge was used successfully.

  “Rise. Has jiujiu already been cured?” Yun Qian Meng put down her book and softly asked. Although she had already guessed the situation from Le Yao's expression, the waiting still made her somewhat nervous.

  Le Yao nodded continuously at Yun Qian Meng's words. She had a big smile an
d immediately replied, “Indeed! You really have wonderful foresight. Although houye hasn't woken up yet, Xiao Nie daifu took his pulse and said that his condition is already better. Nubi was beside da xiaojie when we saw blood with poison flowing out from houye's wound. It took a long while for the black blood flowing out to regain the its original color. Xiao Nie daifu is now guarding houye's side. Xiaojie thought that you might be worrying and ordered nubi to come and report the situation.”

  Yun Qian Meng finally felt completely relieved. Qu Ling Ao's condition had been bad for so long, now that it was improving, not only wai zumu and the others, she herself felt deeply relieved.

  “When you get back, give them a message from me. Tell wai zumu and the others to take care of their bodies. Once jiujiu wakes up, I will surely visit.” Yun Qian Meng could not help but make a sincere smile.

  “Yes! Then nubi will now leave.” Now that she had completed her task, Le Yao bowed towards Yun Qian Meng and slowly exited Qi Luo Yuan.

  Half a month quickly passed and Qu Ling Ao finally recovered fully. Sleeping for a couple of days after taking the medicine, he finally woke up according to the wish of his family. The dark aura that surrounded Fu Guo Gong Fu had finally gone away.

  Even the Empress Dowager had ordered people to go and ask a couple of times. She had also sent all sorts of tonics and precious medicines to Fu Guo Gong Fu.

  Yun Qian Meng also especially went to Fu Guo Gong Fu and visited Qu Ling Ao a couple of times. Although Qu Ling Ao was still pale and thin, his energy was way better than when he was severely ill. His face might be pale, but not as grayish pale as before. He was already able to sit up and eat some congee himself, so Yun Qian Meng finally set her mind at ease.

  It was the start of the ninth month and summertime had slowly passed. Right after, the ceremony was on the ninth day when the Emperor was going to bestow the title of Gui Fei.

  All these months, there had been endless disasters happening in Western Chu. Now, Emperor Yu Qian and the Empress Dowager wanted to take opportunity of this ceremony to pray for blessings for Western Chu.

  But who would have expected that on the night of the first day, an urgent report came from the borders. The message stated that Rui wang had been captured by Northern Qi's Crown Prince.

  Emperor Yu Qian was severely angry. He summoned all the officials overnight and made them examine the hidden root of the trouble behind this seemingly peaceful and prosperous time.

  The report stated that because Rui wang had differing opinions with Hai Jun Wang, he led thirty thousand soldiers himself and left Western Chu's barracks in the north. Unfortunately, he was caught in Qi Jing Yuan's trap on the way. All thirty thousand soldiers were wiped out and only Rui wang was left. He was now the hostage of the Northern Qi.

  “Have you all lost your tongues? Where are the skills you use to argue with one another? All of you are ostriches now?” Emperor Yu Qian flew into a rage. His angry words even caused the whole hall to slightly vibrate, what more the effect it caused on those officials who only knew how to bully the weak.

  But even though Emperor Yu Qian was so mad, the officials still kept their heads lowered and unable to say anything.

  After all, Rui wang was still Emperor Yu Qian's brother. Although they were not born from the same mother, they were still related by blood.

  Moreover, Rui wang was a wangye of Western Chu. Now that he had been taken hostage by the Northern Qi, Western Chu had lost its face as a state. To add to that, the Crown Prince and other princes of Northern Qi had even created some chaos in Western Chu's capital before. This time, if they stood out and mediated a settlement, under Emperor Yu Qian's rage, they were afraid that even the lives of their whole family would be in danger.

  With Rui wang was still in the hands of the enemy, if they opted to go to battle and something bad happened to him, then the citizens would all think that Emperor Yu Qian was cold-blooded and heartless because he did not even care about the life of his own brother.

  The officials were in a dilemma. Thus, even if they were being scolded by Emperor Yu Qian, they still did not dare test the Emperor's mood to prevent themselves from coming into misfortune.

  “Chu xiang, you used to lead troops to battle before. Speak your thoughts!” Emperor Yu Qian's expression became gloomier as the officials continued to lower their heads and remain silent. But he also fully knew that all these dumb and useless officials were all crafty and cunning people. Thus, no matter how angry he was now, they would still hold themselves back and not talk.

  Since that was the case, he could only ask them one by one.

  Chu Fei Yang looked very calm and serious now, unlike his usual sluggish appearance. Hearing Emperor Yu Qian call his name first, his eyes slightly sparkled. It seemed like there were infinite strategies hidden in his eyes, which made people feel uncontrollably amazed.

  “Emperor! Winning and losing is a common thing in the military. Instead of discussing whether to save Rui wang or attack Northern Qi, why don't we talk about why Northern Qi has been so aggressive this time. Although they have been eyeing Western Chu covetously before, the two countries were still at peace with each other. But recently, Northern Qi broke that balance several times now, as if they had the intention of destroying Western Chu. If we could find the source of this and attack Northern Qi's weakness, then they would naturally return wangye. Is weichen's analysis correct?” Chu Fei Yang slowly conveyed his idea. He did not mention attacking Northern Qi, neither did he suggest a compromise for peace. Moreover, he also did not criticize Rui wang for defying the military discipline and leaving his post without permission. Instead, he found a solution in between, which was finding the enemy's weakness. At that time, if they attacked while Northern Qi was unprepared, then presumably Northern Qi would lose their advantage now.

  After Chu Fei Yang's statement, all the officials nodded and praised Chu Fei Yang greatly.

  But were they really praising Chu Fei Yang's ability or were they praising Chu Fei Yang because he helped them out of the trouble? Only the officials themselves knew the answer to this.

  “Weichen's idea is as mentioned a while ago. What special opinion does Chen wang have?” Chu Fei Yang slightly moved his eyes to Chen Wang, who was standing in the opposite side. His tone contained a sense of inquiry, showing that he was rather humble.

  But after hearing his words, coldness flashed through Jiang Mu Chen's eyes. Jiang Mu Chen thought for a while then said, “Based on Chu xiang's plan, aren't the lives of the thirty thousand soldiers who sacrificed themselves not worth anything?”

  “Then what solution does wangye have to both save Rui Wang and avenge this huge debt of blood?” Chu Fei Yang's expression suddenly became sharp and serious and he quickly asked Chen wang in reply.

  “Based on Chu xiang's plan of examining the enemy's motivation, how would you know that Qi Jing Yuan has enough patience to wait until we find out the truth? What if in the process of this, something happens to Rui wang? We would not only delay the military situation, but also cause Rui wang to suffer. Who would be the one to bear this responsibility?” Jiang Mu Chen also immediately asked him back.

  After he spoke, some people who had remained silent and pretended to be invisible a while ago stepped out and seconded the motion one after another. Causing Chu Fei Yang to glance at them as if they were clowns.

  Chapter 95: Part 1: Wangye is Captured, Two Nations Conduct Peace Talks | Chu Wang Fei

  “Emperor, Chu xiang and Chen wang both have their own versions of the story, but their words are within reason. It would be best if we sent some people out first to feel out the enemy before we decide.” Yun Xuan Zhi had stepped forward and spoken with a clear voice once the quarrelling of both sides had subsided

  “Feel the enemy out? Yun Xuan Zhi wishes for us to bow our heads and settle with the Northern Qi? Right now, Rui wang is in their hands. We don't need to feel out the Northern Qi to know what they are thinking.” Cheng wang's cold voice retorted, his eyes were as cold as
ice and looked pretty intimidating.

  Yun Xuan Zhi's brows furrowed at being reprimanded by Chen wang, his eyes flashed as he thought about the current state of affairs in the hall.

  Who would have expected that at this moment the Minister of War would step out from the rear. With eyes and a tone of voice like a tiger he asked Chen wang, “Then from Chen wang's manner of speaking, Chen wang wishes to strike back hard? When the time comes, Northern Qi will only bring out Rui wang in the middle of it. Will you then have my soldiers charge through enemy lines only to surrender? Moreover, Rui wang is the current commander. For him to have been captured, the army's morale surely has plummeted. If we do not find a way to appease Northern Qi, they will just dispose of him and our troops will fall apart.”

  At this moment, Emperor Yu Qian cast his look onto those three. When he faced the Minister of War, he said, “Then based on your opinion, it's either war or peace? The discussion has been going on for half a day, yet no concrete plan has been made. What use do I have for you?”

  The Emperor's expression was severe and his voice was cold, his eyes that were faintly flashing with anger, shooting glares that were like icy arrows. His angry appearance made the officials immediately stop arguing and act more prudently, they did not dare to open their mouths to speak.

  At this moment, Chief Eunuch Mao, who had slipped away while the heated arguments between the officials were going on, came back and discreetly approached the Emperor, whispering into his ear, “Emperor, another message has come from an 800-li* horse.”

  “Bring it over!” when the Emperor heard those words, his expression turned even uglier. The gathered ministers became even more frightened. What on earth happened now? Everybody was thinking that tonight was really too unbearable. They came into the palace alive but now it was quite likely they would leave without their lives.

  “Bring it over!” after receiving the Emperor's approval, Chief Eunuch Mao immediately called out in a loud and clear voice.