Chapter 7: Twelve Hours of Muwei Palace: Noon
According to the ancient books in Luoying Valley, the original Muwei Palace was just a few huts built by the Beichen Patriarch. Later, with many disciples and servants, the huts were expanded into proper buildings. At that time, there was abundant materials on Jiuli Mountain. Gold and white jade were common. Even the simple buildings were solemn and majestic, exuding a celestial-like aura.
The main hall was bustling. Guests sat in groups of two or three, laughing and reminiscing about old times. From a distance, Cai Zhao saw her future shifu’s square face. Sitting at the top of the hall, he was stiffly receiving visitors. Her aunt’s evaluation of this sworn brother had been, "He is clearly a once-in-a-generation talented martial artist, but he spends his time greeting guests every day like the number one hostess of a high-class brothel(花魁)."
Ever since Cai Pingshu retreated from the Jianghu to recover from her injuries, she rarely interacted with people. Qi Yunke was one of the few she kept in touch with. He went to Luoying Valley almost every year. Every time he came, he was either holding a cute sparrow or a cute kitten, and his bag would be filled with Cai Zhao’s favourite snacks.
When she was young, she thought that Qi Yunke would become her uncle-in-law. Then she found out that the man was married already, and that he and Cai Pingshu were sworn brother and sister.
She followed Zeng Dalou inside. Qi Yunke spotted her immediately, and his eyes lit up. “Xiao Zhao’er is here!” He said loudly. He walked towards her. “Come over quickly! Your parents and brother have already drank a few cups of tea, where have you been?”
(T/N: Xiao Zhao’er is a cute way to call Cai Zhao. Xiao means small. The suffix –er is also added to names to show closeness/cuteness.)
Cai Zhao performed a proper bow and greeting. “Greetings to Qi Bofu. I have caused inconvenience to Qi Bofu. I just saw that Wan Shui Qian Shan Peak was as beautiful as a painting and couldn’t resist taking a stroll to admire the scenery.”
Qi Yunke laughed. “Zhaozhao, you’re lucky you didn’t get lost. That year when we went to the lantern festival, you got lost; your aunt and I spent the whole night looking for you! Good thing that Luoying Town doesn’t have any kidnappers, or else!”
“I didn’t get lost. I was helping the grandpa look after his candy stall. I am good with directions. Besides, Bofu and Aunt have so much to talk about, and it’s boring for me…”
“Yes, we always had so many things to talk about.” Qi Yunke’s face fell. “But now, who will I talk to?”
Cai Zhao fell silent.
A beautiful middle-aged lady originally beside Qi Yunke frowned when he had left her side. She had smiled at the people around them and said a few words to assuage them, and then she raised her voice. “That’s enough, let the children go play together. Yunke, come back and say hello to our uncles.”
Qi Yunke didn’t move.
Cai Zhao lowered her voice and whispered, “Bofu, are those your good friends?”
“What good friends!” Qi Yunke pitifully whispered back. “That’s the Yin family’s extended relatives and close friends. In terms of seniority, they’re all my seniors! I’m exhausted!”
Yin Sulian called a few more times for Qi Yunke, her face showing her displeasure. Qi Yunke could only go over while saying, “Zhaozhao, come here, shifu will introduce you to a few elders….”
Cai Zhao gave Qi Yunke an unimpressed look. In this day and age, the adults were irresponsible. He clearly didn’t want to deal with these people, yet he dragged her over.
Qi Yunke grinned and introduced the guests one by one. The beautiful middle-aged woman was naturally Yin Sulian, his wife. Cai Zhao bowed obediently. When she lowered her head, she saw Yin Sulian’s skirt that spread on the carpet. The material was luxurious, dotted with gold stars, and the edge of the skirt was decorated with a pearl as big as a thumb.
Yin Sulian was the same age as Cai Pingshu. Unlike Cai Pingshu, who became increasingly weak and haggard, she was extremely well-maintained, with a white and tender face and delicate eyebrows. She looked like she was 20 years old. She was exquisitely dressed and had a pair of priceless emerald cat eyes dangling from her ears. One could tell that she lived an extremely comfortable life.
She glanced at Cai Zhao reservedly and said, "So this is Zhao Zhao. Who does this child look like? Your aunt and mother are good-looking, but this child hasn’t really inherited their forte."
Qi Yunke frowned: "Nonsense, Zhao Zhao clearly looks like both Pingshu and Xiaofeng, but she exceeds both."
Yin Sulian raised her eyebrows, smiling without expression. "How rare. It's uncommon to hear you say anything bad about Cai Pingshu."
“A girl’s strength does not necessarily lie in her appearance. What matters is her character and ability..." Qi Yunke was unhappy.
Zeng Dalou quickly came out to smooth things over: "Shifu, Cai shimei just said she was hungry. Why don't we let her have some snacks first and then slowly introduce her to the elders?"
Yin Sulian made a non-committal sound in her throat and looked away. Qi Yunke took a plate of snacks from the table and pressed them into Cai Zhao’s hands. “Why don’t you go to the back hall and have some snacks? Once the banquet has started, we’ll have some more delicious things for you to eat.”
Cai Zhao took the snacks and smiled widely. Food!
She turned and walked a few steps but suddenly saw a few familiar figures talking towards them, so she had to stop.
“Father! Mother! Shixiong and I are here.” Qi Lingbo now wore a peach-colored dress with faint golden embroidery matched with a pair of peach earrings and hairpins. It brought out the youthful color in her cheeks and made her look as lovely as a flower. Beside her, Dai Fengchi could barely move his eyes away.
A few steps behind these two was a silent young man, Chang Ning.
Yin Sulian's eyes lit up: "Oh, my Lingbo is here! Why are you willing to wear these clothes today? Don't you always think it's inconvenient to dress up like this?"
Qi Lingbo glanced at Cai Zhao with a smile: "That was because before I was dressing to practice martial arts. But just now I saw that Cai shimei was dressed appropriately, so I also learned to dress up. Cai shimei, you’re here too?"
When she said the last word, she winked at Dai Fengchi beside her. Dai Fengchi smiled slightly. He gently touched his left sleeve with his right hand, and then threw it out, only to hear a soft jingle and an object flashed forward, sharply reflecting the light. A sharp weapon headed straight towards Cai Zhao's face. Everyone could vaguely see the flicker of the knife blade, and they saw that Cai Zhao was about to get killed on the spot.
In the midsts of everyone’s exclamations, Qi Yunke roared. He was about to use him palm to save her, but everyone saw the sharp bit stop half a foot away from Cai Zhao’s face. Then it quickly fell back into Dai Fenchi’s hand. Only then did everyone realize it was a small dagger with a chain attached to the handle. Dai Fengchi had used the chain to pull the dagger back.
Even though he was using a chain, his hand strength and accuracy were still very impressive.
Qi Yunke was furious: "What do you think you’re doing!”
Qi Lingbo smiled sweetly and said, "Don't be angry, Dad. It's just a little joke. Just now, shixiong and I met Cai shimei in the Plum Forest. We hit it off immediately, so we discussed giving shimei gift. Shixiong, why don’t you show dad?"
Dai Fengchi pulled off the thin chain and held up the dagger with both hands. Everyone stretched their necks to look and saw that the handle of the knife was engraved with gold and red treasures, and the blade was like a blue wave. It was indeed very valuable.
Yin Sulian saw her husband's expression of unhappiness and quickly said: "Isn't this a gift given to Fengchi by Yuzhi's father? This is Fengchi's beloved thing, and you are willing to give it to Zhaozho. You indeed care for her. Right, Yunke?!"
Qi Yunke's anger had not subsided, but at this time the palace was crowded with guests, and his wife was blocking him. It was not the time for an argument, so he could only snort coldly.
This was what Qi Lingbo planned all along. She smiled winningly at Cai Zhao. “Shimei, you didn’t get scared, right?”
Qi Lingbo was never one to suffer a loss. After suffering in the plum forest, she had planned to scare Cai Zhao in front of everyone today to make her lose face. However, Cai Zhao didn’t look scared at all.
“I knew that shixiong and shijie wouldn’t harm me, so of course I wasn’t scared. Our elders may rest easy. I’m not hurt.” Cai Zhao replied.
Qi Yunke growled. “Fengchi, how could you join in with Lingbo’s immaturity? If just now your reflex was off by a split second, you would have hurt Zhaozhao. Could you have handled the repercussions?! What has this master taught you usually? How could you do something so reckless…”
Dai Fengchi apologized with a red face.
"Okay, okay!" Yin Sulian interrupted. "Don't you know Fengchi's temperament? How could he make this joke if he wasn't absolutely sure! Didn't Zhaozhao also say that she wasn't scared? Chang Ning isn’t the only orphan now, so is Fengchi. Don't just feel sorry for Chang Ning, but also feel sorry for Fengchi. ... Zhao Zhao, come here, I'll give you this dagger, keep it well."
Qi Yunke endured his anger and slapped the table hard.
Cai Zhao stepped forward to take the dagger, turned it over, and praised: "It's really a good dagger. Thank you, shixiong and shijie.”
Qi Yunke took a breath, pulled Chang Ning over, and said to Cai Zhao: "This is your senior brother Chang Ning. He is three years older than you. He, alas, his family... Dalou has told you. Fortunately, your aunt has left, otherwise if she knew what happened to brother Haosheng's family, she would die of anger. The demonic sect is really outrageous."
Cai Zhao looked at Chang Ning and saw that this young man was quite tall, with slender limbs, but his face was just too terrible.
“I’ve met Cai shimei already.” Chang Ning said.
“Was it just now at the plum forest?” Qi Yunke asked, his mind immediately thinking of something.
Chang Ning nodded. Zeng Dalou got nervous.
Qi Yunke was stunned for a moment, then his face immediately darkened: "Lingbo, did you bully Chang Ning again? Have you forgotten my instructions? If you dare to do this again, I’ll…”
Yin Sulian interrupted her husband and said with a smile: "How could you, a father, scold your own daughter indiscriminately first? Look at Zhao Zhao and Chang Ning. They’re fine..."
Hearing “look at Chang Ning” Cai Zhao couldn’t help looking at his rotten face. Chang Ning didn’t care at all and smiled back. Even though his face was covered with sores and looked hideous, his eyes were clear and could melt your heart.*
"...Lingbo has been naughty in the past, but she would not be willful on such a big day." Yin Sulian turned to Cai Zhao. "Zhao Zhao, don’t you think so?"
"Yes, yes, dad, we were just joking around!" Qi Lingbo hurriedly defended, "Cai shimei, please speak quickly."
Where did this shijie of hers get the confidence that she would help her? But Zeng Dalou sent her a begging look, so she smiled and said, “Even though I’ve only just met shijie, I can tell she is an honest and simple person. She is pure and energetic. She is a very down to earth person.”
Zeng Dalou wanted to face palm. Cai Zhao only had to respond perfunctorily. Now that she responded so overzealously, with such high praise, no one would believe it. It was obviously fake.
Qi Yunke sighed. “Fine, if you really think so, in the future…”
“Bofu, I really think so.” Cai Zhao said. “If you don’t believe me, watch.”
Before she finished speaking, she raised her right hand and the delicate dagger made a sound. A burst of energy shot out, and the dagger shot towards Qi Lingbo’s face like an arrow piercing the sky.
Yin Sulian screamed. The force of the sharp weapon was even more powerful than the dagger shot by Dai Fengchi just now. Seeing the dagger about to pierce her daughter's face, Yin Sulian almost fainted. Qi Lingbo was stiff and unable to move, Qi Yunke was far away, and only Dai Fengchi on the side immediately raised his palm to stop it.
However, just as the dagger reached three inches away from the tip of Qi Lingbo's nose, Cai Zhao suddenly shot it away with her left palm. The dagger turned in front of Qi Lingbo's face, drawing a melodious arc in the air, and then it was like a string was pulled. It returned to her hands.
The entire hall was silent. All the guests were looking at this scene. In the silence, a simple clang was heard. A hairpin on Qi Lingbo's temple fell to the ground, and big beads of sweat appeared on her forehead.
Chang Ning didn't feel panic at all but looked at it with great interest.
Yin Sulian was so frightened that she broke into a cold sweat and screamed: "Cai Zhao, what are you doing! Are you trying to kill Lingbo!"
“It’s just a joke. Don’t be scared, shimu and shijie.” Cai Zhao smiled and played with the dagger.
Qi Lingbo's hands and feet were cold, and her throat seemed to be blocked. It took her a long time to make a sound: "...didn't you say that you don't know how to do martial arts?!"
Cai Zhao's actions just now showed that in both skill and power, she was not inferior to Dai Fengchi!
“Shimei must have gotten it wrong. When have I said I don’t know martial arts?”
“In the forest, you said…”
“In the forest, Cai Shimei said that she doesn’t like to learn martial arts. She didn’t say she doesn’t know martial arts.” Chang Ning added helpfully.
“Exactly! You said you don’t like learning martial arts!”
“What does liking have to do with knowing? Even if you don’t like martial arts, you still have to learn it.” Cai Zhao shrugged.
“You said your parents never taught you martial arts!” Qi Lingbo fumed.
“They didn’t teach me. My aunt did.”
Qi Lingbo’s entire body shook with anger. Dai Fengchi also stood, dumbstruck. Yin Sulian’s face was a dark cloud. Qi Yunke sighed. Only Chang Ning gave a big smile to Cai Zhao.
Cai Zhao turned her palm down, facing the ground, her five fingers curled like she was about to grip something, and the hairpin on the ground flew up into her hand.
Everyone except Qi Yunke and Chang Ning’s eyes widened.
Cai Zhao smilingly walked to Qi Lingbo’s side and put the hairpin back on her head. Her voice was warm as she said, “Bofu, wasn’t I right? Shijie is honest and simple. She believes straightforwardly whatever people say and won’t even ponder their meaning.”
“…Yes, you and Lingbo are both good kids.” Qi Yunke said.
He didn’t believe a word he just said.
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