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Meng Fuyao did not bother to look back. ”We aren't going to wait for you!”
”I'll give you a fancy residences and beautiful ladies. Just send me to the capital!”
”Not interested!”
”I, I'm familiar with Xuanji. Name all the roads and the people! There's nothing I don't know!”
When the man said that, Meng Fuyao stopped walking. She folded her arms and looked down at him. ”Oh? Then may I ask, do you know who your female Empress is?”
She asked this question so that she would chase him away when he had no answer. Unexpectedly, the pretty nerd smiled mischievously. ”Of course, I know that.”
”Who?”
”It's complicated, and it can't be explained in a few sentences.” The man displayed his histrionics by shaking his head and sighing. ”I'll tell you when I'm in the capital.”
After staring at him for a while, Meng Fuyao smirked. ”You want to follow us? Alright, as you said, you will be our guide, servant and bodyguard. If there's no path you will have to find one; if there's no food you will have to beg for some and if there's no place to live you will have to tidy out a space for us. When we're back in the capital, pay me 10,000 taels of silver, one fancy residence and 10 pairs of beautiful ladies. Then I'll agree.”
Tie Cheng forced a smile… only a pig would agree to such shameless requests.
”Alright,” a certain pig said and agreed. He ran over joyously as the shattered pieces of cloth on his butt fluttered against the wind. ”Sigh, everything's fine as long as you bring me along. I'm most afraid of being left alone, but my dad forcefully chased me out so I could experience life in the wilderness. God knows how I'm afraid of being alone. I'm scared of the dark, wind, rain, thunder, empty streets, packed places, and most importantly, furry things… Ah!”
Lord Yuan Bao appeared before him with a creepy expression…
”Save me!” That man jumped on Tie Cheng's back and stuck on Tie Cheng like glue. ”Fur, ah, ah, ah-”
Tie Cheng pulled him down and barked, ”Weak chicken! Don't stick yourself on me!”
”How aggressive.” That man shook his head and sighed. ”Please call my name, Zhong Yi.”
”Alright, servant Zhong Yi.” Meng Fuyao stared at him from the corner of her eye as schemes ran through her mind. 'You must stay behind? Alright, whoever you are, if you dare to stay, you have to be careful of me, King Meng. Recently, I'm having my menopause!”
”We have no place to sleep tonight, so the rest of the things will be settled by you. I request for a space that I can lie down.”
An hour later, in front of a worn temple at the bottom of the hill, Zhong Yi beamed at the door after carrying out the instructions. ”We can lie down now!”
Meng Fuyao stepped in with doubts in mind. But when she entered, she saw a fire, clean floors, an area covered with clean rice straws, and a broken pot that was hanged above the fire. She had no idea where the pot came from, but it was already scrubbed clean, and the fire inside was coming to a boil.
Zhong Yi may have looked nerdy, and resembled a lunatic and fool, but he performed his tasks very well. Tie Cheng, who only liked to fight and was not strong in handling detailed tasks, just couldn't be compared with him.
Satisfied, Meng Fuyao gave a nod of approval. Seeing that Zhong Yi was actually perspiring from doing all this work even in a breezy spring day, she raised her eyebrows and gave Tie Cheng instructions. ”There is not enough firewood. Find some more and remember to feed the horse.”
Tie Cheng acknowledged and walked out. At the same time, Tie Cheng smiled as he neared. He found a mug in the backpack, filled it with water, and presented it to Meng Fuyao with both hands. ”Please enjoy the tea.”
Meng Fuyao casually took the mug from his hands. She was used to being waited upon and did not think much, but did not notice Zhangsun Wuji looking over towards her. Frowning, Meng Fuyao told Zhong Yi, ”Please grab one of Tie Cheng's robes and wear it. Do you think you look very presentable like that?”
Obediently, Zhong Yi said, ”Okay.” He covered his butt and walked away to find the clothes, while Meng Fuyao slowly drank the water from the cup. She felt that it was slightly sweet, and under a closer look, she realized that honey was added. With an eyebrow raised, Meng Fuyao smiled at the sight, and she slightly zoned out as she recalled some events from the previous universe. Then, she felt that the man was solicitous to the point of being shameless, and her smile was about to widen, but it suddenly stopped.
She felt a pair of eyes glued onto her back, and it was so sticky that it made her heart feel uncomfortable. Those eyes did not search into her, trouble her or ask her; they merely looked at her back calmly. However, even if Meng Fuyao was back-facing those eyes, she could almost imagine the kind of expression and emotions in them—those eyes may seem expressionless, but actually, all the emotions were contained in them.
Although Meng Fuyao made up her mind to ignore it, she felt even more uncomfortable after persevering for a while. She looked down at the clear water surface, and that person's figure was reflected in it. Tonight, he seemed extremely silent. Even with such a noisy person like Zhong Yi, he did not speak a word at all. On any other occasion, he would probably have stopped her from taking in Zhong Yi, but his silence today made her heart wrench.
Her heart wrenched painfully, but she did not know what kind of happiness in her life could make up for her pain.
In the Five Regions Continent, where situations changed every day unpredictably, every happy moment was a luxury. Who knew what kind of change would appear in the next moment?
They were the most capable and proud people, but they never lived a sweet, simple life; people beckoned at their calls, but they were also surrounded by enemies from all sides. In their whole lives, they had to be very careful in what they said and did, and plan every scheme detailedly. Indulgence spelled disaster and laziness meant destruction. If they tried to pamper themselves, even if it was once a while, they might accidentally lose to their enemies and injure themselves.
Meng Fuyao lowered her eyelids. She walked up to dispose of the water, refilled the mug with water from the river outside the temple and hang it above the fire.
Zhong Yi ran over joyously wearing Tie Cheng's robes which looked slightly oversized. He was about to add honey again into Meng Fuyao's mug, but Meng Fuyao coldly rejected him. ”No need,” she said and added, ”Who knows if you're putting in honey or poison.”
However, Zhong Yi was not angry. He smiled like a Cheshire cat. ”Which fool will try to use poison in front of you all?”
”A real fool is one who pretends to be a fool in front of us.” Meng Fuyao ignored him and continued adding firewood. At the same time, Zhong Yi sat beside her, placed his cheeks in his hand, and stared at her curiously. Moments later, he asked, ”Do you wear a mask? Take it off and let me see? I feel that you and my elder sister really look alike.”