Chapter 327: The Flower in My Heart Is Gone!

Bu Xun had not expected Hao Yuntu to react so strongly. He placed one palm against the emperor's back and smoothed his breathing, then fetched a towel for him.

Hao Yuntu wiped his mouth and hands and passed the towel back. Watching Bu Xun wipe the tea he had sprayed across the desk, he could not help chuckling. Bu Xun turned, surprised. Hao Yuntu slowly leaned back in his chair and let out a long breath. His expression grew somewhat wistful.

"How many years has it been in the blink of an eye? I still vaguely remember that season when flowers and willows across the capital vied in splendor. You were the one accompanying me then, weren't you? We stood among the crowd beneath that red pavilion amid the green... Was that the day she threw the embroidered ball?"

Bu Xun smiled softly. "She was actually no longer that young even then, but she was still in the full bloom of her beauty. She had fallen in love with a man and loved him almost to the point of life and death. The man promised to marry her. She had already dressed in bridal red and was quietly waiting for the happy day, only for him to change his mind at the last moment. In a rage, she put on her bridal red and threw an embroidered ball, declaring that she would marry whoever caught it and bring her entire fortune with her, just to make that faithless man regret it for the rest of his life. The crowd beneath the red pavilion was packed so tightly that water couldn't have leaked through. This old servant remembers the embroidered ball landed only about two zhang from Your Majesty."

Hao Yuntu laughed. "What a memory you have! The first time I saw her, I was stunned. Peerless grace, breathtaking beauty! I thought then: what a fierce and extraordinary woman. What man could bear to betray a woman like that? I truly was moved."

Bu Xun said, "Yes. Your Majesty said at the time that she herself was one of the sights of the Qi capital. But in the end, she regretted it. She still couldn't bear to wrong herself. Though she threw the embroidered ball, she ultimately refused to marry the man who caught it. She gave him a sum of money and settled the matter. If she truly had married him, it would have become a legendary tale."

Hao Yuntu sighed with deep feeling. "On one side, a beauty like jade newly entered my sight. On the other, my picturesque realm was being trampled by war. At Black Iron Mountain, the State of Qi's finest army was annihilated to the last man, and the State of Qi was using all its strength to resist the invading enemy. Beauty or realm. I could only choose one. What a pity."

Bu Xun naturally understood the circumstances. At the time, Hao Yuntu had been staring at the imperial throne and was at a critical point in the succession struggle. Guan Fangyi's reputation had been far too poor. She carried the name of a woman who would give herself to any man. If Hao Yuntu had actually taken her into his household, the throne would likely have slipped beyond his reach. He truly could choose only one.

And after ascending the throne, taking in a woman with Guan Fangyi's reputation became even more impossible. Before becoming emperor, he could still wander outside in disguise and catch a glimpse of her. Once enthroned, he could not even do that. Every move of an emperor was watched. He could not allow himself any entanglement with a woman of such notoriety.

An emperor might appear to hold power over all beneath Heaven, yet in truth there were countless things he could not do and countless desires he could not indulge.

"Hm?" Hao Yuntu suddenly seemed puzzled. "I remember you telling me that woman was already old."

Bu Xun bent slightly. "There is no beauty in this world who never ages."

Hao Yuntu asked, "How old is Niu Youdao?"

"A little over twenty."

The corner of Hao Yuntu's mouth twitched. "He even plucks old flowers. This Niu Youdao has peculiar tastes."

Bu Xun said, "Your Majesty misunderstands. Hongniang washing her hands in a golden basin does not mean he took her into his bedchamber. She bound herself into his service as a slave."

Hao Yuntu said, "She's still meat beside his mouth. Is there really a difference?"

"This..." Bu Xun did not know how to answer.

He could tell that Hao Yuntu still minded the matter somewhat.

"I gave him that token. Instead of hurrying back, what is he still fooling around with here for?" Hao Yuntu sounded genuinely puzzled.

Ordinarily, he might not have cared. But after hearing that a flower he had once yearned for had now been plucked by someone else, he inevitably felt a little uncomfortable.

The difference was simply that the man who finally plucked the flower was not him, even if it was already a blossom long past its prime.

Hao Yuntu had given Niu Youdao the token partly because he thought highly of the young man and wanted to show goodwill, but also out of concern for Niu Youdao's safety. Things had grown far too dangerous for him in Qi. Hao Yuntu wanted him to finish his business and return to Qingshan Commandery as soon as possible.

Bu Xun said, "It wouldn't be realistic for him to seize the token and rush home immediately. He probably still needs to make preparations."

Hao Yuntu drew a breath. "That woman has stood alone for so many years. Why would she suddenly submit to Niu Youdao? Did the two know each other before?"

"This old servant isn't entirely clear on that either. We could ask Niu Youdao."

Bu Xun himself had been wondering the same thing. Silence lingered for a while.

Then Hao Yuntu slowly called, "Bu Xun..."

"Hm?" Bu Xun answered. "This old servant is here."

Hao Yuntu's expression became complicated.

"I want to see her once more. Do you think that would be appropriate?"

At those words, Bu Xun felt almost as though a weight had finally been lifted from him. He had waited many years for Hao Yuntu to say this. In Guan Fangyi's early years, she had remained unharmed partly because so many men protected the flower.

Yet after beauty faded and affection cooled, the fact that she had still managed to remain in the Qi capital all these years was not merely luck or her own caution.

It was because Bu Xun knew that a certain man's regret had never truly disappeared. Perhaps one day, on a sudden impulse, that man might remember her again.

So Bu Xun had kept an eye on Guan Fangyi from the shadows all these years. Several dangers that had approached her had been quietly dissolved by his hand. This was a secret known only to him. On the surface, Hao Yuntu seemed to have forgotten her long ago. But Bu Xun knew an emperor had scales that must not be touched. Seeming to have forgotten and truly not caring were not the same thing.

If something serious ever happened to Guan Fangyi in the Qi capital and Hao Yuntu later remembered the past, who could say what kind of thunderous rage might follow? Bu Xun had waited all these years for this day, for these words. He had silently protected her for so long. He believed Hao Yuntu must have sensed it too. Yet the emperor had never once made his wishes explicit. He was a man capable of restraining his own desires.

And sometimes, refusing to speak was itself a kind of attitude. In a certain sense, the man who had guarded that faded flower all these years had never truly been Bu Xun. Now, some matters had finally reached the point where they should be brought to an end. Bu Xun had mentioned the matter today precisely because he wanted to see Hao Yuntu's attitude. Would he hold on, or let go? This time, Bu Xun did not advise him to reconsider.

He bowed and said, "This old servant will arrange it at once."

At Among the White Clouds, the sound of a qin abruptly stopped among the pavilions and towers. Su Zhao, who had been playing when she heard the same news, froze.

"Hongniang washed her hands in a golden basin and became Niu Youdao's slave? Could it be a rumor?" she asked in astonishment.

Qin Mian said, "It is rather unbelievable, but it has already been confirmed. Hongniang admitted it personally, and Niu Youdao has moved into Fufang Garden."

Su Zhao still found it difficult to believe.

"What virtue or ability does Niu Youdao possess that he could subdue Hongniang of Fufang Garden?"

For the sake of safety, Guan Fangyi almost never left the Qi capital. That made it difficult for anyone to use force against her. More importantly, Niu Youdao was an outsider who had only just arrived and possessed no real power base here. How could he possibly have taken down a local power like Hongniang? And this was not some ordinary arrangement. She had become Niu Youdao's servant! How could Guan Fangyi possibly have agreed to such a thing?

What did Niu Youdao mean by taking Guan Fangyi under him? The news shook Su Zhao yet again. Once more, she became aware that there was something unusual about Niu Youdao... High in a secluded mountain forest, Kunlin Shu lay quietly on a couch inside a room. Most of his body, even more than half his face, was wrapped in white bandages. Only one eye remained uncovered, staring blankly at the ceiling.

Fire Phoenix sat beside him, looking at his condition with sorrow on her face. It was not because he had been disfigured.

Tianhuo Sect specialized in fire and was highly skilled at treating burns. Medicine had already been applied. Once his injuries healed, the lasting effect should not be too severe. Of course, restoring his appearance completely to what it had been before was impossible. What truly saddened Fire Phoenix was that wounds of the body were easy to heal. Wounds of the heart might last a lifetime. She knew how proud her senior brother was.

This time, however, Niu Youdao had knocked him completely from the clouds. That proud edge had been beaten out of him. The defeat had been miserable. Far too miserable. He had lost in a single exchange and been beaten so thoroughly he scarcely possessed the power to fight back. Fire Phoenix knew he had remained conscious all along. Yet he refused to speak. No matter who asked what, he said nothing.

When they first brought him back injured, even when their master roared at him in fury, Kunlin Shu had not said a single word, as though he had heard nothing. The incident had even alarmed Tianhuo Sect's leader, who had personally come to see him. The leader of Tianhuo Sect was no ordinary person.

He was a man with a seat in Misty Pavilion, someone many ordinary disciples could scarcely hope to meet, almost an immortal figure in their eyes. The sect leader had found the entire affair suspicious. Why had Kunlin Shu, for no good reason, latched onto Niu Youdao and refused to let go? Yet Kunlin Shu would not even answer the sect leader. He said nothing. Just as now, he stared at the ceiling in silence, nearly angering their master to death.

And the commotion surrounding Niu Youdao, the man who had defeated him, still had not ended. When Fire Phoenix returned from outside, she had heard that he had caused yet another sensation throughout the cultivator circles of the Qi capital.

Hongniang, the notorious woman said to have belonged to countless men, had actually washed her hands in a golden basin and become Niu Youdao's servant. It was almost impossible to believe. Fire Phoenix mentioned the matter to her senior brother beside the bed. Kunlin Shu, who had shown no response to anything else, did react when Niu Youdao's name was mentioned. But all he did was turn his eye slightly toward her... A carriage stood outside the entrance to Fufang Garden. Guan Fangyi hurried out.

Seeing the man descend from the carriage, she immediately went forward to salute him and giggled.

"What wind has blown Lord Wang here?"

Beside the carriage, the burly Lord Wang asked, "Hongniang, I hear you've sold yourself?"

The two stood there chatting and laughing. Not far away, inside another carriage, Hao Yuntu sat wrapped in a cloak. Two fingers parted the window curtain slightly as he watched the woman at Fufang Garden's entrance, laughing so hard from time to time that her whole body trembled. She was still the same person. That much he could confirm. But her appearance had changed greatly. In his memory, her radiant skin had once been tender enough to break beneath a breath. Now it had loosened.

There were wrinkles. The slender, graceful figure in his memory seemed much fuller now. And in his memory she had been cool, glamorous, and aloof. No matter how notorious her beauty had been, she would never have exposed half her bosom like this. She had carried herself as a woman beyond reach. When had she ever flirted and joked with people in this manner? She still possessed abundant charm. But in sheer beauty, she could no longer compare with the consorts inside his palace.

Hao Yuntu had prepared himself for this beforehand. Even so, the difference between Guan Fangyi as she now stood and the woman in his memory caught him off guard. Bu Xun quietly watched his reaction. The fingers holding the curtain slowly released it. Hao Yuntu closed his eyes. A soft sigh escaped him.

"I should not have come. Better to cherish the memory than meet again. The flower in my heart is gone. Don't ask Niu Youdao about her either. I couldn't bear to hear it. Let her be."

Those final words, "Let her be," carried endless emotion.

The carriage started moving and rolled away without haste. Guan Fangyi had noticed the carriage long ago. She had found it somewhat strange and had sensed that someone inside seemed to be watching her. She was quietly suspicious. As the carriage passed the entrance to Fufang Garden, the curtain parted slightly once more. Guan Fangyi's gaze met the eyes looking out from within. It was the first time in their lives that the two had ever looked directly at each other.

The person inside was wrapped in a cloak and only partly visible behind the curtain. She could not see his face. But she could feel the complicated emotions in those eyes.

Someone I know?

Guan Fangyi wondered. Yet the gaze felt completely unfamiliar. She had no impression of it at all. Suspicion remained in her eyes as she watched the ordinary-looking carriage disappear into the distance...

[End of Chapter 327]