Chapter 431: Change the Script

Beneath the artificial hill in Qingfang Studio was an underground secret chamber.

The day Zheng Fan moved in, the Fan Residence had already informed him of its existence.

Now it was being used to house the Princess.

A long passage connected the artificial hill to the chamber.

No sunlight could penetrate inside.

And after the Princess was brought down, Siniang ordered pungent incense ash scattered along both walls of the passage.

Before entering to see the Princess, Zheng Fan was required by Siniang to bathe first.

Not in the bathing pool.

In the pond.

In the middle of winter.

And he had to scoop mud from the bottom and scrub himself with it.

Only after changing into an entirely different set of clothes did Zheng Fan follow Siniang into the secret chamber and formally meet the Chu princess.

All that trouble had one reason.

Siniang had first realized the Princess’s status was extraordinary because of the fragrance on her clothes.

In this age, even ordinary incense was something mainly used by families with money.

Anyone capable of using truly precious fragrances had to come from wealth and nobility.

Beyond that many areas inside the Fan Residence still had flowers blooming despite the winter weather.

The maids used excellent cosmetics and powders as well.

If one lived inside the Fan Residence long enough, those scents inevitably clung to the body.

Certain woods.

Certain unique decorations.

Even the animals kept within the estate.

All could leave distinctive traces.

If the Princess smelled them then so long as she was not an idiot and knew even a little about the major local powers around Xiayong it would not be difficult for her to guess the Fan Clan.

Whether preventing the Princess from knowing the Fan Clan had abducted her would actually matter in the future nobody knew.

But that did not mean there was any reason to be careless.

Who knew how events might develop later?

The more cautious they were now the more options they would possess when making arrangements in the future.

At this moment, three people occupied the secret chamber.

One person lay down.

The Princess.

One person sat.

Zheng Fan.

One person stood.

Siniang.

Count Zheng adjusted his collar.

Then pointed toward the Princess.

Siniang understood.

She stepped forward.

A needle pierced into the Princess’s body.

The Princess slowly woke.

Zheng Fan could not help asking:

“That looks useful.

“Acupuncture?”

“It counts.

“And it doesn’t.

“If Master wants to learn, this servant can teach you.

“Master can practice directly on A’Ming.”

“Mm.

“We’ll talk about that later.”

The Princess was awake now.

Her eyes swept first across Zheng Fan.

Then Siniang.

She did not scream.

Did not shout.

She even forced herself to suppress her fear and quietly sat upright.

The chamber became silent.

A long time passed.

Only then did the Princess ask in a relatively calm voice:

“What do you want?”

A very intelligent question.

She did not ask:

*Who are you?*

Or:

*Why did you capture me?*

That meant this Princess possessed a functioning brain.

Good.

Intelligent people were easier to communicate with.

Count Zheng silently pulled out his metal Zhonghua case.

He took out one peppermint candy and placed it in his mouth.

Then tossed another toward the Princess.

The Princess held it beneath her nose and smelled it.

She did not hesitate for long.

Then placed it in her mouth.

Zheng Fan smiled.

There was only one chair in the chamber.

He crossed his legs.

Placed the metal case on his knee.

Tapped it gently.

Then said:

“First, let’s introduce ourselves.

“No.

“Actually, let’s do something more interesting first.

“Guess who I am.”

The fewer times he came to see the Princess the better.

Zheng Fan did not want to scrub pond mud over his body in freezing water every time he entered.

But there was no limit on how long he could stay during one visit.

When Zheng Fan and Fan Zhengwen had returned earlier, a palace guard carrying a token soon came to the Fan Residence.

Immediately afterward, Fan Zhengwen personally mobilized several hundred household servants and threw the full strength of the Fan Clan into searching for the missing Princess.

So for the moment—

Zheng Fan did not need to concern himself with matters outside.

The Princess obediently began playing the guessing game.

Because she understood she had no choice.

“You are not from Chu?”

“Correct.”

Zheng Fan smiled and nodded.

“You are... from Yan?”

“Correct.”

“From Yan’s Secret Intelligence Department?”

Zheng Fan shook his head.

The Princess’s gaze began moving carefully over his body.

She was observing him.

After a short while she said:

“You are a military officer.”

Years spent riding horses.

Wearing armor.

Living inside military camps.

Those habits inevitably left traces on the body.

“Correct.”

“You still want me to keep guessing?” Xiong Liqing asked.

“Continue.”

“Then it becomes easy.”

Xiong Liqing smiled.

“If you still want me to guess, then your name must be one the people of Chu know very well.

“You cannot be some nobody or obscure military officer.

“Otherwise, you would merely be embarrassing yourself and ruining your own game.”

“Correct.”

“Your age.

“Your manner.

“Truthfully, I do not know the names of many Yan generals.”

Zheng Fan smiled slightly.

Xiong Liqing then said:

“Xiong Liqing of Great Chu pays respects to Count Pingye of Great Yan.”

Ah.

Comfortable.

That was the particular satisfaction of:

*See that?*

*I’m actually famous.*

It reminded him of his previous life.

Back when he had only just started drawing comics, he would deliberately take screenshots of his own work and post them on forums asking:

*Whose comic is this? It’s drawn so well.*

Then he would secretly bump the post again and again until finally someone replied with his pen name.

Count Zheng was someone who cared deeply about quality of life.

The little guessing game just now had absolutely no practical use.

But it improved his mood.

Which directly improved his quality of life.

Xiong Liqing noticed Count Zheng still had his eyes half closed, as though immersed in some pleasant emotion.

She even waited for him to finish enjoying it before speaking.

“For Count Pingye to visit Great Chu makes you a distinguished guest of our state.

“Great Chu will naturally fulfill the duties of a host.”

Zheng Fan opened his eyes.

He raised one index finger.

Wagged it.

Then said:

“If those words came from that elder brother of yours, they would be perfectly reasonable.

“But from you—they don’t quite work.”

Xiong Liqing drew in a deep breath.

Then slowly exhaled.

A smile actually appeared on her face.

Truthfully the Fourth Princess of Great Chu was not some breathtaking, devastating beauty.

That should have been obvious.

A woman was called stunning precisely because women like that were rare.

How could every radish and clove of garlic you met somehow turn out to be a peerless beauty?

Still—

Xiong Liqing was very pleasant to look at.

A little baby fat.

A little innocent softness.

Especially when she smiled she possessed the sweet, cute air Zheng Fan remembered from Japanese idol groups in his previous life.

“I wonder why Count Pingye has invited this little woman here?”

Zheng Fan smiled.

“I regret to inform Your Highness that bringing you here was actually an accident.

“One of my subordinates happened to run into you.

“So she casually invited you over for a visit.”

“In that case—this is all a misunderstanding?”

“Yes.”

“Count Pingye.

“May this little woman ask one naïve question?”

“If you already know it’s naïve—then don’t ask.”

The Princess froze.

Zheng Fan yawned.

Then continued:

“Truthfully, we were originally supposed to meet anyway.

“This meeting merely happened more than half a month earlier than planned.”

Xiong Liqing’s gaze sharpened slightly.

Very quickly a strange smile appeared on her face.

It was the kind of smile worn by someone who believed she had already seen through the entire truth.

And deliberately wanted you to know:

*I figured it out.*

A very punchable smile.

So Zheng Fan said:

“Slap her.”

Siniang stepped forward.

**Smack!**

One slap.

Sharp.

Clean.

Perfectly measured.

Even the thin line of blood appearing at the corner of the Princess’s mouth seemed almost precisely controlled.

Then Siniang stepped back.

Returning to her place behind Zheng Fan.

Xiong Liqing began breathing deeply.

She raised one hand and touched the cheek Siniang had just struck.

Then slowly lifted her head.

Looked at Zheng Fan.

Count Zheng’s expression remained perfectly calm.

“Your Highness.

“You may be lively within certain limits.

“But please—do not make me uncomfortable.”

Xiong Liqing murmured:

“From childhood until now...

“This is the first time anyone has ever hit me.”

Zheng Fan opened his mouth.

Raised his head slightly.

Nodded.

Then lightly slapped his own thigh.

“Well, that’s wonderful.”

Siniang stepped forward again.

**Smack!**

**Smack!**

Two more slaps.

The Princess’s hair immediately came loose.

Zheng Fan silently drew out a cigarette.

Placed it between his lips.

Did not light it.

Then asked:

“Gotten a proper taste of it now?”

Xiong Liqing licked her lips.

There was blood there.

She lowered her head.

Then said:

“Count...

“You captured me too early.”

“Whew...”

Zheng Fan exhaled.

The Fourth Princess of Great Chu standing before him apart from possessing a tiny bit of the pretentiousness common to royal nobles really was sharp-minded.

Zheng Fan rubbed between his brows.

Then smiled.

“Yes.”

Xiong Liqing raised her head.

She used one hand to straighten her disordered hair.

Then looked at Zheng Fan.

“Count.

“Even if you keep me imprisoned here indefinitely—the wedding over there will still proceed as scheduled.”

Zheng Fan nodded.

“Probably.”

“So—

“Count must be troubled right now.”

Zheng Fan used the fingers holding his cigarette to brush lightly through his hair.

“A little.”

“I have a solution.”

“Oh?

“Then tell me.”

“Count should let me go.”

“Oh?”

“Arrange a place where I can be ‘rescued.’

“Then I return and marry Qu Peiluo.

“On the day of the wedding—

“Count comes and carries me away again.

“In front of Great Chu.

“In front of everyone beneath Heaven.

“Count Pingye of Great Yan abducts a Princess of Great Chu.”

“That is a good plan.”

“Count thinks so too?”

“Mm.”

Zheng Fan waved one hand.

Siniang immediately stepped forward again.

Xiong Liqing instantly dropped flat against the bed and shouted:

“I am absolutely not toying with the Count!”

Zheng Fan rose from the chair.

He looked down at Xiong Liqing from above.

Then said:

“You want me to release you—then capture you again?

“Do you think this Count is stupid—or crippled?”

After what happened tonight, security on the wedding day would become many times tighter.

Forget the fact Zheng Fan had brought only one thousand cavalry into Chu.

Even if he possessed five thousand cavalry trying to seize someone again after the Chu people had become fully alert would be pure fantasy.

Xiong Liqing bit her lip.

Then stubbornly raised her head.

She spoke one word at a time:

“What if—on the wedding day—

“I am willing to leave with you?

“What if I cooperate?

“What if I voluntarily walk out on the day of the wedding?”

Zheng Fan’s eyes narrowed.

Xiong Liqing continued:

“The Fourth Princess of Great Chu disdains the legitimate eldest son of the Qu Clan.

“Her heart secretly belongs to Count Pingye of Great Yan.

“She wishes to spend the rest of her life with him.

“For him—she abandons the imperial clan.

“Betrays her state.

“And willingly follows the man she loves into Yan.

“Ten years from now.

“Twenty years from now.

“Thirty years from now.

“Even sixty years from now—it will still be a romantic tale sung among the people!”

**You captured me for fame.**

**I’ll give you a better script.**

Zheng Fan smiled.

Silently.

His eyes gave no clue whether his mood was light or dark.

“Let me ask you again.

“Do you think this Count—is stupid?”

Xiong Liqing stared directly into Zheng Fan’s eyes.

Her body trembled slightly.

But she still forced herself to continue.

“Count.

“Do you dare try?”

[End of Chapter 431]