Hua Zhu Yu grew rigid but after a moment, revealed her dimpled bright smile. âLord Chancellor, you said you were interested in me in front of others, but now you are not acknowledging it? Lord Chancellor likes me, naturally I am overwhelmed by favor.â
Didnât you want to put on an act, then go on ahead with the act, letâs see who can act till the very end. Who cares, she already knew Ji Feng Li would never be interested in men.
âWhen did this Chancellor not acknowledge that! This Chancellor was afraid Bao Er didnât like this Chancellor! If thatâs the case, then thatâs great!â Although Ji Feng Li spoke in a graceful and sweet voice, his eyes were filled with derision.
Clasping his hands, he alighted the carriage and Hua Zhu Yu quickly followed after.
The sky was gradually getting dark.
Reclining against a bamboo chair beneath the osmanthus tree in Feng Yuan, Ji Feng Li was enjoying his tea. Displayed on the table in front of him were a few light dishes.
Lan Bing quickly entered and took a seat in front of Ji Feng Li, carefully asking, âLord Chancellor, was Tong Shou speaking the truth?â
âWhat did Tong Shou say?â Ji Feng Li slowly asked.
Lan Bingâs face distorted and it wasnât until a long while later did he have the courage to say in a heavy tone, âHe said Lord Chancellor is fond of that Yuan Bao.â
Ji Feng Li wrinkled his brows and asked, âAnd your thoughts are?â
Lan Bing dwelled in silence for a while before replying, âThis subordinate is unsure. But Lord Chancellor didnât show interest in Miss Wen or the Third Princess so this subordinate is suspicious if Lord Chancellor really has a broken-sleeve!â
Ji Feng Li was reaching out to the plate of peanuts and when he heard this, his movements halted. Knitting his brows, he stated, âDonât worry, this Chancellor doesnât have a broken sleeve!â
âThis subordinate also heard from Tong Shou that Yu Yuan from Drunken Village Brothel dared to use the beauty charm against you today. If you were a normal man, why werenât you seduced by her?â Lan Bing felt it was hard to comprehend.
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Ji Feng Li shot him a cold glare. Â âItâs just a beauty charm. Thatâs not enough to give me a hard time. This Chancellor only needed to employ my internal force to counteract it.â
Lan Bing laughed, âThen you mustâve wasted quite a bit of energy. But by doing so wouldnât Yu Yuan notice that Lord Chancellor knows martial arts?â
Ji Feng Li replied, âBeauty charm doesnât work on women or men with broken-sleeves.â
âSo its like that!â Lan Bing came to a realization. âThis subordinate knew Lord Chancellor did so on purpose. But Lord Chancellor, you really gave me a fright. If you really had a broken-sleeve and Lan Bing had to follow you everyday, I would have to be wary and anxious of losing my chastity.â As soon as the words left his mouth, he instantly felt an incoming rush of air current heading directly for his mouth so he clamped down quickly. Luckily his teeth had stopped the object which turned out to be a peanut, right in time.
Lan Bing quickly swallowed it and continued to ask, âLord Chancellor, youâre just going to let Yuan Bao tarnish your reputation?â
âThatâs exactly what this Chancellor wishes. If not, I wouldnât have brought him along to the brothel in the first place.â Ji Feng Li reclined against the seat. Swirling steam rose from his teacup, reflecting in his ink-dark pair of eyes that were gentle and radiant.
A rumor began to spread, faster than people could ruminate. After the passing of just a few days, news had spread far and wide throughout the Imperial city that the Left Chancellor was fond of Hua Zhu Yu. This was the second time Hua Zhu Yu had become famous, the subject of peopleâs discussions in Southern Kingdom.
In the sixth month of that year, the Song Jiang dam collapsed and Left Chancellor Ji Feng Li took responsibility of setting out to resolve the issue. On the journey, he did not forget to bring Hua Zhu Yu along, further attesting to the validity of the rumors.
Hua Zhu Yu didnât understand why Ji Feng Li brought her along. Furthermore, she couldnât fathom the reason why Ji Feng Li, who held all the power within the grasp of his palm, was personally setting out to deal with this flood problem when he could very well just assign this task to some other official to resolve.
On the second evening of the journey, their carriage came to a stop at the foot of the mountain. Draping on his black cloak, Ji Feng Li alighted the carriage.
Hua Zhu Yu was stunned at the destruction left behind by the typhoon and at the half destroyed Song Jiang dam. If they didnât repair it soon the three towns nearby would surely flood. They had received news of the severe flooding in Xuan Zhou when they were enroute earlier. That was why Ji Feng Li changed course and brought everyone here.
The city of Xuan Zhou was presently bombarded by relentless rain showers. Occasionally, lightning would strike, tearing through the clouds, illuminating the gloomy skies only to be followed by the drumming of thunder, inducing fear in the people.
Standing tall on the steep slope, Ji Feng Liâs gaze was fixed forward, half his face obscured by the murky rain, appearing somewhat indistinct. Only his pair of dark, phoenix eyes flashed with a sharp gleam.
Hua Zhu Yu had never seen such an expression on Ji Feng Li, who always had on a gentle and refined demeanor.