Chapter 131: Qin Feilong Must Be A Brute
What satisfaction?
Ming Zhaoshuang was startled, thinking to herself why Xiao Bai Bai was asking her this question. Did he not know that aesthetics were subjective, but his handsomeness was objective?
Seeing Xiao Bai Bai about to disappear before her eyes, she hurriedly replied, “Satisfied, satisfied! Extremely satisfied!”
The moment she blurted it out, the dream completely vanished, and Ming Zhaoshuang wasn’t sure if he had heard it.
Ming Zhaoshuang opened her eyes, and Cheng Zhaoyang’s anxious face appeared before her.
Looking around the hall again, everyone was gone, and it was clear the banquet had already ended.
Seeing her wake up, Cheng Zhaoyang breathed a sigh of relief, “I was afraid you’d be possessed by nightmares; thankfully, you’ve regained consciousness.”
Fei Changxiu raised an eyebrow, “I say, Junior Sister, you’re quite something, falling asleep at a banquet.”
Ming Chenxing advised, “Eldest Young Lady, you really shouldn’t push yourself so hard with your cultivation.”
Ming Chenxing hadn’t seen Ming Zhaoshuang sleep at all these days, and seeing how exhausted she was, he naturally worried.
As for why Qin Feilong wasn’t speaking, that was something Ming Zhaoshuang could answer. The mute talisman she had placed on Qin Feilong was still active, making his face turn red.
Ming Zhaoshuang removed Qin Feilong’s talisman while obediently responding:
“Mhm, I’ll honestly sleep tonight.”
Xiao Bai Bai was still waiting for her in the dream.
Ming Zhaoshuang thought, her gaze involuntarily drifting to her arm again. She always felt that the man in the dream was very familiar, giving her a feeling akin to Xiao Bai.
But Xiao Bai had fallen into a slumber after consuming the lotus platform petal, and it had been over a month, with no signs of him waking.
It would be a lie to say she wasn’t worried. Ming Zhaoshuang didn’t know if it was because of the Life and Death Contract, but she always cherished Xiao Bai a little more than others.
However, since the System said Xiao Bai was fine, Ming Zhaoshuang chose to trust the System’s judgment.
As Cheng Zhaoyang led them outside, she said, “I apologize for making you all see such a spectacle today.”
Ming Zhaoshuang noticed that the clothes on her chest were dry, clearly having been dried by spiritual power after the banquet.
Ming Zhaoshuang followed, yawning, and asked, “Sister Zhaoyang, why was the Empress Dowager making things difficult for you? Isn’t she your aunt?”
She had already guessed part of it, yet she still feigned innocence when asking.
“It wasn’t me that the Empress Dowager was making things difficult for, but the Cheng women.”
A clear, gentle voice came from the side. Ming Zhaoshuang turned her head and realized Si Yuyan had been standing beside Cheng Zhaoyang the entire time.
Si Yuyan looked at Ming Zhaoshuang, seeming to see something clearly in her eyes. He smiled and said, “Fairy Ming, as an outsider, you have no need to involve yourself in the court affairs of Great Sui.”
Ming Zhaoshuang thought for a moment and nodded in agreement, “That’s true. I just want Sister Zhaoyang to be well.”
Qin Feilong, upon hearing this, said, “If General Cheng were well, would she not have to endure the humiliation of wet clothes today! To treat a woman like this is truly disgraceful!”
His expression was indignant, clearly still upset from earlier in the hall.
Ming Zhaoshuang thought to herself that she shouldn’t have removed the mute talisman for this hothead; now he was making a fuss again.
It was so annoying!
If only Qin Feilong were half as obedient as her Senior Brother Xiu’er. While he might clash easily, at least he knew to follow orders.
Hearing this, Cheng Zhaoyang shook her head at Qin Feilong and said, “Brother Qin, perhaps you don’t know, but today’s events were intentionally orchestrated by my aunt and me.”
Qin Feilong was dumbfounded, “No, what kind of young lady would willingly stay in the hall drenched, disregarding her reputation?”
Cheng Zhaoyang shook her head and retorted, “Then what kind of young lady would willingly give up her cultivation talent, act as a stepping stone for her father and brothers, and only wish for her clan to grow stronger?”
The women of Great Sui were in such a predicament.
Women from poor families, without even the chance to awaken their Spirit Roots, could only marry someone they had never met according to their parents’ wishes and the words of a matchmaker.
Wealthy women, even if they had the chance to awaken their Spirit Roots, would learn arts like playing the zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting, and poetry and songs, which were of no use for cultivation, due to societal expectations and the needs of their clans.
Moreover, they couldn’t even venture out freely like poor women, rushing through the streets, only able to live out their short lives in gilded cages.
And their fathers and brothers would use the resources exchanged for them to embark on a prosperous path.
Two hundred years ago, the women of the Cheng family were in a similar situation, but then an anomaly emerged: Empress Dowager Cheng.
She saw clearly the restrictions placed upon women in Great Sui and also the myriad maggots festering beneath the surface of Great Sui’s prosperity and power.
It took her a full century to make the entire Cheng Clan abandon the practice of drawing nourishment and flesh from women.
Only then could the next generation, like Cheng Zhaoyang, stand tall in court and fight on the borders, pursuing their ideals and ambitions.
However, the criticisms of the Cheng Clan and of her never ceased.
Qin Feilong was stunned by Cheng Zhaoyang’s words, as if he had heard something novel and shocking.
Si Yuyan tried to stop Cheng Zhaoyang from speaking, but Cheng Zhaoyang grabbed his outstretched hand, smiled brightly at him, and spoke without reservation:
“Teaching is about imitation. The superiors do it, and the inferiors follow. After my aunt’s time, the four great clans had considered fostering a female leader to contend for power with her, but they all ultimately failed under her methods. She acts this way because if she shows a preference for those gentle and virtuous women, noble families will constantly produce such puppets to please her, rather than causing her trouble.”
There was a reason Empress Dowager Cheng could wield power for thirty years.
Cheng Zhaoyang continued, “The Qian Clan is so rampant today, and yet my aunt continues to indulge them. It’s not because she has a benevolent heart, but because she wants the Qian Clan to completely confront the Cheng Clan, so she can act to weaken the Qian Clan.”
When heaven intends to destroy a thing, it first makes it mad.
Among the four great clans, the Cheng Clan and Empress Dowager Cheng are one. The Jin Clan has already declined, and the Si Clan’s influence is far less than the Qian Clan’s. Thus, Empress Dowager Cheng naturally wants to destroy the Qian Clan.
However, the Qian Clan has deep roots, and to attack it, one must first cultivate its ambitious and audacious nature.
It can be said that the brainless and rude behavior of Qian Jiawu and Qian Lai today was intentionally guided and indulged by Empress Dowager Cheng, waiting for these two to commit a grave mistake so she could hold the Cheng family accountable.
Ming Zhaoshuang said, “Sister Zhaoyang, you’re telling us so much, aren’t you afraid we’ll report this?”
Si Yuyan nodded in approval.
How long had Cheng Zhaoyang known Ming Zhaoshuang and the others that she dared to tell them Empress Dowager Cheng’s plan?
Cheng Zhaoyang slung an arm around Ming Zhaoshuang’s shoulder, leaning against her and laughing playfully, “I do have some judgment of character. I believe that people like you, who dare to step forward for me despite immense pressure, are gentlemen.”
Ming Zhaoshuang: “…”
Thanks for the invitation, but she wasn’t sure if they were gentlemen, but Qin Feilong was definitely a brute.
Saying this, she winked at Si Yuyan, “You agree, don’t you, A’yan.”
Si Yuyan chuckled, “Indeed, you haven’t trusted the wrong person.”
As usual, having spoken too much, this extra chapter is quite long. I hope you don’t mind if I place this extra chapter in the main text.
Extra Chapter:
After the dream shattered, the dragon’s soul body drifted out.
Bai Bai looked at his lingering gaze and sneered, “You had the chance and you didn’t use it, Prisoner.”
The Dragon frowned, his golden eyes sweeping across Bai Bai’s face, “What do you mean?”
Bai Bai said, “You even went close to guide her posture, yet you still don’t know how to get handsy with her? With your looks, you should have spent a passionate night with her in the first dream!”
The Dragon said, “To use the guise of teaching to commit indecent acts against a woman is the act of a despicable villain.”
No matter how much he liked Ming Zhaoshuang, he would never do such a base thing.
Bullshit! Bai Bai thought, all bullshit.
If the Dragon’s father hadn’t used his shamelessness and antics to chase after his mother, how could he have had this foolish egg?
Just as he was about to speak, he saw the Dragon frown again and release his pressure towards Bai Bai’s soul body:
“Speaking of which, I still want to ask you, during the first dream, why was I not in control of myself and did such offensive things.”
Bai Bai: “…”
Tell me, what did you do that was offensive to her?
I only saw that your future self, like your present self, was a disappointment, aimlessly chopping at two plum trees! Utterly useless!
Looking at my eyes, what did those two plum trees ever do wrong!
