Yu Ren

The beasts of Bai Fuling did not disappoint them. In the air, a dark shadow flashed by and a pair of giant eagles nearly ten feet long spread their wings out and rushed like the wind in front of several people. They spread their wings and streak across in half arcs in the air. They stopped and perched on the branch of a big tree two chi away. When their wings swept in front of them, a strong gale rose and was like a sharp blade that could split the sky, it was imposing and full of murderous spirit, they are definitely not the common, domesticated fowls.

At the same time, more than a dozen vicious dogs of all sizes roared from all directions. The big dogs were smaller than the white tiger they saw yesterday, their breed was unknown. Their heads were the size of two or three human heads. Split open their mouth reveals a set of thick and ghastly white teeth, just a single bite could break the neck of a living man. The smallest one is half human tall, its body is highly trained and nimble, with one glance, this fellow is hard to deal with.

The dozen dogs ran ten feet away from Bai Fuling and others and obediently stopped. Pairs of faint green eyes continually measure the bodies of Yang Heng and Lie Dang, as if they’re asking Bai Fuling: Are these two strangers our feast today? Can we start eating?

Raoshi, Yang Heng, and Lie Dang are very brave but they couldn’t help but tremble when they saw these dozen or so beasts. They were secretly thankful that they’re not Bai Fuling’s enemies, otherwise if they wanted to return in one piece, they dreaded that they would experience a bloody battle.

Yang Heng calmly smiled and swept over the dozen dogs in front of him one by one. His gaze was not deliberately cruel, but those vicious dogs slowly settled down when facing those profound, sinister eyes. The unbridled fierce looks gradually turning into vigilance——The person in front can’t be trifled with, they fear they would get indigestion after eating them.

Just as the two sides were silently confronting each other, a “meow” sound was suddenly heard, and a big cat with long golden fur and a round head held its head up and walked over slowly. Every step carried the unique elegance and arrogance of a feline. It’s as if more than a dozen of its natural enemies to the side were made out of paper. Without glancing at them, it correctly arrived in front of Yang Heng, it skilfully and lightly jumped on his knees and let out an extremely charming “meow”.

Bai Fuling saw her pet actually turned against her and threw herself to the arms of the beautiful man. Her small face immediately turned serious and reproached, “Xiao Lihua, get down!”

The big golden cat named Xiao Lihua raised its head aggrievedly and gave Yang Heng another “meow”. Yang Heng rarely saw such a friendly and lovely animal here, so he reached out to touch its soft fur. He smiled and said, “It doesn’t matter, she called Xiao Lihua? This is the first time Bengong has seen a cat not afraid of dogs… ah!”

He had yet to finish his words when there’s a sudden pain in his hand. He was bitten by Xiao Lihua and the blood was flowing. The golden shadow flashed before his eyes and the biting cat jumped onto the big rock more than ten zhang away.

Bai Shao skillfully took out the wound medicine and dressing, and then brought spring water to wash Yang Heng’s wound. Lie Dang hurriedly took over the dressing and began to treat him.  “Just now, there wasn’t enough time to warn you, Xiao Lihua is the fiercest and she hates people mentioning ‘dog’ in front of her….Well, His Highness is broadminded, surely you won’t make a fuss with a kitten, will you?”

Xiao Lihua is the smartest, she found a way to avenge her, no wonder she didn’t love her in vain!

Yang Heng looked at the arrogant big cat, who was sitting on a rock and waving her tail. Then he looked at the beauty with crystal-bright eyes by his side, who’s complacent and secretly delighted at his pain. He’s in a good mood and found it laughable in his heart:  Sure enough, she’s like her master, crafty and untameable. The cat of an unknown breed, its movement is so nimble and fast. No wonder it didn’t take those vicious dogs to heart.

Xiao Lihua is indeed not an ordinary domestic cat. It’s the result of a pair of famous cats brought to Qi by a foreign merchant. These cats have a nickname “Golden Lightning” in that region, and are far more agile than average animals. They are also extremely aggressive and even surpass dogs in terms of loyalty and intelligence.

Bai Fuling consciously let out a sigh of relief, lest Yang Heng change his mind and want her to be held accountable, she waved her hands and sent all the beasts away without waiting for him to speak.

Now that the sun has risen to the top of the head, Ding Xiang came and announced: “The main manor has prepared a meal, Master and Madam would like to invite His Highness to eat with them.” Having lunch with the Bai’s was proposed by Yang Heng.

With a smile on her face, Bai Fuling sent Yang Heng and the other two off. She called Xiao Lihua and held her in her arms to shower her with praise. Only then did Bai Fuling go to the bamboo house to change her clothes and go to the main manor to eat.

When she arrived at the Bai couple’s place, Yang Heng hadn’t arrived yet, so he must have gone back to change his clothes and freshen up again. Bai Chou pulled his daughter and in a low voice asked, “Did His Sixth Royal Highness make things difficult for you?” The couple had been on high alert ever since they heard that the Sixth Highness had asked Bai Fuling to accompany him to Baili Mountain. The scene of Bai Fuling and Yang Heng together today had been reported to them in detail, but he still had to ask his daughter personally to be at ease.

Bai Fuling shook her head, she complacently smiled and said, “Xiao Lihua is so clever, she helps me vent!”

Seeing that she really didn’t look like she got bullied, they didn’t ask any further questions. The family of three only spoke a few words and Yang Heng had arrived. He had changed into a gorgeous peacock-blue ornate shenyi, with a silver sash around his waist. He uprightly entered the hall with such presence and demeanor that even the ugly Bai couple couldn’t help being a little stunned when they saw him. Wearing such a garish color coupled with a dignified and imposing manner, it could only truly be done by someone with a strong airs.

****TLN: shenyi is a iconic Han rope; it’s a long robe which is created when the “upper half is connected to the bottom half to cover the body fully”, english translation would be deep garment because it means “wrapping the body deep within the clothes”

Lie Dang’s demeanor is also extraordinary, and he is also a handsome uncle, but following Yang Heng, his sense of presence is suddenly reduced a lot.

Bai Fuling also felt her heart beat race, and secretly scolded “Peacock Man”, then got up and saluted with her parents.

Yang Heng smiled and supported Bai Chou up, warmly said “Bengong is not an imperial envoy currently. The virtuous couple need not be polite.” His imperial envoy insignia and confidants were still on the way. It’s reasonable to say that he’s still currently a prince.

You’re not an imperial envoy but you’re still a “bengong”. Why are you pretending to be amiable and approachable ah….Bai Fuling on one hand silently criticized him while helping her mother to her seat and then sat at the end.

Many kinds of dishes were soon served and they were full of delicious mountain delicacies produced by Baili Mountain. There were two maids that stood beside each of them, pouring wine and announcing dishes, delivering towels and handkerchiefs, etc. which were all standard etiquettes of aristocratic families in the capital. Yang Heng secretly felt something strange. He didn’t know the origin of the Bai family, not only was the host full of courtesy and elegant  demeanor, even the behavior of the good-looking and well-mannered maids were all in line.

Bai Fuling usually eats with her parents and doesn’t have many rules. Under the hint of the two maids, naturally there would be no errors with her manners. Only that it’s uncomfortable while having the meal. Yang Heng casted an ambiguous look at her from time to time, which made her heart accelerated and lost her appetite. She only hoped to quickly finish the meal and be disbanded.

The ugly Bai couple were watching Yang Heng’s demeanor throughout the meal. His attention toward their daughter, whether it’s intentional or not, couldn’t escape their eyes. It was not because of their arrogance, it’s because their daughter was born too beautiful. If they did not keep an eye on her, they were afraid that some random brat would steal her away. Now, Yang Heng’s attitude toward their daughter is clearly ambiguous. Both husband and wife have felt that His Sixth Royal Highness is not a good son-in-law candidate and his expression didn’t match his thoughts. They already began to plan in their mind how to isolate this dangerous element as soon as possible outside the scope of their daughter’s activities, preferably hundred zhang away.

The etiquette of a noble family was to eat and sleep without saying a word. There was no conversation at the dinner table, only the occasional clatter of the tableware. The four people present, plus Lie Dang, were silent, but there was an indistinct undercurrent surging.

With great difficulty, the meal was finished under this strange atmosphere, everyone left the table and took their respective seats. Bai Chou offered to take Yang Heng on a tour of Baili Mountain. Yang Heng and his servant understood that the other party did not want Bai Fuling to accompany them again, so he smiled and said that his injury required recuperation as a reason to politely decline Bai Chou “good intention”.

Accompanying a beauty even if occasionally getting a few supercilious looks and being bitten by a kitten was interesting. But accompanied by a grotesque uncle to tour the mountain, then it needs to be excused. Yesterday, he took advantage of the absence of the Bai family and ordered Bai Fuling to accompany him. He had already slightly overstepped the etiquette. With his noble status, once he had said something, others wouldn’t refuse, this kind of thing couldn’t be done again.

The interaction of males and females of this dynasty is not as strict as the previous one. Decades later after establishing the country, the atmosphere of the common folks gradually became unconstrained and open-minded. They could bring their attendants along, even traveling together with an opposite gender wouldn’t suffer too much criticism. But Bai Fuling, after all, is the beloved daughter of the host. If he repeatedly invited the other to accompany him, once it got out, it wouldn’t do their reputation any good.

Yang Heng took advantage of the opportunity to make an appointment for Bai Chou to have tea in the evening, and left with Liedang first. When he walked to the door of the hall, he suddenly felt blessed and his mind took a sharp turn. When he turned around, he saw Bai Fuling’s grimace that had no time to change. He was amused and deliberately made a serious solemn expression at her. Seeing that she was stunned for a moment, he turned around with a smile and left.

This little beauty’s temperament can be summed up in two sentences——To impose upon those who are kind and fear those who are severe.    And to use one’s powerful connection and position to bully others.

He could see that she had limited affection for him, but she still had to be patient to entertain him. In the end, it was just because of his status as a prince. She knew that she couldn’t afford to offend him, so she tried her best to suppress it. For other people whose status is inferior to hers and unpleasant to her eyes, she would have already sent her group of servants to beat them.

He had seen her glorious deeds when she bought a wife in the middle of the street in Beiguan a few days ago and instructed her subordinates to beat up Scholar Li, and how she made the barbarians of the Nu tribe crippled with a few blows. He knows how fierce and ruthless her way of handling things is.

What an interesting and amusing lass!

The more “interesting” things have yet to come……He and Lie Dang returned to the villa by Heling Lake just in time to receive a letter from his subordinate. It’s mainly to inform the current whereabouts of his imperial envoy insignia and entourage, including some secret information, especially the urgent news coming from the capital. The two took a walk to digest and then went all the way to the lake forest to decipher the letter and discuss countermeasures.

The person responsible for assassinating Yang Heng has not been confirmed yet, but several serious incidents had occurred in the capital. After a long discussion, the two men came to a conclusion and were about to go back to rest at the courtyard. Suddenly they heard a sound of footsteps approaching from afar.