PFC Chapter 94 The Restoration of the Moonlit Kingdom!?
Chapter 94 The Restoration of the Moonlit Kingdom!?
She was a woman who was about twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old.
She wore a bright red, double-breasted long gown, embroidered with large peonies in gold thread, with black piping on the collar and cuffs, exuding an indescribable sharpness amidst her dignified demeanor.
Her long hair was not tied up, but loosely held back by a simple gold hairpin, with the rest of her hair cascading down to her waist like a waterfall.
She was extremely beautiful, with her eyebrows and eyes bearing a five or six-point resemblance to Xu Longxiang, only her features were softer, her nose was straight and delicate, and her lips were pale red.
But what's most striking is those eyes.
The eyes are standard phoenix eyes, with slightly upturned corners and a very dark brown pupil.
Bathed in the morning light, they resemble two pieces of amber immersed in a cold pool, clear yet unfathomably deep.
She stood there without deliberately striking any pose, but she naturally exuded an aura of someone who had long held a high position.
That wasn't the air of someone pampered and privileged, but rather the majesty that had settled after years of scheming and wielding power.
"Miss!"
Li Wanjin's expression changed slightly, and he quickly bowed, his posture so respectful as to be almost humble.
Cao Wei also stood up, looked at the person who had come, and nodded slightly: "Miss Xu."
His attitude was neither servile nor overly arrogant; he was neither impolite nor excessively humble.
Xu Fenghua, the eldest daughter of the Xu family, the elder sister of Xu Longxiang, and the young mistress of the Zhao family.
He has also been the de facto leader of the Zhao family in Jiangnan for the past six years.
Xu Fenghua raised her hand and waved it gently, her gaze falling on Li Wanjin: "Boss Li, you can go down now. I have something to say to Mr. Cao."
Her voice was calm, yet carried an undeniable air of command.
"Yes, yes."
Li Wanjin responded repeatedly, then gave Cao Wei an apologetic look before bowing and leaving the waterside pavilion quickly.
Inside the waterside pavilion, only Xu Fenghua and Cao Wei remained.
A morning breeze drifted through the window, bringing the moist scent of the lotus pond and fluttering the hem of Xu Fenghua's red dress.
She walked slowly to the chessboard, her gaze sweeping over the empty board before turning to Cao Wei: "Sir, you have a refined taste."
Cao Wei ignored that question and asked directly, "Miss Xu just said there was no need to relay the message, what did she mean?"
His gaze was fixed on Xu Fenghua, his eyes sharp as knives, as if trying to see through her amber eyes to her deepest thoughts.
Xu Fenghua sat down on the other side of the chess table, picked up a jade chess piece, and played with it between her fingertips.
The chess pieces are warm and cool to the touch, with an excellent feel.
"Jiang Qingxue," she said slowly, her voice still calm, "I'm afraid we won't be able to see the master for some time."
Cao Wei's pupils suddenly contracted!
"Why?" His voice suddenly turned cold.
Xu Fenghua looked up at him and said, slowly and deliberately, "Because she has already entered the palace."
"What?!" Cao Wei's expression changed drastically!
Despite his best efforts to control himself, his steady hands still trembled almost imperceptibly.
He stared intently at Xu Fenghua, his eyes swirling with astonishment, anger, and disbelief.
"Entered the palace? When did that happen? Why was I unaware of it?"
Xu Fenghua put the chess pieces back into the chess box, her movements unhurried: "Just a few days ago, my younger brother personally escorted her to the palace."
She paused, then added, "Now, she is the Imperial Concubine Xue, personally bestowed by His Majesty, and enjoys the Emperor's favor."
"Consort Xue..." Cao Wei repeated these three words, each one seemingly squeezed out from between his teeth.
His expression remained calm, but a cold flame had ignited deep within his dark brown eyes.
The flames were not intense; instead, they exuded an extremely cold killing intent, like magma surging beneath a millennia-old glacier—seemingly calm, yet capable of incinerating everything.
He took a step forward.
It was just an ordinary step, but the air inside the entire waterside pavilion seemed to freeze in that instant.
The birdsong outside the window abruptly stopped, and the ripples on the lotus pond ceased.
An invisible pressure emanated from Cao Wei.
That wasn't the pressure of true qi, but rather an aura originating from the depths of the soul, formed after experiencing life and death and accumulating countless years.
Xu Fenghua sat there, her expression unchanged, but the fingers holding the chess piece tightened almost imperceptibly.
Miss Xu,
Cao Wei's voice was soft, yet every word struck like a hammer blow, hitting the heart deeply.
"What promises did your father and you make back then?"
His gaze fell squarely on Xu Fenghua's face: "You said that as long as I serve the Xu family, you will protect her and let her grow up safely and happily."
"But what about now?"
Cao Wei's voice suddenly rose, filled with barely suppressed anger:
"You sent her to the palace! What kind of place is that? It's the deepest whirlpool, the most poisonous quagmire in the world! Do you know that it will cost her her life!"
Xu Fenghua remained calm in the face of Cao Wei's questioning.
She slowly stood up and met Cao Wei's gaze.
The two were only three steps apart.
A man dressed in a blue cloth robe, with gray hair and beard, had a cold, burning rage in his eyes.
She was dressed in fiery red, in the prime of her life, yet her eyes held a deep, unfathomable tranquility.
"I'm sorry," Xu Fenghua said, her voice devoid of emotion. "This was my brother's decision. By the time I found out, it was too late."
"Is it too late?"
Cao Wei sneered.
"How late! Sending a woman into the palace is such a momentous matter! How could it be a last-minute decision? As the eldest sister, in charge of Jiangnan, how well-informed would you be? How could you not know?"
A cold glint flashed in his eyes: "Xu Fenghua, don't try to fool me."
Xu Fenghua remained silent for a moment, then finally sighed.
This sigh seemed to remove some kind of disguise, and for the first time, her eyes revealed complex and indescribable emotions.
There was helplessness, there was determination, and there was also a trace of... guilt that she herself was unwilling to admit.
"Sir," she said slowly, "I did not mean to deceive you. This matter... was indeed handled by my younger brother, and I only learned the details afterward."
She paused, her voice lowering slightly: "But even if I had known beforehand, I'm afraid... I wouldn't have been able to stop it."
"Why?" Cao Wei pressed.
Xu Fenghua raised her head and looked out the window at the distant, continuous rooftops. Her gaze seemed to pierce through time and space, landing on the far northern border and the desolate Zhenbei Prince's Mansion.
"Because," she slowly uttered four words, "it's all for the greater cause."
"A grand undertaking?" Cao Wei's eyes flashed with even greater coldness. "Very well, Xu Longxiang has certainly played his cards right! Using the only royal bloodline of my Yuehua Kingdom to help him accomplish his so-called grand undertaking!"
His voice was full of sarcasm:
"Does he think that once Qingxue enters the palace and gains favor, she can become his sharpest weapon by the emperor's side? Can she deliver messages for him and pave the way for him?"
Xu Fenghua did not deny it.
She turned back to Cao Wei, her gaze frank: "Sir, things have come to this point, there's no point in saying more. But I want to tell you that this isn't all bad."
"Not a bad thing?" Cao Wei laughed angrily. "You sent an innocent woman into the tiger's den, and you say it's not a bad thing? Xu Fenghua, what is your heart made of?"
Faced with Cao Wei's questioning, Xu Fenghua remained calm and simply said slowly, "Sir, please let me finish."
She walked to the window and stood side by side with Cao Wei, gazing at the same sky.
"Entering the palace with snow is certainly a risky move, but it is also a brilliant strategy."
Xu Fenghua's voice was calm, as if she were stating a fact that had nothing to do with her.
"His Majesty dotes on her immensely. She was promoted to the rank of Imperial Concubine after only a few months in the palace. You should understand what this means, sir."
Cao Wei didn't speak, he just stared at her coldly.
Xu Fenghua continued, "This means that Qingxue has the opportunity to access the most core secrets, the opportunity to influence the emperor's decisions, and the opportunity... to play a crucial role at critical moments."
She paused, then turned to look at Cao Wei:
"Sir, think about it. If this great undertaking succeeds, the Xu family will rule the world, and Qingxue will be the first to have contributed to its rise. With her status, her achievements, and your assistance..."
A glint of light flashed in her eyes: "The Moonflower Kingdom may well be able to be restored. At that time, Qingxue will be the Empress of the Moonflower Kingdom, and you, sir, will be the Prime Minister of the Moonflower Kingdom."