八宝酥 bā bǎo sū - crisp bun made of eight ingredients, in this case, each has significant medicinal properties

  Li Xiao Ran said: “San Dianxia, you must have waitedfor a while now.”


  A strange groan reached their ears.

  Li Xiao Ran stood, frozen in place as his mind drew ablank. He could not believe what he had witnessed! On the chaise, a young womanhad her arm wrapped around Tuoba Zhen’s neck. The two were in a particularlyintimate position, apparently about to do something immoral……

  “Insolent, unfilial child!” Li Xiao Ran’s angerexploded, nearly reaching the sky. He recognized the beautiful face near TuobaZhen’s as the chang nu he always took pride in! Li Chang Le laid in TuobaZhen’s arms with her clothes disheveled!

  He rushed over and pried the two off one another, hisface pale: “Look at yourself! See what good deed you have done!”


  Li Chang Le slowly turned to him with a blank stare asif she did not see him. Not a hint of remorse, her clothes were half undone andprominent red marks covered her skin. Beside her, Tuoba Zhen’s crown wastilted, his face full of lipstick stains. His hands still remained on her body.With the sight before him, there was no need to ask what the two had been upto.

  Li Xiao Ran realized something and turned around,about to order the servants to close the doors when he heard Li Wei Yang laughand say: “Wu Dianxia, please go in.”


  Tuoba Rui had stepped foot into the room andimmediately saw the situation inside. As if struck by lightning, he froze,unable to react.

  Li Wei Yang came in and saw, she seemed stunned: “Howcan this be?!”


  “Close the doors!” Li Xiao Ran furiously shouted. Theservants hastily closed the doors to prevent anyone else from seeing inside.

  The entire room was engulfed in silence.

  Li Wei Yang inwardly sneered but continued tofearfully say: “Dajie! What are you doing! You were already promised to marryWu Dianxia, how could you and San Dianxia do something so immoral andsenseless! If outsiders hear of this, what will we do then?!”


  As if waking up from her murky trance, Li Chang Lelooked down and saw her exposed body. She sat up straight and quickly coveredherself, crying out: “Fuqin! Fuqin! I don’t know what happened—” Somethingoccurred to her, and she abruptly turned to Li Wei Yang, “It was you! It wasyou, you little! You set me up!”


  Li Wei Yang calmly looked at her: “Set up how? Dajie,I just came in. I don’t understand what you’re saying.”


  Li Xiao Ran’s face was pale and livid. If he could, hewould have beaten that insolent, unfilial child to death on the spot: “ChangLe, you dare to blame your meimei for your own deeds, shut your mouth already!”


  Li Chang Le panicked and lamented: “Fuqin! Li Wei Yangset me up, she deliberately led me here and drugged me! That’s right, she musthave drugged me!”


  Li Xiao Ran glanced back at Li Wei Yang. Li Wei Yang’sexpressions seemed to be of utmost disbelief and innocence: “Fuqin, I truly donot know what Dajie is saying. I have been busy with the guests all morning. Iran into Wu Huangzi earlier, Dianxia was worried Dajie had yet to recover andcame to visit. Then, I heard the servants say San Dianxia also came, so Ibrought Wu Dianxia to the guest room to greet—”


  Of course, Li Xiao Ran did not think Li Wei Yang wascapable of doing such a thing. This kind of thing could not be deliberatelyarranged!

  Li Chang Le was hysterical, protesting: “You clearlyhad me taken here!”


  Li Wei Yang sighed: “Dajie, I thought you hadrepented. I did not think you would say something like this. If I really didset up a trap, then how could I make you go to San Huangzi? Could it be that Itied you up and brought you here? There are many Yatous and mamas outside, whynot ask them and see if I brought Dajie here or you came yourself?!”


  Li Chang Le’s hair was disheveled, face flushed. Hervoice quivered as she resentfully spat out: “You little! You intentionally—”She sent Tan Xiang to watch over Li Wei Yang. Tan Xiang returned and reportedthat Li Wei Yang had secretly gone to the guest room in the West Wing, as ifabout to meet someone, so she did not hesitate to run over there, hoping tograsp Li Wei Yang’s weakness. She had just arrived at the door when she noticeda strange smell and lost control of herself……

  Tuoba Zhen quickly recovered from the confusion. Whenhe saw Li Wei Yang, an ominous light crossed his eyes. Then he bowed his headand readjusted his clothes, taking down his crown and tied his hair up again.He had recomposed his appearance and thoughts, brushing off his clothes beforespeaking up: “During Li Furen’s funeral, if I had illicit relations with DaXiaojie, I would not choose this as the time and place. This must be someone’strap. Prime Minister Li, please send someone to thoroughly investigate thisroom.”


  Li Xiao Ran glanced at Tuoba Rui and his unpleasantexpressions and realized something: “In that case, it is necessary toinvestigate and clear things up!” He looked to Li Chang Le: “Quickly recomposeyourself!”


  Li Chang Le salvaged a glimmer of hope from thesewords. Indeed, as long aphrodisiacs were found in the room, she could provethat she had been set up by someone! After hearing Li Xiao Ran say this, shelowered her head and quickly readjusted her clothes. Then, she looked up, herbeautiful face was like a flower in the rain as she cried: “Fuqin, Wu Dianxia,you must believe me.”


  Tuoba Rui’s lips quivered. Having witnessed this, hisblood was not only boiling but about to flow the other direction. He did notknow what to say, so he only averted his eyes and bitterly eyed Tuoba Zhen. Hehad not thought that San ge, someone who was not of many words, ran here to dosuch immoral things with Da Xiaojie of the Li family. Their actions greatlyhumiliated him! Heavens, how could he encounter such misfortune!

  Soon, Li Xiao Ran ordered the entire room to besearched. It was a pity that half a shichen later, nothing had yet to be found.

  Tuoba Zhen blankly stared at Li Wei Yang, thenabruptly pointed to the potted begonias over there: “Search those pottedflowers!”


  Li Xiao Ran frowned. Li Wei Yang had given him thosebegonias and even placed them there. Had Li Wei Yang done something to it? Hisgaze fell on the potted begonias in full bloom. Li Wei Yang’s eyes weredowncast, not saying anything. Tuoba Zhen took her silence as a sign of a guiltyconscience.

  However, the potted begonias were thoroughly searcheda couple times. The conclusion that followed was nothing had been found.

  “Laoye, there is nothing unusual with these pottedbegonias.”


  “Impossible!” Tuoba Zhen quickly strode over andseized a begonia. He placed it directly under his nose, but he did not smellanything at all, “This isn’t right! I clearly smelled the fragrance of thesebegonias!” He had thought that these were rare begonias that had been carefullycultivated to have a gentle fragrance.

  Li Wei Yang lightly said: “San Dianxia, these begoniasare not the kind to give off fragrance unfortunately. If someone had donesomething to them, the scent would still linger, right? But there is nothingwrong with these begonias, is there a need to check again?”


  Tuoba Zhen’s murderous stare towards Li Wei Yang wascomplex, harboring disgust and hatred but also a vague trace of love anddespair, truly terrifying.

  Li Wei Yang’s eyes were brimming with mirthlessness.Tuoba Zhen was someone who practiced martial arts and was always cautious.Typical incenses could not make him lose control, not to mention there weremany hidden guards by his side. The plan had almost no chance of succeeding, butLi Wei Yang had lived alongside him for eight years and was all too familiarwith his personality. Of course, she would not try anything she was not certainof.

  There many aphrodisiac fragrances out there, such aslilies, ylang-ylang, patchouli, rosemary, and so on. With the appropriateamounts, it could induce hallucinations and evoke emotional reactions. SinceTuoba Zhen grew up in the palace, he was naturally cautious towards thesethings. He usually burnt sandalwood incense, musk incense, and the like,sometimes together with other incense, so even if those incenses had been used,he would quickly discover them. Moreover, they would leave behind a trace.

  Li Wei Yang chose to sprinkle Doukou (cardamom) wateron the begonias, making Li Chang Le lose her senses. Doukou also served as asan aphrodisiac, except there was not enough of it to have an effect on thestrong-willed Tuoba Zhen. Li Wei Yang recalled that Tuoba Zhen’s favorite foodwas ba bao su, which was made of lingzhi mushrooms, hericium, tremella fungi,ginkgo, wood ear fungi, song mushrooms, shiitake, and poria, all of which hadmedicinal properties. Theywere good for the joints, restoring energy, enhancing performance, and good forone’s health in general, but ginkgo and Doukou together will amplify theaphrodisiac effect of Doukou, even creating a powerful psychedelic. Mostimportantly, Doukou’s fragrance is intense and invaded the senses, but in abit, its fragrance will dissipate, leaving no traces behind. Li Wei Yangcalculated the time needed and had Zhao Nan sprinkle it onto the begonias then,by now, how could anything be found.

  Li Wei Yang originally wanted to Li Chang Le had beenseen in such an exposed state. Only one out of the two of them needed to takethe bait, and the rest of the story could be added on in the process. Who wouldhave thought even Tuoba Zhen would lose control, producing a result thatsurpassed her own expectations.

  “San Dianxia, do not look at me like that. You’rescaring me.” Li Wei Yang’s expressions were innocent. She blinked then avertedher eyes, but at the moment, those eyes only harbored a chilling hostility.Tuoba Zhen stared at her, if there were not so many people here, he would havetorn out her heart to see if it was full of black, poisonous blood!

  Li Chang Le cried: “Fuqin, you have to believe me, LiWei Yang must have had something to do with this!”


  Li Wei Yang sighed: “Dajie, I know you and San Dianxiacould not control your affections, but you should never do such a thing duringMuqin’s funeral, especially because of Wu Dianxia’s sincerity towards you. Thisis no different than trampling on his heart and humiliating him, our Li familyis a refined family, Fuqin is a righteous official and renown throughout. Ifothers find out that he has a such a shameless nu er, how can Fuqin remain arighteous official? How could he face Bixia? And San Dianxia, you intend tomarry him through these means!”


  Such a scandal broke out during the funeral ceremony.Once this was publicized, not only would Li Chang Le have to die, but evenTuoba Zhen would encounter misfortune. It will be difficult for him to keep hisposition of Huangzi, much less hope to claim the Imperial throne. Li Wei Yangknew this and set a trap like this for that very reason.

  Li Chang Le resented not being able to tear apart LiWei Yang’s face, but she was aware that if she panicked, it would be easier forher opponent to grasp her weaknesses, so she forced herself to calm down: “LiWei Yang, do not say such nonsense, I did not do any of these things at all,you have wronged me in every way! You are jealous of me for being morebeautiful than you and being favored by Fuqin, so you are always opposing me!You clearly led me here today and schemed to make me lose my senses. You thinkit will make Fuqin like you more, and I will lose everything, is that right?I’m letting you know, I will never let you succeed! Fuqin! Fuqin, you mustbelieve me, I would never do something like this! Wu Dianxia, help me, Dianxia,help me, I was set up!”


  Li Chang Le lamented and wept, acting weak and pitifulin front of Tuoba Rui.

  Tuoba Rui was about to help her up when Li Wei Yangcalmly said: “Dajie, why do you always say someone has wronged you, theseaffairs cannot be forced. If you like San Dianxia, you should have said so, noneed to involve the innocent Wu Dianxia!”


  Tuoba Rui stopped dead. He saw red, rage flashingacross his eyes. He suddenly realized he was being used, but the person usinghim was none other than the extraordinarily beautiful, weak and pitiful girl infront of him. He had genuinely sympathized with her, but now, he only feltcheated. Compared to the anger clouding his mind earlier, this feeling was evenmore unbearable and drew out his cruel nature! He retracted his outstretchedhands and turned away, resentfully vowing that the humiliation he faced todaywill be repaid at a later time a thousand times over! After that, he did notlook back at Li Chang Le and left.

  Li Chang Le saw the turn of events and realized herbeauty scheme was no longer effective. She felt cold all over and rushed toseize Li Xiao Ran’s sleeves: “Fuqin! I am innocent, you must help me!”


  Li Xiao Ran looked at her, yet never before was hisstare as cold and detached as if he were looking at a dead person.

  Li Chang Le shuddered all over, unable to stoptrembling. Li Xiao Ran had never looked at her like that before……

  Tuoba Zhen apathetically looked on. What happenedtoday was a great blow to him; during the funeral of Prime Minister Li’s Furen,a Huangzi recklessly and dishonorably acted with a daughter of their family.The Emperor would be disgusted by him, making all of his efforts over the yearsgo to waste. Li Wei Yang, ah, Li Wei Yang, you are rather malicious!

  Li Wei Yang sensed what he was thinking and turnedaround, her face innocent yet her eyes were frozen in a cold stare, not a traceof warmth in them.

  There was not the slightest sign of fear or guilt inTuoba Zhen’s eyes. The flames of anger flared, if Li Xiao Ran was not here, hewould seize this girl and demand she explain herself! However, he knew he couldnot do that now. He would encounter great troubles if this matter was notproperly dealt with, so he just said: “Prime Minister Li, it is still LiFuren’s funeral ceremony. Many things cannot be discussed yet. Once the funeralis over, I will provide a sufficient explanation.”


  Li Xiao Ran gave Tuoba Zhen a harsh look. Although hewas a Huangzi, he could not do such a dishonorable thing during a funeral. Ifso, his days were numbered. He wanted to report this to the Emperor—no, hecould not do that, Li Chang Le was still a nu er of the Li family. Her reputationmay be lost, but this could not implicate the entire Li family! The thought ofit made Li Xiao Ran glare at Tuoba Zhen: “Alright, I will wait for yourexplanation!”


  Tuoba Zhen nodded and immediately left. Li Chang Lesaw he was about to leave and grew fearful. She wanted to catch onto hissleeves, but Tuoba Zhen’s strides were too fast, not giving a chance to do so.Now, he had to quickly silence Wu Huangzi at any cost! This could not spread tothe outside!

  Li Wei Yang looked at his retreating figure andsneered. She had sent the two siblings Zhao Nan and Zhao Yue to stop TuobaZhen’s hidden guards in order to successfully lead Li Xiao Ran and Wu Huangzihere, yet the first thing Tuoba Zhen would do once he left was to dispose ofall those guards! Of course, she did not hope to defeat Tuoba Zhen with thismatter alone. In any case, he still had quite a few of Wu Huangzi’s weaknessesin his grasp and certainly had a way to keep Tuoba Rui silent, but Tuoba Ruiwill resent him. The efforts originally concentrated on Taizi and Qi Huangziwill shift to dealing with him. In the days to come, Tuoba Zhen would not getwhat he wanted.

  Li Chang Le had never felt more afraid and desperate.She was not naive and knew precisely what was waiting ahead of her! She beggedLi Xiao Ran without pausing for a breath: “Fuqin, I was framed, you mustbelieve me!”


  Li Wei Yang only said: “Dajie, things have beenreduced to this state. You do not need to say such unnecessary things. Muqin’sfuneral ceremony has not ended. There are other guests waiting outside, so ifyou continue to cry like this, there is no guarantee that this matter will notspread to the outside.”


  Li Chang Le’s fury finally boiled over. She leapt toher feet: “I will not let you get away with this, I have to speak withWaigong……”


  “Dajie, you are surnamed Li, yet why do you alwaysbring up the Jiang family!” Li Wei Yang’s face remained unchanged, “You shouldknow that affairs of the Li family are for Fuqin and Lao Furen to decide,others do not have a right to intervene!”


  Li Chang Le’s mind went blank, and she lunged,intending to slap Li Wei Yang. However, Li Xiao Ran’s hand was faster and senther crumpling to the floor. The slap left her face turned to one side. Her eyeswere wide open in disbelief towards Li Xiao Ran.

  Li Xiao Ran angrily said: “You are to stay here.Without my orders, no one is to let her out!” He quickly strode away and left,not turning back to look at Li Chang Le.

  Li Chang Le despairingly burst into tears.

  Li Wei Yang looked at her and faintly smiled: “Dajie,you should cry a bit louder, it would suit your image of filial piety as a nuer. Aiya, how could I forget, you are no longer a filial nu er. You weredesperate to be married and acted senselessly, crazy to be exact. As for whatawaits in three years, it seems you have already decided that for yourself, butyou will lose some status.” Her voice was malicious and provocative. Li ChangLe heard the satisfaction and relish in her voice, gloating over the otherperson’s misfortune. Li Chang Le leapt to her feet: “Li Wei Yang, youdeplorable little, why are you always acting against me?”


  Li Wei Yang smiled warmly and sweetly began: “Dajie,perhaps you do not recall what happened in the past.”


  Li Chang Le sharply retorted: “It has nothing to dowith me! That was your own misfortune, as for why you were born in February,how could you blame us!”


  Li Wei Yang smiled: “Dajie, one does not want othersto know the things they have done. You know best what deeds you and your motherhave done.”


  Li Chang Le could not bear it anymore and rushedtowards her, no matter what she must teach Li Wei Yang a lesson today! She hadyet to touch Li Wei Yang’s clothes when Zhao Yue appeared behind Li Wei Yang,seemingly out of nowhere, and sent her flying with a kick. Li Chang Le had notexpected Zhao Yue to suddenly appear, nor had she thought the latter wouldcruelly kick her. She was a delicate, aristocratic lady, and such a fierce kickmade her clutch her abdomen and cough up blood before her vision tunneled, andshe fainted on the spot.

  Li Wei Yang blankly looked down at her: “Dajie, youshould just enjoy the good times while they last.” Having finished, she walkedout of the hall with Zhao Yue.

  Not far from the hall, Tuoba Zhen had not left and wasstanding under the peach tree with his arms crossed. It was almost spring, sothe days were warm and the peach blossoms were in full bloom. A breeze blewpast, and a flurry of red followed, scattering to the ground and in his hairand shoulders like droplets of blood. The bitter resentment was reflected inhis eyes, much like his desire to tear Li Wei Yang to shreds. Li Wei Yang sawhim and only smiled, greeting him from afar before turning and leaving.

  Li Wei Yang left the courtyard. Behind her, she heardZhao Yue let out a small groan. She turned around and found her sleeve had beensliced open by a sword and bloodied. Li Wei Yang softly said: “It must havebeen hard on you.” Tuoba Zhen’s seventeen hidden guards did not sit idle. Sheknew the siblings had exhausted their strength holding them off for just half ashichen, but it was enough for Li Xiao Ran to witness everything.

  “Xiaojie had given the order, so Nubi must overcomeany difficulties and do so.” Zhao Yue quietly said.

  Li Wei Yang smiled: “You have completed your task, quicklygo and apply medicine for your injuries and your brother as well.”


  Zhao Yue could not help but ask: “Xiaojie, as for ournext move, do we find a way to spread the news?”


  Li Wei Yang slowly shook her head: “Whether it is SanHuangzi or Fuqin, neither will allow this to spread to the outside, but thetruth is still the truth. No matter how Fuqin tries to hide it, he cannot denyLi Chang Le’s dishonorable actions during this mourning period.”


  Puzzled, Zhao Yue continued to ask: “Then, why didn’tXiaojie just let more people witness this—”


  Li Wei Yang shook her head: “That hall is reserved forspecial guests. How could anyone go in as they please? Of course, Fuqin can goin and out, and I brought Tuoba Rui in. Others do not have an excuse to go in.If I put on an elaborate display, it would seem rather suspicious, the risksoutweighing what there is to gain.” She turned to face He Xiang Courtyard,“Now, I should go and see Lao Furen.”


  Startled, Zhao Yue followed Li Wei Yang’s gaze. Havingillicit relations during her mother’s funeral ceremony, if this was brought toLao Furen’s attention, Li Chang Le only had death waiting ahead of her!——

  Translator: Chau

  Editor: Pending——