Cui Buqu suspected that when he passed out, someone moved him from the grasslands of the outskirts to somewhere he did not recall.
Otherwise, why would there be a beautiful woman next to his bedside?
There were a lot of beauties in the world—those that were beautiful and attractive, those that were gentle and proper, and those that were small and cute—Cui Buqu has seen aplenty. He even had a specific beauty who followed him around everyday.
Qiao Xian was considered a cherry blossom that was untouched by the filths of this world.
Yet the beauty before his eyes now was different. She was like a stream of water on the grasslands, so clear that it touched people's hearts, a glistening beauty for the sight, different from the ice-cold charm Qiao Xian had, yet her gentleness was like one of lotus swaying in the wind, prompting anyone to hold an intense love for her.
So let alone the fact that she was looking at him dreamily by his bedside, her eyes glowing when she saw Cui Buqu waking up, she said gently, "My Lord, are you thirsty? I can fetch you some water."
Cui Buqu watched as she raised a pot of water from the table to fill him a cup, before raising it carefully before him with both her hands.
"My Lord, please drink."
Cui Buqu did not move.
As she was watched by him through his gaze, the beauty felt a little uncomfortable.
"My Lord, I do not hold any ill intentions towards you. Lady Qiao is boiling you a dose of medicine at this moment, so she could not come here herself. Therefore, I came over to help. You can ask me to do anything you want, just please don't ask me to leave!"
"Anything...is possible?" Cui Buqu's throat was dry, his voice low and hoarse, but the beauty was sitting near him enough, that she could hear him.
"Naturally, everything is possible!" Her eyes twinkled, and she edged closer to him, the scent of orchid on her body filling the air.
Cui Buqu thought and thought, "Then you can climb onto the table and perform a dance."
The beauty, "What does my Lord wish to see?"
Cui Buqu, "Anything."
Compared to dancing, the beauty wanted to chat with him heart to heart, but since Cui Buqu was not interested in that and insisted on watching a dance after he had just woken up, the beauty could only put down the teacup and step onto the table. The people of Kucha were skilled in dances. The beauty bent her waist and kicked up her feet, clapped her hands, in accordance with the music of the bells on her legs.
Her dress fluttered in a beautiful sight, divulging her fair and attractive legs underneath them. The only thing that was lacking was music to accompany her dance, as if something was missing from the picture.
As Cui Buqu watched, he closed his eyes. However, with each time the beauty thought he had fallen asleep and she wanted to stop and take a rest, he would open his eyes again, and she had no choice but to continue dancing.
After a few times like this, the beauty finally could not help but said timidly, "My Lord, I am a little tired, can I stop dancing?"
Cui Buqu yawned, "Then let's not dance. We can do other things."
The beauty offered, "What does my Lord wished to eat?"
Cui Buqu, "You do not need to move. Just stand on the table, and do a handstand."
The beauty: "..."
"My Lord, I am wearing a dress, I fear it would be inappropriate for me to do a handstand." The beauty said timidly. She could reason with the fact that Cui Buqu was wounded and injured, so when he woke up, he had the heart to 'do it' but not the strength to. However, in the past even when the old Khan was in a similar situation, he would still allowed her to serve him at his side, even if she only fed him water and food, it was also another sort of romance.
Yet why did her seduction techniques failed when she used them on these two men who came from the Central Plains?
Had it not been for whose merchants from the Central Plains staring at her when they were stunned by her beauty, she almost thought that beautiful women from the Central Plains were born with three eyes and two noses.
Cui Buqu replied, "O. Now you can perform a monkey picking a peach."
The beauty: "…."
Cui Buqu, "A golden chicken standing on one leg?"
Tears began brimming from the beauty's face.
He even said that they could do anything, but isn't this doing nothing but dancing?"
Cui Buqu suddenly look contented, and coughed as he said, "Go out. Call Qiao Xian inside."
From the beam on top of the room, a light little laugh sounded.
The beauty was shocked, as she watched a man in ethereal white clothes landing before her.
"A word of advice, it would be easier if you try your techniques on the First Prince."
The beauty bit her lip as she stared at Feng Xiao, tears practically squeezing themselves out of her eyes. Yet the other did not even look at her for a second more, he simply walked to the dressing table and leaned down, looking at the shadow of a flowerpot left and right as he exclaimed in satisfaction.
"Beauty lies in your bones not your skin. With such a pearl before him, how would Master Taoist Cui's heart be moved by you? Master Taoist Cui, am I right or not?"
Cui Buqu closed his eyes: I have a headache, and I want to vomit, it's a pity my stomach is empty, so there's nothing to vomit out, so I am feeling like death.
From the way the beauty saw it, these two people, the first one is narcisstic to the point that he'd admire his own shadow, putting no one in his eyes but himself. As for a second one, even when a beauty fell into his arms voluntarily, not only wasn't his heart moved, but he had even thought of ways to pit her. Both of them were crazy.
After the beauty waited for a while and no one asked her to stay, she felt incredibly upset and could only leave them alone.
Feng Xiao, "That woman was sent here to serve the Khan of Göktürk. Since she was able to live by Göktürk royalty, then she already has the chance to live the life of high society, although it was not comparable to the luxuries of the Central Plains. Now, since the Khan is dead, and Western Göktürk has descended into a mess, she knew not where she would go, so instead of serving the new Khan, she would rather follow us back into the Central Plains. It was a pity that she chose to seduce me first, and now she wanted to get close to you, but both attempts have failed. If that silly rascal Pei Jingzhe was here, she might have gotten what she wanted."
A moment before, Cui Buqu was also suspecting that she held ulterior motives, but now that he realized that she simply wanted to find a wealthy house to support herself, then he was too lazy to care about the matter anymore. Once he heard Feng Xiao's words, he could confirm his theories further.
He opened his mouth and spoke, "I am thirsty."
Feng Xiao asked curiously, "That's your business, what does it have to do with me? I saved your life, you have not even knelt to me in gratitude, but still demand me to feed you water?"
Cui Buqu stared at him tiredly, pinning his gaze onto Feng Xiao without saying a thing.
Feng Xiao picked up the teapot, "One question, one mouthful of water."
This was very fair. Cui Buqu agreed.
Feng Xiao poured the water into the teacup and passed it to Cui Buqu. The latter stared into the cup and watched the level of the water. It really was the exact volume of one mouthful.
"When you were with Yu Xiu, how many things did you manage to find out?" Feng Xiao asked.
Cui Buqu, "Not much."
Feng Xiao's lips twitched, "Just like that, and you want another mouthful of water?"
Cui Buqu, "He should be from the Yunhai Thirteen Stories, in fact, his ranking isn't low."
Feng Xiao, "Master One?"
Cui Buqu, "Water."
Feng Xiao replied lazily, "This is still the first question. Don't even think of playing tricks. Delay more, and I will stuff your mouth and tie you on the roof to blow the Northwest breeze, then let us see how long it would take for Qiao Xian to find you."
Cui Buqu thought about it seriously and felt that Feng Xiao might actually do it, so he said, "He said he is not. In that kind of situation, he should not be lying."
Feng Xiao was very satisfied with his performance, so he fed him water personally before asking again, "I want to know all your theories."
Cui Buqu, "He was found, taught, and raised by Princess Qianjin. He was grateful to the princess. The Princess hated the Sui Empire, so he wanted to fulfil her wishes in her stead to usurp the Sui Empire, conveniently using Prince Jin's identity for his schemes, as well as making it convenient for himself."
Feng Xiao touched his chin and said in deep thought, "He wants to overturn the world and send it into chaos. The Thirteen Stories themselves are ambitious, therefore both of them are working together. However, for people like Fong Xiaolian and Gao Yun, they would not have been just been satisfied to create a mess of the world and leave it like that."
Yu Xiu could only be doing this just to avenge the princess, but he could also be lying, but these were not important. However, the Yunhai Thirteen Stories were not simply just anybody, so they would not fool themselves along with Yu Xiu. The other must have already had a well-rounded perfect plan and this was just executing it step by step.
It also meant that, in a place where their could not see or reach, it was very likely that there was a great conspiracy going on, that was currently brewing beneath the surface of the water, and it was unknown when or where it would surface.
So, regarding the poem they found on Duan Qigu last time that did not make sense, it was most probably a very special kind of lead.
Feng Xiao felt that Cui Buqu has definitely spent a lot of time trying to crack the poem in secret, and those few things that did not make sense last time has probably already been figured out by him.
But before he could open his mouth to ask, he saw Cui Buqu has already closed his eyes and pulled the blankets up to his chin, falling asleep abruptly, practically writing the words 'Don't ask me' on his face.
Author's Note: Pei Jingzhe sneezed: Who? Even the readers have forgotten about me. Yet someone is talking bad behind my back?