The Magnolia Beauty 26 Liaoping

The next morning, Qin Fuhua, Suyin, and Weizhe bid their farewell to the s.h.i.+ Zhang, who genuinely wished them the best in their journey. With a polite bow, the three were ready to depart when the s.h.i.+ Zhang whispered something in her ear that made her face turn red. With a fl.u.s.tered expression, she vigorously waved her hands in rejection and hurried inside of the carriage.

Qin Fuhua glanced at the s.h.i.+ Zhang who snickered with a shake on his head, then stepped back inside his home.

"What a pity."

He blurted out on purpose to let Qin Fuhua hear.

He furrowed his brows and went inside the carriage to see the woman with a red face.

(What the s.h.i.+ Zhang whispered to Suyin: "If you'd like, you can stay here forever. I'll set you up with my grandson!")

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Heading back inside, the s.h.i.+ Zhang was in a satisfying mood, marching to the corridors with his cane. As he pushed the doors open, a male sat on a chair, twirling a little toy ball. With the sight of this person, the s.h.i.+ Zhang glared and rambled past the man.

"What are you doing here?" s.h.i.+ Zhang charged in a gruff tone.

"Whoa, old man. Don't tell me that you are not acknowledging me now." The male turned his head to s.h.i.+ Zhang and smirked at him. "Not to say, I had a part in saving the village too. I heard that the village was struck with a strange illness, so I came by to see what was going on around here."

It was the person that was hanging around Suyin, Zhaohui!

Zhaohui playfully got up and followed the s.h.i.+ Zhang, who had an irritated look on his face.

"Don't care for the village if you do not want to be a part of it." He groaned, scrunching up his white mustache as Zhaohui stepped in front of him to halt his progress.

"I know. I didn't mean to leave the village, but I had no choice--"

"No choice to be the next s.h.i.+ Zhang?! Are you trying to follow your father's footsteps?!--"

"That has nothing to do with it!"

Zhaohui took a long breath and closed his eyes. He stared at the s.h.i.+ Zhang, who was his grandfather and held his shoulders. "I know that the villagers would not accept me as the next s.h.i.+ Zhang. You already know how I feel about it and what I was going to do about it."

The s.h.i.+ Zhang did not speak a single word, the side of his eyes full of wrinkles from all of the stress and grief he had gone through in his life. "Child. It's been six years already--"

"And I am back, for now at least. I think I finally found something to make me want to become reliable." He gazed at his grandfather's eyes, "I will take the trial to fully become a part of the Jiao."

The s.h.i.+ Zhang was shocked.

A flashback of little Zhaohui flew through his mind, reliving the times when he would always run away from the house because he didn't want to be the next s.h.i.+ Zhang. The villagers never knew the child's status because him becoming the heir to the s.h.i.+ Zhang was not declared until he was fully a Jiao. This meant that he needed to go through the trial and get his tattoo at the pit of his elbow to be accepted completely as a man.

Zhaohui never got the chance to go through this trial because he ran away from home in search of his parents and his missing sister.

As time pa.s.sed on, the s.h.i.+ Zhang couldn't avert his fate. All he knew about Zhaohui was that an encounter with someone would change his life.

It was an unpredictable thing that the person who altered his mindset would be that woman.

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In the carriage, Suyin eventually calmed down to be fully focused on the next question that she had been asking herself since their departure from Jiaoshu village. She turned to Qin Fuhua, who was reading a ma.n.u.script next to her.

"So... how did you know that the mosquito was the culprit of this illness?" Suyin inquired, interested in his answer and discovery about the bug.

Qin Fuhua glanced at her, then gazed in front of him, "Weizhe." He called.

Weizhe, who was sitting outside of the carriage perked up at his name.

"Ah, yes. Your Highness was investigating the illness before we took you there." Weizhe said with an enthusiastic tone, "Prince Fuhua witnessed someone who got bit by a mosquito and then got sick a couple of days after. We didn't know if it was exactly the problem behind the illness, but we gave it a shot to give you a hint to see if it was correct."

With a proud look on his face, he held his head high and lifted his chest with pride. "Your Highness is accurate in his investigation yet again."

Suyin then glimpsed at Qin Fuhua, who had no care in Weizhe's proud att.i.tude. She was fascinated at the way how quick Qin Fuhua is to grasp on situations. There was no surprise as to why he was highly respected and dreaded by many not only because of his presence but his brilliant intellect. It was a pity that his rude character had to ruin it all.

*BOM*

The carriage suddenly halted, causing Suyin to rocked herself forward as she held onto the side.

"Are we home already?" She asked, peering out of the little window.

They arrived back at home. Great! Now Suyin can finally have some rest and time for herself! First, she would go and have a nice, warm bath as a fresh start of coming back---

"I will take my leave right now, Your Highness. If you need a.s.sistance, please let me know by then." Weizhe's voice could be heard outside.

"Good. You may leave now." Qin Fuhua appointed as the carriage began to move again.

"Wha?! I-I'm not leaving?!" Suyin's mouth was open wide. She didn't know where he was going, but she didn't want to go anywhere else at the moment.

"We still have to retrieve the key." Qin Fuhua remarked. Correct. Suyin had forgotten about what the s.h.i.+ Zhang had stated earlier.

*********

"There is someone with the key, though. I can tell you that. She lives in the village of Liaoping"

*********

There was no point in going back home if she couldn't save the Princess. Suyin let out a disgruntled sigh because she was exhausted. Eventually, time went on and Suyin had fallen asleep in the carriage, with Qin Fuhua at the side, studying his literature.

Minutes flew by and turned into hours. The exhausted Suyin was in a deep sleep with no disturbance from anyone or anything.

With all of the turns and jumbles from the wheels. .h.i.tting pebbles and rock, Suyin's head flew from the side of the wall to Qin Fuhua's shoulders.

He was thrown off at the sudden movement but wasn't disturbed at her head leaning on him. He could see the exhaustion in her face. Her eyebrow furrowed and her eyes were pressed tightly as if she was having a bad dream. Qin Fuhua gently s.h.i.+fted her body so it wouldn't cause her to have any neck discomfort once she is awake and went back to reading his scroll with his left hand.

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The carriage was at a full stop when Suyin abruptly raised her head up to see what was happening outside. She felt the jolt that caused her to wake up as Qin Fuhua got out of the carriage. Suyin quickly followed him.

They had arrived at the entrance to Liaoping. Unlike the other places that she has been to in the Qin territory, it was easier to enter into the city.

Qin Fuhua swayed his hand to shoo away his servant who nodded to leave the two, das.h.i.+ng off with the horse and carriage.

"Wait, why do that for?"

Qin Fuhua turned around and set a spell on his face, concealing his face with his right hand. He swung around and leaned close to Suyin's face, which startled her. She gave him a concerned smile and hunched back, with no urge to get near him.

"Do you see who I am?" Qin Fuhua sought. Suyin shook his head. Right as she was about to open her mouth, he placed his index finger to his lips to signal her not to talk. "I am Tienzheng. Remember that."

"Right..." Suyin looked away and laughed restlessly at him, unsure of what she should do. No matter how much she looked at him, he was still the Prince of Qin. She knew that she had to follow his directions so Suyin stayed put and listened to him.

Qin Fuhua wrapped Suyin around with his left arm and pushed her close to his shoulders.

"W-What are you doing?" Suyin tried to fight back, pulling away as he quietly inclined to whisper in her ears.

"In order to follow along, I will be accompanied by my wife to see my 'family' here in Liaoping. If the Prince of Qin came to this village, it would cause a disturbance which means nothing but danger."

The gates swung open, allowing the two to enter inside. Qin Fuhua let go of Suyin and roamed ahead of the district with Suyin following right behind him. Suyin was filled with awe and amazement of the town. It felt like she was back in her hometown! Many of the people were lively and cheerful. Music could be heard playing in inns and in other areas, people were singing with delight.

"Wow! This place is amazing! It's as if I walked into a scene in a Chinese drama!" Suyin commented, gazing at every little shop that the two came across.

Qin Fuhua looked at her and gave her a strange look as if he didn't understand her language.

"Ehehe... I mean, it's really different here from the other places that I've been to." Suyin beamed to him.

There was no hostile atmosphere here since no one knew about her and Qin Fuhua's ident.i.ty. Qin Fuhua stopped walking in front of a manor, but Suyin was so immersed in her surroundings, she smacked her face into Fuhua's back.

"Wha..Where is this?" Suyin brushed her forehead with her right hand as Qin Fuhua entered in.

"Welcome master!" A servant approached Qin Fuhua. He nodded and turned his head to Suyin.

"I have brought a wife home and decided to drop by in town." Suyin aimed at herself and widened her eyes.

"Yes, master! We shall prepare the room for you to rest in." The servant raced off to prepare their stay. Qin Fuhua s.h.i.+fted his body towards Suyin's way and leaned towards her ears.

"You will be staying here until I come back. This is my 'second home' as Tienzheng" Qin Fuhua slipped the Jade of the dragon in her hand. "In case there is trouble by anyone, including the people in this house, just use this to protect you. Weizhe is not here to look after you and I will be out." He muttered.

"O-Okay," Suyin nodded, gripping on the jade of the dragon tightly. Qin Fuhua turned to the entrance of the door as the servants opened the door for him, leaving Suyin there all by herself.

"What am I supposed to do here??" She complained. Suyin was not the type to just sit around and laze all day. If she wanted to do that, she might as well get married to some rich guy (sarcastically).

Suyin was full of frustration. She thought she would have been able to help him with the mission, at least. But staying home was something that she would least expect.
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"Mistress." The servant called to Suyin, who turned to him to see him lower his head down. "The room has been prepared for you to settle in." Suyin lit a mischevious smile to her face. Behind that smile was an idea that was going to put her in trouble.

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"Ah! This feels great!" Suyin stretched her arms, marching proudly down the road of the shop district. She was dressed in plain clothing that wouldn't stand out from others so that she would easily wander around without having to worry about Qin Fuhua recognizing her.

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*An hour earlier*

Qin Fuhua (or known as Tienzheng to the people) commanded the servants to not allow Suyin to exit out of the home. No matter what she did, the servants would not permit her to go out or help them in any way. She would offer to help wash the clothes, cook, and even water the plants, but they all graciously rejected her offer.

Because of Qin Fuhua's boring idea of not letting her go roam in a new city, Suyin had approached one of the lady servants to let her sneak out borrowing her clothes, otherwise, she would "kill" herself. (Note: Her and her playful self -_-)

Terrified that Tienzheng would come home to a dead Mistress, the lady servant allowed her to borrow her clothes and sneak past the guards and servants in the manor.

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"Miss! Will you be coming to the lantern festival? This event will occur in two days! Be sure to buy yourself a personalized lantern! If not, I can make one for you!" One greeted out to Suyin, who was interested.

"A lantern festival?" Suyin clasped her hands together with her eyes lit. She had been wanting to go to a lantern festival back in her time, but because it always occurred while she was busy with work, she never got the chance to attend one.

"Yes! Be sure to make it to the event! Buy yourself a lantern, or I can help make you one if you would like to!"

"I would love to!" Suyin stepped in closer to the cart filled with different kind of lanterns while she tried to get her pouch from her waist.

Because she wasn't looking ahead of her, Suyin crashed into a male, causing her to drop her jade of dragon and money pouch.

To not cause any problems from the people recognizing the jade of the dragon, Suyin tried to pick up the jade of the dragon as swift as she can, launching it inside of her robe.

"Miss... are you okay?" The male asked Suyin.

"Yes, I'm alright. Sorry about that--"

Suyin was too busy trying to hide the jade of the dragon that she didn't recognize the person she b.u.mped into's face resembled exactly like the man that she had been in love with... Minsheng!

"M-Minsheng?!" Suyin roared out to the man.

His eyes were full of confusion but gradually became soft at the sight of Suyin's face.

"I'm sorry, who are you talking about?" The man replied. Suyin had to rub her eyes a couple of times to make sure that she wasn't just blind or some sort.

"Sorry about that." Suyin scratched her head and laughed. "You just look like a....friend of mine."

The male gave her a kind smile, returning her the money pouch. "Here."

Suyin took the money pouch from him. She looked at his whole physique and found it odd that he was covered in layers of clothing. His skin was as white as the fresh snow on top of a mountain. His head was wrapped around in a beautiful silk royal red cloth that kept him from the sun, making him look quite mysterious to her although she recognized his face.

The man turned to the shopkeeper, "How much is this?" he aimed at a lantern with a fox imprint on it.

"It's going to be 15 yen for that." The shopkeeper told. The man took the paper money and gave it to the shopkeeper.

"Keep the change." He spoke, taking the lantern and s.h.i.+fted his attention back to Suyin. "I saw you were eyeing on these lanterns. For my apologizes, I should give you one." The male grinned at her.

Suyin fluttered her hands in rejection to the lantern. "I should be the one paying for it. I didn't see you and b.u.mped into you." She bowed, feeling bad for b.u.mping into him.

The male laughed and put the lantern in her right hand, "Don't worry about it. Let's take it as... our friends.h.i.+p. May I know your name, Miss?" He smiled, "My name is Feng Junli."

Suyin could only give him a fake smile in the midst of all of this.

Suyin would bet with her life that this person was Minsheng for sure! But although she did believe that, he didn't act like Minsheng at all. It was a man who appeared exactly like her crush but the personality was the total opposite. It didn't look like he was lying.

"Hm. It could be possible this could be his ancestor in the far past or something." She pondered to herself.

"My name is Han Suyin." She didn't want to take the lantern but had no choice since he already purchased it. Oh well! It meant that she didn't have to spend any money on it. This gave her more of a reason to go to the lantern festival since there were no plans for her anyway.

"What a beautiful name," he remarked as Suyin gave him another smile.

Deep down, she was ready to throw up with all of the sweet talks he was giving to her. Maybe because he had the ident.i.ty that looked like Minsheng which was the reason why she was bothered by him (and angered), but she had to understand that this was a different time and era.

"I... have to go now, before it gets dark," Suyin declared, pointing back to the way she came from. "But, it was nice meeting you, Junli. Thank you for the generosity in giving me this." Suyin said, waving to him to shoo away.

"It's not a big deal. After all, money is no problem for me." He stated before Suyin shooed him off, waving him goodbye as she hurried off home.

Suyin had enough fun for the day to travel around for a bit. She didn't know when Qin Fuhua was going to come home, so she absolutely did not want to go home seeing his usual grumpy face.

A group of men sitting at the tables watched Suyin as she skipped off back home.

"That's the girl.... she has it. That must mean she's someone we can use against the Prince."

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Suyin had arrived home just in time as the sun settled down and the stars soared through the dark skies. The crescent moon s.h.i.+mmered in the night but left the road a bit darker than usual. Suyin sat around the pavilion, playing with the paper lantern due to boredom.

"Mistress, it is getting late. You should go to bed." The servant stated, "Our master sometimes does not come home, so we should not wait in case he doesn't arrive."

"Well..." Suyin took one glimpse at the entrance of the door and agreed. "Okay. Can you put this somewhere for me until I ask for it?" Suyin handed the servant the paper lantern that was given by Junli. The servant bowed, taking the paper lantern.

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In the bedroom, Suyin sat on the chair around the round table near the bed, sipping on tea as she dazed off into s.p.a.ce.

*BAM!*

Qin Fuhua swung the door open, staggering towards her way. Suyin stood up firmly, shocked at his condition. His face was cherry pink and reeked the smell of alcohol.

"You." Qin Fuhua blurted out, facing to her. "I have been seeing you with another man." He mumbled out the words, walking up to her. Suyin tried to obstruct him with her arms, but he held it tightly.

Qin Fuhua forced her to the bed and pinned her down.

"Don't you dare smile at another man!" He yelled at her, putting his head at her shoulders. Although he wasn't doing anything to her besides complaining, Suyin tried to struggle free from his grasp but couldn't.

"What are you talking about?!"

[ Author's note (because I can't exceed to a certain amount of words T_T): h.e.l.lo readers! I have some awesome news I wanted to share to you guys! The reason why this chapter took a good while to be put up was that I was working on a TRAILER NOVEL of this! <3 i="" placed="" the="" link="" in="" the="" synopsis,="" but="" i="" will="" be="" sharing="" it="" here="" too!="">

Anyway, to clear any confusion, Junli and Minsheng are NOT the same people :> AND the servants in Qin Fuhua's manor only know him as Tienzheng.