The Rich and Powerful Chang An Chapter 42

Chapter 42

Something really happened in the palace. The Great Xiao Imperial Palace was heavily guarded. Occasionally, assassins from other countries invaded the palace; the day before yesterday, there were assassins invaded the palace and also broke into Princess Qing Yue's palace. The princess was held hostage and injured by the assassins. Although the injuries were not serious, the emperor was furious and was plucking out assassins throughout the city.

Xiao Qing Yan went to the palace every day to see Princess Qing Yue. Her brother Jing Wang had just gone out for an expedition. Now only Xiao Qing Yan was one of her close brothers, so she asked Xiao Qing Yan to accompany her every day.

“Imperial brother, you are coming tomorrow too. Imperial Father not only forbids me to go out of the palace, but also forbid me to go stroll around in the palace. Every day I stay in my room, I'm getting moldy.” Xiao Qing Yue's wound was not really a wound, but the assassin took her to the palace gate and knocked her out when they left.

The emperor was furious that his most beloved daughter had been held hostage, which added even more fuel to the fire. So the emperor's order was not only to let Princess Qing Yue stay in the palace to recuperate, but also to give the imperial decree; immediately blockade the city gates, pluck out assassins throughout the city!

“I think that little injury on you is all right. If you feel bored, you can let your Consort Mother come and practice her fists and feet with you. I remember that Gufei Niangniang's hands are also good, at least better than your three-legged cat Kung Fu, which only has a bit of fancy style. You can learn from your Consort Mother well.” Staying in the residence but could not go to Wang Fei's main courtyard, and had to spend most of his time there on Nanxi's; Xiao Qing Yan was reluctance to put a play[1] at home, so he simply went to the Palace every day to accompany Xiao Qing Yue.

“Imperial brother…”

“Alright, let's see tomorrow. If nothing happens in the residence, I'll accompany you.” Looking at Xiao Qing Yue's face, Xiao Qing Yan could only change his words; let's see tomorrow and talk about it again.

After Nanxi waited for all the people in her room left, she took people out with her and went to Xu Chang An's place.

Wang Fei was in confinement because of her, at any rate she was going to see him.

“Wang Fei, people from Tongxin Garden are asking outside.” When she heard the yatou's report, Chunyu didn't want to say anything to her young master. That Nanxi was obviously coming to show-off! Wang Ye ordered that no one should be allowed to visit him, but she still ran over deliberately. What did she mean?

This name of Tongxin Garden, Chunyu dislike it. But she dared not say it in front of her young master, afraid that her young master would be more sadden.

“Let her go back. Didn't Wang Ye say that nobody should come to visit?” He did not why, but Xu Chang An had some fears about Nanxi. He also did not know whether it was because he was influenced by Xiao Qing Yan. That Nanxi seemed to be a very weak woman, but Xiao Qing Yan had repeatedly advised him not to meet with her alone, and that tone did not seem to be afraid of what he would do to her, but as if afraid of him being plotted by her? Did that woman really have such great abilities?

Chunyu was not willing to let her family's young master to meet that woman, so naturally she rushed out to send people off.

“Miss Nanxi, you'd better go back. When Wang Ye spoke of Wang Fei's confinement, he'd said nobody could come to visit him.” This was the first time Chunyu saw Nanxi, she admitted that this person was really beautiful, but it was not as exaggerated as people said, and not even as beautiful as Princess Qing Yue.

“You, who are you? How come I haven't seen you? Which courtyard are you from?" At first, she wanted to let the yatou beside her to go send people off, but Chunyu saw a person dressed as a servant boy beside her. They didn't assign the servant boy in the courtyard. Which courtyard was this person from and why did he come here?

“Which yard are you from? What are you doing here? Hey! Hey, stop!” Chunyu wondered if that was the person who came to the other courtyard to inquire about the news, but she just asked, but the person turned around and left.

“Wu Ren, Wu Yi, seize him!” Feeling wrong in her heart, she happened to see the two Wu brothers, and Chunyu immediately opened her mouth to make people stop that person!

“Don't move!”

“You… You… Who?” What a great courage! Didn't he know that Nanxi was the heart and soul of Wang Ye? A little servant boy, dare to… Wrong!

Originally Chunyu thought that this person was from a courtyard sent to inquire about her young master's news, but also prepared to grasp the lesson for him and let him take a message back to his master. How did one know that the bold young man turned around and went forward and pinched Nanxi's throat?!

“Who are you?” Suddenly it occurred to her that Zhu Quan had mentioned the assassin with her and Chunyu's frightened hands were trembling!

Even assassins were not so bold in broad daylight.

“Wu Ren, Wu Yi! Come on, keep the door, don't let him in! Wang Fei is in!”

Compared with Chunyu's nervousness, the two Wu brothers were much calmer. They were generals; they had experienced this kind of scenes in some ways. Moreover, the hostage in the assassin's hands was not the masters of Wang Residence, so they were not afraid!

“Humph! Are you an assassin of Beidi or Southern Xinjiang? How bold of you to break into the palace in broad daylight!" His Majesty ordered that the whole city search for the assassin that injured Princess Qing Yue. This man was really smart; it was much safer to stay inside Xian Wang Residence than outside!

“What are you going to do? My Miss is still in the hands of the assassin! Are you going to kill my Miss?!” Lark looked beside her, at the people who were not prepared to take charge of her master's life and death; her heart could not stop worrying! She offended many people in Wang Residence because of her master, Nanxi. She didn't want to lose anything, but in the case that something happened to Nanxi, she would not only live in vain, but she might not even save her little life! That Min Cefei was not a good-tempered person!

“His Majesty had issue a decree! Regardless of life or death, the assassin must be caught and handed over in person for Her Highness Princess to deal with!" Wu Ren and Wu Yi did not care about any Miss, as long as it was not their master!

Xu Chang An heard such a big noise outside. When he came out, Chunyu pushed him directly inside. Then Lark looked like a savior has come, and immediately fell on her knees to Xu Chang An.

“Wang Fei saves, saves my Miss's life!”

Xu Chang An was confused. He didn't react to what was going on until he saw the hostage situation and the stiff-faced Nanxi that he realized what was going on.

“How audacious! How dare you dare to break into Wang Residence in broad daylight! Who are you? Immediately let the guest of Wang Residence go!” Xu Chang An was unable to comprehend of what he should do?  Should he let this person take Nanxi away perhaps directly… Or save her?

“Wang Fei, Wang Fei… Save me.” Nanxi was not tall; she was smaller than the general women of the Great Xiao. Although the assassin was not tall, his figure could also be regarded as stalwart compared with Nanxi. By that profuse sweating on her neck….  there was a dagger, and that appearance was pitiful.

Xiao Qing Yan came back earlier today than in the past few days. When he arrived at the Wang residence, it was not yet time for dinner. He had just entered the gate for a while, and was informed that an assassin had broken into the residence. Immediately, he ordered the residence's imperial bodyguards to go to Wang Fei's main courtyard to safeguard, and lastly without thinking about anything he also made people go to the Tongxin Garden to take a look!

When he hurried to the inner courtyard, Xiao Qing Yan knew what was happening in the main courtyard halfway through. When he arrived, there were hundreds of women and imperial bodyguards around him. “Wang Ye! Wang Ye saves me!” As soon as Xiao Qing Yan appeared, Nanxi was like seeing a savior! She called for help from Xiao Qing Yan. Xiao Qing Yan walked quickly to her side and looked at Xu Chang An, who was not far away and suddenly walked towards him.

“Why are you standing here? Isn't this your courtyard? Why did the assassin come, but the person who was held hostage was somebody else?!” With his hands on Xu Chang An's shoulders, Xiao Qing Yan's questioning was full of anger. Xu Chang An could not understand why Xiao Qing Yan was angry with him. He wanted to explain, but when he looked at Xiao Qing Yan, he did not see the anger in Xiao Qing Yan's eyes, only saw his anxious face.

“Wang Ye…”

“You are Xian Wang?” Before, the assassin dressed as a young man never uttered a word, but firmly grasped the hostage in his hand. Now that Xiao Qing Yan arrived, finally he spoke, saying the words to confirm Xiao Qing Yan's identity.

“What? Did you come for me specially?" Xiao Qing Yan was not nervous, but slowly headed for the assassin!

“Stop! If you go one step further, I'll kill her!” While the man talked, his hands gripped tight, and there was a blood line leaching on the white neck of Nanxi!

“Humph! This Miss is a guest of Wang Residence, you must have come to my Wang Residence specially, and not to find him either! How can this Wang let a woman take the place of….."

“You let her go!” There were so many people around him. Xu Chang An was not really afraid. But when Xiao Qing Yan's words were uttered, he knew what Xiao Qing Yan meant and he could not stay aside.

“That Miss is only a guest of Wang Residence. You can't escape the Imperial Palace even if you seized her. You let her go and take me! I am Xian Wang Fei. If you go out of Wang Residence with me in your hands, the officers and men outside dare not fight you.” Before the crowd could react, Xu Chang An had walked directly to the assassin. When he came to Xiao Qing Yan's side, Chunyu who was already behind him had broken down to yelling for him. From beginning to end, Xiao Qing Yan was anxiously staring at Nanxi in the assassin's hands.

Xu Chang An's proposal, the assassin had no reason to oppose, which was the next best choice for him. Xiao Qing Yan's status was noble, and it was impossible to take the woman as insurance. His Wang Fei was the second best choice. Even without the Wang Ye, it was also good to have the Wang Fei in his hand.

“Young master! Young master!” Chunyu had been anxious, whatever established rules had been forgotten. She now regretted, if she knew it earlier, she would have gone out and pick up the medicine herself. If Dongxue had stayed, and in her situation, Dongxue would be able to stop young master even if she was beaten, she would not allow young master to take the risk himself!

“Wang Ye! Wang Ye…” From the moment she was released, Nanxi directly rushed to Xiao Qing Yan, Xiao Qing Yan smoothly held her, with comforting voice: “Don't be afraid, it's all right.”

“Everyone! Let's all get out of here and let him go out!” Xiao Qing Yan ordered the people around him to open a road automatically. Only the two Wu brothers did not give way, but begged Xiao Qing Yan.

“Wang Ye, Wang Fei is still in his hands, he can't be let go!”

“Wang Ye, please save my young master!” The whole courtyard, aside from the Wu brothers and Chunyu kneeling on the ground, other people had automatically given way to the assassin. Xiao Qing Yan did not go to see Chunyu kneeling, but said to the Wu brothers: “Wu Ren and Wu Yi, you lead a team of people and horses to follow Wang Fei, when this person goes out of the city, bring Wang Fei back safely!” Xiao Qing Yan's words came down, so he left without waiting for other people to speak again. He left with the somewhat trembling Nanxi.

Looking at the two people leaving together, Xu Chang An suddenly felt that he might have guessed wrong before. Even at this critical moment of life and death, Xiao Qing Yan prioritized her. How could Xiao Qing Yan possibly be false to her? Maybe he thought too much before. Xiao Qing Yan didn't let him see her alone. There was no other reason, simply afraid that he would make things difficult for her or that Xiao Qing Yan did not want to let her give him the Wang Fei's salutation.

“Can you make it lighter? I will not struggle to escape, said to send you out of the city, so send you out of the city it is. But you hurt the emperor's most beloved Princess Qing Yue, even if you go out of the city, you may not be able to escape safely." Xu Chang An's neck was strangled with some pain. The cold dagger was on his neck. When he touched it occasionally, he felt dizzy. He felt that maybe he would be cut on his neck in the next moment.

Xiao Qing Yan anxiously returned to Tongxin Garden with Nanxi. As soon as he got to the place, he immediately sat down and kept asking if there were any injuries or discomforts on her body.

“Wang Ye, Nanxi is all right, thanks to Wang Fei. But… I heard that Wang Ye recently received Dongxue, the person from Wang Fei's side. When she came back, she will know that Wang Fei was held hostage for saving me. I'm afraid she's going to be sad." Clearly it was Xu Chang An who saved people, but what Nanxi mentioned at this moment was an insignificant yatou. Xiao Qing Yan had some regrets in his heart. He should not have been impulsive that night.

“What are you thinking about? You don't know, the longest thing my Imperial Father ever said to me was that my temperament was the most similar to him, so I was the most unsuitable person to sit on that throne. I wasn't surprised that Imperial father wanted me to marry a male wife. He knew that his son was not fit as the emperor who was sitting with the 3,000 concubines in the imperial harem.

When my imperial mother died early, my imperial father blamed himself. I had already confessed to my imperial father. If he could chance upon a woman who moved[2] me the next day, I would like to have only her in this life." Xiao Qing Yan's words were not empty words. He did have such a conversation with his imperial father, but his imperial father response was not disappointment but relief.

"Wang Ye."

“That person, I think I've found it.” People in the world could give a lot of their hearts to people, but there were not many people who could give their lives. After looking around Nanxi's room, he finally dropped his eyes on Nanxi's face with a smile.

What Xiao Qing Yan meant, Nanxi naturally understood. What about Wang Fei or Dongxue? At this time, they were all thrown aside by her! What she wanted to know, she already knew, nothing else matters.

“You're frightened today, so you should rest. Tomorrow I'll ask the imperial physician to examine you.”

“Wang Ye, do you know if Wang Fei would be back? Wang Fei suffers because of me. If something happens to Wang Fei, what should I do?”

“Today is really thanks to him, you can rest assured, I will go to see it. If he comes back, I'll thank him for you, and then release him from his confinement.” Speaking of going out to have a look, Xiao Qing Yan let the yatou take the Nanxi away and went to the front hall. When Wu Ren and Wu Yi returned with Xu Chang An, the sky had completely darkened. He accompanied Xu Chang An back to the main courtyard and ordered people to take good care of him. Then he accompanied Xu Chang An for a while. Later, Xiao Qing Yan left again and went to Nanxi.

“You can rest assured that he's alright. There's no need to blame yourself.” Nanxi was worried about Xu Chang An's safety, immediately Xiao Qing Yan confirmed that person was alright to her, so that Nanxi could rest at ease.

“That's good then.”

“You're exhausted today. You need a good rest. I won't disturb you. I'll leave first and come to see you tomorrow.”

“Alright. Lark, send Wang Ye off.”

Xiao Qing Yan came and left in a hurry. Lark naturally knew what her master meant. When she sent Xiao Qing Yan out, she deliberately took note of Xiao Qing Yan's direction.

“Miss can rest assured that Wang Ye is going in the direction of his study at the front hall. Even on such days, Wang Ye would not go to Wang Fei. You just put one hundred and twenty hearts, I presume." Lark was so proud that her family's Miss seemed to be the most favorite person in Wang Residence. She would have more bright days than the two Cefei in the future.

“You—this bad yatou, you're smart.” Hearing that Xiao Qing Yan went to his study, Nanxi was at last reassured. It seemed that this trial was useful; at any rate, she did not have to be anxious anymore.

Although Xu Chang An made a dangerous trip, he did not suffer any injuries. After returning to Wang Residence, he met Xiao Qing Yan in a haste and then ordered people to prepare dinner for him. He was hungry.

“Young Master, aren't you hungry? Why don't you eat more?"

“Maybe it's past dinner, I can't eat any more. Go and heat up the medicine for me, then prepare hot water. Drinking medicine is like taking a bath."

When Dongxue returned and heard about the afternoon, she was already at the gate of Wang Residence. When Xu Chang An came back, she was the first to welcome him. At that time, she paid attention to her young master's face.

Young Master must be sad in his heart, though he did not say anything, but the expression on his face… make other people's heart wrench! Wang Ye is going too far!

“Yes, nubi will get ready it ready right away.” Dongxue did not want to mention the day again, afraid to make the young master more sadden, she only hope that those two heartless people would be punished by heaven sooner or later!

As early as her young master came back, Chunyu could not say anything. She could only follow people with red eyes, even a word of comfort could not be said, because she felt that whatever she said, it would make him more sadden.

Just looking at the faces of the two girls, Xu Chang An knew what they were thinking. After bathing, he changed his clothes and before he asked people to retire, he, the master took the initiative to comfort them.

“You two don't have to be like this. It's not a big deal either. It's just to pay back Wang Ye's kindness. I owe him more than he owes me. I can pay him back a little.

Alright, you all can retreat. I'm tired and want to rest.”

“Yes. Young master, nubi are going to keep vigil for you tonight. Call us whenever you want.” After Xiao Qing Yan drawn a number of slave servants to come over, the yatous who kept vigil for Xu Chang An came round in turn shift. Tonight, Dongxue did not feel rest assured, and they were ready to personally keep night watch for their young master.     “It's up to you.” After going to bed, Xu Chang An let the two people directly turned out the light for him. After lying down on the bed, he did not feel a bit bumpy. Only then did he make sure that he was really back safely.

Maybe Xu Chang An knew that he had no choice at that time. If it weren't him, it would be Xiao Qing Yan.

This was a great help to Xiao Qing Yan. It could even be said that he committed a risk for him and saved half his life.

“It turned out to be an unexpected incidence.” Originally, unexpected things were possible, not so absurd and unacceptable. So… If him as the Xian Wang Fei disappeared by unexpected incident… What would happen?

Because of his mother's relationship, Xu Chang An did not miss his future wife's appearance. He even secretly thought that if he married a wife and had children, he would never accept concubines and would not let his wife live the same life as his mother.

“What's the use of thinking of that now? Now, it's not you who control the fate of others, it's your own life in the hands of others.” Not reconciled, but what if he was not reconciled? It's no use trying any more unless he could give up his life.

“Give up this life? Mishap…” Xu Chang An suddenly had an idea in his heart, an idea that would enable him to regain his freedom and rebirth.

“Who!” Before he had time to clear up his mind, he suddenly felt that there was someone around him!

“Keep your voice down, it's me.”

“You… How did you get in?" Xu Chang An did not hear anything outside. How did Xiao Qing Yan suddenly appear beside him? Right, he just seemed to hear something, like something was opened?

Translation note:

[1] put a play: playing pretend with Nanxi

[2] moved in the sense of move his heart; arouse his desire

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>Chapter 43

Chapter end