The Slender Waist-Chapter 32 - 27: A Formidable Opponent in Madness

"Feng Yun, just put down the knife, and two hundred thousand bushels will be yours,"

Chunyu Yan had never spoken so humbly or softly in his life.

However, what he received in exchange for his softening was merely a derisive cold laugh from Feng Yun.

"To trust a man’s word easily is to die young."

If she put down the dagger, would she have a life left? Feng Yun wasn’t foolish.

Chunyu Yan felt like his head was about to explode.

What he encountered today was something he had never experienced nor even contemplated in his twenty years of life, a bold woman daring to do such treacherous acts against him.

How humiliating it was for a Princely Heir who wouldn’t even show his face to be fully exposed and looked upon from top to bottom?

Chunyu Yan’s forehead throbbed violently, and he was on the verge of collapse.

"Madwoman! Feng Family girl, you truly are an absolute madwoman!"

"Thank you. The feeling is mutual."

"Tell me! What exactly do I have to do for you to be satisfied?"

Feng Yun said, "It’s simple. When General Pei arrives at Huayuejian, I want the Princely Heir to promise two hundred thousand bushels of grain in front of the General personally, and to sign the documents. Only then can I be assured."

What a cunning Feng Family girl!

Cold sweat ran down Chunyu Yan’s back. Anger made him acutely aware, his body radiating vitality, yet the shameless girl kept staring motionlessly, making him uneasy. It was as if thousands of ants were crawling on him; the more outraged he became, the harder it was to bear. The harder it was to bear, the more agitated he felt...

"I will kill you!"

"Don’t think that just because you have Pei Jue backing you up, I can’t do anything to you..."

"Feng Family! I swear here and now..."

"Shush!" Feng Yun chuckled lightly, pressing down with the dagger, "Making vows at such a young age isn’t good for your longevity. Besides, what’s the use of vows? All the Bodhisattvas in Lingshan Temple couldn’t save the souls of those unjustly killed there."

Chunyu Yan sneered, "You’re taking up their cause?"

"I’m no female Bodhisattva, too lazy to mind such trifles." Feng Yun, seeing him shake with rage, was exceedingly pleased.

In this life, she had finally avenged the unjust humiliation she suffered helplessly at the hands of Chunyu Yan in her previous life, and her words were full of scorn.

"Crown Prince Chunyu’s physique... is indeed quite bewitching. Look at you, clearly smitten with me, sincerely trying to seduce me..."

She spoke with a teasing smile, returning every word that Chunyu Yan had once said to her in the past life. To make matters worse, the point of the knife occasionally grazed his sensitive parts.

"Indeed an exquisite item..." Seeing Chunyu Yan’s handsome face flushing as if about to drip blood, she sobered her face and explained, "I mean the knife in my hand... look how sharp it is, able to cut hair in mid-air, perfect for slicing things—snip..."

"Feng Yun!" Chunyu Yan, using her full name, was on the brink of collapse.

"Hush, keep it down," Feng Yun reminded him softly, "If your subordinates hear us, I may have to invite them in to watch together..."

Chunyu Yan: ...

He resigned himself and closed his eyes.

The temperature in the room seemed to drop even lower, he felt cold, colder than he had ever felt. Still, that damned Feng Family girl wouldn’t let her guard down, her words laced with laughter yet bitingly harsh.

"Princely Heir need not worry, this isn’t anything extraordinary, compared to General Pei... it’s not much to look at. I’ll forget what I’ve seen, unable to recall it."

The Feng Family girl was indeed detestable!

How dare she humiliate him like this!

Chunyu Yan’s eyes were red hot, his body burning.

"Witch! Madwoman! I will make sure you die without a place to be buried!"

"Is that so?" Feng Yun’s wrist turned slightly, and the double-edged Jian Shui knife slowly moved. In the silence, the ant-like itch was unbearably tantalizing, and Chunyu Yan gritted his teeth and warned.

"Don’t mess about!"

Feng Yun: "What counts as messing about? Like this, or like this?"

"Feng Family, the two hundred thousand bushels of grain, I’ll give it to you, however you say."

"Does the Princely Heir still want to kill me?"

Kill! A thousand times over, ten thousand times over.

Chunyu Yan breathed in deeply with his eyes shut, "Not anymore..."

Feng Yun’s eyebrows dipped, fixing him with her gaze, "Should I believe what the Princely Heir says?"

The girl’s breath fell on her cheek, Chunyu Yan’s ears turned bright red, his entire being seemed to ignite, his body involuntarily trembling, out of control, and he even had a strange illusion, wishing she wouldn’t leave, to come closer, ever closer...

"Why isn’t the Princely Heir speaking?" Feng Yun asked with a smile.

"Hmm..." Chunyu Yan had never expected that when the girl’s fragrant breath touched his earlobe, his body would tingle all over, and as if a string in his mind snapped, he involuntarily let out a low moan.

At the same time, a servant’s voice came from downstairs.

"Does the Princely Heir need anything?"

"I heard a woman’s voice upstairs, something isn’t right, should we go up and take a look?"

"The Princely Heir is bathing, how could there be a woman’s voice?"

"Could the Princely Heir be... hehe..."

"You mustn’t speak nonsense."

"No response from the Princely Heir, we’d better go up and see."

Just as hope had begun to rise on Chunyu Yan’s face, it quickly turned to despair; before him was Feng Yun’s face, exceptionally beautiful yet utterly ruthless.

"If you don’t want the servants to see you in this disgraceful state, tell them: you are fine, nothing has happened."

Seeing Chunyu Yan purse his lips and stand still, she slowly began to smile again.

"Of course, the Princely Heir could also call out for help generously, tell your attendants that you are naked and being threatened by a Feng Family woman with a knife, and have them come quickly to your rescue..."

"..."

Chunyu Yan tightly closed his eyes, regulated his breathing, and said in a deep voice:

"This Princely Heir is bathing, any intruders, die!"

The word "die" came out through clenched teeth, and Feng Yun felt like he wanted to kill her.

But what did that matter?

To live again just to see these distinguished noble sons hopping mad yet helpless?

—

Chunyu Yan had never experienced such an unbearable moment.

He wished time would pass more quickly, both hoping for Pei Jue to appear sooner and wishing he would never come; in this complex and prolonged waiting, he broke down countless times, wanting to ask Feng Yun for a garment to cover himself, and yet countless times, he reminded himself to stay calm.

So what if a woman saw him?

What was it to fuss over?

Would he, Chunyu Yan, care?

So what if she verbally humiliated him?

He wasn’t really small—it was her who was blind!

While sweating bullets and cursing secretly, and desperately thinking of how to kill her, Chunyu Yan passively endured that sense of helplessness from losing control. Amidst the friction of the blade, waves of fierce emotions surged, suddenly hot and cold, as if sitting on pins and needles, and that woman, refusing to let him go easily, kept teasing him enticingly, making his life a living hell...

It felt as though eons had passed when finally a report came from downstairs.

"Reporting to the master, General Pei requests an audience..."

There was complete silence around the elegant pavilion.

Pei Jue, stepping on the wooden staircase, moved rhythmically.

As the door opened, a tall figure gradually appeared outside the curtain.

The difference in light intensity meant Pei Jue couldn’t see inside the tent, but the two people inside could see Pei Jue clearly. His features were indifferent, and his every move exuded an intense and imposing presence that naturally warned people not to come close.

Feng Yun asked herself, if it had been Pei Jue, she probably wouldn’t dare to strike as she had done to Chunyu Yan...

Well, she would find another way...

Pei Jue, looking at the hanging curtain, kneeled on the guest’s seat with his back straight, his indifference not detracting from his manners.

"Crown Prince Chunyu, it has been a long time."

The two were distantly related, and Pei Jue was very much aware of Chunyu Yan’s peculiarity of not seeing people; he seemed to not notice anything different about the person behind the curtain today.

The attendant also was unaware.

Apart from finding it strange that the master hadn’t lit the lamps and there was no light within the curtain, he didn’t sense anything amiss and just dutifully offered tea to Pei Jue.

It seemed as if there was a slight movement inside the curtain.

Chunyu Yan’s voice was a bit slow, "Why has Brother Wangzhi come today?"

Pei Jue said, "I’m here to borrow grain from the Princely Heir in an emergency."

This sense of entitlement, oh so like that detestable Feng woman, as if he was certain he had it, and just as certain he wouldn’t be refused.

Chunyu Yan was silent for a long while.

Behind the curtain, there seemed to be a simmering anger.

Pei Jue looked up, "The Princely Heir is unwilling?"

"Yes...."

There was a pause, and Chunyu Yan made an affirming sound with a slight tremor in his voice, took a breath and then said with a laugh, "Yunchuan has a reserve of two hundred thousand bushels of grain in Andu County... It was meant for the famine this winter. Since Brother Wangzhi urgently requests it, take it to ease the crisis..."