Chapter 16: A Sword Must Not Harm Others |
Marquis Changle merely held her wine cup, listening with an indifferent expression, offering neither approval nor refusal.
When the banquet came to an end, Fang Xun hurried forward, eager to ingratiate himself further.
“This humble official has already prepared a quiet and refined residence for Marquis Changle…”
Before he could finish, he was gently cut off.
“No need. I have my own accommodations.”
Fang Xun froze for a moment. Then, the scene before him left him utterly dumbfounded.
The agarwood sedan chair that Marquis Changle had arrived in suddenly rose into the air without warning.
Immediately after, a series of intricate mechanical sounds rang out in succession. Hidden mechanisms within the carriage began to unfold and expand at a frantic pace. In the span of a few breaths, the sedan chair, originally meant for a single rider, transformed into a massive mansion suspended in midair.
Its size even exceeded that of the entire county yamen below.
With a thunderous boom, the gates of the aerial mansion shut tightly.
Fang Xun stood below, craning his neck upward, his mouth opening and closing, yet no words came out.
“So it could fly all along. Then why bother having spirit beasts carry it slowly on the ground when entering the city? Isn’t that just pointless effort?”
Watching from afar as the sedan chair transformed into a floating estate above the county office, Li Shun shook his head, silently mocking the display.
The arrival of Marquis Changle had no impact whatsoever on Li Shun’s life.
He continued to lie low, proceeding step by step as before, waiting for the seal on Lengshan Venerable to be lifted, and for new regions within Fangcun to open.
However, Fang Xun, the magistrate of Lengshan County, had fallen into a peculiar kind of torment.
“Today… Marquis Changle still hasn’t come out?”
Inside the study of the county office, Fang Xun asked casually.
“Reporting to Magistrate, ever since arriving, Marquis Changle has not stepped outside even once.”
Sensing his superior’s poor mood, County Commandant Cheng Yishu answered cautiously.
Fang Xun raised his head slightly and glanced out the window.
That peerless, breathtaking face of Marquis Changle seemed to flash before his eyes once more.
Ever since capturing Xiong Jin alive and earning great merit, Fang Xun had been living a life of satisfaction and ease.
Although he did not claim the credit alone, under the guidance and arrangements of his master, he was elevated to the rank of Fifth Grandee and appointed as Registrar of the Ministry of Revenue under the Left Chancellor’s Office.
Once the formal procedures were complete, he would head to the capital by next spring at the latest.
It was nothing short of a meteoric rise.
Originally, Fang Xun had been fully content.
But after encountering the unexpectedly arrived Marquis Changle, the calm and settled heart within him began to pound violently once more for reasons he could not explain.
Marquis Changle was unmarried. So was he.
If he could somehow win her heart…
Though he clearly understood that the gap in their status was like heaven and earth, impossibly vast—
But what if?
Once such a thought took root, it could no longer be suppressed.
“Man’s fate lies in his own hands!”
“I, Fang Xun, am also a disciple of a renowned master. In talent and strategy, I am no inferior to the heroes of this world.”
And when he imagined the immense benefits that would come with marrying Marquis Changle, his breathing quickened uncontrollably.
Putting aside the lofty status of a twentieth-rank marquis in the Great Qian Dynasty.
Just her deeply rooted network alone was a heaven-defying opportunity capable of altering anyone’s destiny.
Marquis Changle was the sole surviving bloodline of the former royal family of the State of Xu.
When the King of Xu surrendered to Great Qian, his former officials were absorbed into the dynasty as well.
After more than five hundred years of change, these people had long since taken deep root within the court, their influence spreading across every corner of Great Qian’s officialdom.
Even if he failed to form a favorable bond, being able to use this opportunity to build a relationship with the Marquis of Changle would already be worthwhile. Such a chance came but once in a thousand years.
The more Fang Xun thought about it, the hotter the flame in his heart burned.
Suddenly, he recalled the simple wooden hairpin the Marquis of Changle had worn on the day they first met.
Carved upon it, faint and subtle, seemed to be the hilt of an ancient sword.
“Could it be that she likes such things?”
A thought stirred in Fang Xun’s mind as he turned to look at Cheng Yishu beside him.
“Are there any swords of fine appearance in the county treasury?”
“Swords?” Cheng Yishu was momentarily stunned.
“They can’t chop or slash, nor can they be used as weapons. At most, they serve as decoration. Why would the treasury keep such things on hand?”
The answer was well within Fang Xun’s expectations. He began, “Then go into the county and help me—”
Mid-sentence, he suddenly paused, his eyes flickering.
“Forget it. I’ll go myself.”
With that, he hurriedly pushed the door open and left in haste.
Watching Fang Xun’s impatient figure disappear into the distance, Cheng Yishu, who had always acted deferential in front of him, slowly straightened his back. He let out a cold snort, a trace of disdain and mockery surfacing in his eyes.
The next day, Fang Xun found an excuse to pay a visit to the Marquis Changle. He presented two treasured swords he had gathered from across the entire county overnight.
One blade was jade-green like polished stone, while the other gleamed with a chilling, radiant light.
Seated upon her couch, the Marquis Changle gazed at the two swords before her. Her expression grew distant, as though she had fallen into memories from a long-forgotten past.
“Do you know what a sword is?”
Fang Xun froze for a moment, then stammered, guessing uncertainly, “Perhaps… some kind of ceremonial instrument?”
At his answer, the Marquis Changle’s beautiful eyes swept lightly over him, their depths unreadable.
After a brief silence, she withdrew her gaze and spoke again, her voice cool and detached.
“In ancient times, the State of Xu was the foremost land of swordsmithing under heaven. The royal family of Xu was likewise the greatest lineage of sword forgers. Of the Ten Famous Swords, seven were crafted by their hands…”
It was Fang Xun’s first time hearing such secrets. Seeing that the Marquis was willing to share them with him, his excitement only grew, convinced that he had correctly catered to her interests.
The Marquis of Changle raised her pale, snow-like wrist and made a grasping motion through the air. Instantly, the radiant sword in the room flew into her palm.
“A sword is not some ceremonial object.”
Her previously languid tone shifted in an instant, revealing a chilling killing intent.
“It is the sovereign of all weapons, an instrument of slaughter!”
Before her words had even faded, her eyes turned cold. The longsword in her hand transformed into a streak of icy light as it shot straight toward Fang Xun’s chest.
Yet Fang Xun made no attempt to dodge.
He merely widened his eyes, allowing the sharp blade to plunge directly into his chest.
However…
There was no gruesome scene of flesh pierced and blood spraying forth.
At the very instant the weapon struck his chest, the originally radiant and peerless blade shattered like fragile glass, breaking apart into countless sparkling fragments of light.
Neither of the two present showed the slightest surprise at this strange sight.
After all, in Great Qian, “swords cannot harm people” was common knowledge.
Expressionless, the Marquis of Changle withdrew the broken sword, now reduced to only its hilt. As she did so, the scattered points of light in the air gathered once more, reforming the blade perfectly as if nothing had happened.
“It once… it once…”
Gazing at the flawless sword in her hand, an indescribable loneliness welled up in her eyes. She murmured softly to herself.
Seeing this, Fang Xun felt an inexplicable pang in his heart and was about to offer words of comfort.
But before he could speak, the Marquis of Changle had already issued an order for him to leave.
All the words he had prepared were forcibly swallowed back. Left with no choice, Fang Xun cupped his hands in farewell and withdrew.
By the time he returned to the county office below, looking somewhat dejected, he saw his confidant Wu Kuang pacing anxiously back and forth outside the study, waiting for him.
“What has happened for you to be in such a fluster? Have you no composure?” Fang Xun adjusted his official robes and asked in a steady voice.
Wu Kuang hurried over, lowering his voice.
“Sir… Yu Niang… Yu Niang has returned!”
Fang Xun’s pupils shrank abruptly.
And what Wu Kuang said next struck him like a bolt from the blue, leaving him utterly shaken, his eyes nearly splitting with fury.
“And… she’s heavily pregnant, waiting right at the entrance of the county yamen.”
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