Chapter 78: Zhang Le
Translator: StackThatCoin Editor: AntiGod
She had the gentle demeanor of tepid autumn water and the flawless figures of lustrous jade. It was as if she was the goodness of daffodils that fell from the heaven to earth.
The lady gracefully stepped out from the coach. After Wu Qi came to this world, she was the most beautiful girl Wu Qi had ever met. Even the barbarian teenage girl who merged with the soul of Innate Water Serpent in Meng Mountains could not be compared to her. Her beauty was breathtaking and enchanting, a rare 'tragedy' in this world.
If beauties really could really bring down ruins, then this teenage girl would most probably be that beauty. Wu Qi wasn't surprised that he used the word 'tragedy' in describing her. If she wasn't coming from a prestige background and wasn't protected by Palace Guards, Wu Qi had no doubt that with her splendid appearance, she would only bring a 'tragedy' to the people around her and herself.
The teenage girl wasn't tall. At most, her height was around 1.75 meters. In this world, such stature could only be considered medium. However, she had a perfect and flawless figure, slim and graceful, charming and feminine. It was as if every movement of hers would influence the surrounding environment. A soft gleam was emitting and diffusing from her body. When she stepped out from the coach, the surrounding was instantly illuminated.
A gentle breeze came by, caressing one's face with a gladdening fragrance. Wu Qi could smell it vividly; it was not the fragrance of incense, nor the scent came from a perfume satchel. It was the natural body smell of this teenage girl. Although Wu Qi was standing nearly thirty feet away from her, he could still smell this natural body scent that seemed like the mixture of myriad flower essences. His heart raced, and he cried in his mind, ‘This is a girl of evil!
The teenage girl had black hair which shone like the sea at night. Three braids of buns were styled on top of her head, decorated with a few exquisite ornaments of flower-like design made from pearls. Everything about her was grand and magnificent, yet a slight wittiness unique to a teenage girl was hiding behind this. Her facial features were so refined that one could find no flaws in them, and her cherry red lips were disdainfully twitching to a side. Her noble demeanor was mixed with thirty percent of naughtiness and sixty percent of craftiness and unruliness. As for the last ten percent, Wu Qi actually felt it belonged to barbarousness.
A luxurious palace dress of dark green color was clad on the slender and delicate body of the teenage girl, setting off her curvy figure and making her look exceptionally charming and seductive. Actually, the style of palace dresses in Great Yan Dynasty was rather conservative and conventional. Normally, ladies would cover their necks tightly in the dress. However, it was obvious that the teenage girl's palace dress was custom made. Not only did it completely expose her willowy, fair neck in front of everyone, the design of the chest had also taken the style of Tang Dynasty, where a large portion of her exquisite, creamy and flawless chest was revealed.
She had a prestigious background. She was pampered and spoiled by many; a naughty, witty and yet rebellious, teenage girl of the Imperial Clan. With just one look, Wu Qi instantly saw through the true nature of this young girl.
One after another, Yan Bugui and all the subordinates of Scouting Office knelt down in front of this young girl, and cried out together, "Greeting, your highness Princess Zhang Le!" While still kneeling on the ground, Yan Bugui tilted his head slightly up, grabbing and shaking the sleeve of both Lu Chengfeng and Wu Qi, signaling them to kneel down together.
Princess Zhang Le, the youngest daughter of Emperor Yan's eldest son, Yan Qijun. Eighteen years ago, while in a secluded cultivation, Yan Qijun made the breakthrough and had his Gold Core attained to a perfection, a leap that took him into the realm of Human Immortal. Struck by wild joy, Yan Qijun threw out a grand feast to celebrate his achievement. He was drunk after the feast, and by force, he raped a beautiful barbarian girl offered by a vassal kingdom.
As a Human Immortal who had his Gold Core reached to a perfection, his control over the ejaculation was tight, so he would not have his vital energy lost easily. However, Yan Qijun was too excited that night, and he was drunk during the process. As a result, he accidentally made the barbarian girl pregnant. Three years later, she bore the pregnancy, and eventually gave birth to a baby girl, who was now the Princess Zhang Le. Meanwhile, due to losing too much of her vital energy during the three years long pregnancy, the barbarian girl died of exhaustion after giving birth to Zhang Le.
As she was an offering that the vassal kingdom had presented to the Crown Prince of Great Yan Dynasty, her beauty was peerless and extremely rare. Princess Zhang Le had inherited her mother's extraordinary appearance, and even excelled that in many ways. Since she was young, she had been given the title of the prettiest lady of the Great Yan.
In addition to that, Yan Qijun made the ejaculation when he was in the realm of Perfect Gold Core, and that had produced Princess Zhang Le. Even though it was just a tiny thread of his vital energy, but as he was a Human Immortal with perfect Gold Core, it was not something insignificant by any means. Princess Zhang Le had inherited this tiny thread of vital energy, making her born with a perfectly unclogged meridians, and possessing the cultivation of Respiration tier. Not only that, she had a superb innate talent, which made her a rare genius of cultivation.
With her splendid appearance, her extraordinary innate talent, and being the lineal granddaughter of Emperor Yan, Emperor Yan had endowed her one hundred cities as her manor cities after she was born. After that, every year during her birthday, more gifts were given to her. Half a year ago, when Princess Zhang Le was celebrating her fifteenth birthday, the manor cities she had had accumulated to three provinces, and all of them were the richest provinces with the highest density of population in Great Yan Dynasty.
Putting everything aside and just looking at the army owned by her, these three provinces had a combined elite army of one hundred fifty battalions, a total of seventy-five thousand soldiers. Also, all three provinces were adjoining to Ji City, and the elite army consisted solely of cavalries. With just an order from Princess Zhang Le, seventy-five thousand elite cavalrymen would be able to arrive Ji City after a day's journey.
Three years ago, an ignorant son of an influential clan from some vassal kingdom held up Prince Zhang Le on the street and molested her. The result? She dispatched thirty thousand soldiers into Ji City, barged into all the properties of that influential clan and killed every single man and woman. More than three thousand people were killed on the street. After that, the punishment for Princess Zhang Le was merely getting grounded for three days, and Emperor Yan gave out the punishment of confiscating half-month tax income of her fief.
Since that incident, Princess Zhang Le had become the greatest evildoer in Ji City nobody dared to offend. Even among all eight Princes who governed the national affairs of Great Yan Dynasty, none of them had the courage to provoke her. It went so far that even her title of Princess Zhang Le came by force. Once, she had her eyes on the Zhang Le Imperial Temporary Palace where Yan Dan used to have his secluded cultivation. She then seized the palace that spanned a few hundred miles of land over from Yan Dan. The reluctant Yan Dan then simply gave her the title of Princess Zhang Le.
Great Yan Dynasty had been established for over two thousand years, and in this Zhang Le Palace, Yan Dan had spent one thousand seven hundred years in secluded cultivation. Every single bush of grass, every single tree was grown and nurtured personally by Yan Dan. However, with just three days of begging, Princess Zhang Le had made the entire palace hers. From this, one could tell what kind of position she had in Yan Dan's mind, and how much love he had for this granddaughter of his.
Who dared to offend an existence such as this? Who had the audacity to provoke her?
With the simplest words, Yan Bugui told Lu Chengfeng and Wu Qi about the background of her. He was scared that they would behave disrespectfully to Princess Zhang Le, and eventually bring themselves some serious troubles.
After learning the background of Princess Zhang Le and her bluster that towered to the sky of Ji City, Lu Chengfeng instinctively felt his head was spinning, and couldn't come out with any response. How, and since when, had he offended this calamity that he could never afford to offend?
Princess Zhang Le was the favorite linear granddaughter of Yan Dan. As for Lu Chengfeng? He was just the descendant of the Ninth Clan, the clan established by the ninth concubine son of Yan Dan. Although he had done the blood paternity test and had his name recorded in the Book of Clan, yet, his real background was just a love child. No matter whether it was the degree of intimacy or the rank in the clan, the difference between him and Princess Zhang Le was tremendous. There was nothing he could be compared to her in.
Lu Chengfeng followed the pulling of Yan Bugui and knelt down on the floor, then listlessly bowed and greeted, "West Supervisor of Great Yan, Duke Yan Le pays respect to Princess."
Princess Zhang Le held her head high up, snorted coldly and said, "Yan Buji was a good man. He had wandered the world and brought me many peculiar and fun things from many kingdoms, so I still remember his kindness. But, you're not a good man. The first day when you came to Ji City, you killed my best friend, Taba Qingye, in front of my eyes, and also killed many of my personal guards. I need to settle this score with you."
Holding her head high and supported by two serving ladies, Princess Zhang Le gracefully walked up the stairs. "If you pay me five million gold coins before I show myself, that could still barely be enough to make my anger die down a little bit. However, since you've asked me to come out from the coach, do you think with that tiny money of five million gold coins, our score will be settled? Do you think that you're sending off some peasants or beggars?" said Princess Zhang Le with a cold voice.
Surrounded by a crowd of Palace Guards, Princess Zhang Le came straight to the main hall of Duke Yan Le's Mansion, where Lu Chengfeng used to meet with his visitors. Then, not waiting for anyone to show her the way, she brought herself into the master's seat and sat down firmly. She gave the pale-face Lu Chengfeng an examining look, before speaking softly, "I'm not an unreasonable person. You've killed Taba Qingye, and many of my personal guards. Now, just pay me fifty million gold coins, and our score will be settled!"
Fifty million gold coins? Lu Chengfeng's face turned deadly pale instantly, while Yan Fu, who was standing beside Lu Chengfeng, had his face darkened. His eyes rolled and he fainted onto the ground.
The sum of fifty million gold coins was equal to the annual combined tax income of a few richest vassal kingdoms of Great Yan Dynasty. If Lu Chengfeng were to come out with this amount of money, he would have to sell all the properties he owned in both the provinces in his fief. All the iron mountain, gold mines, copper mines and all kind of mines would have to be sold off. Including every single employee who worked in the stores he owned, all his farmland, forest, livestock farms, mansions and everything would have to be sold, and only then he might be able to gather the huge sum of compensation!
Yan Bugui was dumbfounded. He stared at Princess Zhang Le blankly, and asked a very foolish question, "Your Highness Zhang Le, do you know how much fifty million gold coins are really worth?"
With an indifferent manner, Princess Zhang Le gazed at Yan Bugui. She smiled and said, "I really have no idea how much that us worth. But in my opinion, it is worth at least thirty slaps. Give yourself thirty slaps on the face, then I'll forgive your rude question."
Yan Bugui swallowed a lump in his throat. He raised his trembling hand up, and was about to slap onto his own face.
A cold gleam shone in Wu Qi's eyes. He suddenly recalled the resoluteness and aggressiveness of Yan Bugui while they were in Meng Mountains. He remembered the image of Yan Bugui when he dashed into hundred and thousands of barbarians and fought a bloody battle. This was a brave man, but just because of something said by a fifteen years old teenage girl, he had to slap on his own face?
A flame of evil burst from his heart and rushed into his head. Wu Qi suddenly laughed.
Princess Zhang Le turned her glance and stared at Wu Qi coldly. She nodded her head slowly and said, "You're the one who killed my personal guards and wounded my demon ghost. I know your name, Wu Qi, am I right? When we were at the entrance just now, you were the only one who didn't kneel down and greet me. Now, I want you to kneel down and gave me three hundred kowtows, then I'll not ask my men to beat you!"
Wu Qi narrowed his eyes as a bright smile emerged on his face. His smile was filled with a dangerous aura. A dozen of Palace Guards immediately flashed up, blocking between him and Princess Zhang Le.
Princess Zhang Le curiously looked at Wu Qi and asked, "Why are you smiling? Don't tell me you want to assault me?"
Wu Qi took a deep breath. His voice suddenly became extremely soft, extremely sweet, and his tone was filled with an ambiguous, pinkish air of charm. Many years ago, when Le Xiaobai was trapped by a couple dozen of pretty women in the red light district of Netherlands and forced to pay his debt, it was exactly the same tone that came out from his mouth.
"Your Highness Princess, your beauty is like the most dazzling stars in the night sky. Could you lend an ear to the words that are about to come out from a humble human, words that come from the deepest of my heart?"
Princess Zhang Le had an obvious look of being distracted. She blinked her eyes quickly, then she asked in bafflement, "What did you just say?"
Wu Qi smiled gently, like the gentle breeze of spring blowing softly in a field of cattail plants. Gently and softly, with the voice fully filled with love and tenderness, he said, "Actually, what I wish to say is… Your beauty doesn't belong to this world. Yet, you're here, right in front of my eyes. You're the gift given by the heaven to all the humans in this world. Every twinkle and smile of yours, every movement of yours, even if it is just the softest voice of yours, are enchanting to all the living beings in this world!"
The tender words of love, like a trickling stream flowed slowly and dripped into the young heart of Princess Zhang Le.
Poor thing, although Princess Zhang Le was fifteen years old now, who in the Great Yan Dynasty dared to speak to her like that? From the soul fragments of Le Xiaobai, Wu Qi drew out innumerable classic phrases of love and repeated them to Princess Zhang Le. She was instantly indulged in these beautiful words.
She had fallen!