Legend of Fu Yao

To say that thing was the diagram of Xuanji Nation was certainly lacking any persuasiveness. The crowd quietened down before bursting into laughter. Some spilled their sides laughing, some were tearing up while others were slamming the table in laughter.

“Goodness… you actually dare to say that this is the Xuanji diagram. Are you treating us like blind people?”

“Brother, I’ll tear off my sleeves for you to copy down the Xuanji diagram and you can go around telling people that ‘this is the diagram of the Xuanji Nation’!”

“If that is the Xuanji diagram, the bedsheets that my month-old daughter peed on can be the ‘Cleaving Nine Heavens’ diagram! Hahaha…”

“Lad, man up. Stop humiliating yourself in front of everyone! If you were to commit suicide here and now, we might not look down upon you so much.”

This matter was certainly a headache for Meng Fuyao as she stared at that rag with a black face. ‘F*ck,’ she thought that this was Zhangsun Wuji’s Xuanji diagram and tossed it out with much swagger. ‘Zhangsun Wuji, you bastard! How can you make this kind of joke!’

Meng Fuyao tightly clutched the bag that the ‘rag’ came with much hatred and crumbled it up as though it was Zhangsun Wuji’s brain. Suddenly, she felt that there was still something in the bag and peered into it. It turned out that there was a note slipped inside. She took out the paper and read it, laughing immediately.

The people around her couldn’t make sense of her sudden outburst of laughter and stared at her. Princess Lotus, who was watching the crowd mock Meng Fuyao, was the first to turn her gaze to Meng Fuyao, commenting, “General Meng, are you prepared to write your last words right now? Would you like me to give you an elegy [1. In English literature, an elegy is a poem of serious reflection, usually a lament for the dead.]?”

“Elegy?” Meng Fuyao grabbed the Xuanji diagram and stood up, slowly making her way towards Princess Lotus. “Keep it for yourself!” She inched closer to Princess Lotus, and the vigilant Lotus immediately took a step back.

The rest of the crowd immediately jumped up and bellowed, “What are you doing? Get away from the Princess!”

Meng Fuyao stopped three steps away from Princess Lotus, casually waving her hand, and she said, “What can I do? Surrounded by enemies, it would be dumb of me to go against the majority alone. All I wanted to do before I say goodbye to this beautiful world, is to understand all of the beauty around me. For instance… the material of this piece of clothing on the Princess is absolutely unique, and I would love to know what it is made of. Perhaps I could buy it for myself and dress myself in it during my funeral. Would Princess be willing to satisfy the last wish of this dying person?”

Meng Fuyao’s gleaming eyes were fixated on the luminous white with a sheen of blue. She seemed to really like this glorious and luxurious dress.

Princess Lotus frowned. She would never believe that Meng Fuyao, this little gangster, would be interested in her clothes, yet she could not understand Meng Fuyao’s intentions behind this.

Before Princess Lotus could think of a reply, Fourth Prince Feng rushed to answer, “You shameless brat, trying to suck up to us right now. But very well, people from the Xuanji Nation have always been very forgiving. Therefore, I shall let you die knowing! This is the Ethereal Moonlight Embroidery, our nation’s specialty. The name comes from its beautiful sheen just like the brilliance of the moonlight. So what if you know? It is a top grade brocade, and even if you want to put your corpse in this, there is no way you can get it!”

“Oh…” Meng Fuyao nodded, as though she did not understand the spitefulness in those words. Curious, she asked again, “This brocade is very unique and has a sheen of blue under different light angles. It seems to even have a pattern, though it is unclear.”

Fourth Prince Feng wanted to reply but was stopped by Princess Lotus. This time, the sect leader of the Chang Kong Sect, a sect from Xuanji, stepped up and said, “Naturally, the full moon diagram. Otherwise, why would it be named Ethereal Moonlight Embroidery?”

He probably could not take the insults towards the Princess lying down and had to speak up. “Our Ethereal Moonlight Embroidery, like the other renowned brocades, have very limited production and would never be sold to other nations. Even within the nation, his majesty would only bestow it to the royalties occasionally. Only the Princess is suited to wear clothes made from these materials. What are you to wear? Or even ask about it?”

“Hm…” Meng Fuyao dragged out the sound and asked once more, “Are you certain that other than the royals from Xuanji, no one else has seen it?”

“Yes!” replied the sect leader decisively.

Princess Lotus smiled. “General Meng, you finally understand that there is no hope of you wearing this. Let’s forget about the matters of today; I will not punish you for your crimes. I hope that you can stay strong and continue to live your life.”

In the sea of compliments, Princess Lotus maintained her picture-perfect smile as she prepared to keep the Xuanji diagram.

Meng Fuyao snorted suddenly.

Her snort came from the bottom of her abdomen, low and powerful. While to others, it might not seem much, this abrupt snort had sounded ferocious in the ears of Princess Lotus. The shock caused Princess Lotus to drop her Xuanji diagram as her hands trembled.

The diagram landed on the floor as Princess Lotus stretched her hand to pick it up. Unfortunately for her, Meng Fuyao was faster, grabbing away the Xuanji diagram in front of her eyes.

Princess Lotus lifted up her head and made eye contact with Meng Fuyao’s murderous gaze. With the Xuanji diagram between her fingertips, Meng Fuyao lightly tossed it towards Princess Lotus, as though she was going to return it to her. Princess Lotus unconsciously reached for it, but that brocade swiftly slipped past her face and her hands. It was as though Princess Lotus could feel the cold draught of the full moon seeping into her heart.

She grasped the air tightly, like someone with a cramp. Suddenly, she remembered something and started to shriek.

“She is going to destroy the diagram! She is going to destroy the diagram!”

Chaos ensued as people rushed up aggrieved. Some, due to the rush, tripped over the table, spilling food everywhere. But blinded by anger, they forgot to ask for forgiveness and headed straight for Meng Fuyao.

“This bastard is too much. Tear him apart!”

Meng Fuyao retreated a step back, holding the Xuanji diagram above her head with both hands and yelled, “All of you f*ckers stay there! I will really tear this apart if any of you come closer!”

Shocked, the crowd stopped hesitantly and looked at one another with uncertainty. The shrieks from Princess Lotus resounded throughout the room. Everyone could tell how precious this Xuanji diagram was to her, and if they really caused the diagram to be torn apart, it would be akin to taking Princess Lotus’ life!

“Meng Fuyao, don’t go too far!’ yelled a three-grade Tiansha official angrily. “Swindling away the diagram, attempting to tear the evidence apart. How dare you!”

“For what would I tear the diagram apart? A masterpiece from Lady Yun! To tear one would be to lose one piece. Even if you guys do not find it a pity, I find it a pity.” Meng Fuyao held the diagram high up and laughed. “My little kids, do not be impulsive. I have taken the diagram, and want you guys to open your eyes, to show you all clearly what this diagram is made of!”

The crowd paused and subconsciously took a closer look at the diagram. With the diagram in the air, under the lights of the palace, one could see patterns of the full moon glistening, barely visible.

Ethereal Moonlight Embroidery!

Princess Lotus’ knees buckled a little as she held on to a pillar for support. Some of the smarter ones in the crowd frowned and contemplated while others, who had no inkling of what Meng Fuyao meant continued to shout, “So what?”

“What is there to look at? Haven’t we seen enough just now!”

“You manservant, stop trying to waste our time and die!”

“You all manservants… what idiots…” Meng Fuyao sighed. “What did I ask just now? What is the Ethereal Moonlight Embroidery? It is the specialty of Xuanji which is only exclusive to their own royals. Then, how would the crown prince of Wuji be able to use to Ethereal Moonlight Embroidery for the betrothal gift? He, the Crown Prince of Wuji, would not use his nation’s own specialty and instead use the ‘exclusive Ethereal Moonlight Embroidery’?

Smiling, she asked, “Many of you have wives. Those who don’t will eventually have. If I may just boldly ask, if you were in Tiansha and wanted to marry a lady from Taiyuan with a good sword as a betrothal gift, would you use the Crow steel of Tiansha to forge the sword? Or would you go all the way to Taiyuan, look for Tianyuan Ming Steel, bring it back to Tiansha, find someone to forge the sword and send it back to Taiyuan?”

The crowd quietened down. Still, there was a group of people that argued, “It could be that Xuanji’s emperor bestowed it to the Crown Prince and the Crown Prince used it for the Xuanji diagram to show his love and respect for her.”

“Wow, you certainly are meticulous. You must be an expert at picking up girls.” Meng Fuyao laughed. “I know, I know. You are definitely the idiot that will run to Taiyuan for the Ming Steel, go back to Taiyuan to forge the sword and then send it back to Taiyuan for your Taiyuan wife. But unlike you, the Crown Prince is a normal human being. He doesn’t have the strong logic and valiant mindset like you do.”

She kept the Xuanji diagram and opened up the ‘rag’. Similarly, she placed it under the rag and yelled, “Let me show you the choice of the normal person! As everyone knows, Xuanji’s Ethereal Moonlight Embroidery, Xuanyuan’s Misty Embroidery, and Wuji’s Silver Embroidery are the renowned big three brocades in the Five Continents. They are also known as the ‘royal brocades’ where only the royals can use them. With Crown Prince Wuji’s identity, the brocade he would use would naturally be from a representative of his nation. And this is what you are seeing, this piece of ‘rag’ that resembles the Ethereal Moonlight Embroidery only in its form!”

This obsolete rag was unfolded. Under the candlelight, a sheen of silver reflected off every strand, as though as someone had sprinkled moondust on the cloth. The ‘rag’ mirrored the starry night of Qiongcang where the stars would twinkle and illuminate the dark night. Immediately, the dull piece of rag exuded its splendor, elegance, and charm.

Wuji, Silver Embroidery!

This had reminded the crowd of the clothes Zhangsun Wuji had donned on as the judge of the True Martial Arts Meet. It was exactly like this rag where the silver sheen could only be seen in certain angles, subtle yet elegant. It was the complete opposite of Xuanji’s Ethereal Moonlight Embroidery which was lavish.

Amidst the silence, some people turned back to look at Lotus and hear from her. Despite her pale as snow face, she held her head up high and stood straight. Coldly, she laughed. “Even if the rag is Silver Embroidery, what can it prove? Who can prove that the Xuanji diagram was made of Silver Embroidery and not the Ethereal Moonlight Embroidery? The Crown Prince is unconventional in his ways, so who can be sure that he would not choose the brocade of another country?”