The Rise of Phoenixes

Chapter 75

Ning Yi did not argue and very straightforwardly drank the three cups of wine, showing the bottoms of the cups to the applause of the other princes. Feng Zhiwei smiled along, but suspicion still lay at the bottom of her heart.

Him so straightforwardly drinking here in her mansion seemed problematic no matter how she sliced it.

The games went round by round, and each Prince had his victory and his defeat. All of the Princes got somewhat drunk, but through an unspoken agreement between all of them, no one mentioned any political matter, only here at Feng Zhiwei’s mansion to have some fun.

Ning Yi did not drink too much, yet still acted as if he could not hold his liquor, lazily lying down on his crossed hands, his jade white cheeks dyed with a tipsy blush. His dark hair poured over his face, framing his dropping eyes and setting them off, highlighting even more strongly their resemblance to gorgeous mandalas blooming in the misted night.

This kind of laziness was completely different from his usual noble elegance, and simultaneously stirred the heart and made others shy.

A cup flowed down the river and floated to a step before Ning Yi. Rather than standing to pick it up, he curling his finger and pulled the cup towards his palm, but lost control of his Qi as the cup was flying through the air, the offending object tilting towards Feng Zhiwei.

Without thinking, Feng Zhiwei reached out to catch it, expertly recovering the cup, but before she could hand it to Ning Yi, he had already leaned his head over and buried his head into her hand and finished off the cup.

His silky hair hung down over her skin, and his warm, moist lips brushed her palm.

Feng Zhiwei froze, stiff.

His head was on her hand, his cool and gorgeous smell melding with the sweet and mellow liquor, weaving together a beautiful and intimate aroma. He drank from the cup extremely slowly, his breath blooming against her palm, tickling her slick and wet palm. She was unsure whether it was some liquor that had fallen from his lips, or sweat gathering in her hand.

Feng Zhiwei controlled herself, trying her best to suppress any disturbance in her eyes, only smiling as she said: “Your Highness had drunk too much...” pulling her hand away, and moving to push him back.

Ning Yi flicked his hand and the cup clattered to the ground, and amidst the clear ringing of jade on the hard surface, he murmured: “It is my turn... In a dark room, a snowy neck and a cherry blush[1]...”

Feng Zhiwei’s head seemed to explode, and her face burned.

“Ai, I really am drunk...” Ning Yi said, tilting forward and leaning on her, smiling. “Is there somewhere in the Wei Mansion for this drunkard to rest? Come, come, stay with me...”

He held on to her, his whole body leaning against her, his finger oh so coincidentally falling right on top of her collar, and if she moved his finger just a touch, she would really become that “snowy white neck and blushing red in the daylight.”

Feng Zhiwei was helpless, and she turned to look up at the roof of the pavilion where the liquor-loving Young Master Gu sat, happily drinking, and even if he noticed right at that moment and moved, he would still be too late.

She gritted her teeth and lifted Ning Yi’s heavy body, apologizing to the others and dragging the drunk Prince Chu off to find a place to rest.

Ning Yi leaned into her embrace, refusing to stand on his own, and she could only clutch him tightly, half holding half dragging him as he mumbled “let’s sleep together.” As she dragged him into the distance, she could vaguely hear the Second Prince yelling out uproariously behind her. “Old Six’s line is terrible, where s the hot and the cold? Drink, drink!”

After they passed behind an artificial mountain and were alone, Feng Zhiwei smiled and said: “Your Highness, are you finished with your acting?”

Ning Yi lifted his misty eyes, the faint smell of alcohol on his breath as it brushed against her neck, only murmuring in response. “Oh?”

Before Feng Zhiwei could continue, he loped his arm around her and chuckled into her ear: “You are allowed to act, and I cannot?” Ai, the Qian Gu Chun really is strong, I’m so dizzy...”

Feng Zhiwei peered at him with suspicion. From how tipsy and blurry-eyed he looked, he seemed truly drunk; was she overthinking things?

She dragged Ning Yi to a guest room in a courtyard on the east side of the manor grounds, and when they were finally inside, Feng Zhiwei angrily threw the prince onto the bed and turned to leave.

But before she could manage a step away, the man lying on the bed suddenly extended his leg and hooked with his feet, throwing Feng Zhiwei off balance and pulling her backwards. Unable to stop her momentum, Feng Zhiwei fell on top of the prince, and though he let out a yelp of surprise, his voice contained a smile.

Feng Zhiwei immediately struggled upwards, but she only saw the world blur in front of his eyes and she was already flipped over, locked against Ning Yi’s chest in a tight embrace, her face right in front of his.

Their noses touched, their breath intermingled, and their lips almost brushed as Ning Yi held her close in the dubious and intimate position.

Feng Zhiwei struggled, but Ning Yi’s arms were like iron clamps holding her tight. She could barely move her arm, digging her elbow into Ning Yi’s chest, pushing a gasp of pain out of the man. Finally, he muttered, “How ruthless...”

He continued: “But you have always been this ruthless...”

He spoke softly and quietly, without any of his usual coldness or wickedness, just some slurring from the alcohol. The drunken mistiness seemed to wash away the hostility and tension in their hearts as his arms gradually loosened around her and she slowly pulled her elbow away. She turned as much as she could, pulling her lips away from his.

“I drink so rarely.” He words seemed to echo forth from within his chest, his deep voice carrying the faintest tremble, “and it had to be at your mansion... I don’t know how long I will be drunk like this...”

Feng Zhiwei’s heart stirred at his words, and she felt as if there was another meaning behind them, but she did not know what to say or where to begin.

The man himself seemed to have no intention of explaining, murmuring to himself quietly. “I have to go to the Ministry of Punishment later... the Hu Zhuo Prince’s follower beat someone to death...”

His voice grew more and more gentle, and when Feng Zhiwei turned back to look, he had fallen asleep.

Feng Zhiwei was delighted and immediately climbed to her feet, quickly rearranging her clothes as she stepped away. She looked back and saw Ning Yi lying on the bed, his clothes disheveled and hanging apart, his dark hair spread around his snow-white skin. Compared to his normal cool elegance, in this moment his beauty seemed to take on more allure, and after a dazed moment, Feng Zhiwei hurriedly turned away.

She stepped outside and thought for a moment before locking the door. Ning Yi’s followers were waiting in the front courtyard, so she called for her mansion guards to come and stand at the door.

With the other Princes gathered in her manor, she could not take any liberties with Ning Yi’s safety.

She was walking away, taking a route along the veranda when she froze again.

In the rustling of the breeze, she thought she had heard a faint noise.

The sound of sleeves shuffling in the wind, light footsteps tapping on roof tiles, and clothes moving quickly as people dashed forward.

Feng Zhiwei frowned, standing in the long veranda, wondering what people had come to her mansion. The sounds of the movement suggested that these intruders were all experts, but why had her people not moved to intercept?

Ever since the Crown Prince’s Rebellion, Feng Zhiwei had begun noticing secret protectors stationed around her at all time. It was also because of their presence that Gu Nanyi had begun to relax his guard around her, and though they never showed themselves and Gu Nanyi never said anything, Feng Zhiwei also did not ask. Now that something was clearly afoot in her mansion, and her invisible protectors were not reacting, did it mean that... these experts were not targeting her?”

[1] (暗(An) 室(Shi) 雪(Xue) 颈(Jing) 樱(Ying) 桃(Tao) 红(Hong)