Legend of Fu Yao

“Such a smart pig,” Meng Fuyao exclaimed, “Your keywords are missing; what an implicit and unconventional way of confessing!”

Lord Yuan Bao rolled his eyes. ‘How would I have known what words I needed? Most of them were already half eaten!’

Yuan Zhaoxu, the confessed, attentively read the “biscuit love letter” with an enigmatic smile. Lord Yuan Bao blinked a few times at him, his tiny little heart pounding irregularly.

After a long while, Yuan Zhaoxu finally finished reading. He calmly folded and rolled the piece of paper, tucking it into his sleeves. Lord Yuan Bao’s eyes immediately lit up in surprise.

“Υuan Bao, ah…”

Yuan Bao pricked up his ears.

“Your word recognition ability has improved… Has someone been giving you lessons lately?”

Lord Yuan Bao shyly nodded his head.

“It’s quite well-written.”

Lord Yuan Bao looked intoxicated…

“Write 3,000 words next time, and I will think about it.”

After breaking his little heart, Yuan Zhaoxu invited him back to the box to continue his lessons. With pitiful eyes, Meng Fuyao sent Yuan Bao off, waving a handkerchief and laughing, “Ooh, next event: A Lolita is about to pounce on a big wolf…”

Yuan Zhaoxu lay rested on his chair and looked at her lazily, his gorgeous black eyes glistening under the bright lights.

Meng Fuyao laughed sinisterly for a long while, and upon realizing that Student Yuan was paying no heed, she started, resentfully, “Close your eyes, I will show you a magic trick.”

Yuan Zhaoxu smiled. “You have many tricks up your sleeves today.”

Meng Fuyao shrugged. “If I am to do something, I’ll go all the way. This is something I’ve learned from Grandma Qiong Yao.” She covered Yuan Zhaoxu’s eyes and smiled. “Wait for me.” Then, she entered a secret door.

With eyes blindfolded, Yuan Zhaoxu nodded his head slightly. There was a vague smile on his face. What kind of person was he? A piece of cloth wasn’t going to hinder his sharp senses. He heard fragments of sounds coming from the other side of the room. It was the sound of clothes being taken off – the soft and smooth satin rubbing against the similarly smooth skin. There was also the sound of long hair falling gently and then being held together. He could also hear the crisp sound of shoe heels knocking against the floor, and something else he couldn’t determine. It was a prolonged glissando, sounding like something was being tugged at and pulled. It was accompanied by Meng Fuyao’s light breathing, which sounded like ripples so tender that they could cause hearts to tremble.

It was a pity that this sensation was quickly being interrupted by consecutive murmurs, “…what the hell, this is so tight…”, “Damn. I need to lose weight…”, “This collar… this collar… god damn it, Yaoxun….”, “You call these shoes? These are foot binders!”

Yuan Zhaoxu couldn’t resist letting out a laugh. He then heard the sound of cloth dragging across the carpet. He then felt a pair of hands reaching over to lightly to undo the blindfold.

The radiance of springtime came pouring in, and in an instant, the fully bloomed Bougainvillea paled in comparison.

In spite of everything, Yuan Zhaoxu’s eyes first fell upon a snow white, as well as a delicate, cleavage.

That was a shallow line of an arc, but it carried the color of a mountain that had yet to be snowed on, and the smooth texture of the best jade. It was simply the most tempting outline that God could have ever created for mankind, and one stroke was enough to display that.

On top of that amazing contour was a big dazzling piece of white that was joined by a slender jade-like neck to form the perfect sculpture.

Despite how calm and collected Yuan Zhaoxu usually was, he couldn’t help the redness that emerged on his face. Yet, careless Meng Fuyao hadn’t even noticed that she had exposed her bosom when bending over. She stood up and took two steps back before removing her outer garment. She then faced Yuan Zhaoxu and made a graceful court etiquette.

Amid the rays of light reflected from the bright crystal, there was an even more luminous human figurine – a court dance skirt – a fiery red silk fabric with gold and silver flower embroidery – tightly wrapped around her upper body, sewn with black pearl tassels emphasizing her slim waist, ample chest and graceful silhouette. The base of the skirt flared, revealing a substantial amount of garment. Each fold was embroidered with pearl-white threads that ran against dark threads to form an intricate design. Between her moves, the base whirled and twinkled, resembling a dream that dispersed endless layers of emotions.

Her dark, cloud-like hair was held up by a simple but elegant cornelian hairpin. She gracefully pulled back her hair and allowed some strands to hang loose, disclosing even more of her bright and clean forehead that was as pure as crystal.

Meng Fuyao smiled, and her aura – mysterious, elegant, grand, graceful and lavish – easily drowned out the entire room full of dazzling crystal and magnificent gems.

She was one of those who suited the fiery red color she had on. Be it her ivory white skin tone, jet black hair, and eyes, or her inherently distinct and glowing demeanor, all of these complemented each other well, bringing her closer to perfection.

Yuan Zhaoxu looked at her as if looking at a statue of a goddess, which had been concealed behind the muslin for a long time and was finally being unveiled.

He took a shallow breath and hung his head low, “Fuyao…”

“Eh?”

“This garment…”

Meng Fuyao looked at him nervously. ‘Does he find this too old-fashioned and weird?’

Yuan Zhaoxu looked up slightly, his eyes sweeping across her snow-white neck. “Wear it only for me. Can you do it?”

Meng Fuyao raised her eyebrows and broke into a smile.

“Seriously, do you think I like wearing this? It’s just for the dance. Aish, wearing this tiring… I even skipped dinner to put this on, so don’t worry, I will not do things that cause suffering.”

She blinked her eyes a few times before spinning elegantly around and extending her hand. “With respect, Sir, may I invite you for a dance?”

Upon her invitation, the sound of string musical instruments drifted in. The graceful poetry of rhythm and melody actually sounded foreign to Yuan Zhaoxu, who was musically inclined.

“The Blue Danube,” Meng Fuyao introduced, looking up and continuing with a reminiscing look on her face, “A Johann Strauss Junior classic, albeit slightly deformed. I haven’t heard this piece for such a long time…”

Yuan Zhaoxu peered at her expression. At this moment, she appeared distressed and distant, as if her inner expression was a remote hill that seated on the other side. It was hazy and unclear. Darkness and gloom flashed in his mind, but he simply took her hand and responded, “I shall wait for your instruction, my queen.”

Meng Fuyao turned around with a laugh as she concentrated on the music. She taught Yuan Zhaoxu the steps patiently – forward, backward, sideways, two feet together, turn around, sway, lean…

Time passed soundlessly. Yuan Zhaoxu was an astonishing fast learner, no matter the skills involved. Just an hour passed, and he let go of Meng Fuyao’s hands with a slight smile. He then executed the ceremonial waltz bow that she had taught him before placing one hand behind his back and the other hand toward her.

“Beautiful lady, may I invite you to dance with me?”

Meng Fuyao smiled, and fit her palm into his. “It’s an honor.”

As the silvery moonlight transcended over the roof ridges and the pearl-like splendor, it illuminated the glory of a beautiful couple, who had their fingers tightly intertwined, waist lightly cupped and were dancing gently with interlocked gazes.

The music was as soft as water, and it echoed within the room like ribbons. It was as if the gentleness of the rhythm was embracing and experiencing the alluring curvatures of their bodies. It was experiencing the fluttering of outfits, the spry and lively dance movements that rose and fell uninterruptedly. Every swaying motion formed a magnificent and dazzling picture.

Yuan Zhaoxu rested his palm lightly upon Meng Fuyao’s waist. The skin under his palm followed every movement, like a swimming fish. This fairy-like, mystical lady, was also like a fish that had swum into his life; she was so quick-witted and active. Afraid she would disappear suddenly, he wrapped his entire body against hers, not wanting to completely free her from her territory.

Before meeting her, he had thought that everything was vapidly within his control, as though he was always standing atop a skyscraper and owning a panoramic view of the world.

She had presented him with a nice surprise, and it was something that couldn’t be replicated even if he were to exhaust all wisdom he possessed.

In this paradise on earth, magnificence had presented itself, and he was intoxicated.

Which was fine, but he had never thought it possible to be free from the deepest emotions that trapped him.

Yuan Zhaoxu was indeed intoxicated. He had been sober for 25 years but was once again reminded of what it felt like to be helplessly drunk. It was his first time in 25 years that his five senses were completely shut off, and he wanted nothing and no one to disrupt this moment of extravagant comfort.

As such, he did not notice that the outdoor garden was in turmoil, and neither did he notice that young lady Hu Sa had barged into the garden and tripped on her oversized ceremonial robe. Her tumble had coincidentally caused the shrubs that covered the meditation hall to collapse, and as she lay sprawled on the ground, the guests dancing merrily in the garden were blessed with the beautiful scene that unfolded in the hall through the half-covered window.

The room was filled with glimmering lights, and its silk curtain hung and flew high with the wind. The fresh flowers bloomed in the spotlessly white vase, and some crystals and gems covered the wall. These were all beautiful sights, but they weren’t the ones that seized their attention.

They saw a lucid, elegant and beautiful lady in the embrace of a man with the perfect set of eyebrows, only found in paintings. They saw the uninterrupted swirling of a fiery red dress, the fluttering layers of delicate flower prints that released a fragrant scent like dispersing clouds, and the endless whirling and swaying movements that flowed like ripples and waves. The different poses executed by the couple seemed to be able to rob even the brilliance of moonlight and the vigor of sunlight. Their fine silhouettes conveyed the splendor of all the stars in the sky as they danced out beautiful poetry.

They saw the male slightly bowing his head to fix his gaze onto his partner, as well as the female raising her delicate lower jaw while laughing and reciprocating his gaze. She spun out of and leaped into his embrace in a harmonious pattern, just like a fish in a clear blueish-green ocean. The curvature of their bodies complemented each other so well that in this moment, there was nothing that could interfere with this magnificence.

From the beginning to the end, Hu Sang had stayed in a sorry-looking position, forgetting to get up. Through the window she foolishly stared, feeling her pride and self-confidence slowly shattering as the dance progressed. She, the most beautiful lady in Yaocheng, had been enjoying her high popularity over many years. She truly believed that she was worthy of everyone on this earth. However, that day was the day she finally understood. Some people weren’t meant to be hers, forever. The distance between him and herself was no different from that of the deepest valley to the highest dome of heaven.

Just like that she maintained her position and started weeping for her yet-to-begin-but-already-doomed love story.