Imperial Weight Chapter 34
Translated by Sylver (ko-fi)
Chapter 34
There was nothing more to the past. Roughly speaking, when Little Phoenix took the time to slowly tell stories to the golden-winged bird, he would stop at this night. Low murmuring voices, warm embraces, and the sound of sea winds blowing from the coastal areas of Min, whimpering and beating against the bed—in all the world, only the two of them had warmth here.
This little plump bird flapped its short, chubby wings and said with smug satisfaction. "He told me a story about a king, and then we chatted for a while before holding each other and falling asleep."
The golden-winged bird asked, "What happened after that?"
Little Phoenix said: "After that was the second lifetime." His little bean eyes were completely clear, showing only a trace of dimness in a certain instant, as if recalling some unpleasant memory. Then he continued to flap his wings excitedly. "In the second lifetime, he grew up to be a sword cultivator in an immortal mountain. He still retained his memories and remembered me, so he cultivated desperately, wanting to come find me. But he was too excellent—three tribulations of thunder and fire descended early, causing him to ascend. He returned to his position among the immortal ranks and suddenly didn't remember me anymore. I think it was probably because of the Star Disc."
Little Phoenix crouched in the snow, patting the snow with his little claws, hanging his head and muttering, "It's not his fault. When I first met him, I didn't know he would become such a formidable Emperor either."
The golden-winged bird extended its wing to pat his head.
If Little Phoenix were to describe this lifetime in the mortal realm himself, he would definitely jump up and say he was very happy. He was a straightforward person—when he loved, he loved; when he hated, he hated. When he was unhappy, Xingyi would coax him, take him to different places, or give him a kiss, and he could quickly forget his unhappiness.
For him, the good stories before his eyes were always more important than the past. He only ever remembered the good stories.
****
When Little Phoenix woke up, he found himself nestled in Xingyi's embrace. The two faced each other in a completely snug position. Xingyi was sleeping deeply, his breathing steady and long, completely motionless, while Little Phoenix felt warm all over, his lips suspiciously pressed against the corner of Xingyi's mouth.
Little Phoenix was startled and wanted to dodge away to avoid being caught and pinched by Xingyi again. But after thinking it over, he realized he was indeed quite accomplished—even while sleeping, he remembered to take advantage of Xingyi. So he felt at ease.
Moreover, he was his future Empress, wasn't he?
After Little Phoenix thought this through, not only did he not pull back, he actually secretly opened his eyes wide to look up, adjusted his position slightly, and planted a firm "smack" of a kiss on Xingyi's lips.
Xingyi's eyelashes trembled slightly, but he didn't open his eyes.
Little Phoenix didn't notice. After kissing once, he felt his technique was skillful and Xingyi surely wouldn't be disturbed by him, so he grabbed Xingyi's shoulders and smacked another kiss. Not stopping at just the lips, he stuck out his tongue to lick Xingyi's Adam's apple, then secretly moved downward, using his teeth to bite a small mark on the side of his neck, leaving a faintly white tooth impression.
This was what he loved to do most in the past—like marking and stamping, with a bit of teasing mixed in, so that when Xingyi was out, he would remember that he had left something on his body. For a while, their household had taken in a stray cat, and when Xingyi woke up to see the faint marks on his body, he thought they were from the cat scratching him. Only later, when he caught Little Phoenix red-handed during a light sleep, did he finally solve this long-standing mystery.
Little Phoenix recalled the past with a hint of secret joy. He extended a finger and poked Xingyi's cheek with his fingertip. "Not waking up even from this, stupid."
Then he silently recited an incantation and quietly transformed himself into a snow-white little plump bird, slipping away like a cicada shedding its shell, flapping his little wings to fly up and out.
In the sleeping chamber, Xingyi still lay on his side on the bed in the same position. After hearing Little Phoenix's little claws pitter-pattering out, only then did he turn over with his eyes closed, revealing a smile at the corner of his lips.
"Stupid."
After Little Phoenix transformed into a bird and flew out, he remembered that he had left behind his Coal Ball companion.
He remembered that before falling asleep, he had been holding that pitch-black little brother when he dozed off, so why, when he woke up, was he in Xingyi's embrace?
Little Phoenix pondered for a long time, thinking that probably during the night, the Coal Ball saw Xingyi come in and felt embarrassed, so he quietly left. That little Coal Ball, like him, was in the form of a young bird and must be very young—he probably hadn't even been in love before, so he was very shy.
It was his fault for not telling him in advance that his husband wasn't such a scary person. Little Phoenix thought that next time he saw the Coal Ball, he should apologize to him.
After waking up, Little Phoenix felt a bit hungry, so he hopped along to find his snack plate. After he learned to transform, he spent more time as a human throughout the day, so Fuli Palace's lianshi fruit supply wasn't so scarce. Lianshi fruits didn't spoil, so the head immortal maid would prepare a plate for him every day and place it where he usually did his weight-loss exercises.
Little Phoenix cheerfully scampered over to look around where he did his exercises, but couldn't find it.
There was only an empty little plate there.
He was a bit confused and looked left and right, then picked up the little plate in his beak and hopped along to find the head immortal maid to ask for snacks. The immortal maids had closed their doors and windows and were doing needlework inside. Looking from inside out, they saw Little Phoenix flapping his wings, hovering by the window, pawing at the window frame with his little claws, his little bean eyes full of anticipation as he looked at them.
Because he had the plate in his beak, Little Phoenix couldn't speak very well. He held the silver plate and knocked on the window with clanging sounds, his little claws about to tear through the window paper.
The head immortal maid quickly opened the window and caught Little Phoenix inside, tugging several times before finally wresting the silver plate from Little Phoenix's beak.
She reached out to stroke Little Phoenix's little head. "Phoenix Yuanyuan, what's wrong?"
Little Phoenix crouched by the window, looking up at her pitifully. "You didn't give me any snacks today."
The head immortal maid said in surprise, "I did give you some! Little Yuanyuan, early this morning I picked fifteen lianshi fruits and placed them there for you. How could there be none?"
The other young immortal maids also said, "We watched elder sister pick them. We even helped wash the plate. Little Yuanyuan, could it be that you didn't eat enough and made up this excuse to trick us into giving you more?"
The head immortal maid also laughed. "Phoenix Yuanyuan, the Emperor said you can only eat at most fifteen per day, otherwise your stomach will be bloated at night and you won't be able to sleep. Be good, or we'll go tell the Emperor, understand?"
Little Phoenix felt very wronged. "I didn't eat any. I haven't eaten a single fruit today. You clearly didn't put snacks out for me. You say you don't mind that I'm fat, but secretly you still want me to lose weight."
The head immortal maid laughed and stroked his head again. "Really none?"
Little Phoenix nodded, spread his little wings and flopped onto the table, rolling around, kicking his little claws. "Fairy sister, I want to eat snacks, I'm hungry."
His voice was sweet and soft, buzzing in people's ears, coaxing them round and round.
This little round ball was well-versed in the art of acting cute and quickly coaxed the head immortal maid into going to the bamboo grove in the back courtyard to knock down fifteen lianshi fruits for him.
The silver plate was brought over, and Little Phoenix pounced on it, eating without raising his head, his round, rolling body nearly toppling into it. Viewed from behind, Little Phoenix's tail feathers tilted up a bit, revealing a smooth, rounded arc that looked... like it had a nice feel.
The head immortal maid looked at his back as he buried his head eating the fruits, feeling a bit restless. "Phoenix Yuanyuan, may I poke... your bottom?"
Little Phoenix alertly turned his head, the half fruit still in his mouth dropping to the ground with a plop. "Hm?"
The head immortal maid said seriously, "Nothing, never mind."
Only then did Little Phoenix relax and continue eating the remaining half of the lianshi fruit, but this time he was more vigilant, sitting properly the whole time and no longer leaning into the silver plate by grabbing its edge.
While watching Little Phoenix eat snacks, the immortal maids lectured him, "Yuanyuan, haven't you been very diligent lately, waking the Emperor up every day? Why has the Emperor been attending court less and less?"
Little Phoenix thought for a long time and felt a bit dejected. "I forgot. I forgot this morning too. I ran outside to play with my little friend, and when I came back, I forgot to call him."
After thinking, he added, "When I came back, I saw he was already up. He told me not to go to the smelting room because he was having Tanlang and Qisha brothers come over to protect the Dharma and activate the Star Disc—it was very dangerous. I thought it was still early and he would definitely go to court, but I don't know why when I woke up from my nap, I found Weijian had gone back to sleep."
Little Phoenix said worriedly, "Did he come back to sleep because he saw me sleeping? If so, does that make me a femme fatale who ruins the country?"
The head immortal maid keenly caught the anomaly in his words. "You said the Emperor told you he invited Qisha and Tanlang Star Lords to come protect the Dharma? That's not true. This morning, Tanlang Star Lord even took leave, saying he was accompanying the golden-winged bird to find fresh goji berries for Phoenix Ming Zun to brew tea for health. Where would you find fresh goji berries in the dead of winter? Yuanyuan, are you sure you heard correctly?"
Little Phoenix was a bit confused. "I didn't hear wrong."
The head immortal maid covered her mouth and laughed. "Then the Emperor must be secretly doing something behind your back."
Little Phoenix was skeptical. "Oh."
The head immortal maid took the opportunity to admonish him, "Don't let your guard down, little Yuanyuan! Although the saying goes that home flowers don't smell as sweet as wild flowers, our Emperor is a home flower better than all wild flowers. You must cherish him well."
Little Phoenix didn't understand the context and didn't grasp the meaning of her words. This round little plump ball turned in a circle on the spot, looked around, then asked quietly, "I know what this saying means. Do you mean Weijian might be looking for wild flowers behind my back? Sister, you're the best—tell me the truth, where are the wild flowers? I'll go fight them."
The head immortal maid: "......"
****
Xingyi had spent the first half of the night staking out Little Phoenix, and the second half transforming into black Coal Ball to play with Little Phoenix. His spirit was weary. He slept until the afternoon, and when he woke up, he saw Little Phoenix crouching on his belly, little bean eyes staring at him without blinking.
Xingyi casually picked him up and gave him a squeeze. "What are you doing, little imp?"
Little Phoenix said, "Weijian, I want to discuss something with you. Look, you haven't attended court for ten days straight. You can understand what I mean, right?"
Xingyi looked at him, knowing he couldn't escape this hurdle anyway, so he sighed. "Fine, I promise you. I'll go to court tomorrow."
Little Phoenix extended his snow-white, jade-like little claw, "Pinky promise."
Xingyi also extended his finger and made a pinky promise with him.
Nothing else happened that day. Little Phoenix also forgot to complain to Xingyi that his snacks had been stolen. It was just that Xingyi went to sleep especially early to prepare for the morning court. Little Phoenix, suffering from having no one to play with him, thought of his Coal Ball companion again.
Little Phoenix stuck a note on Xingyi's forehead, written by himself with his beak gripping a brush: "Weijian, I'm going out to play. I believe you can do what we pinky promised, so I won't wake you up tomorrow morning."
Signed: Weijian's little bird.
Little Phoenix then squeezed out through the hole by the window again and flew to the forest, perching on the top of that persimmon tree.
The small animals came in twos and threes, waiting for his inspection. Actually, Little Phoenix hadn't planned to train them to wake Xingyi today. He had just come to find Coal Ball to play.
So he said, "Dismissed, dismissed. As a qualified commander, I must also ensure everyone's rest time. I'm giving everyone the day off today, chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp."
The small animals responded enthusiastically: "Chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp!"
Their commotion was particularly loud. In the deep night forest, even a dead person should have heard this noise, but Little Phoenix watched eagerly for a long time and didn't see his little companion come to assemble.
He told himself quietly, "Little Coal Ball is still very young. Young ones like them really need their sleep. He's probably still sleeping. I'll wait a bit more. Besides, I didn't make an appointment with him in advance. Maybe he's planning to come find me to play during the day?"
After crouching for a while, his claws froze numb. So Little Phoenix asked the persimmon tree spirit for a pile of fallen bark and dead branches and started a fire on the spot to warm himself. The firelight made this little round ball glow faintly, transforming him from a snow-white little plump bird into an orange-yellow one, close to reddish-gold.
He looked down at himself and felt a bit happy. Once happy, the slight discomfort brought by cold and loneliness also vanished without a trace. Little Phoenix began to sing, singing while waiting for his friend.
Xingyi was awakened by a burst of chirping, crisp bird calls. The sound seemed very far away yet right by his ear. He instinctively thought it was Little Phoenix making a fuss, so he turned over and said in a low voice, "Stop fooling around."
With this turn, he realized there was no young man lying beside him, nor was he holding a little plump bird in his hand, and so he woke up.
When he woke, he found it wasn't even the hour of Chou yet, and a large note was dangling from his forehead—Little Phoenix's wake-up service leave request.
This naughty little bird said he was going out to wait for his playmate.
He was also foolish, not knowing to say something in advance, at least leaving him an appointment. If he didn't wake up, how could Little Phoenix wait?
Xingyi rubbed his temples, trying hard to dispel the drowsiness in his mind. Listening to the familiar bird calls in the forest, he sighed, moved his fingers slightly, softly recited an incantation, and once again transformed himself into a pitch-black fluffy ball.
Then, full of vigor and spirit, he squeezed through the small hole by the window and went to the forest.
In the forest, the pile of dead branches was about to burn out. Little Phoenix was haggling with the old persimmon tree spirit, wanting to exchange a tail feather for a small sour persimmon to eat, when he was suddenly interrupted.
"Give me the tail feather. I'll pay. Give us the biggest, sweetest persimmon." The pitch-black little round ball opened a pair of calm little bean eyes and looked over threateningly.
Because it was still nighttime and Xingyi was a black ball, even his little bean eyes couldn't be found. Little Phoenix tried hard to make him out for a while before finding his eyes, then formally called to him, "Little Coal Ball."
Little Phoenix felt a bit embarrassed. He had always been a poor phoenix, accustomed to poverty. When he earned money from working, he would also save it frugally, planning for the day he could transform and come find Xingyi. But this couldn't be known to others, especially not to his little brother. Now that his shabby state had been exposed, he could only pretend nothing was wrong, chirping a few times and saying, "I want to eat sour ones. Little Coal Ball, I've never eaten a sour persimmon. I just want to try it."
But this Coal Ball turned his head and slowly sized him up, his little bean eyes seeming to smile. "But I want to eat sweet ones. I've never eaten sweet ones."
Little Phoenix found a way out and immediately shook his head with heartfelt pain. "Ah, I really can't do anything with you young people. You always love sweet things. Since you want to eat it, then let's buy the sweet one. Poor little thing, never even eaten a sweet persimmon."
After thinking for a while, he reluctantly raised the price and made a concession. Little Phoenix said to the old tree spirit, "I can pay you the price of three tail feathers. You can stick them on your crown—how beautiful that would be. You should know, the Emperor has only ever received one tail feather from me."
Xingyi: "......"
But Xingyi was very insistent, "I'll pay. If you must give tail feathers, you can only give them to me."
Little Phoenix looked at him with some confusion. "......Coal Ball?"
While haggling, Xingyi formed a seal in the air that only he and the old tree spirit could understand, transmitting his voice through secret arts: "Give me two sweet persimmons, and come to Fuli Palace later to collect your reward. You just need to keep your mouth shut."
The old tree spirit trembled with fear and shook down quite a few sweet, crisp persimmons. "Y-y-you......"
Xingyi smiled faintly, his merit and fame hidden deep.
The little black ball on the ground extended his little wing with considerable dignity, leading the way for Little Phoenix. "Eat up. They're all ours now."
Little Phoenix was a bit excited. He was just about to start eating when he was nudged by the black fluffy ball beside him. "Hey."
Little Phoenix looked at him reservedly. "You should call me big brother."
Xingyi completely ignored him. He nudged Little Phoenix again, rubbing against him with his fluffy belly. "You haven't agreed yet. I want three of your tail feathers, and you have to guarantee you'll only give them to me alone."
