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Translated by Pure

Character Index

Chapter 198 Fu Zixian's Jade Pendant (2)

Wen Yantong simply dirtied her appearance up and went to see Fu Zixian.

Fu Zixian was placed in another quiet place. There were many guards here.

After she entered, Wen Yantong saw Fu Zixian wearing thin clothes, standing by the table, and pouring himself water.

They only hadn’t seen one another in a couple of days, but he seemed to have lost some weight. Wen Yantong felt a little distressed at the sight of his slender figure.

"Fu Zixian." Wen Yantong called out and closed the door behind her.

Fu Zixian looked up in surprise, and when he saw it was Wen Yantong, he hurriedly put down the teapot in his hand and asked, "You're here?"

Fu Zixian's face was very pale, even his lips were a pale pink; he looked haggard. Although Wen Yantong's face was dirty, with her hair a little messy, and clothes in disorder, her face remained rosy; it was completely opposite to him.

Wen Yantong quickly asked him to sit down. "I heard you were injured? Why aren’t you in bed resting?"

Fu Zixian shook his head. "Do not worry, just some superficial injuries."

Wen Yantong was furious and cursed in a muffled voice, "Those sons of a gun..."

Fu Zixian seemed to be very thirsty and continued to pour water. After drinking two glasses, did he continue to inquire, "How come you’re here? Are they giving you a hard time?"

Wen Yantong angrily replied, "Of course not. You think I am as obstinate as you? After I quickly gave up all my valuables, they allowed me to come see you."

Fu Zixian understood she was referring to his refusal of handing over his jade pendant, so he lowered his head guiltily, "I'm sorry for making you worry."

"No matter how important your jade pendant is, you have to be more aware of the situation. Can't you give it to those people first? We can still get it back once we are rescued." Wen Yantong whispered, "Why bother to retaliate and injure yourself like this?”

Fu Zixian shook his head gently, "I'm afraid it won’t be returned."

Wen Yantong clicked her tongue and didn't know what to say. She didn't know the specifics of this jade pendant, but seeing Fu Zixian's attitude, it should be a very important thing, thus she had to say, "Fortunately you only suffered superficial injuries. What if they take your life for this? Could it be that your life is less important than a jade pendant?"

Fu Zixian bowed his head, fell silent for a while, and then explained, "It is the jade pendant of the Wei Residence from Chuanyang City."

Wen Yantong was momentarily stunned. It took her a while to finally figure out about the origin of this ‘Wei Residence’.

The mention of Wei Residence in the original book was miniscule. They were an extremely famous aristocratic family who were renowned for their weapon-crafting skills and held considerable prestige throughout Shao Jing capital. The weapons of the Wei Residence are only made of finesse and never quantity. Each weapon was unique, but also exceedingly difficult to own one; even the wealthiest of people could not get their hands on one. Only four jade pendants were issued every year, and if you come to the door with the jade pendant, it could be exchanged for an exquisite weapon crafted by the Wei Residence.

The original story mentioned the Wei Residence when Mu Yang was going to the battlefield. Chi Jingxi went to the Wei Residence in Chuanyang City to customize weapons for him and Fu Zixian.

Wen Yantong’s realization turned into shock. "So this jade pendant..."

"It's a birthday gift for Young Master Mu." Fu Zixian finished her sentence, "I don't have anything valuable to offer, and I don't know what Young Master Mu wants, so I want to give this jade pendant to him."

Is this pendant not f*cking valuable enough?!

Wen Yantong was overwhelmed and could hardly control the expression on her face. In the end, she could only mutter, "How considerate of you."

If Mu Yang knew about it, he would probably go crazy with joy.

He wouldn’t then be holding this pendant while sleeping too, right?

Wen Yantong couldn't help but say, "You are too kind to that fool..."

Fu Zixian’s lips curled into a smile and chuckled. After a while, he replied, "Mu Yang had been so kind to me, so naturally I have to find a way to repay him."

"Doesn’t he just pester you to practice archery with him? It’s already a blessing you don’t find him an annoyance, yet you actually think he’s kind?" Wen Yantong doubtfully stated.

Fu Zixian softly replied, "Not that. Actually, Mu Yang is aware of everything."

Wen Yantong was baffled, but seeing that Fu Zixian didn't continue this topic, she couldn’t delve any deeper and just said, "Don't worry, we will be able to go out in a few days."

Fu Zixian nodded, and then took the initiative to strike up a conversation with her, "I wonder what courtesy name Mu Yang had received."

Wen Yantong knew the answer to this, but in this situation, she could only feign ignorance and reply, "If it was given by General Mu, then the name will be very simple and straightforward."

Fu Zixian chuckled and said, "When I departed for this trip, I heard my father mention this matter. He said that General Mu had miswritten a word on a memorial that was submitted to the Emperor which led to a long lecture and criticism. In the end, Mu Yang’s courtesy name was given to the Ministry of Rite to handle.”

"Huh?" Wen Yantong exclaimed in surprise, "Ministry of Rites… then doesn't that mean it’ll be Prime Minister Fu’s responsibility?"

The immediate superior of the six ministries was the prime minister. The Emperor had said the Ministry of Rite, but it was clearly a roundabout way of saying it would be Fu Sheng’s honor. The Emperor seemed to not only like to name others, he also liked to deprive others of the right to name their sons— though General Mu was indeed semi-illiterate.

Fu Zixian said, "General Mu was so furious about this that he couldn't even muster an appetite for two consecutive days. In the end, he came to our residence and met with my father. After some discussion, they agreed on splitting the naming responsibility to one character each."

Wen Yantong could already imagine how intense this ‘discussion’ was. As the saying goes, ‘no matter how the scholar explains, a soldiers’ ignorance remains’. For an irascible and rough man like Mu Yuan to be pinned to the ground and beaten by the literati Fu Sheng, it seemed that sometimes a brain could be more powerful than a fist.

Fortunately the Emperor had meddled in his affairs, otherwise it would be hard to say what Mu Yang's courtesy name would be. It was said that when Mu Yang was born, Mu Yuan insisted on adhering to the ancient tradition of ‘having a lowly name would give the child a better’ and wanted to name him ‘Mu Erdang (Two Eggs)’. 

This matter managed to even alarmed the Emperor.

Mu Yuan argued with the courage of his convictions, "What's wrong with this name? That was how I was raised as a child, everyone called me Tieniu (Iron Bull) for twenty years. This is the so-called misfortune turned blessing, surviving after a disaster."

The Emperor pointed at him and retorted, "You should not thank your shameful name for your long life, but that brain in that head of yours. Fortune favors fools."

Despite the opposition, Mu Yuan refused to give in. Fortunately, Madam Mu intervened and convinced him to change his name to Mu Yang.

If he were given the right to choose Mu Yang's courtesy name, it would probably be something like Xiangzi (Lucky Son) or Heilu (Black Donkey).

At this thought, Wen Yantong couldn't help but smile. "It seems that the feud between your Fu Residence and Mu Residence has intensified once again."

Fu Zixian also laughed and said no more.

Wen Yantong conversed with Fu Zixian before departing. Despite being confined, Fu Zixian remained vigilant in safeguarding his jade pendant, unaware of the current state of affairs. Upon learning that Wen Yantong was able to move about periodically, Fu Zixian felt slightly at ease.

Meanwhile, Jiang Yan, who was partially informed, was paranoid and suspicious of those around him, fearing the possibility of more spies.

Even though Wen Yantong knew everything, she remained apprehensive about any unforeseen developments.

Luckily, everything went smoothly and without any hiccups.

As evening approached, Winter and Autumn still had not returned as promised. Only one of the men they had taken out had returned, but his body was riddled with cuts and wounds. He came back and reported that all the others had been captured by General Mu himself.

Mu Yuan spent most of his life fighting. Before entering the imperial court, he was a notorious mountain bandit. After entering the court, he became a general recognized by all of Shao Jing. The people who had spent their entire lives on the battlefield were different from these freshly minted murderers.

As a result, almost every member was terrified by the news of Mu Yuan's presence.

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