Volume 1: Phoenix Nirvana, Reborn from the Flames Chapter 25: Conditions

  He Xueying's heart was filled with joy, her eyes widened as she stared at Yu Yi Chen, and her tears stopped flowing. She knew, she just knew that Yi Chen had feelings for her, and he would never bear the thought of her stripping in front of other men on the streets.

  Originally tearful face with a happy and proud smile, Mu Qing Ge, how are you? Yi Chen is still helping me speak!

  "But just a gamble?" Qing Ge smiled lightly, but the smile didn't quite reach her eyes, and the layered frost on her face hadn't completely dissipated. She nodded slightly, "Yes, it's just a gamble, but if I, Mu Qing Ge, lose this gamble today, will Miss He know what it means to spare someone when you can? Will she be magnanimous and cancel the bet?"

  Everyone knows that this answer won't work. He Xueying's purpose today is to make Mu Qingge look bad, if she wins, how can she let it go!

  Yu Zhen's eyes widened in surprise, his eyebrows furrowed tightly. He hadn't expected Mu Qing Ge to be so forceful, not leaving him any face at all. Hadn't she come here today looking for him? Wasn't she trying to make amends with him?

  Just now she had never given him half a glance, that calm and cool gaze, as if it could hold thousands of mountains and rivers, but couldn't hold even half his figure.

  His heart felt like there was a dark tide surging, this feeling was very unpleasant, he had never tried being ignored by someone in such an open and blatant manner, without any care or concern.

  "After losing, you have to admit defeat! Otherwise, whoever loses will deny it, and who will come to gamble again?"

  "You're right, you can't bully people just because of your power. This is the great city of Beijing, not just a place where only the imperial family gets to call the shots! Today, we've all seen through this farce!"

  The people in the field saw no reaction for half a day and pulled their throats to shout loudly.

  They're not afraid now, anyway, they've already said it earlier, if they want to cause trouble, they can't escape, everyone will be together, although their status won't be as noble as the Crown Prince's, but each of them also has a family background, you can't just eliminate all of them!

  Looking down at the noisy and excited crowd below, he thought that those who could enter Han Yun Xuan were not ordinary people, but the descendants of wealthy and powerful families, and might even be the future masters. Today's commotion would leave a bad impression on him, which might affect their chances of competing for high positions in the future.

  Deep eyes flashing, eyebrows and eyes are hazy, but that's for later, for now, let's first keep He Xueying safe, the right minister's power is after all in front of us.

  He leaned against the railing on the second floor, his long sleeves fluttering gently with his movements. The pure white cuffs set off his warm and elegant appearance. "Mù Qīng Gē, can you please spare Miss He's face today?"

  The emperor's grandson said he wanted to give his face to the fourth sister? He had just divorced the fourth sister, and it was good that he could say so. The eyes of the crowd moved back to Qing Ge again.

  She stood up straight, her small face pale, with a hint of dim light flashing in her eyes. She said coldly, "May I ask, what identity are you using to ask me for a favor? Are you my former fiancé who just handed me the divorce papers, or the uniquely privileged Grandson of Emperor Yong?"

  He was dressed in pure white from head to toe, like a pear blossom blooming on a spring day, with a majestic and elegant demeanor, unparalleled in his handsomeness. However, his face showed a hint of embarrassment.

  "Hey, Yi Chen, which identity is better? This Mu Qing's song has a sharp tongue...” Zhao Xi Yi threw away the peanut shell in his hand, patted his robe, and stood up behind Yu Yi Chen.

  Yes, no matter which identity is used, it's all embarrassing. A newly resigned fiancé asking his ex-fiancée to let go of another woman, or the eldest grandson of the Da Yong Emperor using his own identity to coerce a young girl into letting someone off, either way, it's an underhanded tactic.

  But he had no choice, he couldn't let He Xueying really strip naked and parade through the streets.

  Taking a deep breath, Yu Yi Chen suppressed the annoyance in his heart, and with a hint of ripples in his eyes, calmly said: "The latter."

  He would rather use his identity as the emperor's grandson than that of her ex-fiancé. The word "ex" made him uncomfortable.

  "Alright, since it's the Crown Prince's intention, I, a concubine-born daughter of a general's household, can only obey...” Qing Ge's face showed no signs of discontent, her phoenix-like eyes narrowed slightly, with a clear and bright gaze that shone like a pearl inlaid in a beautiful setting.

  The golden-faced man leaned against the railing of the high platform, his mouth slightly curled up. She was not a fool and had already calculated that the imperial grandson would plead for mercy. If He Xueying were to be paraded in the streets today, her future days with Mu Qingge would not be easy either. At present, she was still not enough to counter the power of a former high-ranking official.

  This Mo Qing song, knows how to weigh the pros and cons, is not rash, has both martial arts and wisdom, really gets better and better with each listen, hmm, not bad, not bad!

  He Xueying heard Qing Ge's words and was overjoyed, the tears that had been welling up in her eyes immediately dried.

  You don't have to run naked anymore, it's great. She looked at Yu Yi Chen with a radiant face, still good, Yu Yi Chen let her not run naked. As for Mu Qing Ge... she turned her head to look at the girl, her expression changed, and the dark light in her eyes was revealed. This time I won't kill you, there will be plenty of opportunities in the future, I will definitely not let you have a good life.

  Those eyes full of hatred did not escape Qing Ge's gaze, Qing Ge coldly sneered in her heart: Fool, the power to kill is still in my hands, you can't even pretend a little, and now you're telling me not to be happy, let's see who makes who unhappy.

  "My words have not been finished yet!"

  "You said." Yu Yi Chen lightly swept his sleeve, and a clear voice escaped from his mouth.

  "I've given you face, but this face is just to prevent Miss He from running naked on the street. Earlier, I saw her eyes and she seemed quite dissatisfied. It looks like she thinks it's not worth betting if the stakes aren't high enough. Since that's the case, Qing Ge won't dampen Miss He's enthusiasm either, so let's propose a small little request!" Qing Ge said slowly.

  "Mu Qing Ge, don't be so greedy! What else do you want?" He Xueying asked with uncontainable anger.

  "It's not that I have any other requests, but rather Miss He has always been in debt. Since you're not willing to streak, then please, in front of everyone, bark like a dog three times!" Qing Ge coldly flung out the sentence, her entire body as chilly as thousand-year-old ice, standing upright in the middle of the stage.

  "You're going too far, Qingge! What are you, a bastard born out of wedlock, a good-for-nothing without a mother? You actually dare to tell me to bark like a dog!" He Xueying was furious, no longer caring about her demeanor, pointing at Qingge and shouting loudly. How dare she be told to bark like a dog!

  "Yes, I'm not anything, you're something, and you should learn to bark like a dog. But what I want to tell you is that your mouth isn't suitable for speaking human language!" A faint voice floated in the air as Qing Ge walked to the edge of the high platform, her eyes slightly lowered, scanning the crowd with a low chuckle. Suddenly, she raised her head and pointed at He Xueying, shouting sternly: "He Xueying, don't pretend to be shameless! Today, you either take off your clothes and run naked or obediently learn to bark like a dog twice. Don't be a coward who can't win or lose with dignity. Otherwise, I, Qing Ge, will make sure you and your Dark Guard end up in the same miserable state!"

  The words that shook the ground echoed in the hall, and the intimidation and coldness contained in her words left no doubt about their authenticity.

  He Xueying involuntarily shuddered, her gaze sweeping over the two male corpses on the high platform. Her whole body felt cold, and she vaguely sensed that if she hadn't done so, this Shu Qing Song would have made her and the Dark Guard share the same fate - that icy silver blade would have slit her throat in the blink of an eye!

  Yu Zhen's eyes widened again, looking at the girl's unreserved gaze, his heart filled with all kinds of doubts. He must get to the bottom of things and figure out what was going on with Mu Qingge. Her calm and collected gaze seemed to send a chill down his spine as soon as their eyes met.

  It's very cold.

  "Yichen, I don't want to learn how to bark like a dog... You help me teach that Mu Qingge a lesson!" He Xueying pulled at Yichen's sleeve again, pleading with him pitifully. Since Yichen had helped her earlier, he definitely wouldn't let her lose face now.

  The young crown prince's eyes revealed an unclear emotion, he pulled his sleeve and turned around lightly, "I can only help up to here."

  "Yichen, you can't... my grandfather will be very angry if he finds out..." He Xueying looked at the hand that was suddenly pulled away from her sleeve, and with a sudden jerk, it got caught on her fingernail, causing her finger to ache and turn white.

  "I will personally tell Right Minister about everything that happened in this martial arts gathering, and I believe Right Minister will understand the weight of it." Yu Yi Chen's expression remained unchanged, his gaze didn't waver a single inch, as he slowly spoke. Although he wanted to borrow Right Minister's power, he disliked being threatened by someone who kept bringing it up, and this feeling made him extremely uncomfortable.

  He Xueying only felt a chill in her heart, clutching her painful fingertips, gazing at the still all-white Yu Yi Chen in front of her, becoming so distant, like a talented young nobleman in the misty rain of March, looking refined and beautiful through the veil of rain, but turning icy cold as one draws near... Starting from that gaze, did she actually misjudge him? Under his warm exterior, was there a heart shrouded in thick black fog that she had never understood?

  "Don't drag out the time, I still have things to do!" Qing Ge coldly shouted, her dagger dancing between her fingers like silver butterfly wings, radiating a chilling glow.

  He Xueying glanced around, no one came to her aid, her dark guard was dead, all the exits in the house were blocked by the crowd, and none of the servants could get out.

  Everyone was staring at her, waiting for her to choose between streaking and barking like a dog...

  He Xueying's eyes were filled with tears, her small mouth opened and closed repeatedly, she had always been pampered since childhood, never losing face in front of others, how could this be said.

  She didn't want to learn how to bark like a dog, but she even more didn't want to die...

  She closed her eyes tightly and told herself that there was still a long way to go, "Wang... Wang... Wang..." The three crisp barks of the woman echoed in the Hongmu Hall of Han Yun Xuan.

  He Xueying was humiliated, her face turned red like a monkey's buttocks, her hands and feet were icy cold and trembling, she didn't dare to open her eyes again, no longer holding her head high like a wild chicken, she rushed into the private room, slammed the door shut, and burst into loud sobs.

  It wasn't until the loud sound of the door slamming shut that everyone in the room burst out laughing, their loud guffaws almost piercing through the floor. Even the normally stoic butler and housekeeper of the He family couldn't help but lower their heads and stifle a smile.

  "Did you hear? That's the cry of the number one beauty, learning from a dog's bark is really similar."

  "Yes, yes, I don't know why you're not usually calling at home."

  "It wasn't a wasted trip today, was it? Come on, even betting on Wu is no fun anymore. Brother, take a look at what treasures you've brought with you. Do you have the Tian Shuang stone I asked for last time?"

  Among the crowd's loud laughter, the girl calmly and quietly walked down from the high platform. She quickly walked to where the 50,000 taels of silver were placed, took out her winnings, folded them neatly, and put them in her waist pocket. This was one of the necessities for her survival later on, she couldn't afford to forget. Immediately afterwards, she swiftly avoided the excited crowd by walking through a gap.

  The aura she had just emitted had all been retracted, and at first glance, apart from her extraordinary appearance, she was just an ordinary girl. The crowd that was chatting and excited did not notice her departure.

  Qing Ge's face had turned white to the point of translucency, like a flower petal. Up close, you could almost see the blue-green veins and red capillaries underneath, as fragile as glass.

  She has endured for a long time, from the beginning of the pain to now, the cardiac angina is approaching her limit of endurance every minute, if she doesn't leave here soon, perhaps she won't be able to hide it anymore.

  She never shows weakness in front of people and never reveals her own weakness in public, which is also a habit after being a mercenary for a long time.

  A person who licks blood from a knife can never let others know their weakness, otherwise, their weakness will become the bullseye of death, and it will be the fatal reason for their own demise!

  As she stepped out of the gate of Hanyun Xuan, the early summer sun was not fierce but warm, and the golden sunlight spilled onto the ground, slanting down to illuminate Qingge's eyes, which had just walked out of the house, in a blur, her head also felt a bit dizzy.

  She narrowed her eyes, raised her hand to block out the sunlight, and shook her head which was still a bit dazed.

  This won't do, she still has to go back to the Mu residence now, and her vision is a bit blurry, how can that be!

  Her teeth bit down hard, and the wound on her lips that was already not good started bleeding again. The intense pain made Qing Ge's senses clear up a lot. Alright, taking advantage of this moment, she quickly got back to the Mu residence.

  Qing Ge was about to lift her leg again when her arm was suddenly grabbed by someone, causing her to lose balance and almost fall backwards.

  Digression

  Thank you for the three little red flowers on the chessboard, muah muah.

  Look at the number of words, great effort... sleepy, good night.