#225 - Peach Blossom

"Within three days, kill Wei Changtian."

"Could it be that because Wei Changtian saved you once, you've become softhearted?"

"You are a member of the Dragon Guard! Your life is no longer your own to control!"

"This bottle contains Phoenix Bile Powder. Mix it into his wine and give it to him. It will make him fall asleep in a quarter of an hour."

"This is your last mission."

"Long Que, do not disappoint the Emperor."

“. . . ”

The cold wind howled on the summit of Nine Peaks Mountain. In the distance, the main hall of the Heavenly Luo Sect stood tall and majestic, surrounded by buildings and pavilions with overlapping eaves, creating an imposing atmosphere.

Or perhaps...

You Jia sighed softly, a hint of self-deprecating regret appearing on her pure face.

As expected, she was still just a pawn.

When Wei Changtian rescued her from Jing Yuan's hands, she had deluded herself into thinking that one day she could stand in front of Ning Yongnian again, smiling and making that man fulfill his previous promise.

But the truth was... after learning that she was not dead, Ning Yongnian was still thinking about how to use her.

He didn't even wait to see her again.

"Do not disappoint the Emperor."

You Jia had heard this sentence many times.

Before, every time she heard it, she thought, "As long as I don't disappoint the Emperor, the Emperor won't disappoint me either, right?"

But now, listening to it again... for some reason, she found it a little ridiculous.

Forget it, it's the last time anyway.

No matter how hesitant, hesitant, or desperate she was, You Jia never thought of betraying Ning Yongnian, nor did she think of "disobeying orders."

Since Ning Yongnian wanted her to kill Wei Changtian, then she would kill him.

Silently passing through the night, she walked back to her room. The moment she opened the door, a bunch of pink flowers on the table suddenly made You Jia freeze.

They were a few peach blossoms inserted into a vase, the petals small and delicate, with occasional white streaks in the pink, like a small piece of dawn falling from the sky in the early morning.

Peach blossoms were her favorite.

But who had put these flowers here?

Having done too many secretive things, You Jia, out of "professional instinct," did not approach the flowers to admire them, but instead retreated out the door and found a Heavenly Luo Sect disciple guarding not far away.

"Young master, has anyone been here just now?"

"Ah, Miss You, Young Master Wei was here just now."

The disciple smiled and said, "He waited for you for a while, but when he saw that you hadn't returned, he left."

"Oh."

Hearing the words "Young Master Wei," a sense of guilt instantly surged in You Jia's heart.

"Were those peach blossoms brought by Young Master Wei?"

"Yes."

The disciple in the green robe nodded, "Young Master Wei said that the peach blossoms are in full bloom now, but there is no such beautiful scenery on Nine Peaks Mountain, so he picked a few from elsewhere for you to see first."

"Young Master Wei also said that if you like them, he will take you down the mountain in a few days to see large swathes of peach blossoms..."

"..."

The disciple in the green robe was still talking, but his voice seemed to become more and more distant.

You Jia certainly didn't know that Wei Changtian had long known her preferences, and thought that all of this was just an "inopportune" coincidence.

If you like them, I will take you to see large swathes of peach blossoms.

She really wanted to go and see them, but why wasn't the person saying these words him?

He clearly knew that she liked peach blossoms the most.

You Jia didn't know how she got back to her room, nor did she know that a gap had already been broken in her psychological defenses.

She slowly walked to the table, looking at the small, pink petals, and suddenly remembered the eighth poem of Wei Changtian's nine poems at the Spring Dragon Poetry Conference that night.

Last year today in this doorway, faces and peach blossoms shone red.

But where has the face gone? The peach blossoms still smile in the spring breeze.

A quarter of an hour later, at the foot of Nine Peaks Mountain.

"Young Master Wei, the thing you asked me to do... I've already done it."

Inside the carriage parked at the mountain gate, Li Huaizhong looked at Wei Changtian sitting opposite him and said with a complicated expression, "Long Que seemed a little hesitant, but she still agreed."

"Yes, that's good."

Wei Changtian nodded, not surprised by this result.

After all, according to the original novel's description, the character Long Que was very infatuated with Ning Yongnian.

So it would undoubtedly be very difficult to win over such a woman.

Wei Changtian knew that if he wanted to win over You Jia by "slowly boiling the frog," it was probably impossible.

Even if it worked, it wouldn't happen until the year of the monkey.

Therefore, he had to use a more "intense" event to break through You Jia's "heart" in one fell swoop.

At first, Wei Changtian planned to have Li Huaizhong pretend to be ordered to kill You Jia, and then he would appear to be a hero saving the beauty, completely intensifying the conflict between You Jia and Ning Yongnian while also adding points for himself.

But although this method was effective, there were too many loopholes.

Why would Ning Yongnian kill You Jia for no reason?

And what reason should he use to appear "just in time" at the "crime scene"?

It was difficult to give a self-consistent explanation for such questions, so in the end, Wei Changtian chose to let You Jia "kill" himself.

First of all, this made the whole thing seem very reasonable, and You Jia would definitely not suspect anything.

Secondly, the effect produced by this plan might be even better than Plan A.

After all, the power of "guilt" is not necessarily worse than "gratitude."

"..."

"Eunuch Li, I will now tell you the method to replenish the Yin-Yang skill."

Since the other party had completed the task, Wei Changtian didn't go back on his word this time and said:

"Your hidden illness is caused by the excess of Yin and the decline of Yang in your body."

"Find some virgin boys, have them practice Yang skills, and then transfer their inner strength to you every once in a while."

"As long as the Yin and Yang in your body are balanced, the hidden illness will naturally be fine."

"..."

Li Huaizhong took a huge risk by "falsely conveying the imperial decree," and only got three sentences in return.

However, he was not dissatisfied, and even looked a little excited.

Regardless of other matters, at least the matter of the Yin-Yang skill that had plagued him for a long time was finally resolved.

"Young Master Wei, thank you."

Rarely saying a word of thanks, Li Huaizhong took out two more items from his sleeve and placed them on the small table in front of him.

"Young Master Wei, this bottle contains the antidote to Phoenix Bile Powder. Take it in advance, and it can block the poison of Phoenix Bile Powder within six hours."

"And this is a pair of linked jade pendants. If you need my help in the future, just burn the jade, and even if I can't come, I will send a confidant to see you."

"Okay."

Wei Changtian didn't say much, nodded, and watched Li Huaizhong drill out of the carriage curtain, and then disappeared from sight in an instant.

That was fast enough.

Muttering in his heart, he continued to look into the distance.

The moonlight deepened in the sky above Nine Peaks Mountain, and the hazy lights of Shuzhou City in the distance were erased at the edges by the night.

Like a peach blossom blooming in the world.