Chapter 8: Chapter 4

It is precisely because Princess Nihuang’s status is so pivotal that the Emperor’s decision to allow foreigners to enter the selection for her hand in marriage has left several noble sons quite astonished. Xiao Jingrui was the first to ask, "Has His Majesty not consulted Princess Nihuang herself on this matter?"

"Of course he asked. Since the Prince of Yunnan, Mu Qing, came of age and inherited his title last month, the Princess has agreed, though she added a few conditions. First, the contestant must be the suitor himself. Second, she doesn't care about the literary examination; that is for His Majesty to judge. But the winner of the martial arts competition must spar with her personally, and he must lose before she will marry him," Yan Yujin said languidly.

Upon hearing this, the two brothers breathed a collective sigh of relief. Xie Bi scolded, "Damn you, Yujin, teasing us on purpose! That’s much better. Most of the famous experts from Dayu and Northern Yan are already married and ineligible. Even if they carefully select the unmarried ones, could they really beat our Princess Nihuang?"

"It’s not necessarily about winning," Mei Changsu interjected again. "If the Princess finds someone pleasing to her eye, she would naturally lose even if she didn't have to."

"I think so too," Yan Yujin said smugly. "You all know that the Princess has always been fond of me..."

Xie Bi spat out the tea he had just sipped and coughed, "The... the Princess has always been fond of scolding you! Forget about someone as unserious as you. Princess Nihuang has spent years in the harsh winds of the battlefield; she likes men who are steady and responsible."

"Sigh," Yan Yujin sighed. "Xie Er, you are truly heartless. I finally managed to have a beautiful dream..."

"Stop joking around," Xiao Jingrui pushed him, then added, "However, Dayu and Northern Yan have come here dreaming as well. If they don't succeed, they haven't lost much, but if they do succeed... just think, not only would they form a state marriage, but they would also gain a military genius. Their reputation would soar overnight."

Mei Changsu said faintly, "The political situations in Dayu and Northern Yan have been unstable lately, with various factions locked in life-or-death struggles for the throne. If any prince were to marry Princess Nihuang at this time, it would be as if he had already secured the crown prince's seat."

"Brother Su has hit the nail on the head. They know full well that our Liang court is unlikely to let Princess Nihuang marry abroad, but they have to risk everything to compete. If they are lucky enough to win her, their return home would be a guaranteed victory," Yan Yujin agreed. "I wonder who gave them this idea; they certainly had the courage to go through with it."

Mei Changsu looked at him with interest and asked, "How do you know for sure that someone gave them the idea?"

Yan Yujin shrugged. "I don't like to analyze things, it's just an intuition. Think about it: for two countries to come up with this idea and implement it at almost the same time—it’s a bit too coincidental."

"Coincidence or not, the point is we can't let Princess Nihuang marry abroad," Xie Bi said, waving his hand and turning to Mei Changsu. "Brother Su, in your opinion, who will win this competition?"

Mei Changsu laughed, "I'm not a fortune teller, how would I know?"

"You guessed everything Yujin asked earlier, I thought you could predict the future," Xie Bi laughed.

"Let me be honest with you," Mei Changsu smiled. "Actually, I didn't guess."

"You didn't guess?" Yan Yujin immediately became interested. "Does Brother Su really know how to tell fortunes?"

"How could a fool like me fathom the mysteries of fate?" As Mei Changsu spoke, he pulled a silk scroll from his sleeve. "I didn't guess; I knew about this long ago. It's all written here..."

Yan Yujin curiously took the silk scroll, and the three of them leaned in to look, all gasping in surprise.

"This is the official state letter written by the monarch of Dayu himself, sent with the envoys to propose marriage!" Xie Bi’s eyes went wide. "How did this end up in your hands?"

"Ah, so that restaurant in the county town... the Dayu delegation really did lose their state letter..." Yan Yujin tilted his head and stared at Mei Changsu. "Brother Su, why on earth did you steal someone else's state letter?"

"You're right, I just did it for no reason," Mei Changsu said, still looking lighthearted. "The Dayu delegation happened to be staying at the same inn as me. The innkeeper told me they had a long sandalwood box they were guarding closely, and there must be something good inside. I was curious, so I sent Feiliu to take it and have a look. I didn't expect it to be just a scroll of official documents. These things have nothing to do with us in the Jianghu, so I wasn't very interested. I intended to put it back after reading it, but they discovered it so quickly and made such a scene that I had no choice but to keep it..."

All three had witnessed Feiliu’s bizarre skills, so they weren't surprised to hear he was the one who took it. However, Mei Changsu was perhaps a bit too curious—he would even go and rummage through someone else's state letter, not fearing any trouble at all...

"By the way, are there any conditions or restrictions for participating in the selection?" Xiao Jingrui steered the conversation back.

"Yes, one must have a clean family background, be of appropriate age, have good character and appearance, and never have been married..."

"That's all?"

"That's all."

"Ah," Xie Bi exclaimed, "Then Big Brother can participate too!"

"Me?" Xiao Jingrui was startled. "Although I respect Princess Nihuang, I have never thought about..."

"I'm not asking you to win it all," Xie Bi said, pulling his sleeve. "The more people from our Liang who participate, the smaller the chance for Dayu and Northern Yan to win. You are so outstanding, you will surely eliminate many opponents. You can consider it helping Princess Nihuang filter out the unqualified candidates."

"But..."

"But what? My martial arts are mediocre, so signing up would be useless. You are the second young master of Tianquan Villa, and Uncle Zhuo taught you martial arts himself. You are at least an expert, and Brother Su has been guiding you all the way to the capital. You might as well gain some practical experience." Xie Bi insisted, turning to Yan Yujin. "Yujin, go help him sign up tomorrow."

"You don't need to worry about that, I've already signed him up," Yan Yujin said with a smile.

"Hey... you two..."

"Don't be nervous," Mei Changsu said, suppressing a laugh. "I know your martial arts best; winning it all is impossible, but what's the harm in competing for a few rounds?"

"Is this your way of comforting me?" Xiao Jingrui felt like crying. "Am I the easiest person to bully..."

Xie Bi thought of another question: "It won't just be the noble families in the capital who know about this, right? Talented people from the common folk should be able to participate too, right?"

"Of course they can." Yan Yujin glanced at him sideways. "News like this is hard to hide even if you wanted to, and besides, the Emperor intends to use this opportunity to choose a good husband for the Princess to comfort her for the hardships of the battlefield. Didn't you notice all the martial arts heroes from all over heading toward Jinling on your way here?"

The three thought back carefully and realized, rather slowly, that it did seem to be the case; they just hadn't paid much attention because the flow of people into the capital was already so heavy.

"Alright, I won't chat with you anymore," Yan Yujin stood up and stretched. "I need to go back and rest well. In three days, I'll be ready to show my skills, defeat all the heroes, and win Princess Nihuang’s heart in one fell swoop..."

Xie Bi glanced at him. "This guy, he’s talking in his sleep before he’s even fallen asleep..."

"It is time to go, so as not to disturb Brother Su’s rest," Xiao Jingrui also said. "Feiliu has been asleep for a long time."

Everyone looked back and saw that Feiliu was indeed lying on the bed, fully clothed, without the curtains drawn, sleeping soundly with his eyes closed.

"Even when he's asleep, he feels like a block of ice..." Yan Yujin had just finished his comment when Feiliu’s eyes suddenly snapped open. Startled, Yan Yujin quickly pointed at Xiao Jingrui and said, "He was the one who said that!"

Feiliu’s eyes remained unfocused for a brief moment before closing again instantly.

"Don't worry, he already recognizes your voice," Mei Changsu said with a smile. "If it were a stranger's voice, Feiliu would have woken up immediately."

"That's a relief," Yan Yujin patted his chest. "Then we shall take our leave. Brother Su, please rest early."

Mei Changsu stood up and saw them to the door. He watched the three of them leave, and just then, the drums for the second watch sounded. He paused and listened silently for a while, gazing at the silent Marquis’s manor in the dark night. Only after a long time did he slowly close the door.