Chapter 175
Book 16 Chapter 04 - Escape By A Hair's Breadth
Xiang Shaolong escorted Li Yuan out of the residence. Li Yuan's thirty-plus bodyguards had been waiting forever. Before mounting his horse, Li Yuan softly asked: "Is Yanran here?"
Xiang Shaolong nodded slightly.
Li Yuan mumbled for a while then laughed bitterly and said: "I am deeply envious of Brother Xiang."
Xiang Shaolong asked: "Do you wish to see her?"
At first, Li Yuan appeared pleasantly surprised, then changed his mind and shook his head, saying: "Meeting her is as good as not meeting her. Brother Xiang, please help to convey my regards. Tell her that she, Ji Yanran, is the lady that I love and respect the most."
Laughing at the sky, he mounted his horse and led his bodyguards out the main gate, swift as a tornado.
Xiang Shaolong sighed sadly, shaking his head. He then returned to the residence intending to seek out Ji Yanran to make a report. He was intercepted by Madam Zhuang on the way and led to an empty room. She asked softly: "What did Li Yuan and you talk about?" Xiang Shaolong recalled her earlier confused and intoxicated disposition towards Li Yuan and was peeved. He coldly said: "It was all about slaughter and bloodshed, nothing special."
Madam Zhuang bent closer and scrutinized his eyes. An unnatural feeling seeped through him from top to bottom. Madam Zhuang laughed with a soft flowery voice, saying: "Shaolong is a little jealous. I am very happy."
Xiang Shaolong thought he might as well vent his anger, saying: "This is not about jealousy. It is about one man having to listen to a woman telling another man that she is willing to become a bull and a horse for him. Its about respect and dignity. Can you please take your hands off me?"
Madam Zhuang drew even closer. She leaned close to his ear, speaking as airily as a silkscreen: "If the person I was saying it to was Xiang Shaolong and not Li Yuan, the words would have been changed to 'becoming a concubine and maid servant'. Does Shaolong understand the difference?"
Xiang Shaolong smiled and said: "Am I a person who can be deceived or pacified easily? Does Madam dare to say that she is not moved by Li Yuan?" As he said this, he was secretly startled as he realized that he had himself been moved slightly by Madam Zhuang.
He is usually very gracious with women, rarely scolding them or causing them harm. Even towards those like Dan Meimei and Gui Yan who conspired to murder him, he had never had the intention of settling this score with them.
The person who has received the most scolding from him is Zhao Ya, but in the end he has still forgiven her and he now loves her as before.
So why is he losing his temper on Madam Zhuang?
Xiang Shaolong has met his share of setbacks, and he does not want to be like the other men in this era, treating women as goods where 'the more is the merrier', widely collecting concubines. Nonetheless this is but wishful thinking on his part. It is the women instead who constantly throw themselves into his embrace, gladly and willingly joining his brood of wives and concubines.
Men are not like dense wood, who are unfeeling.
Moreover he is naturally softhearted towards women, that is why he has always been careful, trying to avoid getting entangled in more male-female relations.h.i.+ps. Till today, the only one who has caused him to lose his restraint is Qin Qing. He has managed to have self-control with everyone else.
Nonetheless, Madam Zhuang's situation was unique.
Regardless of whether she is successfully restored to her country, she will not become his concubine. It is a matter of status. Madam Zhuang and her son have become the legitimate symbol recognized by all the Dian people. If Madam Zhuang marries out, this symbolism will be destroyed.
She can still have affairs with men, this is after all a common thing in that era.
That is why even if an affair develops between Xiang Shaolong and Madam Zhuang, it will have to be brief and momentary. Once Zhuang Baoyi ascends the throne and Xiang Shaolong leaves Dian, this bout of pa.s.sion between them would have to die a natural death.
It is precisely because of the lack of this mental barrier and also because of the fact that Xiang Shaolong has a lot of pity for this isolated and helpless mother and son, that is why without realizing it, he has gradually accepted Madam Zhuang. Perhaps this is a case of 'familiarity breeds fondness'.
He himself was unaware of the fact. Only after reflecting on his present anger did he awaken to this fact.
Despite being scolded, Madam Zhuang react like one who has been reprimanded, and in fact replied with a straight face: "You are right. Li Yuan is indeed a man who has moved my heart. And even if I ignore his righteous anger, I cannot ignore his righteous support of the Zhuang family. If I had not met you, I would have used my body to repay him. But I won't do that now, because I am afraid that you will despise me. Now that I have bared myself like this, are you satisfied?"
Xiang Shaolong heaved a sigh and said: "However you have now aroused Li Yuan's heart, are you sure you are able to control the situation?"
Madam Zhuang replied: "Do not worry. I have ample experience dealing with men."
She then laughed a foxy laugh before saying: "I did that on purpose just now just to see if I could get any reaction from you the hard-hearted man. Now I know finally. Ai! Shaolong, let me serve you in the bedroom tonight, alright?"
Xiang Shaolong thought about Ji Yanran and Zhao Zhi and hardened his heart, saying: "We had a prior agreement and the larger matter is more important. It is better to put aside our feelings and s.e.xual desires temporarily."
Madam Zhuang was so touched that her eyes reddened. Hanging her head, she said: "You are still the first and only man I have met who helped me for any reason other than my looks." As she said this, she held on to him even more tightly and closely.
Only then did Xiang Shaolong reveal that his ident.i.ty had been exposed and that he had formed an alliance with Li Yuan. Madam Zhuang was stunned to silence and she listened in a daze. Celebrating the good news, she forced Xiang Shaolong to cuddle with her for a lingering moment before letting him go.
Xiang Shaolong returned to his residence and repeated the story to Ji and Zhao the two ladies. Both ladies also listed in stupefied silence and amazement. It was hard to imagine that the situation would have developed in such an unexpected way.
Ji Yanran happily said: "Li Yuan is self-centered and mercenary, petty and unscrupulous. Nonetheless he is also a knowledgeable minister. Under the present circ.u.mstances, forming an alliance with you is the smartest thing to do. Moreover, with you as a friend, perhaps he can deceive Qin into choosing some other country as its first target of conquest."
Xiang Shaolong laughed bitterly and said: "It is very difficult for me to say anything in this matter. If you do not attack others, others will attack you. Its not just friends