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Everything was ready, and on the day of entering the residence, Qing was not at Daliang. It seemed that Yan Ping had sent him on an urgent errand, and there was no time to ask where he had gone; he only instructed her, "Stay alert."
San Chun did not want to go to Chengyang Junfu; she only wanted to follow Qing on his errand. However, Yan Ping insisted on taking her along, saying that as her master, if Dancer got nervous, it would not be good.
Reluctantly following along, they were stopped as soon as they reached the gate. Perhaps Chengyang Jun was afraid of being assassinated, so the entry requirements were extremely strict. Only a few people were allowed to enter the residence for visits, and even the gifts brought in by ox carts were received by the servants inside; most visitors had to wait outside.
Yan Ping ordered them all to leave; what was it supposed to mean for a dozen large carts to block someone’s front door?
Inside Fengling Duke's Residence, guards were stationed every few steps, making security extremely tight. San Chun speculated that this Lord Jun might have offended too many people or had suffered greatly in childhood, which left him paranoid and overly cautious.
The Steward led Yan Ping to meet Chengyang Jun, while Dancer and two warriors were also taken along, leaving San Chun alone in the courtyard.
A servant said "Please wait" and then disappeared, likely thinking there was no need for her assistance. With nothing to do, she could only stand there looking at the sky, occasionally glancing at the green leaves on a tree.
Feng Lingjun's residence was filled with vibrant flowers and plants, while Chengyang Jun's place seemed to have more stones than trees and more animals than plants. The courtyard housed many animals—deer, goats, white rabbits... everything one could imagine. There was even a black bear caged up that occasionally bared its teeth at her, looking quite frightening.
She guessed that perhaps there were too many animals that had eaten all the flowers and plants clean, which made it look so bare. It was similar to Yan Ping's hair—always just a few strands throughout spring, summer, autumn, and winter.
This was a secluded path where it was rare to see anyone passing by. The sun was scorching; she sat under a tree for shade, waiting for those people to remember her.
With nothing else to do, she plucked a few branches and leaves from the tree, intending to weave them into a crown for her head—both a way to shield herself from the sun and pass the time. She could also feed some rabbits with it. She wondered what this Chengyang Jun was thinking by keeping so many rabbits in the courtyard; were they meant for braised rabbit meat? After drooling over the snow-white rabbits for a while, she continued weaving her crown.
Just as she was getting into it, she suddenly saw a group of over ten women approaching from afar. They were dressed in bright colors; the first two or three wore moon-white and light pink silk satin skirts with long flowing tails behind them. They must be concubines of the residence, while the others appeared to be maids. Some carried cushions while others held food boxes, chatting animatedly as they walked.
One woman asked, "Is Lord Jun hosting a banquet tonight? Are you going?"
"I haven't been invited."
"May I ask about Yan Ji?"
"Not yet."
"Then who is Lord Jun inviting today?"
"I heard the envoy from the State of Chu is presenting an exquisite Dancer, likely for a private meeting."
A few people chuckled. The woman in the light pink dress who had just asked suddenly said, "Do you think Lord Jun will favor her?"
"Lord Jun has a new companion every night; how could he possibly ignore a beauty?"
They laughed even more joyfully, as if they were the ones receiving the favor.
San Chun couldn't help but frown upon hearing this. This Chengyang Jun was truly outrageous; how many women in the Wei Kingdom must have suffered under his whims?
Seeing her kneeling under the tree, that group of women approached. Someone spotted her and covered her mouth with a laugh, "What a handsome man."
The group of women eagerly surrounded her, buzzing around like bees drawn to honey.
The woman in the pink dress asked, "Who are you?"
San Chun knew these were the Concubines of the household and dared not offend them. She clasped her hands in salute, "I am San Chun, a warrior from the State of Chu."
Another White-Dressed Woman covered her mouth and giggled, "San Chun? What a nice name."
The woman in the pink dress continued, "A warrior from the State of Chu? You must be accompanying the envoy today."
"Yes."
The White-Dressed Woman said, "Lord Jun is busy and may not be able to see the messenger for a while. Why don't you play with us for a bit?"
San Chun's shoulders and arms were entangled by several women, who clung to her like vines, and one bold woman even reached to touch her chest, startling her so much that she nearly jumped.
Struggling to shake off the women, she pleaded, "Ladies, I appreciate your kindness, but I have important matters to attend to and cannot accompany you."
The White-Dressed Woman threw her a flirtatious glance, "What is it that you need? Perhaps we can assist you."
"Climbing trees, picking leaves, feeding goats," San Chun pointed to the top of her head. Taking advantage of their curiosity as they looked up, she quickly climbed the tree. It was impressive how much strength she had in her urgency; in just a few moments, she was up in the branches.
Seeing her evade them, the women found it rather uninteresting and laughed as they left.
San Chun sat on a branch and couldn't help but wipe away some sweat. These women were excessively enthusiastic. And what about their man, Chengyang Jun? Did he really allow them to roam freely like this without caring about his own woman?
She had seen many men, but had never encountered one willing to let others put a green hat on him. When a man is generous, it truly is unparalleled.
Once the Concubine had walked far away, she climbed down from the tree. As the saying goes, climbing up is easy but coming down is hard; it took quite an effort for her to descend, and the palms of her hands were scraped raw, causing her to wince in pain.
Time passed slowly, and as the sun began to set in the west, she finally saw Yan Ping approaching with sweat pouring down his face. He was moving quickly; his wide sleeves flailed as he ran, obscuring most of his body and making him look like a head running with a mass of clothing—quite a strange sight.
In an instant, he was before her, his hair soaked with sweat trickling down his neck. His cheeks were flushed from the heat as he gasped for breath before speaking, making San Chun's nerves tense up.
"What happened?"
Yan Ping took another deep breath before saying, "The Dancer... that Dancer broke her leg."
San Chun felt a chill run down her spine. How could she dance with a broken leg?
Naturally, she couldn't dance with a broken leg. Yan Ping stared at her with his bright, peculiar eyes.
San Chun dreaded that look from him; he always looked at people like that when he was plotting something bad, and the one being looked at was usually the target of his schemes.
She inexplicably shivered and instinctively hugged her shoulders. "What do you intend to do, my lord?"
Yan Ping scrutinized her from head to toe, his smile sending chills down her spine. "San Chun, you are truly clever; I had just that in mind."
San Chun gritted her teeth. "I am a man."
"That doesn't matter. You can disguise yourself as a woman and surpass them by threefold."
"No way."
"Absolutely yes." Yan Ping grabbed her, refusing to let her escape.
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