Chapter 39: The Second Phoenix Fire

  Inside Linjiang Building, push open the window, and a gust of wind blows through the room.

  Pang Luo Yu opened her eyes and saw Jin Wang dressed up, now standing by the window looking at a distant place, seemingly lost in thought.

  Pang Luoyu moved slightly, the pain from below telling her that everything that had just happened was real, this wasn't a dream. Pang Luoyu's face turned red with shame, her hands tightly clutching the quilt, staring at the scattered red spots on the sheet, both nervous and embarrassed.

  The King of Jin stood in front of the window, but his mind was elsewhere. Although he liked Pang Luoyu, he had no intention of marrying her. With her status, becoming a concubine would be acceptable, but he had promised to make her his queen consort. Pang Luoyu's mother was the sister of the emperor's favorite concubine, and if this were to cause trouble, he feared he would lose his chance at the throne. Today, he really shouldn't have been so careless. He wasn't without suspicion - could it be that Pang Luoyu had done something underhanded?

  "Your Highness?" Pang Luoyu said

  The King of Jin furrowed his brow, and at this moment, he couldn't afford to offend the Guo Gong Fu because of Pang Luo Yu.

  Then she lifted her smiling face and said, "But I've troubled you." She walked over and hugged Pang Luo Yu with a gentle expression.

  Pan Luoyu's face turned red as if she was about to bleed, and she hugged the waist of King Jin, saying: "When will you go to the Pan Mansion to propose?"

  The King of Jin touched Pang Luoyu's waist, his hand trembling as he lifted her face and kissed her lightly. With a look of distress, he said: "Rain, you know I never wanted to wrong you, but unfortunately, you understand the Empress Dowager's intentions... after all, you are not the legitimate daughter of Duke Pang..."

  Pang Luo Yu felt even more disheartened and resentful towards Pang Luo Xue, thinking that if they weren't from a humble background themselves, how could their mother be willing to settle for being a concubine. Pang Luo Yu wasn't stupid either, knowing that she had already given her body to the King of Jin, and if she didn't pressure him into making a promise now, later on she might not even become a concubine.

  Pang Luo Yu grasped King Jin's sleeve tightly and said, "Rain doesn't seek fame or fortune, she only wishes to have a place by your side to serve you."

  Pang Luoyu was also worried and anxiously waiting for Duke Jin's response.

  The King of Jin sighed and said, "I never wanted to humiliate you, Yu'er. You understand me. I must give you the best, in order to be worthy of your dedication to me. Yu'er, are you willing to help me? I promise that once I ascend to that position, I will definitely make you my queen." After finishing speaking, the King of Jin looked at Pang Luo Yu with deep affection.

  They say that girls in love have an IQ of zero, which is not false at all. Pang Luoyu heard Jin Wang's promise and instantly dispelled the worries in her heart, tightly hugging Jin Wang and drawing warmth from his body: "Luoyu is willing to wait for you, willing to do anything for you."

  The King of Jin said with a sigh of relief: "I've wronged you, I'll make it up to you later. By the way, I called you here today because I have something for you."

  The King of Jin opened the wardrobe and personally took out a piece of fabric, unfolding it to say: "I heard from Juqing that you like Phoenix Fire, and your skin is as white as snow. This fiery red color suits you well, especially this phoenix pattern, which suits you."

  Pang Luo Yu appreciated Jin Wang's sincerity, Feng Huang Huo, Pang Luo Xue, what you have I will definitely have too, what you don't have, I still will have.

  "It's getting late, you're not going back, the Duke will worry. Come and let me personally help my Empress dress." The King of Jin picked up Pang Luoyu's clothes to help her put them on.

  Pang Luoyu looked up at the sky and knew that if he didn't return, something would happen. He calmly accepted the service of the King of Jin. The King of Jin personally sent a dark guard to escort him to the entrance of the National Duke's Mansion before returning to report back.

  The King of Jin saw the returning guard, nodded to let him go, and immediately called the housekeeper over. His keen senses told him that today's events were not so simple, so he had the housekeeper carefully inspect all the objects here, especially the floral scent he smelled when he entered, although it was faint, but it didn't escape his nose.

  When he turned back to see the red spots on the bed sheet, like the crimson petals of a plum blossom, it was a pity that these petals disrupted his plan and made him feel uneasy. Pang Luo Yu, although he had been moved by her. But what made his blood boil even more was his desire for the throne, his control over the high-ranking officials, that was his lifelong love. It allowed him to not have to hide his desire for power.

  The housekeeper stood beside him and said in a low voice, "Your Highness, everything has been carefully checked, all the things are normal."

  "What about the incense burner?" Zhao Jin asked

  The housekeeper replied respectfully: "The doctor has already examined him, everything is normal."

  The King of Jin fell into his own thoughts, impossible, where did it go wrong?

  The housekeeper looked at the face of King Jin and said: "Your Highness, today we received an invitation from the Guo Gong Fu, tomorrow the eldest son of the Guo Gong Fu will return, and they sent someone to deliver the invitation. Also, the Imperial Concubine Yi sent someone to pass on a message, she is very pleased with the second daughter of the Guo Gong Fu, who is now known as Snow County Mistress."

  Zhao Jin nodded and ordered someone to burn the bedding, then got up and returned to his mansion.

  The King of Jin's anger did not affect Pang Luoyu's mood in the slightest, and she fantasized about wearing this phoenix fire dress on her wedding day all along the way. Especially with her beloved new husband by her side, thinking of his promise to her, his queen, Pang Luoyu felt as sweet as if she had eaten a jar of honey, and even Juqing beside her could see the happiness overflowing from Miss's face.

  He carefully wrapped the brocade in a cloth, still unable to let others see it for the time being. Looking around cautiously, he said to Cui Qing: "Later, wrap this brocade up and put it in my room without letting anyone discover it. No one can know about it. If someone hears even half a word, you know how severe the consequences will be."

  "Understood, miss," Ju Qing hastily replied.

  Pang Luo Yu nodded in satisfaction and said: "Later when the second madam asks where I went, you know how to answer?"

  "Big sister has gone to burn incense and pray for blessings."

  Pang Luoyu nodded in satisfaction, although his body still ached somewhat, but it couldn't hold back the joy in his heart.

  Listening Rain Pavilion Inside

  Zi Juan anxiously waited for the return of Pang Luo Yu, and heard from the servant in Tingyu Xuan that the young lady had gone out to burn incense and had not yet returned. She couldn't determine when she would come back, so thinking it was already late, she decided to wait there for the return of the young lady. The maid in Tingyu Xuan knew that Zi Juan was the wife's maid and didn't dare to be slow, leading her to sit in the pavilion in the courtyard. After serving a cup of tea, the maid excused herself to attend to other matters.

  Zi Juan knew that Second Miss trusted her, but after all, she was assigned to Second Miss by the mistress. Although the mistress was Second Miss's biological mother, Second Miss had many things that she didn't want the mistress to know about. When the mistress occasionally asked her questions, she could only answer according to Second Miss's instructions. After all, Second Miss was her real master. Lately, it seemed like Second Miss had many secrets, although she trusted Zi Juan, but there were many things that she instructed Lin Ye and Lin Ou to do instead. Zi Juan didn't have any plans to get married, so it seemed like she still needed to explain things to Second Miss. Recently, Second Miss felt even more mysterious than before.

  Perhaps due to spring fatigue, Ziyu waited for a long time, but the young lady still didn't come. The maid from Tingyu Xuan wasn't there either. So she walked over to the bench in front of the woods near the main house and dozed off. Coincidentally, Ziyu was wearing a cyan dress today, and when the sky darkened, it blended in with the color of the woods.

  The maid carrying Zijuan saw that there was no one in the pavilion and thought Zijuan had left, so she didn't pay attention and went to do her own work.

  Pang Luo Yu took Ju Qing back to the mansion and, after looking around to make sure no one was watching, hastily made her way to the Listening Rain Pavilion.

  Jasmine wrapped a piece of cloth around her with Pong's rain-soaked handkerchief, and the sky was getting darker. The two walked to the Listening Rain Pavilion, feeling relieved. Pong ordered the maid to prepare hot water, she wanted to take a bath and change clothes.

  Jade quietly took a detour from the small path in the woods, avoiding the crowd, and put the fabric back into Big Sister's room.

  Zi Juan happened to wake up at this time, leaning against the tree, she saw Ju Qing holding a white cloth beside the eldest sister. Just as she was about to greet her, Ju Qing's white gauze got caught on a branch of the tree, revealing a crimson phoenix flame underneath. Zi Juan suddenly stopped talking and stared at Ju Qing quickly taking down the white gauze and hastily wrapping it up before returning to the main house. Zi Juan was shocked, could it be that the eldest sister had stolen the second sister's brocade? Why else would she be so secretive? This matter must be told to the second sister.

  Zi Juan also forgot about Second Miss's appointment with Eldest Miss to visit Third Miss, and hastily rushed back to Luoxue Pavilion...