Inside an elegant pavilion at the Golden Kylin Gathering.
Gu Chenfeng was surrounded by three breathtaking beauties, each with a distinctly different air.
The sight was enough to make any man burn with envy, yet Gu Chenfeng could only groan inwardly.
Who would have thought attending a literary gathering could land him in a romantic battlefield?
He had only been teaching Shangguan Bingxin how to care for Crescent.
First, Princess Yaoyin had barged in uninvited.
Then his "fake lover," Su Wanyue, the Imperial Capital's foremost lady of the arts, had actually rushed onto the battlefield.
Su Wanyue was currently plotting how to conquer him.
With Gu Chenfeng playing along, Su Wanyue felt she was gradually bringing him under her control. Things were getting better and better.
How could she let anyone else lay a finger on the duck that was practically in her hands?
So, when she saw two women whose beauty rivaled her own appear beside Gu Chenfeng,
Su Wanyue immediately grew anxious and resolved to defend her prey.
From the instant she stepped into the pavilion, she had entered "combat mode."
Every word and gesture proclaimed her intimacy with Gu Chenfeng.
Each sweet call of "Third Brother" made Gu Chenfeng shed goosebumps all over the floor.
He figured that once Princess Yaoyin and Shangguan Bingxin left, it would all be over.
Yet what frustrated Gu Chenfeng beyond measure was this.
Who knew what madness had seized Princess Yaoyin?
Earlier, she had been eager to take Shangguan Bingxin away immediately.
But the moment Su Wanyue arrived, the girl had brought Shangguan Bingxin back at the speed of light.
Coming back was one thing, but why had she suddenly become so talkative?
The Princess even began striking up conversation with Su Wanyue.
Within a few brief exchanges, the scent of gunpowder quietly filled the air.
The two women went straight into "laning in the pavilion."
Princess Yaoyin smiled charmingly.
"Though Lady Su is merely a courtesan, you are as beautiful as a celestial maiden and accomplished in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. I find that quite admirable."
She claimed admiration, but was really taking a veiled jab at Su Wanyue's status.
An ordinary courtesan, put in her place by a princess, would have held her nose and swallowed it.
But being a courtesan was merely Su Wanyue's disguise. Why would she bow her head?
So Su Wanyue smiled faintly. "You flatter me, Princess. I was lonely and helpless from childhood, with no one to rely on, so I could only fend for myself.
"Unlike you, Princess, who were born with clothes brought to your outstretched hands and food delivered to your open mouth.
"Even if you know nothing and do nothing, you can still enjoy fine clothes and exquisite food for a lifetime."
It sounded self-deprecating, but she was clearly mocking Princess Yaoyin for never lifting a finger and having no particular talent.
Princess Yaoyin's pupils contracted with anger.
Before she could speak, Su Wanyue turned to gaze tenderly at Gu Chenfeng.
"Ah... my life has been bitter. To preserve my innocence, I could only sell my art amid the worldly dust, but fortunately, I met a good man.
"The Third Young Master knows me, understands me, and cherishes me.
"He cares for me in every little way and is willing to rescue me from this sea of suffering. I truly have no way to repay him."
Gu Chenfeng froze.
Since when did I know you, understand you, or cherish you?
With a practiced "legendary double kill," Su Wanyue threw Princess Yaoyin's battle formation into utter disarray.
Beside her, Shangguan Bingxin quietly tugged her sleeve, signaling that she should stop while she could.
Yet Princess Yaoyin "refused to log off."
Originally, she had only intended to take Shangguan Bingxin away and keep her from being deceived by Gu Chenfeng.
She had never expected the Imperial Capital's foremost lady of the arts to be entangled with him as well.
This was none of her business.
But Princess Yaoyin felt that Gu Chenfeng was, after all, someone who had once pursued her madly.
Now he was getting hot and heavy with a courtesan. If word spread, it might damage her own reputation.
So she had no choice but to lower herself and personally drive this woman away from Gu Chenfeng.
This isn't for Gu Chenfeng. It's for myself!
Clinging to that conviction, Princess Yaoyin gritted her teeth and unleashed her ultimate.
She suddenly looked at Gu Chenfeng.
"Gu Chenfeng, I know you have done a great deal for me, even risking your life to do many foolish things.
"Perhaps I overlooked your feelings before and caused you to suffer.
"But you shouldn't abandon yourself to despair because of that and vent your emotions so indiscriminately.
"That would make me feel rather guilty, too."
With those words, Princess Yaoyin took the affection between Gu Chenfeng and Su Wanyue
and turned it into nothing more than Gu Chenfeng's indiscriminate emotional release after being rejected by her.
The move certainly packed a punch.
Unfortunately, her opponent in this lane was Su Wanyue.
Su Wanyue merely gave a breezy smile.
Then, with perfect naturalness, she reached out and took one of Gu Chenfeng's hands.
Her bright eyes, like sunlight shining on autumn waters, gazed at him with emotion.
"Third Brother, I don't care what anyone else says.
"Love asks nothing of the past, and fate asks nothing of the outcome.
"Whatever wounds you have suffered, I will find a way to soothe them.
"I want no glory or riches, only to hold your hand and grow old with you.
"You are part of me, and I am part of you!"
After speaking, Su Wanyue glanced at Gu Chenfeng's waist and murmured with a hint of bashfulness.
"Third Brother, your lower back has been aching so often lately.
"Tonight, I'll stew a bowl of restorative tonic soup for you to nourish your body."
There was no denying it: Su Wanyue's rank was far too high.
If Princess Yaoyin was "Silver," this woman was nearly "Master."
After just a few lines, even Gu Chenfeng nearly got swept away.
Princess Yaoyin was so furious that her pretty face flushed scarlet, her red lips pressed tight, and she could not utter a word.
At last, she realized how enormous the gap between her and her opponent was.
So she quietly nudged Shangguan Bingxin beside her with an elbow.
She was trying to call for "jungler" support.
"Ah..."
Shangguan Bingxin, standing beside her, felt rather exhausted.
She had only come to ask Gu Chenfeng how to care for Crescent. How had things turned into this?
Of course she understood that Princess Yaoyin was asking for help, but she really was not good at this sort of thing.
So Shangguan Bingxin simply said,
"Young Master Gu, the Princess and Lady Su seem to have a great deal left to discuss.
"Why don't we go somewhere else and continue talking about how to care for Crescent?"
"No!"
Before Gu Chenfeng could answer, Su Wanyue and Princess Yaoyin spoke in unison.
At that moment, both women looked at Shangguan Bingxin with intense wariness.
As though they had spotted a thief trying to steal their "nexus"!
Under those two piercing gazes, Shangguan Bingxin inexplicably grew restless.
Where did this sudden urge to fight come from?
Now Gu Chenfeng finally understood what it meant to sit on a bed of needles.
He desperately wanted to escape, but Su Wanyue's grip on his hand was very tight!
In the pavilion, Ouyang Cai, forgotten in a corner, also felt deeply aggrieved.
He felt he belonged beneath the pavilion, not inside it.
Meanwhile, after Lady Su's performance onstage,
the Golden Kylin Gathering finally entered its second phase.
The scholars and cultured guests were free to mingle.
Some exchanged poems and essays, some discussed music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, while others debated politics and military affairs...
The Golden Kylin Gathering was not a competition. It was more like a "literati party."
Many of those present also gathered in their own groups to play various literary games.
The Flying Flower Game, verse exchanges, linked verses, the Drinking Game, and so on... the scene was lively indeed.
Just then, two figures, surrounded by a crowd, arrived outside the pavilion where Gu Chenfeng and the others were.
A guard from the Prime Minister's Residence came to report.
"Third Young Master, Imperial Uncle Xiao and Young Master Zhang You have brought a group of Imperial Academy students to pay you a visit."
By now, the torment of the romantic battlefield had left Third Young Master Gu drenched in sweat. Those words sounded like music from heaven.
Though he had already labeled both men "villains" in his mind,
and their joint arrival could mean nothing good,
Gu Chenfeng had never looked forward to seeing them so much.
"Quick, show them in!"
Before you continue