World of Hidden Phoenixes Chapter 1

Translated by Luna (lunaris111.wordpress.com) Link to Original

Edited by therealaphye

---

South Kingdom’s spring always comes early. Every year, the courtyards of every house and every place with dirt will become green with the growing of trees and blooming of flowers. However, this year was somewhat different. It was already February and yet, just a night before, it had begun to snow and the temperature had become colder.

The snow caught the people of Yu City off guard. However, there was also one more thing that was equally as unexpected as the sudden snowfall: the news of Left Minister Ji Feng Li’s marriage to General Hua Mu’s daughter.

From the families point of view, this marriage was a perfect marriage. The two had equal status. Nevertheless, in the eyes of the people from Yu City, the gap between the bride and the groom was a bit too wide. Left Chancellor Ji Feng Li is a legendary figure. He is hardly unknown. He took the imperial test when he was 15 and earned first place, thus entering the imperial palace at a young age. After four years, when he was 19, he was given the title of first rank chancellor, becoming the youngest chancellor in all of South Kingdom’s history. Despite having outstanding talents and status, he is a down-to-earth person. He is close to common citizens. In these past three years, he did a lot of things that benefited the common people thus winning their favor. Moreover, he is said to be handsome, gentle and elegant. He is adored by the young ladies over Yu City and  even the whole South Kingdom.

Now, this dream man is about to be someone else’s lover. The number of women whom have had their hearts broken by this marriage are countless.. Although they know they are unworthy of Chancellor Ji, but they still hope that Chancellor Ji would marry a suitable woman so that they would feel better, however, the woman he is going to marry is the daughter of General Hua Mu.

In Yu City, there are many beautiful and talented ladies from a good family background, all of which have been at least heard of before.

The most famous is a daughter of Grand Tutor Wen, Wen Wan. She is said to be the best lady in South Kingdom. Not only is she very beautiful, but she also excels in poetry and painting. She is a rare, talented lady. In the palace, there is the third princess, Huang Fu Yan. She likes to play Qin. It is rumored that her Qin skill is amazing. There is also the daughter of a chancellor called An Rong. Though she is not as beautiful as Wen Wan, her embroidery skill is well-known throughout the capital.

There are countless beauties and talents in the capital. People will be able to count at least ten names in one breath, but for General Hua Mu’s daughter, they do not even know her name, let alone count her in the list of talented and beautiful women. Such an unsightly, un-virtuous, and mediocre woman is certainly is not fit to be Chancellor Ji’s wife. Even God does not feel fair thus resulting in the heavy snowfall.

However, the snow was not be able to stop this marriage. On the first day of February, General Hua Mu’s daughter was carried to Chancellor Ji’s Residence.

Night, a bank of snow driven by wind started piling up.

Hua Zhu Yu sat on the bed. She lifted the red embroidered bridal veil – which had been covering her face – up. The red curtains, red draperies, red dragon and phoenix candles make it evident that she is a bride. In the end, she still cannot escape! Even if she could avoid this marriage, in the future she still would still face another marriage. Though she had never met her husband before, she is still looking forward to seeing him.

“Miss, you should clean your face. Let this servant help you to re-apply the make-up. I fear that your current appearance would scare Chancellor Ji.” Tao Se, the dowry maid, whispered.

Although Tao Se has been her maid in Hua residence since childhood, but all these years, Hua Zhu Yu did not live in in residence and so that Tao Se did not know her personality. She really cannot understand why her miss purposely attempts to look ugly..

These days, she heard a lot of unjust rumors about how her miss is not good enough for Chancellor Ji. In her eyes, her miss is much more beautiful and talented than those so-called beauties and talents in the capital, but her miss has a horrible reputation.

Hua Zhu Yu jokingly raised her eyebrow and laughed lightly: “If he was scared by my appearance, then it’s better just to leave him as he would not deserve to be the left chancellor, nor my husband.”

Hearing what Hua Zhu Yu said, Tao Se, who – like the females in the Yu City – adored Ji Feng Li, quickly replied: “Chancellor Ji will not be scared.”

Distant footsteps from outside could be heard, Tao Se anxiously motioned for Hua Zhu Yu to cover the bridal veil. Looking at Tao Se’s nervous state, Hua Zhu Yu smiled brightly, brighter than spring bloom. Just as her fingers put down the veil, the curtains opened and a sharp cold air rushed in.

“All of you withdraw.” An elegant voice sounded, the tone was light and it conveyed a sense of grace and composure. Tao Se bowed her head and withdrew together with the other maids. After a period of time, there was still no movement. Because of the veil covering her face, Hua Zhu Yu did not know what was Ji Feng Li doing and was curious as to why he had not lifted her veil yet.

There was a long silence.

Hua Zhu Yu sat on the bed leisurely. She was not one to lose her patience easily. Finally, there was a sound in the room: wine being poured into a cup. A slender hand handed a cup of wine to her. The cup was light, light red and had beautiful decorations on it. The wine was dark red – a color similar to a beauty’s blushing cheeks. She didn’t know what wine it was and had never drank wine before. She took a gulp down the cup of wine. At first, the wine tasted bland but then slowly revealed hints of sweetness and pleasant fragrance, which continued to linger. The wine was really good. She was about to put her cup down and hand the cup of wine to Ji Feng Li but the cup slipped from her hands. It fell to the the floor and broke into large and small pieces, each piece gleaming with bright light.

Hua Zhu Yu frowned and lowered her eyes only see that her hands had been weakened.

---

                                     | Index | Next Chapter >>