Chapter 59: A Priceless Treasure Is Hard To Come By

Who are you?

Who am I?

Those were the questions constantly discussed and analyzed intellectually by philosophers for thousands of years, and those questions were asked at this very moment. The goal was actually very simple and explicit.

Wang Yizhi was requesting Chu Yu to brandish her trump card.

The situation was akin to two martial art experts giving up on probing one another’s capabilities cautiously and choosing to exchange attacks ruthlessly instead.

Wang Yizhi’s question came in such a sharp yet direct manner that Chu Yu could not help but be stunned for a moment. She had yet to think of the right way to answer the question when she heard Wang Yizhi state, “Your bodyguard is extremely skilled and qualified. I’ve seen quite a number of swordsmen in my life and it is widely known that the rich and powerful families in Jiankang City cultivate their own swordsmen. However, not many of them are as skilled as he is, let alone the fact that such a swordsman is actually protecting a young maiden like you.”

Wang Yizhi’s lips curved into a smile as he looked at Chu Yu. It felt as if there were thousands of deep emotions in his eyes. He spoke softly, “Who exactly are you?” His gaze contained pure, undisguised seduction without the slightest reservation, unlike Rong Zhi’s concealed gaze.

It really was such an awkward situation for her.

Chu Yu coughed softly twice and began to procrastinate in a forced manner. Her gaze shifted up, down, left, and right constantly as she gazed at the beams, boxes, cabinets and everything else in the house for a long time. Even though she did not discover anything peculiar, she noticed that the wooden furniture in this house was made of the same indigo wood just like the wooden clogs beneath Wang Yizhi’s feet. The wood was glowing with a form of extremely smooth, silky, soft gloss.

Wang Yizhi stared at Chu Yu with a fixed gaze all this time. He refused to allow her to sneak away from the conversation just like that. She was fully aware that she could not avoid him anymore, so she began talking about unrelated topics. “What are the wooden clogs that you’re wearing made of?”

Wang Yizhi grinned. “Wavy-grained red sandalwood.”

Red sandalwood was a rare species of wood that could be divided into different grades. Grade A red sandalwood with wavy grains was sold at a higher price than the standard wood. It was considered the choicest red sandalwood. In the past, there was a saying that an inch of red sandalwood cost an inch of gold. In other words, the wood underneath Wang Yizhi’s feet was almost equal to gold of the same volume.

However, Chu Yu could tell that he was not trying to show his wealth off intentionally. He would not have told her the value of his wooden clogs had she not asked. Because she asked, he answered her frankly and regarded the extremely precious wavy-grained red sandalwood as the most ordinary type of wood.

He did not mind that people could not tell that he was wealthy. He also did not mind if people could tell that he was rich. He lived in this world in an arrogant yet carefree manner and did what he wanted to do on his own terms.

On the other hand, what he wanted to know was precisely Chu Yu’s identity.

Chu Yu pursed her lips and looked at him with fixed concentration. Their eyes met each other’s and revealed their persistence to explore one another. They were making wild conjectures in their minds. However, Chu Yu was feeling rather anxious compared to Wang Yizhi’s full confidence.

After a while, she exhaled a breath while smiling. An idea arose in her mind. She suddenly harbored the intention of playing a prank. She looked at Wang Yizhi and enunciated every word with a pause, “I. Am. Liu. Chu. Yu.”

She was Liu Chu Yu, Princess Shanyin Liu Chu Yu. Whether she consented to acknowledge the identity, it was inseparable from her now.

Upon saying that, Chu Yu monitored his change of expression. It would be best if he turned around and ran away. Anyhow, she decided to lay her cards on the table. It would be rather impressive if she could intimidate Wang Yizhi during the process.

Liu Chu Yu?

Wang Yizhi frowned ever so slightly and searched his mind for the name that sounded so familiar to him. Slowly, the expression on his handsome face became stupefied while his eyes widened ever so slightly as he gaped at her.

Chu Yu watched him with a smirk. ‘Come on. Be more intense. Be a little more shocked and run away in fear.’

However, the situation did not evolve as she wished. It had only taken a moment before Wang Yizhi regained his usual calmness. However, there was still a look of astonishment in his eyes. “You’re the royal princess from the Kuaiji Commandery?” Princess Shanyin’s name was given according to her fief in the Shanyin District. However, Liu Ziye had also granted the Kuaiji Commandery to her in order to appease her recently. As a result, Chu Yu’s official title to the public should be Princess Kuaiji. Nonetheless, Chu Yu was not very used to this official title, so it took her a moment to react to Wang Yizhi calling her by her title.

Chu Yu nodded with a smile. She stole someone else’s script shamelessly by saying, “How many Liu Chu Yus are there in this world?”

Wang Yizhi looked at her with a complicated gaze. However, she was surprised to find that there was no despise and hatred in his expression all along.

She refused to believe that he had no idea about the male consorts in Princess Shanyin’s residence. Even though the feudal code of ethics was not strictly enforced much later until the Song Dynasty, Princess Shanyin’s behavior was considered a challenge to the male chauvinist society. Still, anybody from a traditional society would despise her behavior.

Nevertheless, there was no contempt in Wang Yizhi’s expression. There were only curiosity, contemplation and some unexplainable intention, but no hatred.

Chu Yu lost count of how long it had been before Wang Yizhi replied jovially, “it’s different from the hearsay.”

She continued casually, “What’s different from hearsay?”

Wang Yizhi chuckled. “It’s said that you look like a yaksha [1]. Yet, that’s not what I’m seeing today. You look beautiful.” His tone sounded almost like he was teasing her. He stretched his arm out as he was speaking and touched her cheek with a finger. “Why do you have to use shading cream to hide? You look stunning just the way you are.”

Chu Yu turned her face away ever so slightly to avoid his touch. She shot him a warning glance. “Aren’t you afraid of me?”

Wang Yizhi asked with interest, “Why should I be afraid of you?”

Chu Yu rolled her eyes. “You should be afraid that I’ll capture you and make you my male consort, of course.” Even though Wang Yizhi’s unusual reaction gave her joy, it made her feel slightly depressed as well because she felt like the man before her completely disregarded her bad reputation.

Wang Yizhi rubbed his chin and said with a smile, “My only concern is your beauty. You’re beautiful to me and that’s all I care about. Why should I care about anything else?” He shrugged nonchalantly. “If you are truly capable of making me your male consort, then I’ll yield to you willingly. As for the fact that you keep male consorts for yourself…is there anyone with a wealthy family background who refuses to keep a few young girls for his own pleasure?”

Chu Yu gazed at him sullenly. She was quiet for a moment before she heaved a sigh. She was about to say something, yet no words came out from her gaping mouth because there was already no need to speak anymore.

Seeing that Wang Yizhi was leaning against the wall in such a leisurely and comfortable manner, Chu Yu imitated him and leaned her body against the wall next to him.

Even though the condemnation of bystanders could not hurt her, she could not help feeling shaken upon encountering such an open-minded man.

Princess Shanyin’s behavior was nothing serious to him. He did not fear her bad reputation. In fact, he was even teasing her without a care in the world. It was Chu Yu’s first time encountering a person like this ever since she came to this world.

He was intelligent and enjoyed life very much. Despite having experienced all sorts of vicissitudes in the world, he still managed to retain his carefree conscience.

Just as mentioned by Pei Shu, every item in Wang Yizhi’s residence was more valuable than anywhere else. Nevertheless, Chu Yu felt like the most precious item here was the master of this residence.

He was the priceless treasure.

Translator’s Note:

[1] a hideous, malevolent monster/spirit