So I might have mistranslated the title for the past 8 chapters? The characters “激情” can translate to ‘enthusiasm’ or ‘intense emotion/passion’. I’m leaving the titles as ‘enthusiasm’ for now, since I don’t think there’s a good way to translate the phrase, unless someone has an idea. (激情四射的中秋節)

Chapter 40: Enthusiasm at the Mid-Autumn Festival (part 8)

The Mid-Autumn Festival was a day of happiness, but not for some people. Currently, there was someone standing outside the gate of the prime minister's mansion making a lot of noise - the second princess, Ye Zi Ning. She felt that the Mid-Autumn Festival was more like a day of imminent suffering. She was angry and didn't have the demeanour of an imperial princess at all.

Qing Wu and Mu Qiu didn't immediately go to the gate. Instead, they sat on a tree branch and watched the scene below.

"Eh? Isn't that the second princess?" Mu Qiu stared at Ye Zi Ning in shock. Although she had only seen Ye Zi Ning once, but she remembered the second princess very well. Her young miss was almost executed by this second princess. How could she forget this person? "A-Wu, you just said that there was someone who was seeking death. Did you mean the second princess?"

"Doesn't Little Qiu Qiu think that she should die?" Qing Wu asked in response.

"But she is the second princess and the emperor's younger sister. If…" Mu Qiu didn't manage to finish her sentence before Ye Zi Ning's voice sounded out again. "What are you doing? Don't hit the door yet."

It's a pity that she didn't get a reply. Behind her, her bodyguards looked at each other for a few moments and did not dare to take a step forward. The Prime Minister wasn't merely a Prime Minister, he was His Excellency, The Ice Lord, okay? Many court officials have died by His Excellency, The Ice Lord's hands. The emperor didn't even reprimand him. They were just mere bodyguards.

"Princess, maybe the Lord Prime Minister isn't inside the mansion. Perhaps we should return to the imperial palace first. The Empress Dowager said that she would not allow Princess to marry in Bei Liang," the maid beside Ye Zi Ning suggested.

"No." She had already sent people to look into things. The prince of Bei Liang was not only crippled, but he was also extremely ugly. She definitely didn't want to marry this kind of person.

Her emperor brother had already sent out a decree. Tomorrow, she would go and marry that person. It didn't matter what method she used, her emperor brother wouldn't rescind the decree. Empress mother was also unable to persuade him. There was only one person who was able to make the emperor rescind the decree.

"But, it was Lord Prime Minister's proposal for Princess to marry into Bei Liang." When the maid had finished speaking, she was slapped across the face.

"This Princess knows. You don't need to remind me." Ye Zi Ning looked resentfully at her maid.

"Go, open the gate for This Princess, otherwise This Princess will kill all of you one by one."

Her bodyguards did not approach the gate. Instead, they kneeled indignantly. "Please, Princess, forgive us!" They would rather offend the obstinate princess in front of them than His Excellency, The Ice Lord.

Ye Zi Ning was bursting with anger as she glared furiously.

"A-Wu, you aren't going down to handle it?" Mu Qiu asked curiously. Normally, any troublemakers should be driven away as soon as possible, but he was still sitting there and watching things unfold. Wasn't he afraid it would attract a crowd?

"Nah, someone is already going to deal with it." Qing Wu laughed.

Mu Qiu wasn't able to respond before Qing Yun appeared.

"That is…" Mu Qiu looked at Qing Wu, who was beside her and then back at the man at the front gate. They looked the same. They…

"Little Qiu Qiu, he is my older twin brother."

"Oh." Mu Qiu calmed her shocked heart. That really frightened her as she thought she saw a ghost. So, the they were actually twin brothers. No wonder they looked the same. Then the one who had given Young Miss a message should have been A-Wu's older brother.

Qing Wu smiled, then his smile froze. He flew off the tree branch and landed next to Qing Yun.

"A-…" By the time Mu Qiu reacted, she found she had been left in the tree. What surprised her more was that her young miss and His Excellency, The Ice Lord were actually sitting next to each other on the rooftop.

"Tch," Feng Ming spat out coldly.

Although this sound was rather quiet, everyone could hear it. Those people stepped back and looked up to locate the source of the noise. They could see the figures of two people on the rooftop. While they could not see the two of them clearly, they could guess that the one in white was His Excellency, The Ice Lord.

"Master Feng, This Princess likes you. This Princess wants to marry you," Ye Zi Ning boldly confessed. But her confession revealed how she thought of herself, that she was above the masses, and that if one was to marry her, then it would be their greatest fortune¹.

Qing Wu looked at Ye Zi Ning in disgust. This person was to arrogant. Who did she think she was? Master knew what kind of woman she was. The phrase "has a big chest but no brain" surely applied to her, right?

Bai Xi rolled her eyes. "Feng Ming, someone confessed to you. Aren't you going to respond?"

"Okay."

"Okay? What do you mean by okay?" Could this man only say one word at a time? Bai Xi really wanted to pry open this man's head and see what was inside. Why was it so hard to figure out what was on his mind?

"Bai Xi." He focussed attention on her.

"Hm?"

Feng Ming reached out to touch her red lips. "Has Little White Face touched here?"

"What?" What did he say? What did he mean? Before she could comprehend his words, she felt him lift her chin and felt a pair of cold lips press against hers. Dumbfounded, her eyes widened considerably as she stared at his beautiful face. He… He actually… Kissed her!

"Ah… You… You…" Ye Zi Ning couldn't believe what she saw. He actually kissed another woman after she confessed to him, and an unprecedented wave of humiliation washed over her.

The bodyguards looked at the direction Ye Zi Ning was pointing at and had expressions of disbelief. God! His Excellency, The Ice Lord actually kissed a woman! This couldn't be real. It was so bizarre. Unfortunately, when Feng Ming pulled away, he glanced down and flicked the sleeve of his robe. A powerful force swept them away. The bodyguards could not continue to think because that scene was the last thing they saw in the world.

"Ah…!" Ye Zi Ning shrieked as the colour drained from her face. Around her lay her dead bodyguards, leaving her the only person alive. Her shoes and skirt were stained with blood, which frightened her.

"Qing Wu, cripple her leg and return her to the imperial palace. Tell Ye Mu Li that nothing has changed," Feng Ming ordered coldly.

"Yes." Qing Wu answered respectfully. He wanted to look up at the roof to what happened and what caused these people had such odd expressions.

"Has her punishment mollified you?" Feng Ming asked.

"What?"

"Didn't she want your life?"

"Oh, wait… You kissed me?" Although they had only met a few times, he had already kissed her. He actually was the first to kiss her across her two lifetimes.

At her question, Feng Ming's lips curled upwards. "I will kiss you back next time." He jumped away and disappeared from Bai Xi's sight.

"Seriously? Kiss me back next time? I'll remember this." Bai Xi gritted her teeth as she punctuated each word. No wonder he said 'okay' so easily. He wanted to use her to deal with this. Feng Ming, I won't forget this.

Feng Ming didn't go very far. He only left the immediate area. His gaze was focussed on the person sitting on the rooftop. Unconsciously, he touched his lips and smiled. "Qing Yun."

"Yes." Qing Yun appeared behind Feng Ming and stood respectfully.

"How do you kiss someone?"

"Huh?" Qing Yun was dumbfounded and abruptly raised his head to look at his master's back. Did he mishear? Master was asking him for advice? And he was asking how to kiss someone? He must have misheard. Yeah, he definitely misheard.

"How do you kiss someone?" Feng Ming asked once more, as if not noticing Qing Yun's bewilderment.

"This is… That is…" How should he know? Why would Master ask him this question? It couldn't be that Master wanted to kiss Young Miss Bai Xi? And yet… "Regarding this matter, Master can consult Old Madam."

"Qing Yun."

"Yes."

"Go find a woman and figure it out. After seven days, come back and explain it to me," Feng Ming said indifferently. After, he gracefully left with the wind, leaving behind an uneasy Qing Yun.

^{1.(三生有幸) is an idiom which directly translates to 'three lives of happiness'.↩}