Chapter 897: An Empress and a Provincial Beauty

Chapter 897: An Empress and a Provincial Beauty

Gong Liwei always felt a bit uneasy being around Nie Xiwang.

It was natural, as the latter used to be the famous Blade Empress, the highly rumored and to an extent infamous ruler of the Empire that Gong Liwei was once just a citizen of.

Of course, she was a noble by birth, and had her own share of fame as the Beauty of the Eastern Forest Province, but her noble family was a small provincial one without any power, and her fame, as she saw it, was only of a provincial beauty.

Gong Liwei saw that Nie Xiwang wasn’t a bad person or even a scary one, at least when she was not fighting, as she was quite a bit scary in combat, but she also could not bring herself to think of the Blade Empress as someone she could casually speak to, let alone treat like an equal.

And though she knew that Nie Xiwang was close with Gong Cui, this wasn’t something that influenced Gong Liwei’s perception as Gong Cui was an irregularity who casually crossed any boundaries. She’d talk to a literal goddess in the same way she would talk to a mortal village girl.

Thus, the situation in which they were left alone with Yuanfen who didn’t talk at all, for an extended period of time, was somewhat of a conundrum for her.

She didn’t know if she should start a conversation, or continue in awkward silence for the rest of the journey.

“You don’t have to be so apprehensive, we’re Dao Sisters now”, Nie Xiwang spoke.

“Eh? Ah~… haha”, Gong Liwei’s slightly nervous dry laugh caused the Blade Empress to sigh.

And then, as if reminded of something, she turned her eyes to Gong Liwei, “Which reminds me, I never apologized to you in person, my relative did something unforgivable toward you”

The latter widened her eyes, and then shook her head, “N-no, you don’t have to, it was your cousin’s son! How could I blame Your Ma… ehm… you…”

“Ah, is that how we were related?”, Nie Xiwang nodded, causing confusion to appear on Gong Liwei’s face this time.

“I heard… you punished him as well… ?”, Gong Liwei added with a tone of slight uncertainty, since it seemed that the Blade Empress wasn’t even sure who the prince that wronged Gong Liwei was.

“I did”, Nie Xiwang nodded, “He has been sent to forced work until his natural time comes”

“Heh, serves that bastard right…”, Gong Liwei spoke with a bit of spite as it was the first time she learned of the man’s fate, and then gasped, raising her hand to cover her mouth and looked at Nie Xiwang.

This caused a very subtle smile to appear on Nie Xiwang’s lips.

“Seriously, you two sisters are so different… yet there is something similar as well”, the Blade Empress spoke with a warm gaze in her eyes.

“Similar? Haha, that’s… the first time I heard such a compliment”, Gong Liwei spoke with a warm smile appearing as well, as she adored her little sister.

“Mm, you’re both reckless”, Nie Xiwang added, causing Gong Liwei to almost stumble on the spot.

“Ahahaha… that… runs in the family, I think…”, Gong Liwei then made a wry laugh, adding, “One of our ancestors was even said to have told off a Crown Prince of the Empire on the battlefield, and some time after that rode into an enemy camp with a small group of soldiers thinking it was our Empire’s camp. I turned out the enemy camp was almost empty with most troops out on the offensive, so our ancestor struck one of the strategic commanders of the enemy’s Eastern Front… is how the story goes that our family gained a noble status in the first place”

“Crazy Warrior Gong? He’s your ancestor?”, Nie Xiwang asked raising her eyebrows.

Gong Liwei’s eyes became round, “Y-You know of him?”

“I had to learn history of the Empire, particularly every bit that involved the direct line of successions of the Imperial Family. Crazy Warrior Gong is someone I remember, even though I threw out of my head most of that knowledge as unnecessary quite long ago, because it was such a fascinating bit of story that made me smile when I read it”, Nie Xiwang nodded.

“Hahaha, to be honest I always thought it was a very exaggerated story…”, Gong Liwei wryly smiled.

“Oh, on the opposite, the story you told is quite subdued. He spit in the face of my ancestor and called him ‘a coward, a sissy, and a blithering fool’, and when he rode into the enemy camp thinking it was ours he actually saluted an outgoing small army, the last out of the camp, who saluted him back thinking he was their soldier since he lost the banner on the battlefield, and the enemy had theirs still folded since they were just riding out”, Nie Xiwang added.

“Pfft! ~ehahaha…. sorry… I… I didn’t expect… hahaha”, Gong Liwei began laughing, as Nie Xiwang made another subtle smile.

“But that ancestry does explain a lot”, Nie Xiwang nodded while introspectively tracing her chin with her fingers.

“Ah… and thank you for being so kind to Cui’er… she has been excited about having a friend who understands her… she can be a bit unrestrained with her words and attitude, but that is part of her charm if I may say so…”, Gong Liwei then smiled, finding it a bit easier to talk to the Blade Empress for some reason.

“Mm, which is why I like her”, Nie Xiwang nodded, surprising Gong Liwei, and then added with a slightly more somber look, ” These eyes, they see nervousness, when someone lies or tries to please, they see the intent behind words…”

Her tone became a bit heavy, as she seemingly was immersed in memories, while Gong Liwei suddenly understood that the Blade Empress may have been blessed with the Truth Seeking Eyes, but they did not only bring her benefits.

Meanwhile, Nie Xiwang continued, “At some point, I began avoiding to look at people unless I had to determine if they were a threat… I got so tired of it all, of seeing… but with Cui’er… ”

Her expression softened, causing Gong Liwei to finally feel a bit closer to Nie Xiwang as a human being, regardless of their past. She saw that this beauty was just as vulnerable, and just as capable of warmth as anyone.

“Is that… why you fell for Wu Long?”, Gong Liwei asked without thinking, and then covered her mouth with another gasp.

She just felt like someone who was tired of seeing falseness, fake smiles and lies, would appreciate how honest Wu Long was with those he cared about and those he recognized.

“Hahaha, yes and no, I guess?”, Nie Xiwang chuckled, as comparing Wu Long with Gong Cui was too preposterous of a match up, “With him, if I had to guess what I got most attracted to, it’s his strength”

“H-his strength?”, Gong Liwei widened her eyes, hearing such an unexpected answer.

“Yes, not his combat prowess or physical strength, although I cannot deny that part of me is attracted to that on a more basic carnal level, but that strength that shines through in his core, in his being. The… strength of his ‘self’, if you will. I cannot put it into words well enough though”, Nie Xiwang nodded.

At this point, Gong Liwei understood that the strength the Blade Empress was talking about was something only she could see, with her Truth Seeking Eyes.

Nie Xiwang’s cheeks became a bit rosy as she talked about Wu Long, further making her closer to someone Gong Liwei could understand and empathize with.

The Blade Empress then continued, “I was struggling to be in control of everything for too long, always on edge, always trying to be strong. My entire life was of projecting strength with no one to lean on, no one to give me comfort. And there he appeared, a man who could treat someone like me, as a woman, as someone to protect and cuddle in his embrace… honestly… who could resist such a man?”

“I see”, Gong Liwei spoke with a warm smile. What attracted them to the same man was slightly different, but she could understand her point of view.

“It is perhaps why I like to submit to him in bed, although I cannot be sure, it could just be my thing”, Nie Xiwang added.

“Eh?!?!”, Gong Liwei almost jumped up from the sofa she eased into while they talked.

“Ah, I forgot for a moment that you haven’t been to one of our talks between the Dao Sisters…”, Nie Xiwang chuckled, seeing that reaction, “But we do share one man, and it is sometimes interesting to see another point of view… we’re all adults after all, and we all know what happens behind the closed doors”

“Ah… i-is that so? Is Cui’er…”

“Mm, she participated a few times, but she is a bit too innocent for most of the discussions, so she usually only listens”, Nie Xiwang nodded.

“Haa~…”, Gong Liwei made an absent-minded half-acknowledgment of what she was told and half-exhale of befuddlement.

But something in what Nie Xiwang told her about submitting to Wu Long, caught Gong Liwei’s attention, as her own urges and thoughts she thought was improper for a lady, came to her mind, and she cautiously asked, “I-if it’s not too much to ask… w-what do you mean by s-submitting to him?”

“You don’t have to be so hesitant to ask, as I said, we’re Dao Sisters now”, Nie Xiwang said with a shrug, and added “And yes, I like to submit to him. I like explicitly being told what to do… only by him and no one else. I like giving him full and complete control, bending to his will, and be obedient”

Gong Liwei’s face became red, but she also understood. The thought of Wu Long doing that with Gong Liwei, was exciting.

At the same time she felt some kind of new kinship with Nie Xiwang, and felt like she could accept her own desires a bit more.

After all, if such thoughts and deeds, such behavior, were not shameful for even someone as high and lofty, with a natural regal authority and grace as the Blade Empress, it was not so unnatrual and improper after all.

Not to mention, that her biggest fear, of being viewed with strange look by Wu Long, and to an extent, other Dao Sisters, was somewhat alleviated. Since even hearing this, she did not suddenly see Nie Xiwang as someone depraved. The Blade Empress did not lose her grace and respect in Gong Liwei’s eyes at all.

Rather, she somehow respected her even more, for being so truthful about her desires, and open about it without any fears of being judged or looked at with some kind of prejudice.

‘Maybe… I can… embrace this part of myself as well…’, Gong Liwei thought.

This conversation seemed to have breached the wall between the two, as their conversation flowed more naturally from there, and gradually, the signs of unease or awkwardness disappeared from Gong Liwei’s demeanor completely.

Hehe, now you know why I picked the two that I picked for this trip… muhahahaha!

As for Yuanfen, the reason she followed will be revealed later ^^

I hope you are all doing great my dear readers!

Thank you for reading and your incredible support!!!