Chapter Five: The Peerless Beauty

Yang Xi had always doubted the beauty of the women of antiquity, especially the legendary Four Beauties.

In later times he had seen far too many beautiful women: the heroines in films and television were all lovely, noble in bearing, and carefully made up. He had thought that the famed beauties of ancient times could hardly have been any more beautiful than those of later ages, especially since the nourishment available in antiquity could never compare with that of the future. But the moment he first laid eyes on Yang Yuhuan, that belief was overturned at once.

Though legends are always embellished, and historical descriptions of peerless women are inevitably dressed in literary flourish, the existence of such famous beauty was beyond question. What Yang Xi had not expected was how startling Yang Yuhuan’s beauty would be.

His former self should have seen her before, but the newly reborn Yang Xi was seeing her for the first time. Before meeting her, he had not even considered what she actually looked like, nor whether his former self had ever encountered her. Only after seeing her did he feel that he had seen this woman before, as though it were not the first time. And yet, even with that faint sense of familiarity, Yang Xi still felt what could only be called astonishment.

This woman was truly beautiful. To call her merely pretty would be far too pale an expression. As Yang Yuhuan came slowly forward with upright bearing, Yang Xi discreetly studied this woman, one of the legendary Four Beauties, and silently weighed her in his mind.

Though it was midsummer and the weather was sweltering, Yang Yuhuan was dressed with immaculate propriety and rare nobility.

Her black hair was piled in a slanted cloudlike coiffure, lending her both innocence and a touch of playfulness. A pure-gold phoenix ornament was pinned at the center of her hair, its feathers covering half of the coiffure and balancing the bun on the other side. A dangling ornament swayed near her ear, and a chainlike decoration hung down before her forehead like a forehead band, adding still more to her grace and beauty. She wore a light, sheer embroidered jacket, beneath which the pink chest wrap over her ample breasts showed faintly through the gauze. Her fair neck was long as a swan’s, making her figure seem even more upright and noble. At her waist was a belt in a shade slightly deeper than her skirt, perfectly outlining her splendid figure. Her waist was slender, her bosom full, and beneath the pale wrap her high twin peaks seemed ready to burst through the fabric. The neckline of the chest wrap dipped very low; even as she merely stood there, Yang Xi could see a provocative glimpse of soft pink-white flesh.

What an incomparably dazzling creature.

No wonder Li Longji had been captivated at first sight, forgetting propriety and morality, and taken Yang Yuhuan from his own son to make her his woman.

Yang Xi had always thought himself capable of resisting any temptation, including that of wealth and beauty, yet even he could not help swallowing and drawing in a small breath.

A woman like this would make any man’s heart stir. He would want to explore the curves and hollows of her body, and discover what it would feel like to join with her in intimacy. For an instant, Yang Xi felt such a thought rise in him as well, but he knew it was most improper and hurried to suppress it, turning his gaze away and refusing to look.

He did not know how old Yang Yuhuan was now. Judging from the records, she ought to be in her thirties, perhaps even nearing forty. And yet not the slightest trace of age could be seen on her face. If one were to guess her age solely from her appearance and figure, Yang Xi would have taken her for a woman in her twenties, and at most not yet thirty.

Looking at Li Longji, who sat slantwise on the couch, Yang Xi felt that this aged old man possessing such a delicate beauty was utterly absurd, like a flower planted in something unfit for flowers.

What a waste of resources. At Li Longji’s age, could he still enjoy a woman’s charms? He probably could not. Yang Yuhuan must have been terribly pitiful, living almost every day as though widowed in spirit.

At that thought, Yang Xi abruptly stopped himself. In such a situation, how could he entertain these ridiculous notions? He had been through trial by fire, a soldier tempered in hellish training. Had crossing into another life made him fall this low? After silently mocking himself, he instantly gathered his spirit, banished all distracting thoughts, and after following his father, Yang Guozhong, forward to bow, he stood quietly to one side.

"Yuhuan, why have you come?" Li Longji, as though suddenly injected with a powerful stimulant, was no longer in the least dejected. Even his aged face seemed to glow as he smiled at Yang Yuhuan, who had come before him to pay her respects, and gestured for her to sit beside him.

Yang Xi also noticed that his father, the seemingly upright Yang Guozhong, was likewise using a very covert gaze to study the alluring sight of Yang Yuhuan’s chest. His Adam’s apple was moving too. It seemed his father, when faced with beauty, was also a man of remarkably weak resolve.

"Your Majesty, this humble consort heard that you had left the court assembly and already returned to the palace, so I came to see you," Yang Yuhuan said, sitting beside Li Longji and gently tapping him with two small fists, all smiles. "Your Majesty has not held a morning audience for a long time. Today you personally presided over the assembly, and I truly feared it might be too much for you. Since Your Majesty is indisposed, you should not overburden yourself with state affairs. Leave them to Guozhong and the others. I am sure Guozhong and his colleagues will not disappoint Your Majesty."

As Yang Yuhuan shifted while taking her seat, Yang Xi, standing nearby, saw the deep cleft of her breasts.

Fullness is greatness, he thought, for no reason at all.

Yes, they were truly large, and deeply so. The feel of them must be wonderfully soft.

He hurriedly ordered himself once more to remain calm and drive away all stray thoughts.

Hearing Yang Yuhuan speak thus, Yang Guozhong quickly stepped forward and added, "Your Majesty, the Imperial Consort is right. This minister will do everything in his power to serve Your Majesty. Please do not worry excessively. Rest with peace of mind, and if there are any decisions I cannot make, I will report them to Your Majesty at once. Now that the crisis at Tong Pass has been resolved, Fourth Young Master has turned the tide and saved Great Tang in its hour of peril. If he is sent back to Tong Pass to command the troops, he will surely be able to hold it and achieve even greater deeds."

"Yes, Your Majesty. Fourth Young Master is truly extraordinary. So young, and already he has accomplished such astonishing things," Yang Yuhuan said, turning with a smile to look at Yang Xi. "I never imagined that the fourth son of our Yang family would be so remarkable, reversing the tide at such a critical moment. Your Majesty, it was Fourth Young Master who saved Tong Pass and saved Great Tang. In the future he will surely shine even more brilliantly, and he will certainly be able to stand beside Wei and Huo of Han, perhaps even surpass them."

But after saying those words, Yang Yuhuan fell silent and looked at Yang Xi in great surprise, for she realized that he had changed far too much.

Yang Xi’s gaze was entirely unlike before. It had a depth and maturity beyond his years, and it seemed able to pierce straight into a person’s heart, stirring involuntary emotion in those who met it. After her eyes had moved toward him, she quickly turned them back again, as though drawn by some invisible force, and a vague, inexplicable feeling rose in her heart.

This was a domineering man. That was the thought that suddenly surfaced in Yang Yuhuan’s mind. And this handsome face, together with that resolute and cool expression, was exceedingly compelling. The old Yang Xi had never given people this kind of impression. How had the Fourth Young Master of the Yang family changed so much in just a few days?