V2C114

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“…” Zhu Yan was aware of what exactly happened on that day, it was the day of the rebellion of the Restoration Army. She thought to herself that it was really unlucky for the Crown Prince, who was usually a pampered young man, to encounter this kind of turmoil, the artillery shells have no eyes, it was impossible to guess what might have occurred to him, however out from her mouth came only a reassuring statement. “The Crown Prince is blessed with good fortune; he will be fine.”

“By the time I woke up, I was already in the garden of the Governor’s house.” Xueying murmured, “I wonder if it was Shi Yu who sent me back… but where did he go all by himself after that?”

Zhu Yan’s heart skipped a beat and was tempted to say that it was actually her who happened to pass by and find her that day, sending her back to her brother’s residence. At that time, while she was lying unconscious in a pile of corpses by the roadside, the Crown Prince was nowhere to be seen – but after thinking about it, she held back her tongue.

If she were to tell the truth, she would have to explain a whole bunch of other things as well, isn’t it? Like why she was also present at the Dragon Slaying Village that day, or for instance what she went to do afterwards… Every single thing unraveled and traced in detail would bring a calamity over the Red Clan.

She could only keep quiet and refrain from speaking.

“Do you think that Shi Yu had some sort of accident while he was trying to protect me?” Xueying’s voice trembled, and the more she thought about it, the more frightened she became, “I… have been dreaming about him covered in blood for the past few days, it was so horrible! He must have been involved in some kind of disaster!”

Zhu Yan hurriedly squeezed her hand to comfort her, “No, that wouldn’t happen, don’t think too much about it.”

“Ah-Yan, I miss him so much! How could he bear to leave me alone behind for so long?” Xueying, however, could no longer hold back her sobs and covered her face, “You don’t know, the emperor is critically ill and the situation at the court is delicate – if he doesn’t come back, maybe father will have to betroth me to someone else!”

Zhu Yan was stunned, “It can’t be? Betrothed to whom?”

“To… to…” Xueying turned her head to the side, biting her lip in a lifeless tremor, unable to bring herself to say that she would be married off to the Purple King’s fifty-something year old brother-in-law as a second wife.

“Xueying, you must hold on, you must not give your consent to your father!” Zhu Yan, meanwhile, rose up in anger, hugging her best friend, “The Crown Prince has only disappeared temporarily, he will surely return! Doesn’t your father want you to be the Empress and mother of the nation? Tell him to wait a few more days!”

“Alas, when was father willing to listen to me?… He has his own agenda,” Xueying wavered and said weakly, “He is not like your father, who will do whatever you say. My father, he has ten children. My mother is dead, although she was the main Consort… The one in power in the family now is the Second Mistress, Bai Fenglin’s birth mother – she has always treated me like a thorn in her flesh.”

“…” Zhu Yan hearing her saying such things for the first time, was momentarily speechless.

She grew up envying Xueying because she was more beautiful than herself, wealthier than herself, doted on by her father, and her mother was a legitimate Consort – but she never imagined that there would be so many rivalries in the White King’s vast harem, and that Xueying has not always been happy and carefree.

It was only after a long time that she spoke, “The Crown Prince will definitely return… The Emperor has only one child, if he doesn’t return, won’t the emperor’s throne be left vacant?”

“Who said there is only one child?” Xueying shook her head, “Don’t you know? I heard that the first-born son born from the Empress Bai has resigned from the priesthood and will be returning to the Imperial Capital soon. The Green King and Concubine Qing are all very nervous.”

“Impossible!” Zhu Yan blurted out, “How could he… possibly come to the Imperial Capital?”

“It’s true.” Xueying gritted her teeth and spoke in an outraged tone, “I heard from my father that the Grand Master has already left from Jiuyi Mountain with that firstborn son and will be coming back to the Capital in the next two days!”

What? Zhu Yan simply felt her body shaking, and was unable to make a sound.

Master is coming back to the Imperial Capital? And with the Grand Master? This… this can’t be possible!

“More than likely it’s just a rumor,” she spoke after a long time, with difficulty, “He’s a Great Priest who grew up as a recluse… coming back to the Imperial Capital for what?”

“Naturally, he’s here to take the throne!” Xueying was full of hostility and gritted her teeth as she lowered her voice, “Look, that man was banished from the Imperial Capital for more than twenty years, but now as soon as the Emperor fell critically ill, he’s back! Maybe they were the ones who set up a scheme to harm Shi Yu!”

“Impossible!” Zhu Yan gasped, “It’s definitely not him!”

Her violent reaction stunned Xueying for a moment and she looked at her in consternation, “Why?”

“The reason is… because…” Zhu Yan mumbled, but she couldn’t say that she had personally witnessed her Master fighting against Zhi Yuan that day, and that it was practically impossible for him to divide himself in two in order to assassinate the Crown Prince. “There are a lot of people who would want to make this happen. And anyway, why would he have traveled to Yecheng, and right in that day?”

“You are too innocent.” Xueying laughed coldly and actually used the same words that Zhu Yan had belittled her with, “He is a Great Divine Priest, his magic is very advanced, if he wants to kill someone, how can that little distance be a problem for him?”

Zhu Yan angrily slapped the table, “Nonsense! He is not that kind of person!”

“Then why do you think he has been a practitioner since he was young, and now, as soon as the emperor fell critically ill, he has resigned from his divine position to return to the Imperial Capital?” Xueying frowned, and her tone became sharp, “It is clear that he intended to get his hands on the throne all along, and his intentions were not good!”

Zhu Yan was at a loss for words for a moment and could only reluctantly blurt out, “Now that the emperor is dying, can’t he… come back to visit his father?”

“Heh… you make it sound like they’ve always been a doting father and a loving son.” Xueying sneered, “Who doesn’t know that the emperor’s eldest son was banished from the Imperial Capital as a child and hasn’t seen the emperor for more than twenty years? He didn’t show up early but instead is coming back at this time?!”

“…” Zhu Yan was struck speechless for a moment and could only stiffen her neck and say, “He’s not that kind of person anyway!”

Xueying noticed that her complexion was not good, so she stopped talking and remained silent for a while. The two of them had not seen each other for a long time, and the moment they met, they had a series of uncomfortable conversations, so she stopped talking, wiped the corners of her eyes and stood up, whispering, “I’ll leave you now. We will be going to the Palace tomorrow to see the Emperor, you must not forget.”

“I know.” Zhu Yan muttered as she recalled this with a very uneasy feeling in her heart.

Xueying stood up, and her body suddenly swayed, holding onto the parapet in a hurry.

“What’s wrong?” Zhu Yan was startled, “Are you sick?”

“No,” she said with a pale face and a forced smile, “it’s just… a bit of dizziness and nausea.”

“You have to be careful,” Zhu Yan raised her hand and carefully held her up, bemoaning softly, “You have not been in good health since you were a child, you are a delicate young lady who can be blown around by the wind, don’t get sick again this time…”

“Don’t worry, I’ll take care of myself.” Xueying propped herself up against Zhu Yan’s hand and walked slowly down the steps, glancing back at her and saying softly, “I envy you so much, Ah-Yan! Your father and mother love you as the apple of their eye, you are capable in your own way, and my brother has fallen in love with you at first sight. Whereas I… have nothing left…”

Her voice trailed off and she lowered her eyes to look at the tips of her feet.

“Don’t panic, I will help you.” Zhu Yan couldn’t bear to see her best friend in such a depressed mood, for a moment she couldn’t help but feel warm-hearted and sighed, “If your father really forces you to marry someone you don’t like, just come to me – I will help you run away from the marriage!”

“Run away from the marriage?” Xueying froze for a moment.

“Yes,” Zhu Yan patted herself on the chest, “I’m good at this.”

“…” Xueying was stunned for a moment and seemed to remotely envision the possibility of escaping from the marriage, but eventually shook her head and murmured, “What can I do if I escape? I… don’t know anything, what can I do if I leave the Royal Palace? I can’t even comb my hair properly without the nurse to look after me.”

Zhu Yan was dumbstruck, remaining momentarily wordless – you cannot speak of ice to a summer insect, the creature of a season*. When the strong winds rose, how could the sturdy Sarang Eagle in the Western Desert carry the Acacia Sparrow deep in the willow shade and fly away together? She hoped that Xueying would be able to escape her fate, but who would have thought that Xueying was not the kind of person that she was?

When Xueying left, she was still in a state of stupor until the sound of the steward’s report came to her ears.

Zhu Yan looked back with a sense of uncertainty and impatience, “What’s the matter, isn’t this just a visit to the Royal Palace tomorrow? Is Father afraid that I will cause trouble again, so he sent you to give me some more orders?”

“Your servant would not dare.” The housekeeper bowed respectfully.

Zhu Yan frowned slightly, “Has there been any news about the little guy I instructed you to look for?”

The steward was not prepared for her sudden question and hurriedly said, “Your humble servant is incompetent and has not yet found…”

“What about Doctor Shen Tu?” Zhu Yan said impatiently, “Have you found him?”

“Neither. That lustful old man suddenly vanished into thin air, and no one knows where he has gone.” The steward was puzzled, “The Dragon Slaying Village has been burned to the ground in the war, and all the Dragon Slaying households have been temporarily relocated to the south of the city.” I took my men to conduct a detailed inquiry, but no one have seen Doctor Shen Tu either.”

“It’s been almost two months, how come there’s no trace of them at all?” Zhu Yan was so anxious that she was unable to hold back her tongue, “Just searching for a child, what a bunch of idiots!”

“Yes, yes, your servant is incompetent.” The steward hurriedly begged for mercy, “Please forgive me, my County Princess!”

“Alas… I’ve sent a lot of paper cranes out these days, but they haven’t brought back a single message either, it’s so distressing!” Zhu Yan sighed and stomped her foot. “Right, that old man Doctor Shen Tu is very lustful, if he’s in Yecheng, he’s bound to go to those kinds of places again! You go over to the Qunyu Square and look through every green house, singing and dancing hall for me!”

“Yes!” The housekeeper hastily nodded, “I’ll send someone to do that!”

“And there’s more…” As if remembering something, Zhu Yan hurriedly added, “Put up a reward order for me! Anyone in Yecheng who knows the whereabouts of Sumo or Doctor Shen Tu, no matter who it is, will be rewarded with ten thousand golden baht! I don’t believe there is no brave man to show up under a heavy reward.”

“I shall do so immediately.” The housekeeper nodded.

“That little brat is not in good health, in case something happens to him, how can I afford to face Yu Ji…” Zhu Yan’s heart sank, “I hope the heavens will bless me and find that inconsiderate fellow sooner rather than later.”

“Don’t be worried, Your Highness, he will return safely.” The housekeeper spoke warmly and comfortingly, adding, “It’s just that tomorrow we will be entering the palace for the audience, so the King has instructed Your Highness to make sure you rest early today.”

“Understood.” She knew what the steward was worried about in his heart and replied, “I will definitely not run away again this time, don’t worry.”

After a pause, she added in a soft voice: “For the rest of my life, I will never run away again.”

As she said this, an expression of sadness suddenly appeared on the face of the young Princess of the Red Clan, who raised her head to look out of the window – heaven and earth were in great splendor, yet her heart had extinguished its flame. The eagle that once soared to the nine heavens has now gathered its flying wings and decided to end up in this cage.

When they find that little brat, let’s just live together like this for the rest of our lives…

She resigned herself to her fate.

*Quote from “Teachings and Sayings of Zhuang Zhou”, Chinese philosopher who lived around 4th Century BC during the Warring States period.

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