Thinking this way, everyone's expression changed. The Empress frowned even more. This situation seemed very bad. The Emperor doted on Huangfu Mi so much and liked Meng Wan. He had even been heard to have specially left the palace to go to the Prime Minister's residence to ask for Huangfu Mi's hand in marriage. The degree of importance the Emperor attached to these two was simply indescribable.
Thinking of this, her brows furrowed even more. If this continued, something bad might happen!
--
Huangfu Mi came and went, taking Meng Wan with him. The Empress was filled with anxiety and had no desire to engage in any pretense with the women. She sent them all back and then summoned Yueji, instructing her to deliver a message to Huangfu Yu. Afterward, she sat on the armchair, gazing outside with a slightly furrowed expression.
--
"Honestly, why did you have to come here and say such a thing? Aren't you ashamed?" After leaving Chonghua Palace, Meng Wan was being led by Huangfu Mi's hand. She tried to break free a couple of times but couldn't, so she could only stare at his back and mutter to herself.
Huangfu Mi stopped in his tracks. "What's shameful about me finding my own wife? It's you who clearly doesn't like listening to their gossip, so why are you making yourself suffer by staying there?"
"Even if I don't like it, I have to listen. There will be many more such scenes in the future, and I can't keep hiding forever."
"Why not?" Huangfu Mi raised her chin. "If you don't want to watch, then don't watch. Nobody can force you. Be smarter from now on, understand?"
Meng Wan knew he was thinking of her, but it was easier said than done.
No matter how much they disliked the Empress, she was still their 'mother,' and there were certain formalities that had to be observed.
"Did you hear me?" Seeing that she didn't speak and was just biting her lip in a daze, Huangfu Mi raised her hand and tapped her forehead. Meng Wan winced in pain and quickly looked up. "I heard you! Why did you hit my head? It hurts!"
As she spoke, her lips were slightly upturned, her red lips opening and closing with an indescribable allure. Huangfu Mi glanced at her, couldn't resist, and leaned down to steal a kiss on her lips.
The action was so fast and sudden that Meng Wan's face flushed red. When she came to her senses, she punched Huangfu Mi in the chest, "Feng Qi, what are you doing? How annoying!"
Without using much force, Huangfu Mi pretended to be in pain and bent over. Meng Wan was not fooled. While he was pretending, she attacked again and punched him in the stomach. Then, ignoring his black face, she lifted her skirt and ran away.
"Girl, you're trying to murder your husband? Stop right there, or I'll teach you a lesson!" Huangfu Mi finally snapped out of his daze, shouted at her retreating figure, and then took off after her.
Meng Wan giggled incessantly, and seeing him chasing her, she quickened her pace, sticking her tongue out at him as she ran: "Enough nonsense, if you've got the guts, chase me! Chase me! Ah--"
Running too fast and not noticing the oncoming figure, they crashed straight into each other. Only after they both fell to the ground did Meng Wan exclaim in surprise.
"It hurts—" Meng Wan rubbed her aching wrist and muttered softly. An apologetic voice immediately came from the other end: "Are you alright?"
It was a very pleasant female voice, gentle and soft, making one feel as if bathed in a spring breeze. Coupled with the apology in her tone, Meng Wan couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed, and shook her head repeatedly: "It's okay, it's okay. Are you alright? I'm sorry, I didn't see you just now. Did you bump into anything?"
Now I truly regret it. I shouldn't have run so fast, otherwise I wouldn't have bumped into someone.
"I'm fine." Meng Wan replied in her usual calm and hesitant manner, and only then did she raise her head.
The girl before him appeared to be only seventeen or eighteen years old, with an oval face and willow-leaf eyebrows. She was exceptionally beautiful, especially her eyes, which were filled with water, like a clear spring, inspiring pity in anyone who looked at them.
Meng Wan couldn't help but take another look, secretly wondering to herself, "Whose young lady is this? She's so beautiful. I've never seen her before."
"Ningyan--" Just as she was thinking, another voice came from above. As Huangfu Mi helped Meng Wan up from behind, the woman opposite her also stood up, and there was another person beside her at some point.
"Fifth Brother?" Upon seeing Huangfu Yu, Meng Wan and Huangfu Mi were both taken aback. When they saw him looking at the woman opposite him with a worried expression, the two exchanged a surprised glance. Who was this woman? Did Huangfu Yu know her?
However, Huangfu Yu's mind was not on the two men at all. Looking at the stains on her skirt, he became even more worried. He looked the woman up and down and asked anxiously, "Are you alright? How did you fall like that? Does anything hurt? Your wrist or your leg?"
"No, I didn't hurt myself anywhere, don't worry."
The woman smiled gently, her beautiful eyes filled with tenderness and affection, and she gazed quietly at Huangfu Yu without blinking.
Meng Wan was even more astonished. Looking at the woman with such beautiful features, and recalling the heavily made-up and blue-clad woman at Changyin Pavilion that day, could this be that person?
But if they are actors from Changyin Pavilion, how did they end up in the palace? And is it really okay for the two of them to be together so openly?
Just then, Yueji, who was standing next to the Empress, walked over from afar. She had obviously noticed the situation and paused. Then she pretended to be nonchalant and hid behind the rockery, as if she wanted to eavesdrop.
Because they were facing away from each other, neither Huangfu Yu nor the woman named Ningyan noticed. However, Meng Wan quickly pulled Ningyan away from Huangfu Yu's hand, then grabbed her arm and said with a slight smile, "It was really my fault just now. I was running too fast and bumped into you. Luckily, Fifth Brother was there to catch you. Otherwise, you would have been injured."
The nonsensical ramblings startled them for a moment, but when they saw the warning look from Meng Wan, they quickly came to their senses. Ning Yan hurriedly curtsied, saying, "Thank you, Fifth Prince, thank you, Prince Heng, thank you, Princess Consort."
Meng Wan nodded. "There's nothing else here, you can go now!"
Ningyan nodded and looked at Huangfuyu. Huangfuyu also looked over, and when their eyes met, he said in a voice that only they could hear, "Be careful."
This scene was quite touching, and Meng Wan couldn't help but take another look at Ningyan as she left.
It is said that all the men of the Huangfu family are devoted lovers. The emperor is like that, and so are his sons. Although Huangfu Qian was unkind and unjust to Meng Wan in the past, he was truly good to Meng Junyao. Now, having witnessed firsthand how Huangfu Mi and Huangfu Yu treat the women they love, Meng Wan sighed and realized that the rumors were indeed true!
At this moment, Yueji had already emerged from behind the rockery, clearly somewhat suspicious. However, Ningyan had already gone in another direction, so she didn't see anything. She simply walked up to the three of them and said, "Fifth Prince, it's been quite a while since you paid your respects to the Empress. She misses you dearly. Why don't you take this opportunity to go and see her?"
"Understood." Huangfu Yu's expression darkened, and he glanced at Huangfu Mi and his wife again before turning around and leaving with Yueji.
Knowing full well that the Empress's summons wasn't for reasons like missing him, Huangfu Yu wasn't in high spirits. After paying his respects at Chonghua Palace, he rose and sat down to the Empress's left. But as soon as he sat down, the Empress suddenly slammed her hand on the table: "Useless thing! What have you been doing all day? You can't accomplish anything! The Emperor doesn't like you, and you haven't achieved anything. If this continues, the position of Crown Prince will truly be handed over to someone else!"
Upon hearing this, Huangfu Yu instinctively frowned, but said nothing more, simply lowering his head and standing there, lost in thought.
Seeing this, the Empress became even more furious. She didn't want to say anything more to him at the moment. She stood up angrily, glared at him for a long time, then turned around without saying a word, leaving Huangfu Yu sitting there in the same position for a long time without moving.
--
According to the rules of the Lanling Dynasty, when there was a happy occasion in the palace, actors would always be invited to perform. The reason was simply that the emperor loved to listen to operas, and this would also make the atmosphere very lively.
The singing continued throughout the night, with Meng Wan and Huangfu Mi, the main characters, proudly present, though both seemed somewhat distracted.
After being summoned away by the Empress during the day, Huangfu Yu never appeared again. There was a girl named Ningyan performing at the opera that night, so he should have come no matter what. But not only did he not come, no one even knew where he went.
v51 Eternal Separation (Part 1)
In Zhengyang Palace, the emperor sat upright on his dragon throne, his hawk-like eyes fixed on the two kneeling figures. After a long while, he raised his hand and slammed it down on the table: "Bang—"
The deafening noise revealed his anger, and the trembling of his body betrayed his emotions. He stared at them for a long time, then suddenly shouted: "You two are really getting more and more out of control. You two brothers actually started fighting in the street. If it weren't for Minister Gu stopping you, were you planning to fight until you were bleeding from head to toe?"