Clouds Drunk, Moon Slightly Sleeping

Chapter 96

Of course, Wang An secretly threw away the medicine that was brought to me yesterday. I was just pretending to be sick; why would I drink such bitter medicine?

“Wanru also can’t stand those bitter medicines. I just don’t know what method Imperial Physician Jiang used to make them sweet and without that strong medicinal smell. In my opinion, why don’t we have Imperial Physician Jiang come and take a look at Yue’er?” The Crown Prince’s uncle spoke up at the right time. His words were natural and kind. Looking at me, he had his usual refined and noble demeanor, unlike Old Man Yun who always had a stern face. By the way, Wanru is the Crown Princess’s given name.

"Look at my memory, I forgot about it if you didn't mention it. I'll have Physician Jiang go to Zuiyue Palace later. Girl, you won't have anything to say now, will you?"

The Empress Dowager has already said so, what could I do but nod? But I was filled with resentment. On the way to Tianqing, I had a minor conflict with the people sent by this Crown Prince. Although our identities weren't clear then, and he only said he was inviting me over, he didn't seem intent on killing me on the spot. But he showed no mercy to the people around me. Now that we're family, although we seem to be living peacefully and harmoniously, I know it's just a facade. He's the Crown Prince, and his daughter hasn't even been made a princess yet. I'm his second brother's daughter, a prince's daughter, yet I'm the first princess with a fiefdom. How could he not mind? Physician Jiang, Physician Jiang, it seems this isn't safe!

Seeing my nod, everyone seemed quite satisfied and began to eat. I quickly finished my meal with my head slightly lowered, and then chatted with them for a while. There wasn't much to say, but since I had met Old Man Yun and his daughter before, and it was a rare occasion to see them, I rambled on for a bit, mostly about trivial matters. Then I excused myself and took my leave. The old man and the old empress didn't try to stop me, but personally instructed Jinxiang to see me off and sent someone to the Imperial Hospital to deliver a message to Physician Jiang. I bowed and was about to leave when, unexpectedly, Old Man Yun also got up to take his leave, leaving Jinxiang behind, saying that he would be fine. We then left the central palace together.

"I didn't expect that Father would stand on Long Yuhuang's side, just like the Han family. Is it because he is also the Second Prince?" There's no way around it; my private conversations with Old Man Yun are always full of tension.

“Long Yuhuang?” He sneered, seemingly unfazed by my words. “It doesn’t matter who is the emperor of Longyao Kingdom.”

I was startled. If the Yun family wasn't like the Han family, then what Xiaobai did was probably a mutually beneficial deal? What did Xiaobai want to gain? Old Man Yun wanted to send me to Xiuruo Kingdom, why make it so complicated?

"Doesn't Father think it's a loss to bring Yue'er back to Xiuruo in this way?"

"If we don't use this method, do you expect me to marry the emperor?" He turned and stared at me. I didn't look back, but I could clearly feel his scrutinizing gaze.

"Marrying out and being sent to a foreign land for political reasons are actually not that different. It's not necessarily better for Yue'er to marry into Ye Cang than to stay in Longyao." Judging from Old Man Yun's tone, it seemed that he also disagreed with my marriage to the fox. If Yun Feng was doing this for my mother's will, using a way he thought was right to do what was best for me, then what about Old Man Yun? I originally thought that he would be happy to see his daughter, who was not valued by him and had no official status, become the Empress of Longyao.

He didn't speak. I turned to look at him and saw a slight curve at the corner of his mouth, as if he were sneering.

"Princess Zuiyue, you've added such a huge bargaining chip to my scheme. Father's ambition is truly immense, or rather, Xiu Ruo's ambition is truly immense." I suddenly realized that even if a fox came to arrange a marriage, it would never succeed. If Old Man Yun would agree to this marriage, why would he go through all the trouble of sending me to Xiu Ruo and painstakingly get the old emperor to bestow upon me the title of princess? This sudden realization left me breathless. Zuiyue Palace was just to the right. I stood at the crossroads and curtsied to Old Man Yun, "Father, Yue'er is returning to the palace. Father, please take care."

Ignoring his reaction, I turned right and walked straight ahead until I entered the Drunken Moon Palace. Only when Yaoyao pounced on me and rubbed her nose against my face did I suddenly relax, hug her neck, and squat down. Yaoyao also sat down on the ground. I buried my face in her long golden fur and it took me a long time to calm myself down.

“Princess.” Wang An’s voice sounded softly from the side.

I stood up, casually patted Yao Yao's head, and said as I walked inside, "I'll go in first. Physician Jiang will be here in a bit. You and Yan'er get ready."

Physician Jiang arrived quickly. Although I had stopped Yaoyao, he was much calmer than the two men from yesterday in the face of her astonishing roar. He took her pulse and seemed like a straightforward person, stating directly that she was sleep-deprived and had something on her mind, and that she just needed to rest. He didn't mention the weather or environment and prescribed a calming and sleep-inducing formula, mainly composed of herbs. I instructed Yan'er to give him a reward and had her personally escort Physician Jiang out of the palace. Only then did I call Yaoyao outside to guard the door, and turned to ask, "Wang An, has there been any result regarding the information I asked you to inquire about yesterday?"

"Princess, I heard that the Imperial Guard Commandant, the Governor of Longzhou, and the Left General have been dismissed from their posts and are under investigation."

I frowned slightly. Could it be that Xiaobai was able to lead me out of the palace and out of Longzhou because of these three people? Fortunately, these three people were all in Longzhou City, and these three positions were under the fox's nose. Otherwise, with the war just over and new cities added, it would not be appropriate to carry out a purge at this time.

"Anything else?"

He lowered his head and answered without hesitation, "This is all the information this servant has gathered."

"Wang An, are you trying to hide this from me?" I approached him, my eyes half-closed, but my voice was unusually gentle. If it were just a matter of dealing with those three people and sorting out the court and personal connections, how could there have been no news for over two months?

"This servant dares not." He quickly knelt down.

"If you're afraid, just say so, or you can leave right now." I won't force anyone; I'll at least give them a choice.

He hesitated for a moment before standing up to reply: "I heard that Princess Qianhui of Hanxing Kingdom has secretly run away to Yunfu, and Tianqing's envoy is also about to arrive in Xiuzhou."

Clouds Drunk, Moon Slightly Asleep (Revised Edition) Volume Four: A Hidden Melancholy and Resentment Arise as Springtime Flower Viewings

Chapter word count: 3757 Update time: 08-12-24 12:56

Enjoying flowers in spring

I was speechless for a moment, and after a long while I waved to Wang An and said wearily, "You can go now."

He withdrew, and I called Yaoyao in before settling softly onto the couch. I poured myself a cup of tea and gulped it down. That fake man is even crazier than me! Not content with the Wangyue battlefield, he's now gone to Longyao Kingdom! Doesn't King Hanxing care about his daughter? That fake man is definitely after the fox, and the fox is acting as Yunfeng's envoy to Hanxing. This is going to be troublesome.

And then there's the envoy from Tianqing! Oh my god, is he here for a marriage alliance too? The old man doesn't agree to Ye Cang's marriage alliance, and he looks down on Long Yao. Does he want to marry me off to Tianqing?

Unconsciously, I fell asleep on the soft couch, my dreams a jumbled mess. I was trapped in an unknown maze, wanting to escape, yet involuntarily drawn deeper into it. Ahead, there seemed to be a faint light. I ran forward, towards that light, trying to break free from the fog. I tripped and fell, feeling pain all over my body, inside and out, as if I couldn't get up. Suddenly, my vision brightened. I covered my eyes with one hand and peeked through my fingers. Not far away, a golden shadow had its back to me. I wanted to call out, but no sound came out. I wanted to run over, but I couldn't move. The light grew stronger and stronger. The shadow seemed to want to turn around. I opened my eyes abruptly, wanting to see more clearly, and saw Yao Yao standing by the soft couch, peering at me, her golden eyes less than twenty centimeters away.

I was startled and instinctively rolled off the soft couch from the other side, only then realizing that it had gotten dark without my noticing. I got up and gave Yao Yao an embarrassed smile. Honestly, she reacted too quickly and was too alert; I could even see the hurt in her eyes.

"Ah, it's evening already. Has Yaoyao eaten yet?" I pretended to have just realized it was dark and even went outside to check. I turned back to the big golden-haired monster and suggested with a fawning smile, "I'm so hungry. Have someone prepare dinner right away. Yaoyao, shall I feed you tonight?"

It ignored me, squatted down and sat against the soft couch, not even looking at me, casually sniffing around. I called Yan'er to prepare dinner. When Wang An saw that I was awake, he brought in the medicinal soup prescribed by Physician Jiang. I naturally didn't dare to drink it, sent Yan'er away, and told Wang An to find a safe place to secretly pour it out.

As soon as Yaoyao saw the food, she stopped fussing and crawled to my feet with a soft hum. Feeling guilty, I gave her a whole pot of braised pork bones. You know, for the past month or so, I've forced Yaoyao to eat a lot of vegetables and fruits, and her meat intake at each meal has been decreasing. Who says you can't change your nature? My old dog, Pangpang, was fed vegetables and fruits by me, and within a month he was eating everything, especially peaches, and he still grew up round and chubby, very adorable. So, for Yaoyao's regular and balanced diet, I naturally have to carefully plan her meals. I remember when she refused to eat vegetables, I starved her for several meals. Even the proudest person has to succumb to reality; who would complain about bread being too dry or steamed buns being too pale when they're starving?

I had just finished eating when someone came to deliver a message. It was sent by the old man, telling me to rest well and something like that. I felt confused and increasingly uneasy.

The next morning, the young maids of Zuiyue Palace started chattering about the Azure Envoy. Although he wasn't in my room, I overheard bits and pieces of his conversation. I don't know who spread the news, but judging from their discussion, the Azure Envoy had already arrived at the palace. But even if he really was at the palace, my maids wouldn't be able to see him, would they? How could they speak of him as if they had seen him with their own eyes, praising the envoy to be the most handsome and dashing man in the world, as if even the gods would be ashamed to look at him?

Wait, a deity? I sat up abruptly from the soft couch, rushed out of the room, grabbed one of the maids, and asked urgently, "What color clothes did that envoy wear?"

When the young girls saw me like this, they panicked and knelt down in front of me, thinking that they had angered me by gossiping. They kept crying, "Princess, have mercy!" I released my grip, calmed my expression, waved to them, and said as gently as possible, "Get up, all of you. Just tell me what color clothes the envoy was wearing."

I don't usually pay much attention to what they do, as long as they do their job well and don't cause me any trouble. Palace life is boring enough, and they're so young, how could they not have some gossip to spice things up?

"Princess, I heard that the envoy was dressed in flowing white robes, like an immortal descending to earth," the maid I had just pulled up replied to me as she stood up.

Xi Lan! Who else but him could have this kind of style and demeanor to receive such praise?

My heart skipped a beat for no reason. I was torn by conflicting thoughts. Countless ideas flashed through my mind, but in the end, only one remained: Could Xi Lan also be here for a political marriage? In this place where I feel like I have relatives but no relatives at all, I have finally found someone I know and am certain that he will not hurt me. Should I find an opportunity to discuss something with him in private?

As I hesitated about how to find such an opportunity, the old empress sent Jinxiang to deliver a message, saying that she was bored and wanted us princesses and noblewomen to accompany her to the Imperial Garden to admire the flowers in the afternoon. I naturally had no choice but to accept. After lunch, I took a short rest, changed into some simple clothes, and went to the Imperial Garden, with Wang An and Yan'er accompanying me as always.

When I arrived at the Imperial Garden, I almost vomited blood. It's just a family strolling through their own garden, admiring the flowers they've planted. Why do they have to dress so formally? Not to mention the Empress, Princess Yiyuan and Princess Jialuo, as well as the two princesses from the Crown Prince's uncle's family, were all dressed in full palace attire. My barely acceptable casual clothes were truly shabby.

A sudden chill ran through her. This flower-viewing in the Imperial Garden was so strange. Having stayed in the palace for over two months, this was the first time she'd encountered such a situation. The Empress rarely left her palace, let alone openly admired flowers in the Imperial Garden. These were extraordinary times. Looking at the four pampered young ladies of similar age before her, each seemingly meticulously dressed and radiant, she immediately understood. She bitterly lamented that her own plain attire made her stand out the most among them. Oh dear, if only she had chosen something brighter than this moon-colored dress, and adorned herself with gold and silver jewelry—the more tacky, the better!

The so-called flower viewing is probably just a matchmaking event! The Tianqing envoy just arrived this morning, and the old man might just invite Ye Cang and the envoys from both Tianqing and Ye Cang to stroll through his imperial garden, and then, by chance, he'll bump into us. Ugh, I have to be careful.

Actually, only the peach blossoms were in full bloom at this time, but there were several peach trees in Zuiyue Palace. I chatted with them absentmindedly for a while, and before long, the old empress spoke up.