Eternal Night - Chapter 43
The next day, the Crown Prince left the palace to personally visit the Prince Duan's residence to offer his condolences. Yongye, with a stern face, invited him to drink tea under the flowering tree.
Not long after, Zeng, the Left Guard Commander of the Eastern Palace, dragged the Salt Tax Commissioner, Lord Chen, who had spent the night at the Qunfang Courtyard, naked from the Jihua Fang (Flower Market) for allegedly due to jealousy. The consequence was that an investigation revealed Lord Chen was suspected of selling official positions, and he was immediately bound and sent to the Dali Temple (Court of Judicial Review). Zeng was flogged one hundred times, and while Lord Chen was beheaded and his entire family exiled as government slaves, Zeng was promoted to General of the Valiant Cavalry.
Prince You chose to stay home and study during the height of spring.
Yongye, with good intentions and a heart full of poetic inspiration, went to the flower garden in Prince You's mansion to enjoy the spring. He inadvertently mentioned that the Crown Prince had found ten or eight girls who resembled roses, showing such infatuation that he shook his head and sighed.
Not long after, someone went to the capital to file a complaint, saying that Prefect Wang of Cangzhou had forcibly bought a woman and driven a family of five to their deaths. The Prefect of the capital, Lord Ma, righteously accepted the complaint and handed it to Emperor Yujia.
Prefect Wang was dismissed from his post.
His Highness the Crown Prince said that due to the sweltering summer heat, he needed to rest and recuperate for a month.
Over the course of seven years, countless times the Crown Prince sought refuge from the summer heat, and Prince You secluded himself to study. The court was divided into two factions like a watershed, and the Third Prince, Tianxiang, stood alone in the middle, feeling utterly miserable. He desperately wanted war, to volunteer for the front lines, so that at least he would have the company of the army and make things a little more lively.
Yongye often sighed to Li Yannian, "Beauty is a curse. The Crown Prince has only one unresolved issue: what he can't have is always the best. If the Valley wants to support Prince You, this is a good opportunity."
Li Yannian remained noncommittal, but Yongye laughed. The valley remained still, but he moved.
Rose loved going to Prince You's residence because the prince had always doted on her since childhood. The main reason, however, was that Prince You was a frequent visitor to Yongye's residence, where he often bumped into her. Yongye had a terrible headache.
Prince You stared at Yongye with a half-smile and said, "What Yongye is having a headache about, I am having a headache about too."
When they met the Crown Prince again, he smiled and said, "This year I will be establishing a consort. If the young master does not make a betrothal, Rose will have to enter the palace."
Yongye covered his head and left.
Upon returning to the manor, Prince Jing'an arrived with a large pile of gifts. Yongye fell seriously ill and could not recover, leaving Prince Duan and his wife helpless.
The next day, the matchmaker, Wang, brought a fortune teller to visit. Upon hearing the words "marrying for good luck," Princess Duan ordered her guards to drag her out!
When Yongye went out and encountered Qiangwei, he could only run away with his head in his hands.
These years have been quite pleasant. Yongye felt that he had enough patience, but Prince Duan was very anxious. Yongye was so anxious that he teased him in private, saying, "If Father King just builds a decorated tower and I stand on it, I guarantee that monks and nuns will all leave the monastic life to propose marriage."
Prince Duan could only sigh and say that he had made things difficult for him.
Yongye looked at him with a pitying gaze. How could Prince Duan understand? He wanted to tell him that the country advocated late marriage and late childbirth, and besides, he was only a high school student; there was really no need to rush. But the words that came out were: "The country is not yet at peace, how can you think of a family?!"
Prince Duan straightened his back even more.
Yongye threw herself into his arms again, but accidentally touched the ticklish spot on Prince Duan's waist, and collapsed. Yongye laughed and ran away.
Yongye gazed calmly at the courtyard scenery. After a long while, he chuckled softly, strolled into the flower grove, lowered his head, picked up a few fallen petals, examined them carefully, a look of understanding flashed between his brows, and then scattered them away.
Someone has been to Wanyu Courtyard. Even the lightest footsteps left faint imprints on the petals. Others might not notice, but Yongye's eyesight, honed in the darkness, allowed him to spot the traces with just a glance.
Who was spying on the Prince's residence while he was away? The figure he'd seen at the teahouse flashed through Yongye's mind. A moon-white robe, disheveled hair, and the familiar expression in the eyes as the figure turned. He didn't know what to feel—the warmth of a memory, or the disbelief born of years of separation?
Now that he's here, the others should come out too. Is Youli Valley finally going to make a move? Is it about to take action now that the Chen army is defeated?
While seemingly enjoying the scenery, Yongye was actually thinking rapidly.
"Young Master!" Yi Hong's light and crisp voice rang out.
Yongye turned around and saw Lancui and Li Yannian standing beside Yihong. He smiled and slowly walked over along the path.
"Greetings to the young master!" Lan Cui's face was filled with happiness, a happiness that Yong Ye could not bear to take away.
She finally married Li Yannian. The once handsome and dashing Steward Li had become more mature and reserved. When he bowed and looked up, his eyes showed no disrespect whatsoever.
Yongye looked at Li Yannian with a half-smile, pointed to the flower grove and said, "It rained here yesterday, and countless petals have fallen. Would you like to take a walk with me, Deacon Li?"
Yi Hong smiled, pulled Lan Cui to a curtsy, and said, "Thank you, young master!"
"Why thank me? I was just looking forward to hearing about the interesting things happening outside from Steward Li. Don't bother us too soon," Yongye said with a smile.
Lan Cui, unaware of what was going on, glanced gratefully at Yong Ye, then pulled Yi Hong into the room.
Li Yannian followed him silently.
The air was fresh after the rain, and Yongye took a deep breath, savoring the moment: "It would be nice to get drunk here with my master."
“I’ve switched to drinking tea.” Li Yannian said in a monotone voice.
Yongye smiled brightly, her skin, now smooth and radiant after washing away her disguise, showed no trace of the paleness and dullness caused by illness.
Li Yannian looked at that face that could charm the world and said hesitantly, "You're eighteen now, it's time to get engaged..."
"What? Gu Zhong still doesn't trust me and wants to plant a woman by my side? Don't forget, I am now the heir of Prince Duan, the Emperor's own nephew. Do you think I can take a concubine just because I'm not married?" Yongye coldly interrupted Li Yannian.
"Gu Li didn't expect it to happen so quickly. I'm just reminding you that the Crown Prince is infatuated with Princess Rose, and Prince You also seems to have some feelings for her. If you get involved, it might be detrimental to your mission."
He wanted to laugh at the triangular debt he had instigated: "This is indeed a problem. In recent years, I have used the excuse of recuperating to avoid seeing outsiders, but the princess doesn't care about such things. I just ran into her on the street the other day. My master understands my true intentions. The crown prince may only have Rose as his weakness. He may not be truly infatuated, but he has never been able to let go of her since childhood. However, there is no benefit to him clinging to me. Does anyone in the valley have any good ideas?"
Yongye had clearly told Li Yannian early on that Prince You could use Qiangwei to find leverage to bring down the Crown Prince. If Youligu truly helped Prince You, he would naturally know how to proceed. However, Youligu remained unmoved.
Yongye's heart pounded with delight as he looked at Li Yannian's expression. Youli Valley, unwilling to get involved, remained silent about the Crown Prince and Prince You. Could it be that their true purpose was for the two princes to vie for the throne, plunging Anguo into chaos? Was Youli Valley the Youli Valley in the mountains on the western border of Anguo, or the Youli Valley belonging to the Chen and Qi kingdoms?
Li Yannian smiled: "Don't worry, someone will handle this small matter."
Time flew by as they talked, and Yongye sensed that Yihong and Lancui had left the room, so he smiled and said, "Lancui is deeply in love with Master, so Master must not let her down."
"After years of vying for power between Prince You and the Crown Prince, we finally managed to find a list. Not a single one was left out."
Yongye glanced at the roster and asked in surprise, "Aren't these people close to Prince You?"
"In reality, he's one of the Crown Prince's men. What could be more appropriate than killing such a person and framing the Crown Prince?" Li Yannian sneered. He stood up, bowed to Yongye, and said softly, "Be careful. I heard that Feng Yangxi has arrived in the capital, and he's very interested in the owner of the flying knife."