Eternal Night - Chapter 47
"Uncle Shadow, could you... help me steal Prince You's register?"
"You've never asked me to do anything before. Is this really that difficult?" Shadow was surprised by Eternal Night's request.
Yongye slowly lowered his head: "Yes, it's difficult. Uncle Shadow, I don't want to kill anymore. Sometimes, I feel very tired. The last thing I want to do in this life is be an assassin. Wandering Valley, elusive and uncertain. My father searched it, but there's no one left in that valley. Even the villa that resembled the royal palace has disappeared. The valley where I lived for three years is deserted. To destroy Wandering Valley, I can only start with what interests them. They started plotting the power struggle for the throne of Anguo ten years ago. That's the only thing I can investigate."
He looked up and quietly watched his shadow.
The shadow's back bent even more deeply. Li Yannian had transformed from a handsome, dashing young man into a mature and reserved middle-aged man. Even shadows grow old.
Yongye felt an indescribable pain in his heart. He didn't want to break the natural balance he had formed with his shadow. Yet, he still spoke.
“I… will help you distract the people from the Prince’s mansion. Whether you can steal the register depends on your luck.” After saying this, Shadow turned and left. After taking a few steps, Shadow stopped and said softly, “You need to get away as soon as possible. You are already eighteen years old.”
Yongye sighed. So what if he's eighteen? Eighteen is still young.
He forced himself not to think about it and fell into deep thought once again.
Shadow had already reached his limit. He never interfered in the power struggle between Youli Valley and the An Kingdom, and was always happy to see Youli Valley turn An Kingdom upside down.
He kept Li Yannian around, seemingly to avoid disrupting Youli Valley's plans. He also wanted to protect himself, ensuring his own safety as the heir apparent. He was always quick to check on Li Yannian at the slightest disturbance. He couldn't help but want to uncover the secrets of the Shadow, his curiosity surprising even himself.
Yongye suddenly felt a dull pain in his chest. He rubbed it, sat cross-legged, and began to circulate his internal energy. A sharp pain, like a sword slicing through his chest, caused him to spit out blood. The pain made him faint and his vision went black. However, he was still conscious and clearly felt his strength fading away. He gasped for breath, waiting for the dizziness to pass. He struggled to his feet, took out the medicine he had obtained from the Soul Returning Hall, and stuffed it all into his mouth.
He wiped his mouth with his hand; the blood had turned bluish. A blue-blooded person? Yongye gave a bitter laugh.
He'd actually been poisoned! Yongye thought carefully. Feng Yangxi, considering his status as a chivalrous hero, wouldn't use poison. Besides, he was determined to capture him; if he knew he was poisoned, Feng Yangxi wouldn't let him go. The only possibility was at Prince You's residence.
Yongye was filled with regret. He had underestimated Prince You. Not only had he placed powerful crossbows outside, but he had also poisoned the house. The person who poisoned him was a master. Having spent so much time with Yuepo at the Soul Returning Hall, ordinary poisons would not have escaped his notice.
Who could have poisoned them?
The antidote given by the returning soul only seemed to relieve the pain; he needed to get the antidote as soon as possible.
Yongye carefully tidied the room and changed his clothes. Looking at his blood-stained clothes, he felt like crying. Misfortune never comes singly; wasn't he already unlucky enough?!
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"Brother Yongye!" Rose scaled the wall into the palace to find Yongye. She hadn't used her martial arts to protect him, but using them to find him was a good idea. A smug smile spread across her bright, rose-like face. Why hadn't she thought of this before? She felt it wasn't too late. From now on, she wouldn't need to try and bump into Yongye on the street; she could just come to his door.
Yongye lay listlessly on the bamboo chair, his heart filled with resentment. Li Yannian wasn't in the manor, and he felt utterly weak. He sent Yihong to fetch Li Er, but Yihong said Li Er had gone out on business with Steward Li. Yongye stared sadly at a cherry blossom blown to the ground by the wind, thinking, "Am I really that unlucky?!" Yuepo was in the capital, but where was he in the capital? He had never missed him so much, hoping that Yuepo's figure would suddenly appear among the flowers.
"Brother Yongye, you look even worse than before. Didn't you take your medicine?" Rose was startled when she saw Yongye's pale face and asked in a soft voice.
"Say less, I don't have the energy to listen to your rambling," Yongye said weakly.
Rose nodded vigorously, overjoyed that Yongye didn't chase her away. She stared at him without blinking. Before, she had always thought Yongye's illness wasn't very serious, and that he used it as an excuse to avoid her. Now it seemed he was truly quite ill.
She knelt down and gently took Yongye's hand. His skin was fair and delicate, his fingers long and slender, like pieces of cold jade. Her heart ached. Spring was in full bloom, yet Yongye was still wrapped in a thick blanket as if it were winter. While other young men rode horses, whipping their whips and laughing in the spring breeze, he could only lie on a chair, silently gazing at the flower-lined forest, lost in thought. Was his time truly running out? Rose couldn't help but shed tears.
"Why are you crying? This is all I have left, Rose, stop bothering me." Yongye sighed. What kind of poison was so potent? Slowly draining his life away. Should he confess to Prince Duan and go to Prince You for the antidote? Or should he wait until Li Yannian and Li Er returned and brought Yuepo to cure him? "I'm listening. Tell me what's going on outside?"
Rose racked her brains trying to come up with something funny to tease Yongye, but after thinking for a long time, she couldn't come up with anything particularly strange or unusual. So she could only pick out the unlucky things that had happened to her recently and talk about them.
Yongye felt a bit better after hearing this and asked Rose with a smile, "Did you find the kid who sold you the centipede?"
Rose pouted smugly, then drooped down: "I found him, but I can't deal with him."
"Oh? There's someone our Princess Rose is afraid of?"
Rose said dejectedly, "He's a retainer of the Crown Prince. He built a flower garden in the Crown Prince's residence, and I was drugged as soon as I went in. The Crown Prince even said I was wrong! That brat, I'll definitely find a way to teach him a lesson!"
A long sigh in the eternal night: Moon Spirit, I've been wanting to deal with you too! So it turns out you were the one who poisoned me!
“Brother Yongye, things are strange in the city today. There are strange signs posted everywhere that say, ‘If you want to buy Nine-Turn Rejuvenating Grass, hurry to Huichuntang and Qingdetang.’ Who wants to buy this stuff?”
Yongye's eyes lit up, and she looked at Qiangwei with a smile: "Is something this fun? Why don't you go and see what's going on, Qiangwei?"
“I did go, but Huichuntang and Qingdetang both said they didn’t have this herb. I got angry and took the invitation to their manager. The manager looked miserable and said that they did have it, but the Crown Prince’s steward had bought it all.”
"Nine-Turn Resurrection Grass," Yongye murmured, "its leaves resemble swirling clouds, and its roots are adorned with purple beads. It is said that after being dried and then soaked in water, the withered leaves will automatically turn green and regain their vitality, hence the name 'Resurrection Grass.'" Is this grass the antidote?
Rose exclaimed with delight, "Wow, there are such interesting plants! I really want to see them!"
Yongye said indifferently, "If you want to see it, just ask the Crown Prince for some to play with. He's already taken them all into his mansion anyway."
Rose wasn't stupid either. She sighed and said, "Since His Highness took all of this grass, he must have his reasons. I'm afraid he won't give it to me." As she spoke, her eyes lit up again. "Brother Yongye, let's go steal it! His Highness is holding a poetry gathering tomorrow. Let's go steal it."
A smile flickered in Yongye's eyes. Holding a poetry gathering at this critical juncture was exactly what he was waiting for—a thief trying to steal the medicine amidst the chaos. But now that he knew the prescription, how could he not go?
He yawned and said, "Rose, be good. Don't climb over the wall again. I'll raise two dogs." Before Rose could turn angry, he smiled and said, "I'll come tomorrow and help you write a poem so that the ladies of the capital won't steal your thunder."
Rose was caught between anger and joy by his sudden change in attitude. Seeing Yongye close his eyes, a dark line beneath his eyelids revealing his exhaustion, she couldn't take her eyes off him, even in his sickly state. After much deliberation, she finally pounced on him, kissed him, and giggled as she climbed over the wall and left.
Yongye reached out and touched his face, muttering, "A femme fatale! Moon Soul, you were absolutely right."
Two women make a drama
Prince You is of noble birth, Prince You is handsome and talented, Prince You is a master of poetry and prose, Prince You... is still unmarried!
This is the most important thing.
A young, unmarried prince, gentle and refined, kind and well-educated, what do you think would happen if he said he wanted to organize a spring poetry gathering?
Cars flowed like water and horses galloped like dragons.
Yongye was in poor spirits and waved for Yihong to change him into formal attire. He wore a light purple silk robe and boarded a sedan chair. However, the sedan chair was blocked at the gate of Prince You's residence.
The guard replied helplessly, "Your Highness, the main gate of Prince You is blocked by a sedan chair, so we'll have to wait a while."