Eternal Night - Chapter 89
Yongye watched this unfold and sighed inwardly. With such a crown prince in Qi, the future looked bleak.
Yi Zhongtian and the Chen officials accompanied the Crown Prince to the courtyard. They passed by Yongye without noticing her, and Yongye breathed a sigh of relief. Lord Liu instructed, "You few, go and call the coachmen to prepare the carriage. The Crown Prince must depart immediately."
Several soldiers answered, and Yongye followed them into the stable.
Where would Feng Yangxi be hiding in the inn? At the last moment, she changed her mind; she neither helped Yi Zhongtian capture him nor killed him. The person Yi Zhongtian most wanted to capture now was her, not Feng Yangxi. He was merely using this opportunity to eliminate a highly skilled opponent.
She herself wished for Feng Yangxi's life, to prevent him from killing her later. However, the sight of Feng Yangxi desperately searching for her in the fire made her unable to shoot him again.
Perhaps she wasn't being soft-hearted, but rather wanting Feng Yangxi to recover from his injuries and fight Yi Zhongtian to the death. Wasn't having two masters fight the result of a long-planned scheme? Why was she still worried about Feng Yangxi? Why hadn't she stabbed him again? Yongye mocked herself.
Prince Yan left too quickly; the troops outside hadn't even withdrawn before he was about to leave. The area outside was completely surrounded, and to get out of the inn, Yongye could only hide in his entourage.
As dawn slowly broke, the soldiers would soon realize she was a stranger. Night drifted further and further away from the soldiers, silently creeping under the vehicle.
If she could, she could even sleep on the ground clinging to the car like that.
An hour later, voices arose, and the coachman drove the carriage out of the inn. After another half hour of commotion, the wheels finally turned and the carriage slowly moved away.
Yongye chose the last carriage. The carriage didn't stop, and there were people all around. She saw the horses' hooves circling around her and felt a little anxious. If this took a whole day, she was afraid she wouldn't be able to hang on to the bottom of the carriage.
Zeya City has many bridges, making travel slow. It took two full hours to travel through the city before finally exiting the city gates and heading north. Yi Zhongtian's escort team had disappeared. Yongye sensed movement from under the carriage and finally found an opportunity to drop down, lightly leaping onto a large tree by the roadside.
She watched the convoy drive away. There must be lakes around here, with dense reeds spreading out like green carpets. This was the best hiding place. Without hesitation, Yongye crawled inside. Her body was exhausted; she needed a good night's sleep and to think about what to do next.
The endless green reeds concealed the traces of the eternal night. Apart from the sound of waterbirds flying by and the wind blowing, she could hear nothing else. The sky was a greyish-blue, with a few gloomy clouds hanging in the air. The eternal night closed its eyes and fell into a weary sleep.
She couldn't sleep soundly; scenes of her childhood with Yuepo kept relentlessly flashing before her eyes.
Why is it so difficult? All he wanted was to open a peaceful clinic and live the life of an ordinary citizen.
And then there's Rose, whose snow-white face always shows her longing for her. Despite being given the cold shoulder so many times, she still willingly follows Yuepo. And what about her status as a princess? She endures Yuepo's treatment, being bossed around by him without a single complaint.
She should be cold-blooded and ignore them, letting them both die at Yi Zhongtian's hands. She should rush back to Anguo to help her father quell the internal strife, restore order to the court, and then lead the army south or negotiate with Chen.
Yongye opened his eyes and saw a few stars twinkling in the sky, and a faint crescent moon peeking out from behind the dark clouds.
“Moon Soul…” A sliver of moonlight reflected in Yongye’s eyes, its radiance flowing gently. That sliver of light and white seemed to belong to a person dressed in white, detached from the world.
Yongye stood up, glanced at her attire, and laughed. She was definitely not cut out to be an assassin. She gazed at the distant fishing lights and stealthily moved closer.
The fisherman on the boat said to the fisherwoman, "I'm lucky today. I caught a big turtle and a few carp. I can get a good price for them at the market tomorrow."
"Early bird catches the worm. A good price will help my second son save up for his wedding..."
For some reason, Yongye thought of Old Man Wang who sold noodles at the alley entrance many years ago. Now she felt happy reminiscing about these trivial matters of life, at least they lived a simple life.
She boarded the boat when the lantern was blown out. The old couple were already asleep, the long night having faded into a dreamlike state. They could sleep until sunset the next day.
She found something to eat to fill her stomach, changed her clothes, and thought a little apologetically, "You can sell those fish the day after tomorrow." She remembered where Mr. Beauty lived; if Moon Soul and Rose were captured, there was a 50% chance they would be imprisoned there.
defection
The pavilion was brightly lit, and the courtyards were completely silent.
Yongye didn't move. Leaning against the pillar, she patiently waited, seeing no one in the waterside pavilion. She dared not enter the courtyard rashly. She could only wait.
An hour later, a voice suddenly came from the waterside pavilion: "I told you, how could she possibly come here?"
The long couch where the handsome gentleman sat slid open, and two people slowly walked out. One wore a long dress as white as snow, and the other stood tall and elegant in a gray robe.
Yongye's heart skipped a beat; this must be it.
The beautiful lady said with a charming smile, "Zhongtian, I've told you before, Li Yongye is not one of my Youli Valley people, but you just wouldn't believe me."
Yi Zhongtian said coldly, "I heard that Li Yongye sought medical treatment in Youli Valley for half a year. I seriously doubt whether she is really the heir of Prince Duan."
The handsome gentleman sat on the couch, lazily stroking his long hair: "Who is Li Gu? Do you think he wouldn't be able to tell if she's a fake? However, it's true that she has a Gu poison planted on her body."
How could a true prince, without any martial arts skills, escape? Yi Zhongtian couldn't understand it.
As if knowing his thoughts, the beautiful gentleman smiled and said, "I heard that Prince Yan of Qi left in a hurry afterward and had a pleasant chat with Yongye at Feiyan Tower. Why did you let Prince Yan return to Qi so easily? Maybe he hid Li Yongye, who knows?"
"If she were hiding within the Qi envoy's ranks, there's no reason I wouldn't have discovered her. Could she fly? And how did she know I would make my move that night?"
"Don't forget, her personal maid and her head guard are both missing, and you still haven't found them. Marquis Yong'an disappeared at the same time as them. Do you think they could be together?"
Yi Zhongtian snorted: "The city gates were already closed before I took action, so they couldn't get out. By the way, who is the owner of the golden hairpin?"
"I gave you the hairpin so you could use Marquis Yong'an to hurt Feng Yangxi, but I cannot give you Princess Rose of Anguo. Zhongtian, we in Youli Valley have fulfilled our promise to King Chen, and I owe Chen nothing more. I am leaving now. I wish you and the princess a long and happy life together."
Why did the beautiful lady insist on not telling Yi Zhongtian her identity? What benefits did Prince Chen offer Youligu to make him start planning to replace the crown prince and cause chaos in Anguo more than ten years ago?
An assassin organization, killing for money. However, Yongye's intuition tells him that the Wandering Valley seems to be after more than just money. There are countless ways to make money in the world, from meddling in domestic affairs to instigating internal strife. Does the Wandering Valley Master have his sights set on conquering the world?
Yi Zhongtian has left. Yongye is still waiting.
The handsome gentleman lit the candle, unfolded the painting, and softly recited: "Wanting to shed my silk robe, the chill lingers; I don't roll up the beaded curtain, for she is deep within. Butterfly. Hehe, little star, you're getting more and more mischievous. When will you come? No wonder the princess has been so petite since childhood. Oh well, that girl is so noisy; I haven't gone to see her yet today."
After saying this, the handsome gentleman stood up, picked up a lantern, and left the waterside pavilion.
Rose is indeed here. Yongye sighed, stood up, and followed the beautiful gentleman through the courtyard, pushing open a moon gate and entering.
Yongye waited on the wall for a long time, not daring to be careless. She was very worried that it was a trap.
A faint roar of anger, like that of Rose, could be heard on the wind: "Get out of my way!"
"Sir..." Upon hearing this, Yongye's mind exploded. Yuepo, he was indeed there.