Eternal Night - Chapter 116
Lan Cui was stunned. She turned her face away from the corner and knelt down: "Your Highness, Lan Cui is sorry."
"Are you angry with me?" Prince Duan asked softly again.
Lan Cui was stunned. What right did she have to blame him? It was clearly her who betrayed him, not only selling out her mistress but also almost killing her.
“If it weren’t for me, you could have married an ordinary person and lived an ordinary but happy life. I forgot, he was originally a very charming man as well.” Prince Duan sighed, his gaze sweeping over the untouched food on the ground. “The Emperor is good to you; few people in the Imperial Prison get to enjoy the food from the Imperial Kitchen.”
"Is that all? Just to lure your husband into a trap? The Emperor and the Prince would love to kill him!" Lan Cui said sarcastically.
"You'd do anything for him, right? I came to see you just to understand how big a mistake I made!" Prince Duan wasn't angry. Back then, he rescued her from Sanyu Pass, brought her back to the palace and raised her, and then used her; they were even. "Even if you starve to death, we can still catch him. If you don't die, you might have a chance to see him again."
Lan Cui raised her head, tears streaming down her face: "Don't lie to me. I know I'll die, it's just a matter of how. But even if I die, I won't help you catch him!"
"Yongye said she will send you to see Li Yannian." Prince Duan said this and walked out. He believed that hearing this would lessen Lancui's desire to die.
Yongye stood in the courtyard, looking around at Anguo's prison. Except for the absence of barbed wire on the walls, it was similar to the prison in his previous life.
"I'm afraid the only way to resolve this is to ask the Emperor. He has ordered the Imperial Kitchen to prepare and deliver meals three times a day. I think the Emperor is waiting for you to ask him." A hint of worry appeared in Prince Duan's eyes.
Lan Cui wasn't a good bait to lure Li Yannian. He knew Li Yannian; Lan Cui wasn't necessarily that important to him.
“If they were to go into seclusion, there would be less bloodshed. After all, Li Yannian… Lan Cui has served me for many years.” Yongye didn’t go to the prison to see Lan Cui; she remembered how much Lan Cui hated her in the valley. She was no longer the Lan Cui who had cared for her wholeheartedly in her childhood, but Lan Cui’s unwavering devotion reminded Yongye of Yuepo. She too would unhesitatingly seek out Yuepo, sharing his sentiments. Yongye sighed, “I’ll go and beg him. Hasn’t he been waiting for a long time?”
"Do you like him?" Prince Duan finally asked the question that had been troubling him. Although he opposed Yongye entering the palace, what if Yongye fell in love with Tianyou?
Yongye chuckled: "Father, I like you more."
Prince Duan was taken aback, then put on a stern face and said, "You have no manners!" But a hint of smugness and amusement was clearly visible in his eyes.
Yongye waited outside the Imperial Study for a full half hour before Eunuch Wang came out and replied with difficulty, "Princess, please return. His Majesty is busy reviewing memorials. He is not free at the moment."
"Thank you, sir. Please tell His Majesty that Yongye will come again tomorrow." She smiled, turned, and left. Inwardly, she cursed, "Li Tianyou, you think you can make me bow down like an emperor? It's not like I absolutely have to save Lan Cui."
Tianyou couldn't find Yongye, and though she was gone, he felt uneasy. He had originally planned to ignore her for three days to let her know that he was now the ruler of a country. Now, he felt a pang of regret. Thinking of Yongye's temperament, if he indulged her in everything, wouldn't she cause chaos in the future? He calmed down and began to review the memorials.
For three consecutive days, Yongye arrived and left with a beaming smile. Remembering that her appointment with Li Yannian was only five days away, she couldn't help but feel a little anxious.
Not long after returning to the mansion, Eunuch Wang, despite his advanced age, followed closely behind into the Prince Duan's mansion.
The Prince Duan and his wife greeted them with smiles. Eunuch Wang delivered Emperor Youqing's edict with a grin, glanced at the clothes and jewelry in the vermilion plate, bowed, and left.
Throughout, Yongye remained silent with a cold expression.
“Yongye, you’re going to change into women’s clothing anyway. The Emperor has given the imperial decree. What’s wrong with changing into women’s clothing to see him?” the princess advised.
Yongye snorted: "I don't want to wear it for him to see!"
Prince Duan calmly sipped his tea and said, "You don't want to change even in the manor? Who are you trying to impress?"
Yongye's face flushed red. Remembering her promise to Prince Duan that she would no longer be with Yuepo, she felt a pang of sadness and angrily said, "Father, do you want me to enter the palace as a concubine? Damn it!"
"What?" Prince Duan was stunned when he heard the last word and blurted out the question.
"I mean extremely dissatisfied! Don't tell me you want me to marry Li... him!"
Prince Duan chuckled: "Who do you want to marry?"
"Does not wanting to marry him mean you have to find someone else to marry?"
"You'll have to get married sooner or later. Otherwise, what will you do when the imperial decree arrives?"
Yongye was stunned. Yes, Li Tianyou was the emperor, and disobeying would be defying the imperial decree.
Prince Duan said casually, "If you don't change into women's clothing, the Emperor won't blame you. Just beg your father! As long as you change into women's clothing and show it to him, I'll solve this problem for you right away!"
Yongye glanced over and saw that both Prince Duan and his wife were staring at her expectantly. If she wasn't mistaken, the wife even licked her lips with her tongue. So eager to see? Why? One was a robe, the other a skirt—was there such a big difference? But she still remembered what Yuepo had said. "If you won't change it, then don't help me. I'll still go to see Emperor Li tomorrow like this! Disobeying his orders is defying the imperial decree. If Father isn't afraid of implicating me, then it's fine if you don't help Yongye solve this problem!"
Prince Duan and his wife sighed simultaneously. "Why is it so hard for you to change into women's clothing? You'll get married someday; you can't go to your wedding dressed as a man!"
“That’s a matter for the future. I’m talking about tomorrow,” Yongye said with a smile. “I know my father will have a way. I’m not in a hurry.”
Prince Duan smiled wryly; revealing his trump card to her now was hardly a wise move. He thought mischievously, surely she wouldn't refuse to exchange it for anything in her lifetime?
When Tianyou heard Eunuch Wang announce his arrival again, he stood up excitedly, then suppressed his excitement and remained seated.
Yongye finally entered the imperial study, glanced at Tianyou, who was wearing a dragon robe, and saw him sitting in a chair with a stern face, looking at the memorials with a dignified air. He then bowed and knelt on the ground, waiting for the order to rise.
Her hair was bound with a golden cicada crown, she wore a purple silk robe embroidered with intertwined branches, and a white jade belt around her waist. Tianyou's anger flared. She didn't even heed his instructions? "I remember yesterday I had Wang Fu deliver a light purple wide-sleeved shirt, a dark purple long skirt, and a white shawl. The princess is still dressed as a man; where does that leave me?"
Yongye raised her head with a smile and took out the late emperor's edict from her bosom, unfolding it: "Li Yongye is permitted to disobey the imperial decree three times. So be it! This is the imperial decree bestowed upon Yongye by the late emperor. Your Majesty, Yongye disobeys the imperial decree once, refusing to appear in women's clothing in public."
Li Tianyou gasped, speechless. Seeing Yongye's radiant smile, her luminous complexion, and her exquisite features, he was momentarily stunned. His mind raced; she had already defied the imperial decree twice; a couple more orders would easily disqualify her from these three. A smile spread across his face as he walked over, taking Yongye's hand and helping her up, his grip lingering. He gazed intently at Yongye and said, "So your previous sickly appearance was all an act. Little Ye, your complexion is truly beautiful."
Yongye struggled, but Li Tianyou gripped her even tighter, staring at her and saying, "You can use kung fu, let's see if you can beat me." Seeing Yongye stunned, he smiled and said, "Little Ye, I like this name, it sounds much better than Xinghun."
How did he know? Yongye blinked, pretending not to understand.
"An assassin once broke into my study at night and blew it up. I still feel heartbroken thinking about it. Tell me, what would I do if I caught that assassin?"
Yongye forcefully shook off his hand and said with a stern face, "Your Majesty has no evidence, why frame Yongye?"
Li Tianyou gazed at her for a long while, then sighed and said, "I miss you so much, Xiao Ye. Have you forgotten what I once said?"
"Your Majesty, Yongye is begging you to spare Lancui's life. After all, she has served me for many years." Yongye felt a headache coming on when he called her Xiaoye. She ignored him and changed the subject.
Yongye stood there with a stern face, and even though he was unhappy, the air of authority between his brows still captivated Li Tianyou. He frowned slightly and said, "Why are you so distant from me? I remember you weren't like this before you went to Chen!"
"Whether or not the Emperor releases her, Yongye has done her best for Lancui." Yongye was extremely impatient; if Li Tianyou continued to stare at her, she felt an urge to punch him.