Eternal Night - Chapter 117
Li Tianyou was stunned, and a cold smile gradually appeared on his lips: "Even when begging for help, you shouldn't do it like this. If someone else were the emperor, they would have already dragged you out and beheaded."
"As you wish, Yongye takes his leave!" Yongye bowed and prepared to depart.
Li Tianyou, furious, shouted, "Stop!"
Yongye regretted coming to beg Li Tianyou; he couldn't control his temper the moment he saw him. But Li Tianyou was the emperor, and it was too impractical to contradict him like this. Yongye's eyes darted around, he lowered his head and turned away, then looked up again, tears welling in his eyes: "His Majesty wants to marry Princess Luoyu of Qi as his empress, you, you make me..."
So it was jealousy. Li Tianyou's anger turned to joy, and for a moment he was speechless, not knowing how to answer. He reached out to hug her. Yongye turned away and glared at him, her expression a mixture of resentment and anger. Li Tianyou felt a pang of sadness in his heart. The words of making Yongye a concubine lingered on his lips, but he dared not utter them, for fear of upsetting her.
Yongye stamped his foot, turned around and rushed out of the imperial study, leaving Li Tianyou lost in thought.
He wasn't unaware of her temperament. Spoiled since childhood, she was extremely proud. How could she possibly submit to Luo Yu? Even if she were willing, would Prince Duan be? Li Tianyou felt a headache coming on. However, because Yongye had severed its alliance with Qi, this was absolutely out of the question. Caught in this dilemma, Tianyou couldn't help but think of Lan Cui, so he summoned Eunuch Wang and ordered Lan Cui to be sent to Prince Duan's residence.
"Isn't pleasing you enough?" he murmured, something suddenly flashing through his mind, and his brows furrowed tightly again.
Li Yannian's tears
Outside the Shili Pavilion, Yongye arrived as promised, riding a horse and accompanied by guards carrying a sedan chair.
Yongye waved for the guards to leave, and waited for a long time by the empty official road with a horse and a sedan chair before she called out, "Master, you can come out now."
The sedan curtain was suddenly lifted, and Lan Cui stepped out carrying a small bundle, her gaze fixed anxiously on the woods.
A moment later, Li Yannian appeared in the forest. He stared at Yongye and said, "I thought you would ambush me."
"Wouldn't it be better to let go of hatred and spend the rest of our lives peacefully with Lan Cui?"
"My lord—"
Li Yannian was silent for a while before saying, "Lan Cui, you've been very good to me these past few years since we got married. However, I can never get rid of this hatred in my life. Go away, find a quiet little place, and marry an honest man."
Yongye rode on horseback as if watching a play.
Lan Cui burst into tears and shook her head desperately: "I'll follow you."
Li Yannian smiled faintly: "Following me is boring... You should leave."
Lan Cui took a few steps closer to Li Yannian. Li Yannian's eyes flashed sharply: "Stop! You're nothing but a maid I used. Now you're worthless. Get out!"
Lan Cui loosened her grip, and the bundle fell to the ground. Her mouth trembled slightly, but her eyes remained fixed on Li Yannian without blinking.
A faint sadness settled in Yongye's eyes. "Lancui, that winter, when I first entered the Prince's mansion, I heard you were going to marry him, and I was heartbroken. Because from that moment on, I wanted to kill him. Now, I'm letting you go, giving you a chance. You see, he will never live a peaceful life with you in seclusion. Is such a person worth betraying the benefactor who saved you?"
Lan Cui's face was pale as she looked at Li Yannian and said, word by word, "He is my husband."
Li Yannian's face was as cold as frost. He suddenly leaped up and slapped Lan Cui across the face, coldly saying, "You dare to challenge me?!"
Red marks gradually appeared on her pale face, and tears finally welled up in Lan Cui's eyes and fell. She picked up her bundle and took a few steps back, but did not leave. She just stared blankly at Li Yannian.
Yongye laughed loudly: "Fool, loving someone who doesn't love you is the cruelest thing for a woman. Lancui, why do you have to hang yourself on one tree?"
Li Yannian stopped looking at her, flicked his longsword and pointed it at Yongye: "Either you have an ambush, or you're too stupid, stupid enough to send away the guards and stay alone. If I capture you again, you'll never have a chance to escape!"
"Li Yannian, do you think I'm the kind of person who would put myself in danger? Do you really think I can't beat you? Make your move!"
Li Yannian flicked his longsword, which moved like a nimble snake.
With a light tap of his toes, Yongye leaped off his horse, throwing a flying knife at Lancui.
Li Yannian's pupils contracted sharply. It was too late to retaliate. He swerved to the side and used his back to block the knife.
A sharp pain shot through his back, and Lan Cui, tears streaming down her face, suddenly reached out and hugged him. Li Yannian froze, then slowly turned to look at Yongye: "You've completed your apprenticeship."
Yongye smiled: "I knew back in the valley that you still cared about her, Master. Even though you knew she was a pawn of my father, you didn't kill her and kept her alive. That's enough. My blade won't take your life. You may leave."
A sudden joy welled up within her, a joy born from discovering that even the most wicked person possesses emotions, and that forgiveness is the best weapon. Li Yannian, too, was a man of misfortune. She wished all the past, like an eternal night, were just a nightmare, vanishing with the sun's rays. She turned her horse around and headed back to the city.
Behind him came Li Yannian's unwilling question: "Why don't you hate me?"
Yongye laughed loudly, "A smile can dispel all enmity! Take care, Master!"
"A smile can dissolve all enmity..." Li Yannian felt completely empty in an instant. The hatred he had harbored since childhood, the forbearance he had endured for over twenty years, and the betrayal by Youli Valley all vanished in a single night.
He stood there, utterly dejected. She didn't hate him; she actually let him go. His legs gave way, and he knelt on one knee, tears streaming down his face. Why did he have to be the Holy Ancestor's son? Why did he have to bear such immense hatred?!
A pair of gentle hands moved to his back. The throwing knife wasn't thrown with much force; the one-inch-long knife didn't penetrate his back even halfway. "Bear with it, it won't hurt for long."
Lan Cui's voice was like a gentle breeze in early summer, warm and comforting.
Li Yannian looked at her somewhat blankly. Her face was gentle and lovely, her eyes filled with heartache and joy, as if she had regained her precious child. He thought of his mother's hands and her eyes when he was a child, so tender.
Lan Cui drew her sword lightly, quickly covering her wound with her hand, and choked out, "I'm sorry, I hurt you. The princess gave me her armor..."
Li Yannian turned around; a small cut was nothing to him. He wiped away Lan Cui's tears and silently watched Yong Ye's departing figure, filled with gratitude. After a long while, he sighed, "I admit defeat. With a woman like this, even if Prince Duan were to ascend the throne, she would still be better than me. Without Prince Duan's tacit approval, she couldn't have made this decision."
Lan Cui was overjoyed, tears welling in her eyes, and buried her head deeply in Li Yannian's arms: "I will have your child in the future. The princess said that a family's peace is a blessing. I really hope that he will have a good father who will teach him to read and write."
Li Yannian gently stroked her long hair, recalling the delicate, shy face he had seen when he lifted her veil years ago. She was the only one in the world who would never abandon him. A warm feeling welled up in Li Yannian's heart. "Let's leave this place..."
Suddenly, a bowstring twanged in the wind. Li Yannian grabbed Lan Cui and twisted to avoid it. He deflected the arrows with his longsword, his heart filled with hatred: "Li Yongye. What a vicious heart she has!"
"No—" Lan Cui cried out in surprise.
Arrows rained down from the forest. Li Yannian, protecting Lan Cui, couldn't dodge in time and was struck in the leg by another arrow. He struggled to push Lan Cui away.
"Walk!"
A sound of hooves came from afar. Li Yannian caught a glimpse of it, and hope rekindled in his eyes. He shouted, "Quick! Go to Yongye! She won't kill us!"