Eternal Night - Chapter 124
"Oh? I'm already considered married?"
"Only the palace entrance ceremony is missing," Crown Prince Yan said with a smile. "Ten days from now, there will be an investiture ceremony in the Golden Hall. Once Yongye receives the jade book and golden seal, he will become the master of my Eastern Palace Luan Hall."
Yongye angrily retorted, "I am still the princess of Anguo without the imperial seal and jade tablet. Your Highness, please return!"
Prince Yan was startled and waved his hands repeatedly, saying, "Yongye, don't be angry! I... I just wanted to see you..."
"See if I'm still here at the inn, see if I've run away, is that it, Your Highness!" Yongye sneered. "With a master like Feng Yangxi here, what does Your Highness have to worry about?"
"Feng...Master Feng is not at the inn. He...he has other important business to attend to." Prince Yan's face turned bright red, and he almost wanted to disappear into the ground under Yongye's gaze.
Yongye laughed loudly: "I'm afraid of disgracing my father! Crown Prince, rest assured, in ten days I will enter the palace to kneel and receive the jade book and golden seal personally bestowed by Emperor Qi. Your Highness, please return!"
Crown Prince Yan blushed, bowed and took his leave. Before leaving, he couldn't help but turn back and ask, "Since Yongye is willing to marry, why won't she dress as a woman?"
Yongye blinked and said, "Let's give Your Highness a surprise!"
Crown Prince Yan suddenly realized and said softly, "Yongye's male attire is already unparalleled in the world, and his female attire will also be the envy of many. It is rare for Yongye to have such a heart. See you in the Golden Palace in ten days, and I will also give Yongye a surprise."
Yongye shrugged nonchalantly; she wouldn't wait until ten days later, she'd leave as soon as possible in the next few days. Feng Yangxi had followed her all the way, so she could only escape in the capital. The thought of Yuepo's peaceful medical clinic flashed through her mind again, and she wished she could fly out of the post station immediately to find him.
"Miss!" Yin'er rushed in, her face streaked with tears, waving her hands incoherently.
Yongye was surprised. Seeing two people kneeling in the courtyard behind Yin'er, he jumped up in shock and shouted, "Yihong! Commander Lin!"
She never expected them to be alive, and actually in the capital. As she rushed over, her heart tightened. She stood before Yi Hong and helped them both up, asking calmly, "Was it Prince Yan who saved you?"
Yi Hong raised her face to look at Yong Ye, nodded, and sobbed, "Young Master, please don't blame Yi Hong, he...he..."
"This humble general was seriously injured and was rescued by Crown Prince Yan. I am incompetent and have been unable to send the message back to An." Lin Hong said with his head down.
Yi Hong's address of "Young Master" made Yong Ye sigh. He took Yi Hong's hand and walked into the inner hall: "There's no need to explain. I know he is your savior. He doesn't allow you to report back. Even if you wanted to send a message, you couldn't."
Lin Hong glanced gratefully at Yong Ye, then silently followed him into the inner room.
Large blocks of ice melted in the golden basin, releasing wisps of coolness. What had initially felt refreshing now chilled to the bone; the sudden chill from outside sent goosebumps up Yongye's skin. She smiled: "I'm very grateful to him for letting you all come. What do you think of him?"
“Young Master, the Crown Prince is an excellent person. If you marry him, you will surely be happy.” Yi Hong looked earnestly at Yong Ye.
"I know, I didn't say I wouldn't marry him. If I weren't going to marry him, why would I have come all the way to the capital?" Yongye said with a smile, but her gaze towards the two of them held a hint of distance.
Father is right. Even if someone appears gentle and weak, they can't be too bad to sit on the throne of Crown Prince. The two acts of saving his life have driven Feng Yangxi and also won over Yi Hong and Lin Hong.
"You two can go and rest. If you want to stay in Qi, then come with me. If you want to return to An, then leave with Wang Da after the wedding."
"I have an elderly mother and a young brother at home, so I cannot stay in Qi to accompany the princess. Please forgive me, Princess!" Lin Hong said without hesitation, though a hint of shame crossed his face.
Yongye sat leaning back and smiled: "It is only natural for people to be filial to their parents. Could you please ask Commander Lin to grant me permission to marry Yihong after returning to Anguo?"
"Young Master!" Yi Hong blushed and stammered, "Commander Lin... I am his woman."
"Haha, perfect! From now on, don't call me 'Young Master' anymore. Let Yin'er call me 'Miss'. It sounds inappropriate for a young master to get married. It's good that you're back. Today is truly a good day. Go now, I'm a little tired from lunch." Yongye laughed happily.
After the two took their leave, Yongye looked at Yin'er without saying a word. She didn't trust anyone. Everyone has their own fate, and she couldn't possibly take them away with her.
Ping An Medical Center
The cicadas chirped listlessly, and the courtyard was quiet in the afternoon.
It was a rectangular courtyard, devoid of even a single tree, which reminded Yongye of the character for "prisoner." She laughed again; if there were trees, wouldn't it become the character for "trapped"? The effect was the same—no good omen.
Yongye strolled through the courtyard and saw the fresh stubble of a felled tree stump. Standing stark white in the earth, it was strikingly conspicuous. It signified an attitude of imprisonment, not confinement.
"Does Prince Yan have such cunning?" Yongye thought sarcastically. She really misjudged him.
Wang Da, accompanied by his guards, stood watch outside the courtyard. Beyond the courtyard, another layer of guards, were Qi soldiers ostensibly providing protection. Even Wang Da angrily reported that Anguo soldiers needed Lord Zheng's permission to even go out into the streets. They used the same excuse: with the wedding imminent, Qi didn't want any mishaps.
Yongye simply told Wang Da to calm down, saying that the weather was too hot and she didn't want to go out. Not wanting to go out didn't mean she was happy; Yongye dismissed all the maids and stayed alone in the courtyard. She gave the order that she wouldn't see anyone.
On the fifth day, she quietly brewed tea indoors as usual. This was the afternoon when people were most mentally exhausted, and if they could find a shady place to sit, they would not choose to stand in the sun. There should be the fewest soldiers in the inn.
Many people believe that it is best to leave when one is in a panic upon entering the palace on the tenth day, but Yongye believes that leaving before or after the tenth day is the time when precautions are most stringent.
Yongye took a sip of tea and stood up. She didn't have a single tael of silver on her. If she wanted to leave, she would leave decisively, without bothering to pack her things or do anything tedious. She glanced at the stove, took off her outer robe, revealing a white gauze dress underneath. Yongye casually turned the stove and walked out of the bedchamber.
The bluestone in the courtyard gleamed with a fiery sheen under the sun. Cicadas sang wildly outside. Yongye sighed. Would Feng Yangxi be waiting for her outside the courtyard? Would he guard her for twelve hours straight? If not, perhaps no one could stop her.
Just then, she heard footsteps approaching. Yongye stopped and coldly looked in the direction of the footsteps.
A figure walked in through the courtyard gate. The shadow cast by the figure was long in the sunlight, and Yongye's heart pounded violently.
He wore a gray cloth robe and had a handsome, familiar face. Yuepo walked towards her leisurely, his expression as relaxed as if he were taking a stroll in his own garden.
Yongye blinked, then suddenly wanted to laugh. Why was Yuepo always the person she needed to protect in her heart? She had almost forgotten that he also came from Youli Valley and possessed unparalleled skill in using poison.
Moonwalk walked up to Eternal Night, gazed at her, and looked at her with eyes full of amusement: "Are you dumbfounded?"
The voice was so familiar, and Yongye still reached out and touched his face, even giving it a hard twist.
Moon Soul chuckled, "It's true." With that, she opened her arms and hugged Eternal Night tightly.
Yongye heard his heart pounding strongly, forgetting that they were in the inn, feeling only that she and Yuepo existed in the world. She vaguely felt that it was all just a dream.
“…Xinghun…Xinghun…” Yuepo whispered her name. Seeing her dressed as a man as before, without any sense of being married, he was overwhelmed with excitement. He looked down at Yongye, who had closed her eyes, and sighed, “Every day I wait for you at the teahouse opposite the post station, drinking tea.”
Yongye's eyes reddened, and she almost burst into tears. She pushed him away and said reproachfully, "Aren't you hot?"
Moon Soul burst out laughing: "You're holding me so tightly, and you still complain about being hot?"