Mercenary Princess - Chapter 54
Two days later.
Autumn has passed and winter has arrived. The world bravely battles the snow, and a chill permeates the air.
In the Imperial Garden, Dongfang Yao tirelessly shot birds at the trees, sometimes letting out a regretful sigh, sometimes clapping her hands in delight, sometimes pointing at the trees and shouting angrily, and sometimes grumbling to the person not far away...
Lu Xiaoyan—or rather, Yu Yan—stood gracefully to the side, smiling as she watched the lively Dongfang Yao not far away. But if you were to get closer and examine her more closely, you might discover a hint of unease and a touch of impatient restlessness hidden beneath that gentle smile…
A cold wind blew by, sweeping across Rongyue's exposed neck, making her shiver.
The next moment, a warm fox fur coat was draped over her shoulders. Just as she was wondering what was happening, a pair of warm hands slipped under her armpits and wrapped intimately around her waist: "Look, don't they look like a perfect match? Hmm?"
Unable to understand the meaning behind his unusual behavior, Rongyue glanced at the hand encircling her waist, her expression darkening further: "Your Majesty, could you please remove your hand?"
Ignoring Rongyue's words, Dongfang Lie's voice was deep as he continued to breathe mist into her ear: "Do you know what day it is today?"
Upon hearing this, Rongyue's expression changed drastically. What day? Of course, it was the day she planned to escape!
Why would he ask that question? Could it be... that he already knows?
"Forgot? Heh, what an idiot, you even forgot your own birthday..."
Oh, so that's what he meant. Thank goodness...
However, she genuinely didn't know it was her birthday today. After this birthday, she'll probably be fifteen! Fifteen, the prime of life...
Dongfang Lie's voice came again: "How are you going to spend your birthday this year?"
How should she celebrate? How else could she celebrate? It's not even her birthday; what's the point of her celebrating someone else's? Besides, tonight...
"As a servant burdened with guilt, it is already an extraordinary act of mercy from His Majesty to have my lowly life spared. How could I dare to ask for anything more?"
He chuckled softly, "What if I insist on letting you pass?"
Rongyue said coldly, "Then I'm afraid my aunt's spirit in heaven will not rest in peace!"
Suddenly, Dongfang Lie's heavy breathing came from above. Without looking up, Rongyue could guess that he must be cold-faced, glaring angrily, and desperately suppressing the anger churning in his chest.
"You won't be satisfied until you provoke me, will you?"
"How dare I! I'm just speaking my mind!"
Dongfang Lie gritted his teeth in hatred: "You, you really are an ungrateful woman!"
"Ungrateful?" Chewing on those three words, Rongyue sneered, "Your Majesty is mistaken. It is precisely because I am too sensible that I resist Your Majesty's 'good intentions' at every turn! Your Majesty might as well ask yourself, is the concern you occasionally show me genuine? I'm afraid not, am I? I dare to guess that Your Majesty's act of lowering yourself to please this lowly slave is for two reasons. First, Your Majesty wants to take revenge on me, and the best way to take revenge is not by tormenting someone's body, but by tormenting their heart! So Your Majesty used your body as bait, being extremely gentle and using every trick in the book, trying to make me fall in love with you, and then you kicked me aside, trampling my self-respect and dignity underfoot, arbitrarily humiliating and trampling on them! And seeing my expression of unbearable pain because of you, Your Majesty will derive the greatest pleasure of revenge! Your Majesty, am I wrong about this?"
Dongfang Lie's face darkened upon hearing this. Undeniably, what she said was indeed a thought he had once held, but that was only in the past! But damn it, how could she have guessed it? Why was she so clever? Wouldn't it have been better if she were a little less intelligent?
Volume One: Pear Blossom Courtyard Under the Melting Moon, Chapter Fifty-Seven: Resolute Departure
A gloomy expression gradually settled on his handsome face: "And the second point?"
With a light laugh, Rongyue's lips curled into a barely perceptible sarcasm: "As for the second point, ha, it's nothing more than the Emperor's inherent sense of superiority and his unwillingness to accept defeat!"
Upon hearing this, Dongfang Lie sneered mockingly, "Unwilling? For you?! Ha, laughable! Liu Rongyue, who do you think you are? You're overestimating yourself."
Ignoring Dongfang Lie's sarcasm, Rongyue continued, "Indeed, I am but a plain willow, incomparable to the thousands of beauties in the imperial harem. How could I possibly catch His Majesty's eye? But I must say, His Majesty is simply unwilling! His Majesty is the current emperor, the supreme ruler and sovereign of the Eastern Dynasty. Under heaven, all land belongs to the king; on the shores of the earth, all people are his subjects. Those who stand at the pinnacle of power naturally inspire awe, let alone the current emperor, Your Majesty, so dashing and wise..." Extraordinary, a paragon of both literary and military prowess! Powerful, influential, handsome, and talented—how could such a man not be the object of women's dreams? Women, naturally, would seize any opportunity to fawn over him, vying for his favor and desperately trying to climb into his bed! With so many such examples, the Emperor naturally developed a sense of superiority, believing that no woman could resist his innate charm. Therefore, when the Emperor was turned away by this servant, a desire for conquest arose spontaneously…”
Looking up at Dongfang Lie, who remained silent with his lips pursed, Rongyue paused for a moment before saying, "Especially when His Majesty gave me both overt and covert hints, and I remained unmoved, His Majesty truly felt resentful! His Majesty is wise and capable, far superior to Dongfang Yao, who only knows how to play and frolic all day long—the difference is like heaven and earth! You don't understand, and you're even more resentful that your masculine charm couldn't compare to a fool..."
"Shut up!" Dongfang Lie roared, abruptly interrupting Rongyue's unspoken words: "I didn't! Liu Rongyue, stop talking nonsense, spreading rumors, and sowing discord between me and my brother Yao! He is my imperial brother, how could I harbor such thoughts!"
He scoffed, "This is like trying to hide something obvious! Your Majesty, your vehement denial will not only fail to convince people, but will also make you appear to be trying to cover something up."
Dongfang Lie, enraged and humiliated, shouted: "Liu Rongyue! My patience with you has its limits! If you anger me, the consequences will be far beyond what you can bear!!"
"Brother, brother, what's wrong with you..." The commotion startled the two people on the other side. Putting away his slingshot, Dongfang Yao hurriedly ran over with Yu Yan in his arms.
"I'm not reconciled! You're not reconciled!" Rong Yue's words echoed in Dongfang Lie's ears like a curse, lingering and forcing him to confront his inner demons. Looking at Dongfang Yao's sincere face, Dongfang Lie's heart trembled, and a wave of guilt washed over him. He shouldn't have done it, he shouldn't have…
"Brother, brother?" Dongfang Yao asked anxiously, nudging the dazed Dongfang Lie.
Suppressing the anger that hadn't yet faded from his face, Dongfang Lie forced a smile: "Don't worry about it, what could possibly happen to my brother! He hasn't had enough fun yet and came running here, has he? Go back to playing..."
He wiped the thin layer of sweat from his forehead. "Hey, that's enough! Today's the opening day, I'm taking Xiaoyan to play in the streets!" As he spoke, he pulled Yuyan towards the palace gate. "Didn't you say you wanted to see the acrobatics last time? Come on, I'll take you! Let me tell you, that swordsman..."
Yu Yan's meaningful glance before leaving conveyed a tacit understanding between the two women. Watching them walk further and further away, Rong Yue silently prayed: May Buddha bless us, and may everything go smoothly tonight…
Tonight, at midnight.
"...Two little bees, flying to the flower bushes...flying, flying...uh, how come I lost again? Why did you throw scissors instead of a fist...hiccup—" Rongyue glanced at Dongfang Lie, who was holding a wine jar and looked like he was completely drunk, and felt secretly anxious.
This damned emperor, for reasons unknown, dragged her to his palace after dusk. To put it nicely, he was celebrating her birthday; to put it bluntly, he was practically making her drink with him! If she hadn't quickly come up with a drinking game she was good at in modern times, she would probably have been completely drunk and disoriented by now!
She glanced discreetly at the hourglass; it was almost midnight! With only a quarter of an hour left until the appointed time, Rongyue felt her heart pounding in her chest! Success or failure hinged on this moment; if there was even the slightest mistake, she would surely die a horrible death!
The only option now is to risk taking this drunkard down! Never mind, I'll risk it all!
Gripping the flying needle tightly in her hand, Rong Yue stared at Dongfang Lie, who was drinking opposite her, and focused her energy, biting her lower lip secretly. But just as the flying needle was about to leave her hand, Dongfang Lie, who was drunk and dazed, pounced on her with lightning speed. In the next moment, Rong Yue was knocked to the ground, her hands were clamped by him, and the flying needle quietly fell to the ground.
"You, you... what do you want to do!" Frantically pushing away the unmoving Dongfang Lie who was pressing down on her, Rongyue was horrified. How could it be such a coincidence? It was almost too strange! Was he truly drunk, or... was he just pretending?!
Gazing intently into Rongyue's dark, lotus-like eyes, he gently tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear, his voice low and tender, like fine wine brewed by a lover: "Can you tell me, what is it about that fool that you like? And in what way do I fall short of that fool?"
Dongfang Lie's question sent a chill down Rongyue's spine. A fool? This was absolutely not a term that should be used by someone who cherished his brother like his own life…
Oblivious to the panic in Rongyue's eyes, his gaze lingered, and he lowered his head to gently kiss her lips: "Do you know? I regret it so much! Yue, you should have been my empress, my woman! If I hadn't made that foolish decision that I now deeply regret, Yue, perhaps we would be living happily now, and we wouldn't have come to this..."
"Yue, didn't you say you wouldn't marry anyone but me? I remember you even tried to kill yourself to prove your feelings! Haha, I often used that to deceive myself, telling myself that you still cared about me, loved me, and that I still had a place in your heart... But now I've realized that your heart only belongs to Yao Di, and no other man can even get a sliver into your unbreakable heart! Yue, why did you change your mind? Why? How can someone so foolish, unable to even take care of themselves, protect you? Women all like to be protected, cherished, and pampered by men, but why doesn't that work with you? I know you're a strange woman, but I never imagined you'd be so different! To like a fool... Haha..."