Novelas PaiPai - Capítulo 90
“She didn’t want to,” she scoffed. “More than one or two people witnessed what happened just now, didn’t they? The princess and her husband drank and chatted happily, then went back to the prince’s residence hand in hand to rest. Who said she didn’t want to?”
I forcefully broke free from the two servants' grasp, and pointed directly at Madam Yang with my sleeve: "Whether she's willing or not, you know yourself. Have you considered the consequences of doing this?"
"Are you implying that you'll go to the palace to complain about me to the Emperor and Empress someday?" She leaned against the door, calmly waving a handkerchief in her hand as if fanning herself. "What's wrong with my mother-in-law arranging for the princess and the prince consummating their marriage? Don't forget, the Emperor himself also wants to hold his grandson soon. If Mr. Liang wants to go to the palace to spread rumors about me and the prince, be careful not to miscalculate. You might not only fail to file a complaint, but the Emperor might also charge you with the serious crime of sowing discord between the princess and the prince..."
"She will die!" I cried out to her, unable to contain myself any longer. "You must have figured out how to exonerate yourself in front of the Emperor, but do you have no pity for the Princess at all? Have you not thought about how she will feel when she wakes up tomorrow?"
Yang was taken aback and did not respond immediately.
I pushed aside those blocking my way, intending to continue running to find the princess. Yang, regaining her composure, quickly ordered her servants to intercept me. But I was consumed by rage; every inch of my body felt like it was brimming with gunpowder, ready to erupt at the slightest touch. This violent outburst was something I had never experienced in my twenty-eight years of life, regardless of the provocation, insult, or humiliation I faced.
I threw punches at everyone who tried to stop me, so fiercely, as if I were using the strength I had accumulated over twenty-eight years. I attacked them desperately, as if I could see them taking away my living space and the air I was breathing.
In the more than a thousand days since I entered this house, these people have seen many expressions of me: kind and gentle, leisurely and calm, or laughing and talking. But the look in my eyes now must be unfamiliar to them. They never expected that the hands that once held a pen would now become weapons in a fight. They were dumbfounded, turned their offense into defense, and in the end even gave up fighting. I think it was because I was acting like a madman.
Finally, they abandoned their armor and fled in disarray. I immediately strode towards where the princess was.
As I approached the entrance to the prince consort's bedroom, the three female Taoist priests emerged from the room. The fight had left a wound on my right cheek, from which a few drops of blood were seeping out. I stopped, stared coldly at them, and wiped the blood away with my sleeve.
My expression at that moment must have been terrifying. They looked at me in panic, each raising their sleeves to cover their mouths, trying to stifle their gasps. They didn't even bother to close the door before scrambling to escape.
I entered the room, slowed my pace, and slowly approached the bed curtains.
I didn't know what I would see, and I tried to keep my mind blank, refusing to make any guesses or imagine.
The fragrant smoke from the incense burner behind the screen drifted in the candlelight, mingling with a few distinct wisps of wine, making the decadent night even more ambiguous and gloomy. I moved silently, and the surroundings were strangely quiet, with only the occasional flicker of the lamplight.
Am I too late? I wondered anxiously. Turning past the screen in front of the bed curtains, through a layer of gauze, the answer gradually appeared before my eyes.
The princess lay drunk on the bed, her clothes having been removed and scattered on the floor beside her. She was now completely naked, her beautifully sculpted body like white jade, seemingly radiating a seven-colored glow when viewed through the gauze curtain.
Her cheeks were flushed, and she was asleep with her eyes closed, but she seemed to be sleeping restlessly. Her eyelashes trembled from time to time, and she uttered indistinct murmurs, occasionally eliciting a faint smile.
Li Wei was kneeling on the bed beside her, wearing only a light blanket with his shirt open. His face was quite red, indicating that he had also drunk quite a bit. His gaze lingered on the princess, his eyes burning with passion, yet also carrying a hint of drunkenness.
His hand was caressing the princess… but "caressing" wouldn't be quite accurate; it was more like he was gently touching her with his fingers, from her brow, face, and lips, down to her neck, chest, and lower abdomen. Each time he touched her skin, he would immediately withdraw his hand, and then, under that adoring gaze, begin the next tentative touch.
I didn't expect him to behave so strangely, as if he wasn't facing a woman, but a famous painting he had bought at great expense. He couldn't help but want to touch her to experience the feeling of being close to and possessing her, but he was also afraid that his touch would defile her.
However, his appreciative attitude towards the artwork relieved me—things hadn't gotten to the worst yet. Before Li Wei could touch the princess's skin with his lips, I suddenly lifted the veil, strode over, took off my cloak and wrapped it tightly around the princess, then lifted her up in my arms.
The princess was a little startled and squirmed uncomfortably in my arms. I hugged her tighter and whispered in her ear, "Princess, let's go home." She quieted down, gave a soft "Mmm" in response, and nestled obediently against my chest with a sweet smile, letting me carry her along.
Her eyes remained closed throughout this time. Looking at the sweet smile on her lips, the pain from my wound began to spread to my heart.
Before leaving, I glanced back at Li Wei. He stood by the screen, his clothes disheveled, silently watching me. When our eyes met, he turned away and extinguished a brightly lit red candle with his palm.
I took the princess back to her chambers and had the maids take good care of her. Then I found Supervisor Liang and told him about it. An hour later, Zhang Chengzhao returned and told us the secret of the "Peach Blossom Spring" wine: "I took this wine to a pharmacy owner, and he quickly found that several aphrodisiacs had been added to the wine. People with low alcohol tolerance may faint if they drink too much."
After discussing it, we went to see Madam Yang the next day with wine. I placed the wine in front of Madam Yang and said frankly that her actions were an insult to the princess and a disregard for the dignity of the royal family. In order not to worsen the relationship between the princess and her husband and son, we could not tell the princess and the emperor and empress about the drugging incident, but we asked Madam Yang to guarantee that this would not happen again.
Lady Yang was very dissatisfied, but said that she was only trying to get the princess and the prince consummate their marriage as soon as possible, and that the emperor and empress would not blame her.
So Supervisor Liang said to her, “If you, Madam, use such means to force the princess and the prince consummate their marriage, even if the Emperor and Empress do not blame you, the princess will never accept it. The princess is of a strong character; once this happens, she is very likely to hate the prince and never forgive him. She may even take drastic measures, such as suicide, to show her resistance. If something happens to the princess, how can you and the prince escape unscathed?”
Madam Yang, still indignant, added, "The princess's previous rejection of the prince consort was simply due to her lack of understanding of the ways of men and women. Once they consummate their marriage, she will understand the subtleties and will no longer reject the prince consort."
Supervisor Liang said, “I dare not say that what you say is entirely unreasonable, but nothing is absolute. After the wedding night, there are two possible outcomes. One is, as you say, that the princess will accept the prince consort and live happily ever after, which would be the best outcome. The other is that the princess will be angry and even give up her life in protest. If that happens, it will be more than just you and the prince consort who will be implicated. Therefore, your actions are no different from a high-stakes gamble, with the safety of the entire Li family at stake. Whether it is worth it, please consider carefully.”
In the following days, Madam Yang behaved somewhat more restrained and did not make any similar moves. She did not object to our expulsion of the three female Taoist priests and was also more polite to the princess. After the princess regained her senses, she did not mention the events of that day again. I do not know how much she remembered, but I guess she was probably ashamed of her feelings that night and therefore avoided mentioning it at all. I had also long ago instructed all the eunuchs and maids in the house not to talk to her about anything that happened on the night of the prince consort's birthday.
But one day, she suddenly stared at the unhealed wound on my face and asked, "Huaiji, how did you get hurt on your face?"
I smiled at her and made up a random excuse: "I wasn't paying attention while walking and bumped into the wall."
"How did you get hurt so badly?" She reached out and gently touched the wound, asking with pity. "Did you hit that wall?"
I raised my eyebrows and replied with a smile, "The south wall."
She smiled broadly, laughing so hard she lowered her head, burying it deeply in her elbows. Later, I only saw her shoulders trembling, but I couldn't hear her laughter. When she looked up again, I noticed tiny water droplets on her eyelashes.
"Is it that funny?" I casually brushed the dampness off her eyelashes with my fingertip. "You're laughing so hard you're crying."
“Hmm,” she nodded, smiling shyly with her eyes lowered, “It’s ridiculous.”
The Lonely City Closes (The Princess Who Fell in Love with a Eunuch) The wine is finished, leaving only two brows furrowed in sorrow.
Chapter word count: 2779 Update time: 09-07-05 10:36
scandal
(This chapter contains 2552 words)
After Han finished arranging her son's wedding, she returned to the princess's residence. I and Supervisor Liang recounted the recent events to her. She was greatly surprised, pointing out Yang's audacity and extreme disrespect towards the princess. From then on, whenever the princess and her husband appeared before her, she stayed by their side constantly. She even ordered a eunuch to taste the food presented to the princess by the prince consort and Madam Yang. The prince consort, seeing this, was naturally quite embarrassed. Furthermore, after that day, the princess's expression towards him was particularly unpleasant, like frost, completely ignoring him. Feeling awkward, he also tried to avoid seeing the princess.
Madam Yang was also very unhappy with Han's disdain for her, and she often made sarcastic remarks to Han, both openly and secretly.
In mid-August, Han was tidying up the princess's seasonal clothes and toys. She noticed that the Ding kiln child-shaped pillow that the princess had used last year was sitting unused in the cabinet. She took it out and said to the princess, "I noticed that this year the princess has changed to a Cizhou green-glazed carved pillow on her bed. This child-shaped pillow is in good condition, and it's a pity that it's just sitting there. My son has just gotten married. If the princess no longer uses the child-shaped pillow, why not give it to my son and his new wife? I would also like to ask the princess to grant them this good fortune, so that they may give me a healthy grandson next year."
The princess agreed without even looking at it: "Take it if you like it. You can also pick out some of my unused clothes and utensils. If there's anything your new bride can use, just take it and use it. Consider it a reward from me to her."
Han was overjoyed and thanked the princess repeatedly. She then selected some clothing and toys and presented them to the princess for her inspection, asking me to make a record of them. The princess only glanced at them and said to her, "None of them are very valuable, no need to record them. Find two eunuchs to send them directly home."
Han looked at me questioningly again, and I smiled back and said, "Since the princess has said so, the princess can take her back directly."
Han thanked me repeatedly. I then ordered someone to pack the items and instructed two eunuchs to deliver them to her the next time she returned home.
She decided to go home the next day. She had dinner with the princess before setting off. It was already late, and since her house was behind the princess's residence, she took a eunuch with her and went out through the back door. Not long after they set off, one of the eunuchs hurriedly ran back to me and said, "The Empress Dowager has intercepted Lady Han and accused her of stealing things from the princess's residence and taking them home. She's scolding her at the back door."