Un corazón puro en una vasija de jade

Capítulo 38

"Raise him?! You're really ruthless! Why didn't you just beat him to death?! How old is he? He's only eleven! I know you're unhappy about this one person, aren't you? Go marry him! Go ahead! I... my son and I are leaving so you won't see us!" Princess Duan suddenly turned around and said in rapid succession.

Caught off guard, Prince Duan saw that his princess's eyes were bloodshot and reached out to hug her. Princess Duan slapped him away, saying, "I slapped you back then because I owed you, and I've repaid you in this life. Now I'm slapping you because Yongye owes you. You... you can hate me if you want, but why torture him like this!"

"I...when have I ever hated you!" Prince Duan treated the slap from his wife as mere fanning the flames, completely disregarding it.

Princess Duan slammed her fist on the bed and said angrily, "You have a handprint drawn on your face and you still flaunt it in the Golden Palace. You've ruined my chance to marry someone else!"

"Who else do you want to marry?" Prince Duan's face instantly turned icy cold.

"I would never let Yongye be hurt like this, no matter who I marry!" The princess was not afraid of him and spoke loudly.

Prince Duan's anger melted away instantly, and he said in a gentle voice, "It's my fault, isn't it?"

“You’re not bad, you’re just a complete bastard! How could you be so heartless…” The princess turned around and burst into tears.

"Don't cry, okay? I didn't...know!"

"How could you not know? With your deep mind, how could you not know!" The princess glared at Prince Duan, her anger rising again. She pointed her slender finger at him and scolded, "If you really didn't know, that would be one thing, but you, you probably know everything... That's what I hate!"

"Okay, it's not broken!"

"No?! Do you think I'm blind?! Yongye was unconscious for two days and two nights, and he's still not broken?! If, if anything happens to him, you'd better prepare to marry another queen!"

"What nonsense are you spouting!" Prince Duan snapped, grabbing the princess and slapping her on the bottom. "If you keep spouting nonsense, I'll make you lie down with him, just as you wish!"

The princess also lost her temper, pushing Prince Duan and yelling, "Hit me then! You...you haven't bullied me enough? Even this one blow hurts me, what about Yongye? How much pain will he be in!"

Prince Duan suddenly pulled her closer, resting his chin on the princess's hair and whispering, "I'm in pain too..."

The princess was stunned, then burst into tears: "Did they really have to be so cruel? He's only eleven years old."

"What's all the noise about!" Yongye turned his head to watch the two flirting for a long time, and finally couldn't help but interrupt Prince Duan and his wife.

Upon hearing the sound, Prince Duan and his wife were startled and rushed to the bedside.

Father and son are treacherous together

Yongye lay prone, tilting his head to look at the two of them. Why were they so worried about him? He turned his head to look at his body covered by the white sheet, and his face instantly turned red, feeling uncomfortable all over.

“Eternal Night—” the princess called out to him cautiously.

Seeing Yongye's shy and hesitant demeanor, Prince Duan couldn't help but laugh. He tentatively asked, "Haven't you ever been spanked by anyone by the time you're ten years old?"

Yongye blushed, refusing to speak or nod or shake her head.

"No one has ever seen this before? How is that possible?" Prince Duan was greatly surprised.

Yongye recalled the dark stone chamber, the words of his master in green before his departure, and the years before Shadow sent him into the valley. He said in a muffled voice, "Those who know choose not to speak. I... the person who sent me here doesn't know, and hasn't thought about it either."

Prince Duan laughed loudly, making Yongye turn around angrily and glare at him: "What's so funny? I was young then, I didn't see anything strange. I stayed in the stone chamber for three years, in darkness, who knew what my body would look like, who knew there was a flower on the sole of my foot!"

He'd been stuck in that dark, sunless stone chamber for three years? Princess Duan wiped away tears with heartache: "No wonder you're always sleepy during the day. You, Grand Tutor Huang, have truly been wronged. And you, without even asking what happened, you struck so hard. Is Yongye the same as them?"

Prince Duan rolled his eyes, thinking, "How am I supposed to find out? If this kid hadn't deliberately walked right into this mess, he'd only gotten one slap at most." Thinking this, he looked at Yongye again. His hair was disheveled, his face flushed red, and his innocent, naive appearance was just like the princess's when she was angry. Had this child guessed his intentions?

"Back then, it wasn't someone from Youli Valley who took me away. Who is this Yongye?" Seeing that Princess Duan had seen everything and that he hadn't made a wrong bet, Yongye asked, disregarding his own discomfort.

Princess Duan sat on the edge of the bed, glanced at Prince Duan, and reached out to stroke Yongye's face, whispering, "Your maternal grandmother had twin sisters, whom I call Auntie. She had three children, whom I call Cousin, and we had children at the same time..."

“At that time, the Chen army was pressing in on the border, and Father was defending against the enemy at Sanyu Pass. I never expected that the Chen Kingdom would send people to enter the country, sneak into the capital, and kidnap you.” Prince Duan looked at his princess with guilt as he recalled this.

Yongye smiled and replied, "You wanted to use me to threaten Father, didn't you? So Mother took my concubine's child and said it was me, to prevent the Chen Kingdom from succeeding."

“Yongye is really smart. When my older cousin gave birth, I went to see her and made up my mind to treat her son as you. My older cousin was also a person with bad luck. She originally wanted to wait until this period of time before slowly looking for you, but she passed away, so she simply treated Yongye as you. Your maternal grandfather really loved you. You are both his grandsons, and in his eyes, you are no different.”

Could it be that Li Yannian meant there were other children from that family who looked similar? And they chose me simply because I resembled them the most? Yongye couldn't help but chuckle, feeling his luck couldn't be better. He quickly thought of Shadow again. When he was six, Shadow personally escorted him to Wandering Valley. What was Shadow's purpose? Was Shadow the one who kidnapped him back then? If so, why would Shadow use Wandering Valley to send him back?

"Since they sent you here, the child is most likely gone, isn't it?" Princess Duan sighed. Having not spoken to each other for many years, she didn't seem too heartbroken.

Filled with remorse, Yongye whispered, "He's asleep. I... I watched him fall asleep."

Princess Duan tightened her grip, pulling Yongye into her arms: "From now on, I will protect you and never let anyone hurt you in the slightest. How have you been all these years?"

A single sentence stirred up memories of the Valley of Wandering Night. Thousands of children brutally slaughtered each other, and he had spent three years in darkness. There was Moon Spirit, who wanted to be his brother; the taciturn and honest master in green robes; the ever-changing beauty, Mr. Beauty. And those shrouded in mystery, those who had studied with him at the same time. How could he tell the Queen all this? He laughed, “I lost my memory. Like that Eternal Night, I was always a fool. I couldn’t even recite poetry. Then, I regained my senses.”

These words brought tears to the princess's eyes again: "It's so strange. When I was little, I didn't speak until I was five, as if I had suddenly woken up. Yongye was the same; he never spoke. When he was four, I heard Yihong say that he had spoken. I rushed to see him, and he... he only softly recited a poem written by your grandfather, and then he never spoke again. It was heartbreaking to see him like that. When I went to see him again after a long time, he acted as if I didn't exist. When he saw his father, he was like a mouse seeing a cat, trembling with fear. I had no choice but to let him stay in Wanyu Courtyard to be raised. The older he got, the more I thought, what would my Yongye be like if he were still here? I didn't want to be too close to him. Yongye, you don't blame your mother, do you?"

This family has this hereditary disease? Yongye froze, recalling that he had no memory of anything before the age of six. He didn't know whether to laugh or cry. The Shadow, the mysterious Shadow! If he had been in the Shadow's hands until he was six, he would know everything. Why didn't he expose him? Was the Shadow truly a friend, not an enemy? When would he be able to unravel this secret?

"But didn't you think about what I... would do if we claimed to the outside world that the Crown Prince was still alive!" Yongye still felt a bit frustrated.

Prince Duan said solemnly, "When two armies are facing each other, if I retreat and am defeated because of you, how can I face my ancestors? Not to mention you, even your mother would not be an option."

"I mean, I...I..." Yongye stammered for a long time but still couldn't get the words out. He was so angry that he turned his face away and didn't want to see anyone.

Princess Duan noticed something amiss and gently coaxed, "What does it matter? Do you think your father and I can't even make a decision on this? Let's go to the palace to see the Empress Dowager and the Emperor right now."

“No!” Yongye turned around and refused, looking at Prince Duan, who was also looking at him. Both of their gazes revealed a deep thoughtfulness.

Prince Duan suddenly smiled: "Now that you're back, just be yourself. Your father won't let you take any risks."

"Mother, I want to drink some soup, I want to drink the soup you made yourself."

Princess Duan nodded, and as she stood up, she scolded, "You're all the same! If there's anything you don't want me to hear, just say it."

Yongye was a little embarrassed and said angrily, "I like it this way!"

Princess Duan was startled and quickened her pace. As she left, Yongye heard her mutter to herself, "...I owe him..."