Un corazón puro en una vasija de jade

Capítulo 108

"Master, didn't you ever consider that the Emperor and my father might know about your existence?"

"Of course they know this isn't my first time attempting an assassination in the palace. Walking through the palace is like walking in my own garden," Li Yannian sighed. He truly admired Emperor Yujia and Prince Duan. They knew of his existence, but they didn't know who he was. They were even less aware that he was hiding in Prince Duan's residence as a servant.

A sudden realization dawned on him: something was wrong. In the Eastern Palace, he had threatened Prince Duan with the Eternal Night, and Prince Duan had said, "You've finally come to the palace." Li Gu not only knew he was from Youli Valley, but also knew his true identity. Li Yannian was instantly defeated. Those two brothers knew far more than he had imagined. How did they know all this? Another question arose in Li Yannian's mind.

Yongye sighed, "Master, you are truly a talent. You actually endured for over twenty years."

"Didn't I teach you? I didn't let you eat for three days in the other courtyard, and made you eat and then vomit and eat again. That was to tell you that when you can't fight me, you can only endure it."

"Not only must you be patient, but you must also be ruthless, right? Others wage war to seize the throne, but Master, the trick you played is called 'cutting off the fuel supply from under the cauldron'! The ministers couldn't even voice their objections. You just brazenly seized power. You met my father, but I've always felt that the Emperor is even more cunning than my father!"

"What you don't know is that your father and the emperor are even more patient than I am. I only now realize that they have been watching me all along. They actually knew my identity a long time ago."

“It couldn’t have been the Empress who said it,” Yongye asserted. The Empress would not and dare not reveal such a huge secret.

"It's me." Li Yannian instantly understood. Yongye found him familiar, and felt he possessed a noble air. How could a mere steward have such an aura? However, why did they guess his true identity? Did the Empress know that his mother had conceived him back then?

Li Yannian sighed: "It seems I overlooked more than just these things, including Li Er. If it weren't for him, how could you have survived in Youli Valley as an idiot? If he hadn't sent you into the valley, I wouldn't have noticed you either. My original intention was to find someone similar to you from your mother's clan, but I didn't expect you to look exactly like the heir of the royal palace. At that time, I questioned Li Er with my eyes. He shook his head and told me that you had a clean background and were an orphan, and only then did I feel relieved."

Li Er, her shadow uncle! She didn't want Li Yannian to know too much. Yongye asked, almost in surprise, "Li Er? Isn't that the old hunchback who was so loyal to you? What is his relationship with me?"

“He left without saying goodbye, which made me suspect he had another identity. He was able to bring you to Youli Valley and use us to send you back to the Duan Prince’s Mansion. Perhaps he was the one who truly kidnapped you, or perhaps he was sabotaging our plans. The world is so vast, and he just disappeared like that, never to be seen again. Perhaps he is Li Cheng’s man and discovered my secret.” Li Yannian felt even more frustrated thinking about Li Er.

If he were to lose to Prince Duan and Yu Jia, he would know they were formidable enemies. But Li Er, who had followed him for many years, had left him completely unaware.

He smiled and said, "Back when you were sowing discord, I said we shouldn't kill those who are loyal to us. It seems we can't be soft-hearted towards those who are loyal to us either."

"Master, you've just lost your son, yet you remain so calm. You've planned for decades, and you've still managed to stay composed after the failure. Yongye admires you greatly."

Li Yannian walked to the bedside, reached out and stroked her face, praising her with a click of his tongue: "You have a beauty no less than that of a princess."

Yongye felt a surge of tension, but dared not look away for even a moment. Both she and Li Yannian were ruthless individuals. A single shift in their gaze during a confrontation would mean defeat.

"Do you know why I can be so calm?" Li Yannian lifted her chin, his fingers gently tracing her skin, his voice infinitely tender. "You're eighteen years old. If you were to appear at the Duan Prince's residence holding my child, do you think your father would react?"

"Master, you've got some clever tricks up your sleeve. This way, no matter if he kills me, the child, or you, the Prince Duan's mansion will lose all face. It's best to make this known to everyone, spread it throughout the streets and alleys. Let my father be ashamed in front of the world, he'll become a laughingstock. However, no one in the Li family is easy to deal with. My father has a ruthless side; suicide doesn't seem like his behavior. Why don't you rape my mother again? The Prince Duan's most beloved and precious wife, his wife and daughter have been humiliated, I reckon he'll be tormented for the rest of his life even if he doesn't commit suicide. Men, when their daughters are humiliated, they'll hate and go crazy. But when their wives are raped, they'll have nowhere to hide their shame." Yongye smiled and analyzed for Li Yannian with a serious expression. His dark, bright eyes even revealed a layer of excitement as he stared directly at Li Yannian.

A sharp pain shot through his chin, and Li Yannian released his grip, staring at Yongye and saying, "An eighteen-year-old young woman talking about such filthy things without blushing! You're more terrifying than I imagined!"

Just as Yongye was about to breathe a sigh of relief, Li Yannian leaned down again and said, word by word, "Do you think I'll let you go like this?"

Yongye looked at him and suddenly smiled: "To be honest, I'm really looking forward to... really looking forward to the feeling of being a woman. Uncle, you're so dashing, you must be an expert in this area. Yongye will definitely cooperate. I won't do anything like necrophilia, even if you resist to the death. We need to have enough foreplay, so that everyone can be happy."

As Li Yannian listened, he felt as if he had become the young master of the Peony Courtyard in Yongye's eyes. He straightened up and said coldly, "You're nothing like a daughter of a prominent family! How could Li Gu have a daughter like you!"

Seeing the frustration in his eyes, Yongye laughed even harder: "Master forgot, Youli Valley is a place for training assassins, but I've never heard of training daughters of noble families. If they do, they're just sent to the Peony Courtyard to be girls."

Li Yannian finally stormed off.

Yongye felt sweat trickling down the back of her neck. She gazed at the bright sunlight outside the window; her conversation with Li Yannian felt like it had lasted forever. Yet the sunlight had only just crossed the mountaintop. She asked herself, what would happen if Li Yannian raped her? A bitter smile crept onto her lips. Surely she couldn't really commit suicide?

"Didn't I tell you to go to sleep? Why are you up?" She watched Lan Cui come in without saying a word.

"My husband... he's asleep. He's been traveling all night." Lan Cui lowered her head, a string of tears rolling down her clothes. Clearly, she had overheard their conversation and couldn't fall asleep anymore.

Yongye smiled and said, "It's his good fortune to marry you. Sometimes it's better for women to be a little naive. Someone like me, even if he married me, wouldn't dare to sleep next to me, for fear of losing his head in the process. He won't hurt you. Of course, you never know, he even wanted to rape his niece, so there's nothing he wouldn't do."

Lan Cui gripped her clothes tightly.

Yongye looked at the sunlight and smiled, "Go to sleep. With Master here, I can't run away."

Suspicion grows like wild grass in a woman's heart in spring. Plant a seed, and it will grow into a vast meadow. Perhaps it will wither and die in her heart, or perhaps it will remain her hope.

The effects of the cartilage-softening powder wore off after a day, and Yongye sat up. She kept wondering whether to use the wire in her hair to take Li Yannian's life or for some other purpose. She only had one wire; unless she succeeded in one move, she would have no other chance. Yongye didn't move.

Li Yannian coldly told her, "This chain is made of pure steel, and the keyhole is sealed with lead. Don't even think about having any chance of escaping."

The sunlight shines on the bed for two hours each day. When the sun comes out, Yongye moves over to bask in it; she's been in the dark for too long and doesn't want to miss the chance to bask in the sun. She thinks, maybe she'll never see the sun again.

"Master, how could I possibly escape right under your nose? Are you losing confidence more and more?"

The moment Yongye turned her head, all the sunlight focused on her face. Li Yannian stepped forward and slapped her across the face. She flew back and crashed heavily into the wall. Suddenly, she burst into laughter: "Master, that's just how you are. You can't stand it when others don't respect you, and you hate it when others hurt your pride. Did you finally lose your temper and start hitting me?"

Li Yannian picked her up and said through gritted teeth, "I haven't figured out how to deal with you yet. Once I have, you'll be waiting to have my baby!"

"So Master couldn't make up his mind after all!" Yongye laughed. "You'd better deal with Lancui before you touch me, so she won't be heartbroken!"

"Do you think I'll be swayed by your instigation?"

"If Master had believed in Yongye, he wouldn't have let Li Er escape, would he?"

Her words struck a nerve with Li Yannian, causing her collar to loosen and her to fall onto the bed. Li Yannian ripped open her clothes, revealing her snow-white chest.

"My lord!" Lan Cui's heartbroken voice came from the doorway.

Li Yannian looked at Yongye's unchanging face and slowly straightened up: "Who let you in?"

"It's fine if she doesn't have to watch what's going on!" Yongye poured a ladle of oil on Lancui and laughed when he saw her teary-eyed and disgusted expression.

Li Yannian got up and walked out. As he passed Lan Cui, he said coldly, "There won't be a second time."

escape

She had been here for five days, and Yongye was starting to feel the strain. She felt that she was only able to survive by drinking a few mouthfuls of thin porridge each day, and that she would be too weak to take any more medicine when Li Yannian left.

She missed Uncle Shadow terribly. The meat he threw down from the roof smelled so good. Uncle Shadow used to always be there for her when she was in danger. But now that Uncle Shadow was gone, she had to rely on herself.

Lan Cui's gaze towards her was complex, yet she dared not cross the line. Li Yannian had said she could only give Yongye half a bowl of thin porridge each day, and the porridge she cooked was indeed so thin you could see your reflection in it. Each time she put down the porridge, she would turn and leave without saying a word.