Sueño de Jiangshan

Capítulo 66

But as soon as she turned around, Lin Yin'er's angry voice rang out:

"stop!"

Leng Jie turned and glanced at her sideways, asking in a cold voice:

"What advice do you have for me, Miss?"

Lin Yin'er deliberately ignored Leng Jie's question. Turning her head, she sternly asked the trembling, sweat-drenched Eunuch Fu:

"Eunuch Fu, how did she get out of the Emperor's inner palace?"

How naive! Putting on airs like that! Even if she were the Empress, let alone a concubine, Leng Jie wouldn't even consider her a threat! Besides, she's Leng Jie's prime suspect right now!

Leng Jie's lips curled into a sarcastic smile as she shook her head and sighed. She went straight back to the bedside, put on her shoes, and casually ran her fingers through her hair. Then, she pulled a hair tie from Xuan Yuan's collection and loosely tied it over her shoulder. She then straightened her clothes, which had been crumpled from sleeping in them. Turning to return to Qingfeng Residence, she found Lin Yin'er standing in the doorway, a gleaming sword in her hand. She looked ready to fight Leng Jie to the death.

Leng Jie's face darkened, and her sharp gaze flashed over the sword in Lin Yin'er's hand before landing in her sinister eyes. She met Lin Yin'er's gaze.

What a sharp gaze! Lin Yin'er unconsciously swallowed, her hand gripping the sword trembling slightly. She still forced herself to remain calm and roared:

"You vixen, what kind of sorcery did you use on my second senior brother! How could he let you sleep in his bed!"

"Your voice is sharp, but unfortunately, it lacks strength!" Leng Jie said sarcastically.

Unsurprisingly, Lin Yin'er's face had begun to turn pale. Leng Jie winked casually at the roof beam and continued:

"Miss Lin, please recognize your place. You are merely the Emperor's junior sister, not one of his wives or concubines. Even if the Emperor were to take you as a concubine, you still have no right to interfere with who he chooses to sleep with, do you? I'm in a good mood today, so I won't hold your rudeness against you! If you don't want to get hurt, I advise you to put away your sword immediately. Otherwise, you'll have to bear the consequences!"

Leng Jie's words seemed to be advising her to give up, but in reality, they were provoking her.

Lin Yin'er's martial arts skills were almost entirely learned from Xuan Yuan, though she only possessed three to five levels of his abilities. Nevertheless, she was considered a second-rate expert in the martial arts world. Furthermore, she had never encountered a female opponent stronger than herself. Therefore, she completely disregarded Leng Jie. Coupled with Leng Jie's confident sarcasm, Lin Yin'er was immediately blinded by rage, and her emotions spiraled out of control as she lunged at Leng Jie with her sword.

After easily dodging her first barrage of attacks, Leng Jie began to feel a chill. She then unleashed her signature move, attempting to finish Leng Jie off with a single strike. But no matter how hard she tried, she always missed by a hair's breadth. Leng Jie appeared to be completely outmatched. However, anyone with a discerning eye could see that she was deliberately toying with her.

Now, Eunuch Fu was no longer worried about Leng Jie suffering any losses. He was only focused on the young prince. As long as the emperor's bloodline was protected, what would happen to Lin Yin'er was beyond his concern. He could only pray that the emperor would return quickly to stop this palace intrigue.

The little boy was thrilled to see his mother driving the pretty woman to the brink of defeat. Eager to see an even more spectacular performance, he tossed his sword to the empty-handed Leng Jie. Then he clapped his hands, cheering on his mother!

The two women then sparred like swordsmen, alternating between striking and dodging for a long time. Lin Yin'er was panting heavily, yet she hadn't even managed to touch a single piece of Leng Jie's clothes. Leng Jie, too, hadn't made a move. Finally, a sound came from outside...

"His Majesty has arrived!"

A sinister glint flashed in Lin Yin'er's eyes. A sly smile unconsciously crept onto Leng Jie's lips. Meanwhile, Eunuch Fu and the little one present had already turned their gazes toward the doorway.

"ah!"

Just when things were at their most critical, a piercing scream suddenly came from inside the house.

Xuanyuan and Eunuch Fu, who had just entered, both looked in astonishment toward the source of the sound. What they saw was a cold, sharp sword piercing Lin Yin'er's abdomen. Bright red blood was gushing from the blade. Ziying, who had followed Xuanyuan in, immediately leaped forward and caught Lin Yin'er as she was about to collapse. She then swiftly applied pressure to her acupoints to stop the bleeding and pulled the sword out.

"Mommy! Waaah..." The little guy realized what was happening, cried out, and rushed over. Grandpa Fu, who had just woken up, quickly hugged him tightly.

"Yin'er!" Xuan Yuan paused for a moment, then cried out and rushed over. He reached out to take her from Zi Ying's arms, but pulled back halfway. He shouted towards the door:

"Summon the imperial physician!"

His face darkened immediately, and he glared angrily at Leng Jie, shouting sternly, "Leng Jie! You've gone too far this time!"

Leng Jie trembled at Xuan Yuan's roar, her clear eyes instantly welling up with tears. Then, Qu Qiang, choking back sobs, pointed at the terrified Lin Yin'er in Zi Ying's arms and shouted at Xuan Yuan:

"Xuanyuan Yunlu! You say I'm going too far? You actually yelled at me for her without even asking what happened!" After yelling, he threw the blood-dripping sword in his hand to the ground, turned around and rushed out of his palace.

A triumphant smile unconsciously crossed Lin Yin'er's lips as she lay in Zi Ying's arms.

Xuanyuan stared blankly at Leng Jie's departing figure, unable to recover for a long time.

It wasn't until the imperial physician arrived that Lin Yin'er underwent a thorough examination and was bandaged.

"Is it serious?" Xuanyuan asked.

"Your Majesty! The wound is deep, but it did not affect the lungs or abdomen. So he will recover after a few days of rest!" the imperial physician replied respectfully.

"Is that so! That's good! From now on, you'll be in charge of taking care of Consort Yin's injuries!" Xuanyuan said calmly. He then turned to Eunuch Fu and said:

"Eunuch Fu, go and draft the imperial decree! Confer upon Lin Yin'er the title of First-Rank Imperial Concubine, and grant her the title of Crown Prince the following year. As for the rest, proceed according to ancestral rules!"

"Your humble servant (this old servant) obeys the decree!" Eunuch Fu and the imperial physician accepted the order at the same time.

Xuanyuan then instructed Ziying:

"Ying, send Yin'er to the Palace of Recollection and find a head nanny to take care of Yi'er."

After seeing everyone off, he began to think about Leng Jie's teary eyes, her trembling voice, and her tone full of grievance. A wave of bitterness welled up inside him. Had he wronged her? But he had personally witnessed her plunge the sword into Yin'er's body! Although he didn't believe for a second that Xiao Jie would be jealous of Yin'er for him, her expression just now clearly showed jealousy! Xuan Yuan felt completely confused.

Chapter 100: The Plan Proceeds

As soon as Leng Jie emerged from Longteng Palace, the sorrow on her face was instantly replaced by a smile. Back at Qingfeng Residence, she saw a carrier pigeon perched on her window. She quickly removed the letter tied to its leg and eagerly opened it. Her smile deepened immediately.

The letter was from Duanmu Xingchen. Following Leng Jie's instructions, he met with the Xiping envoy under the guise of Silver Fox. The information he received perfectly matched her guesses. The Xiping envoy's main purpose was to return Lin Yin'er and her child and to obtain the emperor's recognition.

Leng Jie immediately replied to Duanmu, instructing him to keep an eye on the group, especially the old man among them. Leng Jie felt that the old man was even more troublesome than the crown prince. As for Lin Yin'er's purpose, she had already set the stage for her; now all she had to do was sit back and watch the show!

She was releasing pigeons and eating the breakfast the housekeeper had brought when Ying appeared. Leng Jie pointed to the steamed buns on the table and smiled, inviting them to eat.

"Brother Ying, you've been busy all morning and haven't eaten yet! The steamed buns at Qingfengju taste even better than those from the Imperial Kitchen!"

Ying sat down without ceremony, picked up a steamed bun, and started eating. Looking at Xiao Jie's smiling face, and then recalling her earlier tearful, resentful expression, she couldn't help but sigh inwardly! This girl is truly cunning. She understands everyone's thoughts perfectly. Lin Yin'er clearly fell into her trap. Not only did she invite a sword wound, but she was also gloating over her injury.

The Emperor, needless to say, knew that Lin Yin'er was no match for Xiao Jie in terms of intelligence. However, he never imagined that Xiao Jie would cooperate with Lin Yin'er's act, feigning jealousy and further deepening his misunderstanding.

Even he, who knew she was faking it and was still helping her, was almost stunned by her actions for a moment. Zi Ying thought the Emperor must be completely bewildered by this girl! Thinking of this, Zi Ying sighed:

"Xiao Jie, I had no idea you were such a good actor! You winked at me, signaling me to go find the Emperor, and I thought you wanted him to come and help you out. But instead, you deliberately let her scheme succeed. By doing this, you've pushed the Emperor to her side!"

"Hehe... I was just doing a good deed to help Lin Yin'er achieve her wish as soon as possible! That way, things can be resolved quickly, right?" Thinking of Lin Yin'er, Leng Jie couldn't help but chuckle.

"Well? With my encouragement and full cooperation, shouldn't His Majesty bestow the title of Consort upon Lin Yin'er?"

"Poor Emperor! It seems your love life has a long way to go!" Ying sighed inwardly for the Emperor while nodding in reply.

"Yes! Consort Yin and the First Prince have been granted titles. The Emperor has already ordered them to be separated. I arranged for the caregiver to look after the Little Prince. Don't worry about him. Now we just need to keep an eye on Lin Yin'er. She was just injured, so she shouldn't be able to pull any tricks."

Leng Jie thought for a moment, then shook her head and said, "Wrong! We need to keep a closer eye on her now that she's injured. That woman's cunning shouldn't be underestimated. Her self-inflicted injury today wasn't just about making the Emperor misunderstand me. I suspect it's more about her using the inner palace as an excuse to communicate with the outside world. Just wait and see, the Xiping envoy will soon visit this Consort Yin under the pretext of inquiring about her health."

Are women really that terrifying? But even if she's cunning, weren't you able to figure her out completely? Ying Meng looked up at Leng Jie and suddenly asked seriously:

"Xiao Jie! Was that expression you just made completely fake?"

"What do you mean?" Leng Jie asked, puzzled. "You don't also think I should get jealous and fight with you, do you?"

"You're so smart, you can't be blind to the Emperor's feelings for you, can you? Don't you really care at all about the Emperor making her a concubine?" Ying pressed on.

Leng Jie was taken aback. These weren't words Zi Ying would normally say. After staring at Zi Ying for a long while, Leng Jie shrugged and replied:

"As you said, I'm not stupid. Of course I can see through the Emperor's thoughts. But I don't want to talk about matters of the heart. I think there are many things to do in life, and many kinds of feelings—family, friendship, sympathy. But love is the only thing I want to avoid. I think it's like a poppy, a beautiful but poisonous flower. Women can never resist its beautiful allure, and they always fall into it. After being poisoned by it, women become foolish and irrational. There are too many examples of this, like Shui Rong'er, Lin Yin'er..."

Leng Jie gave Ying a meaningful look and continued:

"Even a heroine like the late Empress couldn't escape the same fate, could she?"

As Leng Jie expected, Ying's body immediately stiffened at the mention of the late Empress.

Leng Jie's lips curled slightly as she smiled and concluded:

"Therefore, I will not allow myself to fall into such a hopeless situation."

"I'm going to the Yiyin Palace!" Zi Ying jumped up, threw down the words, and ran away through the window as if escaping.

Leng Jie shook her head and sighed as she watched his retreating figure. Hadn't he also been clinging to a hopeless love for so many years? Judging from his expression, it seemed he intended to continue. But, if the late Empress had chosen him, would she have been happy? Perhaps not? The saying "what you can't have is the most precious" applies equally to matters of the heart.

After returning to the imperial study, Xuanyuan stared at the memorials in his hands, but all he saw was the mournful look in Leng Jie's eyes as she turned away with a resolute expression. It wasn't until Eunuch Fu brought the drafted imperial edict for him to affix his imperial seal, but Xuanyuan instead placed the seal on Eunuch Fu's hand, that he snapped out of his reverie and asked:

"Eunuch Fu, what exactly happened just now?"

Seeing the Emperor's expression, Eunuch Fu mustered his courage and spoke up for Leng Jie:

"Your Majesty, please forgive my bluntness, but you have truly misunderstood Miss Leng. It was Consort Yin who first drew her sword, intending to kill Miss Leng, and Miss Leng did not retaliate at all. But for some reason, as soon as Your Majesty arrived, Miss Yin was injured!"

Xuanyuan suddenly looked up and asked urgently:

"You mean they've been fighting for a long time?"

"Yes! When the Emperor arrived, they had been arguing for about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn. It was Miss Yin'er, no, Consort Yin, who was making the moves the whole time..." Eunuch Fu recounted the whole story from beginning to end.

Xuanyuan's face suddenly darkened, and he snatched the imperial edict from Eunuch Fu's hand. He rushed out of the imperial study and headed straight for Qingfeng Residence.

With a loud "bang!", the cold and clean door was pushed open forcefully by Xuanyuan.

Leng Jie, who had just lain down to catch up on a nap, was startled and jumped out of bed. She looked up to see Xuan Yuan glaring at her angrily. She couldn't help but think that this family was truly all the same! First, his wife and son disturbed her sleep, and now he was here too.

However, to make the performance more believable, she deliberately said in a sarcastic tone:

"What? Does the Emperor want to avenge your wife? Would you like me to lend you a sword so you can stab her?"

Xuanyuan stood at the doorway. His face was ashen, and his deep gaze coldly stared at Leng Jie. He didn't respond to her or utter a sound. He just stared straight at her, as if trying to see through her, or as if trying to suck her into that deep, dark spring.

Although she had seen him at his colder and cooler sides before, this was the first time she had seen him so deeply enraged and angry. Leng Jie shuddered involuntarily under his gaze, a chill running down her spine. She instinctively shrank back and sat down on the bed. After waiting for a long time, seeing that he still didn't move, Leng Jie composed herself and asked:

"Your Majesty, what exactly do you want? Do you want me to be slowly sliced to death or dismembered? Just say something!"

"Shouldn't I be asking you that? What do you want from me? Tell me!" Xuanyuan suddenly retorted excitedly.

Leng Jie was taken aback! Judging from his tone, he didn't seem to be here to avenge Lin Yin'er. Suddenly meeting his now helpless gaze, she asked somewhat blankly:

"What does Your Majesty mean? I didn't ask you to do anything, did I?"

"Thud!" Xuanyuan threw the imperial edict in his hand into Leng Jie's arms and said coldly:

"No? All that elaborate scheme you put on for me was just to help her get this imperial decree, wasn't it? Tell me, why did you come back this time?"

Uh! I didn't expect him to see through it so quickly. Opening the imperial edict, she noticed a seal was missing. Leng Jie could only laugh awkwardly:

"I didn't mean to hide it from you. I did come back because of the problem with the envoy from Xiping. It's just that I haven't had time to tell you. But this imperial edict?"

Seeing that she had admitted it, Xuanyuan's anger seemed to have subsided considerably. He walked to the table, picked up the cold teacup, and drank the remaining half-cup of tea in one gulp. He deliberately and slowly pulled up a chair and sat down opposite her. Gazing at her, he replied unhurriedly:

"Tell me the whole truth, and if it really comes to it, this imperial decree will stand."

“I can tell you, but are you sure you can accept it?” Leng Jie asked seriously.

Xuanyuan stared at her and replied seriously, "Do you suspect that the Xiping envoy is related to my brother, the Crown Prince?"

"What's the relationship between Lin Yin'er and your older brother?" Leng Jie asked instead of answering.

Xuanyuan paused for a moment before replying: