Le charme d'une femme puissante se répand à travers le monde

Chapitre 36

“I can walk by myself.” I stood up, gracefully dusted off my cloak, gave a slight bow to the King of Tianqing, and then walked straight to Tian Xilan, saying softly, “Xilan, bring back the silk armor and the seven-colored glass bracelet that I left in the dressing room.”

Ignoring the crowd, I followed the guards out of the banquet hall with a smile. I tightened my cloak, my hands lightly touching the jade pendant and dagger I kept close to my body, and my smile deepened. Fox, it's not that I want to put myself in danger and worry you, but my true nature as a woman dictates that I can only approach King Tianqing in this way. It's better than sacrificing myself, isn't it?

I sat on the only furnishing in the room—the wooden plank bed—burying my face in the white fox fur of my cloak's collar, idly fiddling with the layers of peacock feather embroidery surrounding my skirt. Compared to Little Swallow's cell, where "you enter a room with walls on all sides, rats above and cockroaches below," my cell was much cleaner and tidier. Aside from being a bit shabby, there were no unclean ants or rodents, and it seemed to be a private cell, with another cell door at the end of a short corridor outside. Having come here, I'd been to everything I should have, and even things I shouldn't have, except for the brothel. Next time, I'll definitely drag Fox and Fly there for a visit, just to make up the numbers.

It's late. Xi Lan should have found the silk armor and the glass bracelet by now. And Xiao Bai, he was at the banquet too. He should have seen my situation and won't rush to Zhilan Palace anymore!

"Xi Lan?" The candlelight flickered, and a figure flashed by. I ran towards the prison gate, where a row of iron bars could see my every move.

"Miss Yue is truly devoted to Sixth Brother. It's a pity that Sixth Brother watched as Miss Yue was imprisoned, and he didn't even have the courage to plead with Father Emperor. It seems Miss Yue has misplaced her affections." The voice of the effeminate man.

"I didn't expect that the Fourth Prince would still be thinking of Wei Mian so late. Wei Mian is very touched." I smiled and sat back down on the wooden bed. Fourth Prince, I thought you wouldn't come tonight.

"If Miss Yue is truly moved, why not forget that Prime Minister Yun followed me? I am utterly captivated by your dancing skills." He looked me up and down, his tone flippant.

"Heh, what a brilliant idea!" I chuckled, feigning great pleasure. "The prince of Tianqing Kingdom, the nephew of King Hanxing, with such a noble status, how could he be content to be subservient to others? No wonder the Fourth Prince is so eager to make peace with Wangyue Kingdom. But if Wei Mian follows the Fourth Prince, what kind of future can he promise her when the Fourth Prince achieves his great ambition?"

“Miss Yue is truly a clever person.” He stood outside the prison gate, the candlelight casting flickering shadows on his face, giving him an eerie appearance. I smiled faintly to myself, meeting his piercing gaze without flinching. “But those who are clever but don’t know when to remain silent often die young. Miss Yue should have understood this long ago!”

"The Fourth Prince came all this way so late, could it be to tell Wei Mian this principle?" I smiled more openly, thinking to myself: Xi Lan should be here by now, right?

"If Miss Yue is willing to tell me Yun Xiang's whereabouts, I can not only let Miss Yue leave this prison immediately, but also bring her endless riches and honors."

"Hey, isn't Wei Mian the Prime Minister Yun whom the Fourth Prince has been desperately searching for and wants to get rid of?" Fourth Prince, you're using wealth and glory as a bargaining chip, clearly treating me like a naive fool. How can I not play along? Anyway, if I tell the truth, you'll automatically consider it a lie, so why should I worry?

The Fourth Prince stared at me, not angry, but his face became even more sinister in the candlelight: "If Miss Yue continues to talk nonsense, do you know how I will deal with you?"

"If His Majesty finds out that the Fourth Prince has arbitrarily blocked the alliance agreement from the Dragon Yao Kingdom, what do you think His Majesty will do?" I looked at him with a charming smile, seemingly casually dropping a bombshell.

"Hahaha!" He laughed angrily. "Interesting, interesting. I didn't expect Miss Yue to be even smarter than I anticipated. What a pity. To destroy such a clever and talented beauty with such skill in dancing is something I really can't bear to do! Miss Yue, would you like to reconsider?"

"Xi Lan, you're here." I looked at Tian Xi Lan, who was strolling leisurely in from the corridor, and finally felt relieved.

"Why is Sixth Brother here?" The Fourth Prince's face flashed with a fierce expression that vanished in an instant. When he turned to look at Tian Xilan, his face had already returned to the humble and composed demeanor of an elder brother.

“It wasn’t just me, Father Emperor also came, but Father Emperor and I heard Fourth Brother and Wei Mian chatting happily outside the door, so we didn’t come in to disturb them.” Tian Xilan approached with a smile, speaking these words with exceptional nonchalance.

"What?" The fourth prince's expression changed drastically, and his voice became somewhat unsteady. "Father went to rest with Mother after the banquet. Sixth brother, you must be joking with your fourth brother. If Father were here, why didn't he come in with you?"

"Father's complexion isn't good, so he's going back first. Fourth Brother, would you like to go see Father?" Tian Xilan said as she unlocked the cell door, smiling at me as I sat blankly on the bed, somewhat unable to react. She bent down, picked me up by the waist, and ignoring the Fourth Prince's uncertain expression, strode out of the cell.

"Did His Majesty really come?" With the cold wind blowing, I finally regained some composure and looked at the incredibly handsome face so close to mine, asking hesitantly.

"Yes," he replied softly, his steps unwavering.

"Did Xilan invite the Emperor here?" Although I asked him, I already had the answer in my heart.

I knew from the start that the Fourth Prince wouldn't let me off the hook at tonight's banquet. I knew he would use my identity as leverage. I knew that on such an important occasion as tonight, if he questioned my identity, I alone wouldn't be able to avoid imprisonment. So I made a pact with Xi Lan that he would let me go until I was truly imprisoned, and then he would come to my rescue. I wanted to test Tian Qing Wang's attitude and reaction, and I also knew that if I really went to jail, the Fourth Prince would definitely show up. So I made an excuse to have Xi Lan fetch something for me, hoping he would witness my conversation with the Fourth Prince, and that I would completely oppose him, the Fourth Prince who only wanted to ally with Wang Yue Kingdom. I admit I had designs on him. I calculated that he was at odds with the Fourth Prince after he rescued me from his men, and I wanted to solidify his alliance with me against the Fourth Prince. I wanted to drag him into this scheme. But I didn't expect Xi Lan to invite the Emperor as well, bringing him from Consort Shu's palace so late at night. Did Xi Lan see through my plans all along? Or did he see through the Fourth Prince's plans all along?

"I went to my father to beg him to release you, but I didn't expect him to be a little curious about you, so he came with me." His voice was as gentle and clear as ever, and the smile on his face remained unchanged.

"Is that so?" I lowered my eyelids and murmured to myself.

"Weimian, I won't hurt you." His tone was both helpless and sighing.

"Then, Xilan, can you tell me the secret of Zhilan Palace?"

Zhilan Palace, guarded by layers of guards yet where I never saw a single one; Zhilan Palace, with no maids or eunuchs, where no one else except Tian Xilan and I had ever been seen entering; Zhilan Palace, possessing the rarest flowers, plants, and trees in the entire palace; Zhilan Palace, the closest palace to Tianshan Tianhu Lake in the entire palace; Zhilan Palace, where everyone's expression changed upon hearing that I lived there—what secrets does it hold? Why did Xilan bring me back to Zhilan Palace?

I stood before that white jade bed, hesitant to lie down. From the first day I arrived at the Tianqing Imperial Palace, I had been living in the Zhilan Palace and sleeping on this bed every night. I never imagined that this bed used to be slept on by Xilan's mother, and not only Xilan's mother, but also the emperor. It was their love bed.

The more I think about it, the more awkward I feel. I didn't feel anything when I didn't know. I was rolling around on the bed and thinking how big and nice it was. But now that I know the female classmate who used to lie on it has passed away, and the male classmate who used to lie on it has aged and entered middle age, and I even saw him tonight, I just can't get over that hurdle in my heart.

I ran out of Zhilan Palace and headed straight for Tian Xilan's bedroom. I was going to find Tian Xilan and tell him that he could either give me a different spot or provide some blankets so I could sleep on the floor. Although I had some reservations about his behavior that evening, since I needed his help now, I was determined to put everything aside and temporarily forget the past.

Huh? It's so late, but Tian Xilan's room door is open. I curiously peeked in, hesitating whether to just walk in or politely knock, when Tian Xilan's voice came from inside: "Come in."

"Xi Lan knew I was coming?" This is too strange; something's definitely fishy.

“I think Wei Mian might not feel comfortable in that bed after hearing my story.” He smiled and continued stirring the contents of the dish.

"Why isn't Xilan asleep so late? What's in this dish?" It feels terrible to be seen through, like being naked.

“Since everyone knows that Wei Mian is disguised, let Wei Mian just go back to her original appearance. Her water and soil incompatibility and pollen allergy should be cured by now.” He dipped his finger into something in the dish, rubbed it gently, examined it carefully, and then gave me a big smile. His expression was as happy as a big child's, and his eyes looked at me with an excitement that I didn’t understand.

"Huh? Xi Lan, you know how to disguise yourself? Are you sure the stuff in this dish won't disfigure me or something?" I thought he was just saying he knew how to disguise himself casually. If he really did, wouldn't he have known I was disguised from the start? I even went out of my way to tell him this afternoon that I was disguised, how embarrassing!

"I happen to know a little bit about this. This medicine was prepared according to a prescription, but I've never used it before, so I don't know if it will work." He stared at my face, looking it over from left to right, and then examined the dish in his hand.

"Using me as a guinea pig? Do you think I'm a lab rat?!" I was furious. This guy is so ugly, he doesn't even care about other people's faces. No wonder he was so excited just now. He's really annoying. "Xi Lan, did you know I was disguised all along?"

"Let's do it a little earlier than when Wei Mian confessed." He smeared the stuff from the dish on my face, looking like a white rat that had just stolen some honey.

How could this be? My invincible intelligence, which makes me a force to be reckoned with in love, and my Oscar-worthy acting skills, all seem to have failed me here, especially when I encounter this person. I pursed my lips, feeling extremely frustrated.

"Why does Wei Mian need to disguise himself?" He chatted with me while he was busy, which was a good balance between work and rest.

"Being too beautiful, stunningly beautiful, is a risky prospect. I fear that revealing my true face would not only cause traffic jams and attract countless admirers, but also cause men to abandon their wives and children, and women to lose their will to live." I just made something up; after all, I'm in a bad mood right now. Besides, aren't you smart? You can guess for yourself.

"Oh no, what if I get hooked on MicroSleep too?" he said half-jokingly.

"Then you're destined to be heartbroken, go cry somewhere else." I rolled my eyes at him. How dare he make fun of me? Although I am pretty, and I have the experience of successfully seducing both a king and a general without even realizing it, Xi Lan is still out of the question. In terms of looks, I can't compare to him; in terms of temperament, I'm far inferior; in terms of background, he's royalty; and in terms of my most prized intelligence, I seem a little insecure. Even in terms of cuteness, his blinking eyes are quite unsettling. If even a fake immortal can be charmed by me, then I really have to wonder if I have some kind of past-life connection with that devastatingly beautiful Da Si.

"Just wash your face, that'll do." Tian Xilan got up and brought over two basins of water that had been prepared earlier. She used one basin to wash her hands and placed the other basin in front of me.

Without saying a word, I washed my face thoroughly. It had been suffering these past few days, never seeing the light of day.

“Weimian is indeed very beautiful.” He looked at me, his voice clear and gentle, the corners of his mouth turned up, and his eyes sparkled, as if they were brighter and clearer than usual.