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

Chapitre 98

There was no warm embrace, and I rushed towards nothing. Xi Lan actually stepped aside and only reached out to support me, preventing me from falling because I missed my target.

"Xi Lan?" Tears welled in her eyes, and her voice held a question. She was momentarily at a loss, unable to adapt.

"I dislike being addressed by my name directly, so please show some respect, Princess. May I ask what brings you here in your attire?" He released his grip, his brows furrowing slightly, a hint of disgust in his expression. His voice was as gentle as ever, but lacked its usual tenderness.

For the first time, I realized that such a gentle voice and smile could utter such cold and unfamiliar words.

"Xi Lan, it's me, Wei Mian!" The unease and questions in my heart seemed to have been answered. I slumped to the ground, tears finally streaming down my face, my heart filled with indescribable feelings. Xi Lan... he's forgotten me? Doesn't he remember me? If that's the case, should I be happy? Should I be happy for him? I should understand that if he truly forgot me, and never remembered who I was again, it would be a kind of happiness for him. But why did those words, revealing my identity, still slip out?

“Weimian?” he repeated softly, then murmured several more times, a hint of confusion flashing in his eyes.

I suppressed the turmoil in my heart, stood up, and, having made up my mind, wiped away my tears with my sleeve and tried to smile naturally, saying, "I just wanted to check if the envoy is alright."

The camphor leaf in his hand fluttered down, and his gaze turned to me, half puzzled, half inquisitive. After a long silence, he finally sneered, "Princess Zuiyue, dressed like this, sneaked here just to ask if I'm alright?"

It's not Xi Lan, he's not Xi Lan, he's not the gentle and kind Xi Lan who always treated me so tenderly! Why is this happening? Does Xi Lan simply not remember me, or has he completely forgotten all his past memories? When he was seriously injured and fell into a coma in Wangzhou, he left without leaving a single word after waking up. I thought he was in a hurry to go to the Wangyue Palace to handle some important matters. Could it be because he has lost his memory and doesn't remember me? So, why would he say goodbye to a stranger, why would he care about me?

"I heard that when the three armies attacked Wangyue together, the envoy was seriously injured and fell into a coma. I just wanted to come and see if the envoy's health is alright, if he has recovered, and if he is fully healed?"

"Is it because you feel guilty, Princess Xiyue? I never imagined that the adopted daughter of the Emperor would be the first princess of Xiu Ruo. You were truly wronged in Tianqing Kingdom before."

The sarcasm in his voice was so obvious, why would Xi Lan say such a thing? Even if he had amnesia, even if he didn't remember me, even if he had heard all sorts of rumors about me later, I still don't think Xi Lan would say such a thing.

I shook my head, wanting to explain, wanting to ask him why he said that, but I was afraid that if I said or asked, I would disturb his peace of mind. Forgetting me, or hating me, seemed better than remembering everything and giving myself to me without reservation. I thought this to myself, but tears fell unexpectedly. I lowered my head, biting my lower lip, not letting the pain in my heart turn into sobs.

"Did the princess use this trick to completely manipulate me back then?" He suddenly grabbed my chin with his right hand, forcing me to look him in the eye. His dark eyes were filled with anger, but the smile on his face remained gentle, as if that smile was an innate mark. "I was bewitched by someone like you, willing to disregard everything for you, even my life? Looking at it today, it's really hard to imagine and understand."

My tears fell even harder, and I couldn't tell if my heart was filled with pain or anger. I reached out and forcefully pulled off his right hand that was holding my chin, and my gaze followed his right hand.

"Xi Lan!" My heart felt like it had been struck by a heavy blow; the words were swallowed by the pain before they could even escape my throat. I saw the shocking scar on the back of his right hand! My fingers couldn't help but lightly touch the scar, only to reflexively recoil as if burned. Xi Lan, the Xi Lan who had always been so perfect in my eyes, why did he have such a deep scar on his hand? What happened to Xi Lan after he returned to Tianqing? Could it be related to me, caused by me? He doesn't remember anything we went through together, yet he has this kind of perception of me—how is this possible? Could it be related to the King of Tianqing?

He didn't speak, nor did he withdraw his hand. He stared intently at me, his smile suddenly deepening. He put his other arm around my waist, and with a leap, he carried me to another tall ginkgo tree not far away.

"Xi Lan!" I was placed on the topmost branch of the tree and instinctively hugged the not-so-thick trunk. I called out in fear to the person in white standing on another treetop, as calm as someone standing on flat ground. For a moment, I forgot to shed tears and forgot to ask about the deep scar on his hand.

"I'll go to the banquet first, Princess, please wait here." He smiled happily when he saw me like this, and then added, "Princess Zuiyue won't send someone to rescue you, will she? You should know that if you appear in my Lingfeng Pavilion dressed like this, King Xiu Ruo might misunderstand and might directly assign you to me."

Before I could speak, he gracefully descended, and a moment later, Wuyin, dressed as a servant, appeared before me. I turned my head to look, but Xilan was not behind me.

"Wuyin, put me down."

The words had barely left my lips when a figure flashed before my eyes. I looked up and saw Xi Lan. He had appeared out of nowhere, his clear eyes fixed on me with an excitement I couldn't comprehend. He gently stroked my cheek, a smile playing on his lips, and said with a sigh, "You still recognize Wu Yin. It seems I was truly deeply in love with you back then!"

After saying that, she ignored me and before disappearing, she floated over with a sentence: "Wuyin, keep a close eye on her."

Clouds Drunk and Moon Slightly Asleep (Revised Edition) Volume Four: A Hidden Melancholy and Resentment Give Rise to Love and Hate

Chapter word count: 3460 Update time: 08-12-24 12:56

Love and Hate

As night fell, I sat on a tree branch, hugging the trunk, feeling a slight chill. I dared not move, so I tried to talk to Wuyin, but he just looked at me and spoke without uttering a single word.

Music drifted from afar, making it easy to imagine the lively banquet on the other side. And here I was, stranded in this tree, unsure what to do. Time slowly passed; I wondered if the palace maids and guards of Drunken Moon Palace had noticed my disappearance. If I were to rush back now, I would have to shout for help to be discovered, otherwise, given Wu Yin's orders from Xi Lan, how could he let me leave so easily?

The longer it went on, the colder the night became, the more uneasy I felt, and the more anxious I became to go back.

"Wuyin, let me go back. Otherwise, if we get caught, things will get out of hand and it will be hard to handle." I was the one who started this, but at the time I was just trying to figure out why Xilan was acting so strangely and to ask him if he was alright. I never expected things to turn out like this.

"Didn't the princess consider the consequences of being discovered when she ran here looking for someone?"

It was Xi Lan's voice! He hadn't been gone for even an hour, the banquet shouldn't be over yet, and he'd already come back early? Wu Yin quickly withdrew, and I looked up to see that white figure appear before me, wrapping his arm around my waist and pulling me to sit on another tree branch that looked much thicker.

"Xi Lan?" The name slipped out naturally. I had just asked Wu Yin what Xi Lan had been through, but Wu Yin hadn't answered a word. Why had Xi Lan become like this? Why did he have such a misunderstanding about me?

"Why does my heart soften whenever I hear you call my name?" Under the moonlight, his face was slightly flushed, and he smelled of alcohol. His eyes were hazy. "Now that I have forgotten you, and know how you used me, all that should remain in my heart for you is hatred."

I was speechless for a moment. The words "used me, used me" stuck in my heart like a thorn. I couldn't deny it, because it was the truth.

"Are you really the adopted daughter of the Emperor, Princess Xiyue of Tianqing?" He asked, looking at me with an emotion I couldn't understand.

I'm certain that Xi Lan doesn't remember me. Everything that happened today proves that Xi Lan isn't the same Xi Lan who knew me. But even so, I can't lie to him, so I nodded.

"No wonder that not long after my sister-in-law passed away, my brother begged Father to marry you as the new Crown Princess." A mocking smile appeared on his lips as he still held me close, making it impossible for me to struggle against the tall ginkgo tree. His voice held a hint of sarcasm as he continued, "So it really was a lingering affair. Father was right after all. You only used me to achieve your own goals. Your heart has never belonged to a prince, or even a duke."

For a moment I felt dizzy, and everything went black before my eyes. When I came to my senses, all I had left was the strength to laugh. So this is how the Azure King told Xi Lan about me? If he wanted Xi Lan to hate me so much and misunderstand me so much, then why send Xi Lan as an envoy to Xiu Ruo? He should have foreseen that Xi Lan and I would meet again after Xi Lan's mission.

"Your Majesty, you've passed away?" I spoke slowly, my voice soft. The woman in the Lotus Palace who saw the palace as a gilded cage, yearning for freedom deep within; the mother who knelt before me, begging me to take good care of her son Hao'er, only to be refused; the Crown Princess who, when I was in danger, had Yu Fu lead Xi Lan to my rescue, leaving me with a great debt of gratitude—had she truly left this world so soon, just as she herself had said?

"This should be good news for you, right?" He smiled, but there was a hint of sadness in his smile.

"Xi Lan, whether you believe it or not, the Crown Prince and I have never even spoken a single word to each other alone." I smiled, but it was a smile tinged with grievance and a smile chilling to the bone. "So this mission is for the marriage alliance between me and the Crown Prince?"

He glanced at me with an inscrutable expression, then suddenly placed a hand on the back of my head and, before I could react, lowered his head and covered my lips with his.

The warm, moist touch, the slight scent of alcohol on his tongue as it glided across my lips. Startled, I desperately braced my hands against his chest, struggling to pull away, but he suddenly let go. Without support, I fell straight down the tree.

I saw him instinctively reach out, but then suddenly pull back, his gaze meeting mine, and there was a clear hint of hatred in his eyes.

The ginkgo tree was very tall, so I naturally fell to the ground. Although the ground below was soft soil, I instinctively reached out to brace myself and clearly heard the sound of my arm dislocating when I hit the ground. Besides that, I couldn't feel my buttocks after the fall. I gasped in pain and felt like I was about to faint. I bit my lip hard to keep from crying out.

There was still a trace of alcohol on her lips, the taste of Xi Lan after she lost her memory.

The small garden remained deserted, but faint voices could be heard coming from the houses and buildings not far away. Occasionally, footsteps would approach from the garden path, quickly approaching and then quickly fading away.

“Father will certainly not grant my brother’s request. How could a woman like you, even if she is the first princess of Xiuruo Kingdom, be worthy of becoming the future empress of Tianqing!” He floated down, his face showing no concern or worry, and stared into my eyes, saying word by word, “However, I have asked Father to take you as my concubine. In this way, you can repay what you owe me with the rest of your life.”