Ne vous appuyez pas contre la rambarde ouest pour profiter pleinement de l'automne clair

Chapitre 30

"Go down."

"Yes, my lord."

...

In a hazy state, Rongyue seemed to hear voices, and one of the voices, an old one, seemed extremely familiar to her.

Struggling to open her eyes, she instantly realized that her eyes had been blindfolded! Once she regained full sensation, she was furious to find that not only were her eyes blindfolded, but her mouth was also gagged, and her whole body seemed to have been tied up like a dumpling!

Ugh! Which unethical kidnapper gagged her like that?! It's so smelly and hard, like a lazy woman's foot binding cloth! If she ever finds out which reckless bastard treated her like this, she'll teach him a lesson he won't forget!

With a whoosh, the black cloth was suddenly pulled away, and Rongyue's vision was suddenly clear, but the sudden light caused tears to well up in her eyes.

After blinking hard to adjust to the indoor light, Rongyue finally focused and glared angrily at the robber standing in front of her with his hands behind his back!

Following the light, Rongyue saw a lean, upright old man dressed in a blue python robe, with graying temples. Upon closer inspection, she saw shrewd old eyes, graying eyebrows, brown skin, a broad forehead, and a gaunt face… Ah, this… who could this not be Liu Rongyue's biological father!

A father kidnapping his daughter—that's probably the strangest story ever told!

His sharp old eyes glanced sideways at Rong Yue, whose face was filled with disbelief, and he muttered to himself: Why does this Murong Luo look so familiar?

Tearing the 'foot-binding cloth' from Rongyue's mouth, Liu Zhiyi turned his gaze to the window, his indifferent and aged voice revealing no emotion: "I kidnapped you only to find out one thing. As long as you answer truthfully, I will not make things difficult for you."

After waiting for a while without hearing Rongyue's response, he glanced at her suspiciously and saw that Rongyue's expression was complicated. She seemed to have hesitated for a long time before struggling to call out "Father".

"you……"

"Father, it's me, Rongyue!"

...

A month has passed since she was kidnapped. During this month, Rongyue has been completely confined by her father to the Liu residence—or more precisely, a secluded courtyard within the Liu residence. She is surrounded by numerous martial arts experts; every step she takes is watched by several martial arts masters, both overt and covert, lest she, this 'dangerous element,' escape the residence and spread rumors detrimental to the Liu family.

Her shrewd, fox-like father clearly distrusted her. After learning that Murong Luo was her, he didn't mention the previous questions again, vanishing as if he had disappeared from her sight. But Rongyue could sense the unusual atmosphere in the mansion and vaguely sensed that her father was likely plotting something big. She estimated that this big event was nothing more than a rebellion, a power grab, or some other struggle for fame and fortune. It seemed something big was about to happen in the Liu family!

On this day, a rare guest arrived at Rongyue's courtyard, breaking the tranquility that had lasted for over a month. He was none other than Liu Rongyue's father, Liu Zhiyi, who had disappeared for a month.

Rongyue glanced coolly at Liu Zhiyi, who had a stern face and seemed to be thinking something, then closed her eyes again and sat under the tree to continue resting.

"Moon, your father has something to tell you."

"What is it?" Yawning, Rongyue asked lazily without opening her eyes. Her father probably needed something from her.

Suppressing his displeasure, Liu Zhiyi tried to keep his voice calm: "Yue'er, let bygones be bygones! Whether you hate your father or resent him, you are still my daughter, Liu Zhiyi's daughter, and the blood of the Liu family flows in your veins! As the saying goes, we all prosper together and we all suffer together. You and the Liu family are ultimately in the same boat. If anything happens to the Liu family, you will inevitably suffer the consequences..."

"Let's get straight to the point! What do you want me to do?" All this rambling is just to get her to do something for him! So what if we're in the same boat? At worst, Rongyue will just cut the rope in two!

Perhaps surprised that Rongyue had guessed his purpose so quickly, Liu Zhiyi was momentarily stunned, but quickly regained his composure: "Still play the role of your Murong Luo, sneak into the palace, and sneak this medicine into the Emperor's food when the opportunity arises." As he spoke, Liu Zhiyi tossed a small white porcelain bottle to Rongyue under the tree.

Stroking the smooth, porcelain bottle, Rongyue curled her lips in a mocking smile: "Aren't you afraid I'll betray you?"

Liu Zhiyi's gray old eyes flickered, a hint of struggle flashing in their depths. But this struggle lasted only three seconds before being replaced by a swift and resolute ruthlessness.

"Swallow it." As he spoke, a well-preserved, pale hand suddenly reached out in front of Rongyue. Rongyue opened her eyes in surprise at the sound, and when she saw the pill that was gleaming with a black light in the pale palm, her eyes filled with understanding.

"No man is too ruthless! You'd even use your own daughter for your ambition, you're so cruel!"

Turning her face away, Liu Zhiyi tried her best not to look at Rong Yue's piercing sarcasm: "If you have to blame someone, blame yourself for being born into the Liu family! If you're a member of the Liu family, you have to bear the responsibilities of the Liu family!"

"Is that so?" With a cold snort, Rongyue slapped the pill out of Liu Zhiyi's hand amidst his angry expression. Standing up, she looked up to meet his gaze, her eyes sharp and piercing, staring directly into Liu Zhiyi's eyes: "Why didn't you let Liu Ruxu do it? I believe it would have been easier for her to succeed in this kind of thing!"

Liu Zhiyi's face turned ashen as he squinted at Rongyue without answering.

Suddenly, Rongyue looked at her father and started chuckling. At first, it was a low chuckle, but then it turned into a loud laugh. She couldn't stop laughing, and in the end, she squatted on the ground, clutching her stomach, almost laughing herself to death.

"What are you laughing at?!" Liu Zhiyi was so enraged by her laughter that he couldn't help but yell at Rongyue.

Stopping her laughter, Rongyue wiped away the tears that had streamed down her face. She rose gracefully and calmly from the ground, looking at the furious Liu Zhiyi with a smile: "Father, I suddenly have a question for you. Do you know how my third concubine was driven to her death back then?"

Upon hearing this, Liu Zhiyi's eyes sharpened, and a hint of resentment appeared in his gaze as he looked at Rongyue.

“Back then, Yue’er was only nine years old, yet she managed to force her twenty-nine-year-old aunt to jump into the lake. Hehe, Father, don’t you find that strange? Has this third aunt gone mad? How could she be afraid of a young child? Hehe, it’s really strange! Don’t you think so, Father?” Gently stroking the black hair on her forehead, Rong Yue looked at Liu Zhiyi, who was lost in thought, and her smile became even sweeter.

Yes, when Mei'er died back then, he also had doubts. How could someone so grown up be driven to jump into a lake by a child? But the events of that year were too sudden, and with the court embroiled in many troubles, he was too busy to think about it much... Now that she brought this up, could there really be some unspeakable secret behind it?

Upon receiving Liu Zhiyi's probing gaze, Rongyue smiled again, her smile as innocent and pure as a child's: "Father, have you noticed that Ruxu looks a lot like someone? Who does she look like... that small, delicate nose, those bright red lips, and those beautiful phoenix eyes... phoenix eyes, phoenix eyes... Oh, right! Father, you forgot, our former steward Qiu also had phoenix eyes just like Ruxu's! Hehe, what a coincidence! People who don't know the situation might think Ruxu and Steward Qiu are related!"

The veins on Liu Zhiyi's forehead began to bulge, his chest heaved violently, and his fists clenched tightly at his sides, making a dull thud. Clearly, he had guessed seven-tenths of the reason, but he still harbored three-tenths of doubt. His sharp gaze pierced Rongyue, who was laughing hysterically beside him: "Words are no proof!"

"Oh, right! I remember Butler Qiu had a red birthmark on his back, didn't he? What a coincidence, Ruxu has one on her back too! Hehe, what a coincidence this world is! Father, isn't that a coincidence..."

Before Rongyue could finish speaking, Liu Zhiyi snatched the porcelain bottle from her hand and disappeared in the blink of an eye.

Wow, this old guy, it seems he can't wait to verify the little gadget on his empress daughter's back!

Poor little Xu'er, I'm so sorry! To save my life, I had no choice but to reveal your secret. Blame your mother for forgetting to wipe her mouth after stealing the food! She just happened to leave you with this handle that allowed her to get away with it!

In the near future, Liu Zhiyi will entrust you with the incredibly difficult and significant task of assassinating the emperor. Poor thing, your good days are coming to an end! It's not that she's maliciously cursing her, but compared to the cunning and treacherous Dongfang Lie, Little Xu'er, you're really incompetent! However, don't worry, your emperor cousin seems to like you quite a bit; he definitely won't be able to bring himself to kill you. At most, he'll just banish you to the cold palace. Actually, the cold palace isn't so bad; at least you won't have to worry about anyone taking your place, right?

Rongyue continued to sit under the tree, closing her eyes to rest, and took the opportunity to offer a rare, kind prayer for Liu Ruxu, who was far away in the palace...

Volume One: Pear Blossom Courtyard Under the Melting Moon, Chapter Thirty-Seven: Casting a Gu

On that day, after Rongyue left, Chu Xuyao stared at his hands in shock and horror, unable to come to his senses for a long time.

What did he just do? It seems he used those hands to forcefully tear off Luo Di's clothes and force Luo Di to have sex with him!

He's a normal man, how could he...?