Смертная любовь в эпоху Северной Сун

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"How could someone as insignificant as me possibly be acquainted with such a great figure? The Second Prince is certainly joking!"

"A joke?" After carefully considering the two words, Tuoba Chen chuckled noncommittally.

"What? You don't believe me?" With a cold snort, Rongyue flicked her sleeves and strode towards the palace gate: "If you don't believe me, fine! As the saying goes, 'If you employ someone, trust them; if you don't trust someone, don't employ them!' If you don't trust me, you can simply fire me!"

He caught up with Rongyue in a few steps, reached out and gently tugged at her flushed cheek, sighing, "I was just saying it casually, what's with all the anger? You're so small, but you have quite the temper!"

"Just talk, stop pinching my cheek!" Rongyue said angrily, swatting away his hand that was trying to pinch her cheek. How could this man have such a strange habit!

He lowered his hand, stared intently at Rongyue's impatient face, and after a long while, Tuoba Chen leaned closer to her and lowered his voice, saying, "Sometimes I really wonder if you are the master, or if I am the master? Seriously, aren't you even a little bit afraid of my status?"

"Do you want me to be afraid of you?"

Tuoba Chen shook his head without hesitation: "No!"

"That's settled then! Why are you still complaining!"

Startled, he suddenly laughed: "Ha, you're right. It's clearly his own fault!" He patted Rongyue's shoulder: "Xiao San, you're the most special person I've ever met! Getting to know you has been incredibly beneficial to this trip to Yangcheng!"

Alas, you benefited, but she suffered! May her heartless father never come after her!

Volume Two: The Resolute Heroines, Chapter Ten: The Wrath of the Melting Moon

In the desolate midnight, under the gloomy darkness, a shadowy figure, huddled on the wall, moved swiftly along the wall. Reaching the west wing, the figure flashed like the wind, disappearing into the dim light of the west wing through the window…

When a strong hand covered Rongyue's mouth and nose, Rongyue was startled and quickly moved her index and middle fingers to attack the person's armpit.

Having narrowly escaped the fatal blow, and seeing Rongyue's second attack imminent, the dark figure hurriedly whispered, "Master, please have mercy!"

Startled by these words, he was forced to change the direction of his attack, dodging the attacker's vital point.

Her eyes widened, her breath caught in her throat, and she stared fixedly at the vague yet familiar outline hidden in the darkness. The memories she had deliberately sealed away were forced to reopen, allowing scenes from the past to flash before her eyes like a series of images...

Her lips trembled uncontrollably; she wanted to speak, but no sound came out for a long time. Only after a long silence did her hoarse, slightly bitter voice slowly emerge from the dark, empty void: "Ye Ming..."

Ye Ming felt a pang of sorrow, and memories of the past overwhelmed him with grief. He knelt on one knee before Rong Yue, and cried out in a mournful voice, "Sect Leader—"

"So it was you who luckily escaped this calamity that day..." Upon seeing Ye Ming, Rong Yue couldn't help but recall the two hundred and forty-four unseeing heads displayed on the bronze plate that day...

A wave of bitterness welled up inside me, my heart heavy with guilt and sorrow: "It's all my fault..."

"No, Master!" Raising his head, Ye Ming's gaze met Rong Yue's with composure and determination: "For the Master, for the Huye Kingdom, we are willing to die! When the city fell and the country perished, our grandfathers did not die for their country, not because they were afraid of death, but because they died for the Huye Kingdom! Now, as their descendants, inheriting their ancestral teachings, we all consider it the greatest honor of our lives to be able to sacrifice for the Huye Kingdom! They died for the restoration of the country, so please, Master, do not blame yourselves!"

Restoring the kingdom… In the darkness, Rongyue's deep eyes churned with complex and struggling emotions. Taking a deep breath of the seemingly frozen air around her, Rongyue felt a myriad of feelings welling up inside her, stirring up her unease and making her thoughts a jumbled mess…

"Fortunately, the Sect Leader is unharmed. This is a stroke of good fortune amidst misfortune, and a great blessing from Heaven upon our Huye Kingdom!" Staring intently at Rongyue, Ye Ming's eyes shone with a golden light, illuminating the dark room, yet stinging Rongyue's eyes. Rongyue understood; this light was called hope…

"Master, the old lord said that with your extraordinary strategy and courage, our Huye Kingdom will surely make a comeback! In three to seven years, you will surely lead us to the capital, reclaim our land, kill the Eastern traitors, wipe away our shame, and avenge our fallen brothers!"

Liu Zhiyi is truly cunning and treacherous! He actually used Ye Ming to launch a moral offensive, hoping to force her onto the path of no return—the path of restoring her kingdom! But he miscalculated, because she is not his daughter Liu Rongyue, but merely a wandering soul from another world. Those assassins died for Liu Rongyue, not simply for her! Therefore, she has no need, nor any obligation, to bear the blood debts owed by the original owner of this body…

Constantly trying to convince herself, Rongyue gritted her teeth and hardened her heart, turning her face away from Ye Ming's eyes, which were filled with trust and expectation: "Ye Ming, I won't..."

"Master, time is running out, so I'll get straight to the point. The old master instructed me to tell you that everything in this world can be fake, except for power! With power, you can protect yourself, protect those you wish to protect, and truly break free from the control of others. Only then will you be qualified for true freedom. The old master also said that there are no secrets that stay hidden forever, especially since royal spies have been spread throughout the great nations since ancient times. Therefore, the news that you are still alive will eventually reach the ears of those in the palace who are interested. At that time, what will become of you, powerless and without influence? The old master told you to carefully consider the implications and not keep running away, because running away will not solve any problems..."

Ye Ming had been gone for quite some time, but his words still echoed in her ears. Undeniably, what Liu Zhiyi said was true. This world is one where power reigns supreme; with power, everything is negotiable; without power, one is likely to be at the mercy of others… especially someone with her sensitive status, one wrong move could very well lead to utter ruin…

"My lord..." A soft whisper startled Rongyue from her reverie.

Turning to look at Yu Yan, whose eyes were full of worry, Rong Yue lowered her voice and asked, "You...you heard everything?"

She nodded slightly. With a sigh, Yu Yan nestled close to him and said, "Husband, don't worry too much. Just live according to your own wishes."

"Yu Yan, forget about tonight. Remember, you know nothing."

"If my husband tells me to forget, then I will forget."

...

The following morning, Rongyue arrived at the Second Prince's bedchamber a quarter before dawn, where she was teased by the just-awakened Tuoba Chen, who remarked, "This child is teachable." After breakfast, Tuoba Chen took Rongyue on horseback and headed to the palace for court proceedings...

The Second Prince's Residence.

Inside the Flower Calyx Pavilion, four elegantly dressed beauties sat around a stone table, cracking melon seeds and gossiping.

"Hey, have you heard? There's a vixen living in the west wing of our mansion!" One of the beauties cautiously looked around, and after making sure no one was around, she leaned closer to the other three beauties and whispered.

"Huh? Really? We've never heard of this! Greenery, don't make things up!"

"Hey, how could I make this up! You all don't know yet, it's all over the manor! Just the day before yesterday, His Highness brought her back when he returned home. I heard that vixen is incredibly alluring, and she's the one who bewitched His Highness!"

"Really? I only heard that His Highness brought back a servant and the servant's wife, but I didn't hear that he brought back any other women!"

"Sigh, you don't like it when I say you're being old-fashioned. What else is this but being old-fashioned? Isn't that servant's wife just a woman?"

The women exclaimed in shock, "Ah, Green Willow, don't talk nonsense! What kind of status does His Highness have? How could he possibly covet a married woman? Green Willow, this is no joke! If His Highness finds out, he'll have his tongue cut out!"

Remembering Lady Qi, whose tongue had been ripped out by His Highness for gossiping, Lüyi shivered and shrank back. But unwilling to lose face in front of Lady Zong, she steeled herself and retorted, "I'm not talking nonsense! Think about it, Lord Shaye has served His Highness for at least five or six years, always accompanying him to the morning court, diligent and conscientious, without making any mistakes. How could he be replaced by that unknown boy in the blink of an eye? I bet that vixen seduced His Highness, and His Highness probably felt guilty, so he promoted that cuckolded brat! Besides, have you ever seen a servant bring his family to live in His Highness's residence?"

Seeing that they had all perked up their ears and were urging her to continue with their beautiful eyes wide with surprise, she spat out the melon seed shells, beckoned them to come closer, and said mysteriously, "Haven't you ever wondered why His Highness hasn't summoned any of us sisters to serve him in bed these past two nights?"

The women looked at each other and shook their heads blankly.

"Foolish! Think about it, with a vixen in the West Wing, how can His Highness sit still at night? If he summons us sisters to serve him in bed, wouldn't this affair be exposed?"

"Huh? No way?"

“Why not! This matter is well-documented. Yesterday morning, my personal maid, Lotus, saw His Highness coming out of the West Wing!” As she spoke, she gestured towards the West Wing.