"Ignore everything else for now, quickly bring her to my residence and let Hua Jiuye take a look at her."
Huangfu Mi spoke urgently, and Huangfu Yu finally withdrew his gaze. Ignoring the Empress who was still standing there, he shoved her aside and ran away.
"My lord—" the Empress cried out in alarm, "Wake up! Who is that woman? Being with her will only bring you harm..."
Huangfu Yu had no interest in listening to her, and walked quickly. Huangfu Mi, however, paused and turned to look at the Empress: "Mother, you should be clear-headed. This time, you have gone too far!"
"You..." The Empress choked on her words, wanting to say something, but they had already left quickly, leaving her frozen there, filled with anger.
Yu'er, Yu'er, you've gone mad! How could Huangfu Mi possibly be doing this for your own good? He's trying to set you up with that actor, but he's actually harming you!
With a princess of that status, how could you possibly have the power to compete with him for the throne? This way, he would have one less rival. Why don't you understand?
--
Prince Heng's Mansion.
"Hana Kuya, how is she?"
Hua Jiuye carefully took Ningyan's pulse, glanced at Huangfu Mi, then looked at Huangfu Yu, and shook his head without saying a word.
"What does this mean? Speak up, what's going on?" His shaking of his head made Huangfu Yu panic. He suddenly raised his voice and grabbed Hua Jiuye's collar.
Hua Jiuye frowned, but could only obey, saying, "Fifth Prince, you should tell her what you have to say as soon as possible, otherwise I'm afraid there will be no more chances."
v53 Eternal Separation (Part 3)
In Zhengyang Palace, the emperor sat upright on his dragon throne, his hawk-like eyes fixed on the two kneeling figures. After a long while, he raised his hand and slammed it down on the table: "Bang—"
The deafening noise revealed his anger, and the trembling of his body betrayed his emotions. He stared at them for a long time, then suddenly shouted: "You two are really getting more and more out of control. You two brothers actually started fighting in the street. If it weren't for Minister Gu stopping you, were you planning to fight until you were bleeding from head to toe?"
A deafening roar shook the entire palace, and the two people below shuddered, both prostrating themselves: "Father, please calm your anger—"
"Calm down? If you all behave yourselves, then I naturally have no need to get angry. But look at your behavior, I'm already incredibly lucky that I haven't been driven to my death by anger. What more could I possibly ask for?"
The emperor gave a cold snort, clearly furious.
The two men lowered their heads even further, neither daring to utter a sound, fearing that saying too much at this moment would lead to making a mistake. Little did they know that the more they remained silent, the angrier the emperor became. Seeing the two men's silence, he felt an overwhelming surge of anger in his chest. Pointing at them, he said, "You were quite energetic when you were fighting, what? Have you become mute now? Hurry up and speak, tell me the whole story!"
The two raised their heads, then lowered them again, exchanging a silent glance while still secretly vying for attention. Just then, someone outside announced that the Prince of Heng and his wife were requesting an audience. The Emperor's tightly furrowed brows finally relaxed slightly.
He glared coldly at Huangfu Yu and Huangfu Ming, then ordered someone to invite Meng Wan and Huangfu Mi in. Before he finished speaking, the two had already entered and walked straight to the Emperor: "Father—"
Seeing his beloved son and daughter-in-law, the emperor's mood improved slightly. He raised his hand slightly to signal them to rise, and then said in a calm voice, "Why have you come at this hour? Is there something you need from me? If you're not in a hurry, go to the side hall and wait. I'll talk to you after I've dealt with them."
Contrary to their previous fury, the two kneeling men were taken aback. However, Meng Wan and Huangfu Mi calmly rose, glanced at Huangfu Yu, and then nodded slightly to the emperor. "Father, your son does have something to say, but there's no need to wait until later, because your son has come here to plead for your two elder brothers."
"Plead for them?" The emperor raised an eyebrow. "Do you know that their public fight not only damaged the royal family's reputation, but they also refused to tell me the whole story afterward? And now you want to plead for them? Are you trying to anger me too?"
"Your subject wouldn't dare." Huangfu Mi hurriedly nodded: "How could your subject anger Father Emperor? It's just that my two elder brothers are young and vigorous, and some friction is inevitable. Why should Father Emperor get so angry? It would be a loss if it harmed the Emperor's health."
Friction arises because young people are full of vigor and vitality.
"Then what exactly is this friction between brothers that you're talking about?" The emperor narrowed his eyes. "Since you've come to plead for mercy, you must know the whole story, right?"
The two kneeling figures gasped, both looking up at Huangfu Mi with unreadable expressions of tension or something else, but inwardly wondering, "What is Seventh Brother trying to do? It seems like he's going to help?"
But... the Emperor isn't so easily fooled. A random excuse might not be enough to fool them, but if they tell the truth, the two of them will definitely suffer. After all, fighting over a woman is something the Emperor will never forgive.
Amidst the diverse gazes of the crowd, Huangfu Mi remained unfazed, gently holding Meng Wan's delicate hand. He watched as she nodded slightly at him, then hesitated for a moment before saying, "It's just that Father's calligraphy... Sixth Brother saw it at my residence earlier, and I was reluctant to part with it. However, because of my friendship with Fifth Brother, I reluctantly gave it to him. Unexpectedly, Sixth Brother found out and, while envying Fifth Brother, harbored resentment due to my unequal treatment. That's why we had an argument. Therefore, this matter is entirely my fault, and I beg Father's forgiveness."
He shifted all the responsibility off Huangfu Yu, partly to Huangfu Ming, and partly took the blame himself, knowing that the Emperor wouldn't do anything to him anyway.
However, Huangfu Ming's expression was not so pleasant.
After all that talk, the blame has fallen on him, while Huangfu Yu has been protected by Huangfu Mi and has no responsibility whatsoever.
Naturally, she was resentful and instinctively wanted to drag him down with her, but rationally, she suppressed it for the time being. Because, compared to acting out of admiration for the Emperor's calligraphy, acting out of a woman was entirely different...
"Father, please forgive me. I only did this because I really wanted your calligraphy. Please forgive me!"
He hurriedly followed Huangfu Mi's words. He wasn't stupid; he naturally knew what to do to protect himself at this moment.
Sure enough, upon hearing this, the emperor's expression softened slightly. Looking at those people, he said, "If that's the case, why didn't you say so earlier? Why wait for the seventh prince to defend you? You're truly useless."
"Father, please forgive me!"
The two remained prostrate on the ground, repeatedly begging for forgiveness. Only then did the emperor raise his hand and say, "Enough, enough. Since the seventh prince has come to plead for you, this matter will be dropped. However, you may be spared the death penalty, but you cannot escape punishment. After all, you fought in public. You two will kneel outside Zhengyang Gate for an hour. Go!"
Having already made the greatest concession possible, the two hurriedly expressed their gratitude. At this moment, the emperor summoned Meng Wan and Huangfu Mi to speak, and Huangfu Yu and Huangfu Ming both withdrew.
After everyone left, the emperor relaxed his stern face, looked at the two men, and said, "Alright, now that there's no one else around, you can tell us why those two attacked."
The Emperor was indeed as clear-headed as a mirror; his deceptive tricks could not be concealed. Fortunately, Meng Wan and Huangfu Mi had no intention of hiding it in the first place. At this moment, they both knelt down and said, "Father, please forgive us. There was a reason for the lie, but thankfully Father did not expose us in person. Thank you, Father."
"You've gone to such lengths to fabricate your stories, how could I possibly expose you? Besides, seeing how nervous you two are about this, there must be something I don't know about behind it all. I also want to know what's going on, which is why I kept you here. Now, you two should tell me what really happened. If you conceal even a single word, I will punish you both for deceiving the emperor!"
The two exchanged a glance, and finally Meng Wan spoke, nodding slightly, and said, "Then Father must guarantee that if I tell the truth, Father will not pursue the matter further."
They even started discussing conditions.
"Taking advantage of my favor, you've even started making demands of me. Oh well, whatever you say, I promise I won't hold anyone accountable."
"Thank you, Father!"
Meng Wan was overjoyed and turned to look at Huangfu Mi. Seeing that he nodded slightly at her, she then told the Emperor the whole story about Huangfu Yu and Chu Ningyan.
This was also the story that Meng Wan had pestered Huangfu Yu and Ning Yan to tell at Changyin Pavilion that day. It was a story of a hero rescuing a beauty and falling in love at first sight. The man was talented and the woman was beautiful, but they dared not be together because of the difference in their social status. They could only silently admire each other in their hearts.