Chapter 84. The Emperor, the Prince of Yan, and Helan Yi. ...

After several days of sunny skies, Luoyang was shrouded in dark clouds on this day, with ominous dark clouds churning in the sky, as if brewing a torrential downpour.

Halfway up the mountain, a temple is nestled deep in the lush forest. The hall is empty, except for the figure of a woman.

She stood before the incense table, holding a brush and ink, painting something. Sometimes she would look up and gaze at the several-foot-tall Maitreya Buddha in the hall, and sometimes she would put her brush down on the paper, gradually outlining a solemn Buddha image.

The wind slipped in from some crack, making the candle flicker and lifting the edges of the paper, causing it to sway in the breeze.

Yuan Chaolu had no choice but to stop painting and use a paperweight to hold the painting paper down.

Since her last encounter with the Prince of Yan here, she had accidentally discovered this hidden paradise, with murals from previous dynasties painted on the four walls, a magnificent sight that defies description.

For several days afterward, Yuan Chaolu was unable to come and view the murals due to taking care of Princess Zhenning. Today, Yuan Chaolu finally had some free time and came alone to paint the murals.

As for the Buddhist scriptures she copied overnight, the princess said that they had been sent to the palace a few days ago and delivered to the emperor…

Yuan Chaolu stopped thinking and continued to draw lines on the paper.

The torrential rain roared outside the window, the sound of the raindrops rushing into the ears. Amidst this sound, a faint footstep suddenly rang out, extremely faint, yet it still reached Yuan Chaolu's ears.

With a "whoosh," the palace doors swung open, letting in a gust of cold wind that whipped Yuan Chaolu's hair into a frenzy. She turned around, her gaze meeting the newcomer's, and her pupils contracted slightly.

The wind howled, and the world was desolate. The newcomer was dressed in the scarlet robe of a military officer, without even an umbrella. Rain dripped down the hem of his robe, and his eyes were fixed on Yuan Chaolu.

"Helan Yi?"

"Does Her Majesty the Empress not welcome me?" He didn't care how much rain he was soaked to the bone. He stepped inside, his gaze first falling on Yuan Chaolu, and then on the Buddha statue.

"The Empress still loves Buddhist statues. Those who don't know the truth think that the Empress is fond of Buddhism, but those who do know the truth know that the Empress is quite accomplished in the art of statue making, following in the footsteps of her late father."

Yuan Chaolu was taken aback by his appearance, knowing that he must have gotten the news from somewhere that she was here. She immediately turned around, picked up the scroll on the table, and walked out.

Helan Yi stopped walking and said, "With such heavy rain, isn't Your Highness afraid the scroll will get wet?"

He blocked the entrance to the palace, preventing her from leaving. Yuan Chaolu then looked up and asked, "What do you mean?"

Helan Yi's gaze fell on her lower abdomen, and he shook his head and sighed, "I heard that Your Majesty has lost your son, and I am also heartbroken. But Your Majesty has been away at Chanxu Temple for so many days, and that person in Xuande Hall has not been able to bear to bring Your Majesty back to the palace?"

He gazed at her, his voice tinged with a hint of sarcasm: "What husband in the world could be so heartless? Your Majesty has only recently suffered a miscarriage."

Yuan Chaolu was not in a good mood with him and ordered him to move aside in a low voice.

A cold wind blew her stray hairs fluttering at her temples, and the dim light enveloped her, yet her eyes shone brightly, their vibrant color dazzling.

"If General Helan is truly not afraid of me, then I will summon someone."

Helan Yi ignored him and said, "What if we summon someone and the Emperor discovers our relationship? The Empress once said that she and His Majesty had a deep affection for each other, and I truly believed it. It seems that it is nothing more than that."

Yuan Chaolu walked past, this time without stopping him, only saying, "Doesn't the Empress want to know the whereabouts of her brother?"

Yuan Chaolu stopped and turned around. She saw him standing with his hands behind his back and his back straight. "Come here, and I will tell you what happened."

It was as if he were still at Helan's house, using the same tone he used to order her around.

Yuan Chaolu chuckled lightly: "You threatened me with this once, have you forgotten? Here's what I did."

"Of course I remember. I was shocked by Your Majesty's ruthlessness back then, that you could disregard your siblings with whom you grew up. But since I can get nothing now, I have no reason to care."

Yuan Chaolu asked, "What exactly are you thinking about?"

He Lanyi remained silent, his eyes fixed on her beneath his heavy brows.

Yuan Chaolu noticed his gaze and gave a light scoff.

"Since Your Majesty refused to save him when he was dying, all Your Majesty needs to remember when he dies is that you caused his death."

Helan Yi glanced sideways: "I thought Your Majesty was so loyal and righteous, but it turns out you're nothing special. If your adoptive parents knew this in the afterlife, what would they think?"

Yuan Chaolu had nothing to say. She turned and walked out, just then a hand reached out from behind and grabbed her wrist with great force, pulling her back several steps. Yuan Chaolu pulled her sleeve away, not even caring about the scrolls scattered on the ground, and walked straight out.

However, Helan Yi grabbed her hand again and slammed her heavily against the half-closed palace door, causing the vermilion carved door frame to tremble violently.

“Yuan Chaolu!” She looked up and saw a sinister aura flickering in his eyes.

"What is General Helan doing!"

The voice rang out, accompanied by the sound of footsteps getting closer and closer.

Who else could that voice belong to but the Prince of Yan?

The Prince of Yan strode in, raised his arm to block Helan Yi without saying a word, and then turned around to protect Yuan Chaolu behind him.

"General Helan, what are you doing now? The Emperor's wife, the dignified Mother of the Nation, how dare you be so disrespectful to her!"

The tall figure blocked Yuan Chaolu's view, obscuring Helan Yi's figure and blocking his gaze.

Yuan Chaolu stood behind her, holding her wrist which was marked with red welts, breathing heavily, and said, "Helan Yi assaulted me first. Since the Prince of Yan is here today, he will bear witness."

“Of course,” Xiao Luozhi replied. “Has General Helan truly forgotten his place? Has he become so arrogant after achieving a few military merits?”

Helan Yi's face remained expressionless, his gaze cold and scrutinizing as he swept Xiao Luozhi up and down. He said, "Your Highness, instead of asking me, shouldn't you be asking yourself why you're here?"

He Lanyi spoke lightly, "In this sacred Buddhist place, the Prince of Yan is so close to his elder sister-in-law. Could it be that Your Highness has something going on with the Empress Dowager?"

"Shut up." Xiao Luozhi stepped forward, and with a clang, the black iron scabbard parried Helan Yi's attack.

Both men were tall and imposing; their mere presence created an atmosphere of tension, as if they were about to draw their swords.

Yuan Chaolu tried to walk out again, but was stopped by Helan Yi. Then the Prince of Yan stepped forward and pulled Yuan Chaolu away.

The wind ripped open the palace doors, and cold rain slanted in from outside, falling on Yuan Chaolu. When the two sides were deadlocked, she raised her hand to her forehead to shield herself from the rain, but suddenly, she could no longer hear the two men talking.

She saw outside the hall, at the end of the path leading to the temple, a procession of ceremonial guards had appeared out of nowhere, with several people surrounding a figure.

As Zhong Changjun slowly opened the edge of the umbrella, the young king appeared in her sight.

Yuan Chaolu shuddered.

The emperor was handsome as jade, his face misty with moisture, his eyebrows damp and blurred by water droplets, his white robes as white as snow. Even though the trees were swaying and the world was shrouded in darkness from the torrential rain, his celestial appearance could not be concealed, like a banished immortal.

His eyes, as cold as frost, fell upon the two men in the hall.

Yuan Chaolu forgot what she was doing. When she came to her senses, he had already taken the umbrella and walked outside the hall.

"Your Majesty, I greet you." Yuan Chaolu stepped forward, but he brushed past her.

He walked with unhurried steps, without stopping, until he reached Helan Yi and the Prince of Yan in the hall. A slight smile appeared on his lips as he asked, "What's going on?"

The emperor's sudden visit was clearly unexpected by everyone.

Helan Yi bowed and said, "Your Majesty, on my way down from Chanxu Temple, I was caught in a downpour and took shelter in this temple. It was there that I met Her Majesty the Empress."

The Prince of Yan also cupped his hands and said, "Greetings, Your Majesty."

"I see. Then you two should rise at once." The tone was even quite calm.

The Prince of Yan breathed a sigh of relief, but the next moment, the Emperor raised his hand and drew the sword from the Prince of Yan's waist. The blade, as clear as autumn water, gleamed with a sharp, cold light, reflecting off the faces of those in the hall.

The Prince of Yan's eyelids twitched as he looked at the long sword pointed in front of him, feeling a cold sweat trickle down his back.

"What a grand spectacle you've put on, coming right up to me."

Then the sword landed on Helan Yi's shoulder, its light illuminating half of the young man's face, moving back and forth on his shoulder as if it might sever his neck at any moment.

Helan Yi raised his eyes amidst the chilling sword light, only to see his hand adorned with a thumb ring. "Your Majesty."

Having worked with this emperor, Helan Yi had come to understand the emperor's temperament. The sight of a cold blade pressed against his shoulder was no accidental act; it meant he was truly about to act...

Xiao Zhuo stopped speaking abruptly as he lowered his eyes and watched his empress come forward and take his hand.

Her brows were slightly furrowed, her eyes brimming with tears, and she opened her mouth to speak to him silently.

She called him, "My husband."

**

This rainstorm came without warning, and in an instant, the world was blurred by the heavy rain, and everything became indistinct.

The meditation room was quiet, with the windows and doors closed, and only the sound of rain pattering could be heard.

Yuan Chaolu followed the emperor into the meditation room, closed the door, leaned against it, and looked up to see Xiao Zhuo turn around and ask, "Why are you closing the door?"

His tone was extremely cold, showing no regard for sentimentality whatsoever.

Yuan Chaolu was taken aback, then stepped forward, "Your Majesty?"

She was extremely flustered. After thinking it over and over, she felt that the scene of her entanglement with those two people was too easy to cause misunderstandings and would inevitably make the person in front of her overthink things.

Xiao Zhuo raised an eyebrow and asked, "During your time at Chanxu Temple, did the Empress ever show any remorse?"

“Of course I have. I reflect on my mistakes during the day and at night,” she slowly approached him, slipped her hand under his sleeve, and took his cold hand in hers. She said softly, “Your Majesty, did you come to visit me today? I have not been doing well at Chanxu Temple. I toss and turn every night, missing you… my husband.”

“Of course I didn’t come to visit you,” he interrupted.

Xiao Zhuo continued, "Five days from now is the Empress Dowager's birthday. Even though you are a convicted criminal, as the Empress, you must attend so that outsiders will not notice anything amiss."

Yuan Chaolu subconsciously thought he had misheard. In the afternoon, with such heavy rain, he had come from the palace to Chanxu Temple with this very sentence in mind.

She met Xiao Zhuo's unreadable eyes, and Zhong Changjun's voice rang in her ears: "Your Majesty, pack your belongings. The sedan chair for returning to the palace is at the foot of the mountain."

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Author's Note: Xiao Zhuo has even prepared a reason for the Empress to return to the palace [hugs]