Chapter 25: Peaceful Coexistence?
He mustn't find out!
Her awkward smile crumbled in less than a second, as she tried to stop him. Yan Dibai's gaze, however, didn't spare a single glance for Wo Xue. It remained fixed on her face. Seeing Yang Liuqing's deathly pale expression in the blink of an eye, he immediately became intrigued.
"Let me see."
With a grave expression, Wo Xue dismissed the palace servants and guards behind her, presented the booklet that Yang Liuqing had sewn together, then stepped behind her and stomped on the girl's back, speaking in a sinister voice:
"You audacious, lowly maid! Who appointed you to the palace?!"
Yang Liuqing's chin slammed into the solid black brick, his upper and lower teeth smashing against it.
Yan Dibai flipped through the booklet, his smiling face suddenly froze, and his expression vanished.
She could vaguely see a blue vein rising on the wrist of the person holding the paper.
There is no room for maneuver.
Yang Liuqing avoided Yan Dibai's gaze, looking softly at the floor tiles so close to her:
“I am not a thief. I found this while sweeping the Wende Hall.”
She only said this one sentence.
Wo Xue angrily rebuked, "The Wende Hall contains only the late emperor's personal records; how could it contain such nonsense about His Majesty! If you dare to lie again, you will be executed by slow slicing!"
At this point, a cold glint appeared in his eyes: "Your Majesty, this woman must not be allowed to live any longer!"
Yan Dibai suddenly smiled and casually flipped the booklet to the last page, revealing a look of surprise.
"Oh? This is actually quite honestly written."
Yang Liuqing shuddered.
Wo Xue felt a mouthful of blood choke in his throat, and at that moment he really wanted to punch the emperor awake.
Yan Dibai's lips curved higher and higher, her cold eyes scanning back and forth along Yang Liuqing's back, finally settling on the hollow of her waist where the snow had stomped.
That kick looks like it could break a person's back.
But this woman's bones, though they look brittle, are actually quite strong.
He closed his eyes slightly, lazily tossing aside the booklet containing secrets punishable by the extermination of nine generations of one's family. The booklet fell to the ground, carelessly unfolding due to inertia. The past of the young Emperor Yan Dibai was brazenly exposed for all to see.
Yan Dibai stood up.
Wo Xue hunched her shoulders, glared fiercely at the person at her feet, and wisely stepped aside. The weight on Yang Liuqing's waist had barely subsided when another person's presence swept over her.
Yan Dibai bent down, his fingers touching the girl's cervical spine. The skin his fingertips touched was quite delicate.
She shrank back, and he moved closer.
This thin layer of clothing, which tears easily, is inherently unable to withstand anything.
The boy's finger bones protrude much more powerfully than the girl's. When he bends his knuckles, the bones and the cold jade thumb ring press against his inner garment, penetrating his skin and the gaps between his bones.
The numbness, unlike pain, made her tremble; the physiological reaction was uncontrollable. Yang Liuqing bit her lower lip, enduring the torment for a while. When his force reached below her lumbar spine, she could no longer bear it.
Her voice was slightly nasal: "Your Majesty—"
Before he could finish speaking, Yan Dibai exclaimed "Ah!" and slowly stopped him from explaining.
Unable to bear it any longer, Wo Xue turned and hurriedly left Xianning Palace. Yan Dibai glanced at him, then kindly grabbed Yang Liuqing under the armpits and lifted his kneeling body into a sitting position.
Only the two of them remained.
He embraced her, then suddenly buried his head in Yang Liuqing's lap. Sensing her stiffness, Yan Dibai exhaled. A strange, lingering look appeared on his face.
He flirted with her.
"Do you think you've got my secrets?"
"You've got the leverage to blackmail me?"
"From now on, will you be able to control me?"
Those old stories that should have been forgotten with his sister's passing, those days he had regretted countless times.
But it is a dark and shadowy place that cannot be seen in the light of day in the eyes of the world.
Yan Dibai raised his face, his eyes gradually becoming listless. His long sleeves fell down, and he reached out to tuck her disheveled hair behind his ear. He waited quietly for her answer.
He thought with a mixture of pleasure and anger, "If I lie again..."
He broke his promise and actually killed her.
No adulteration.
Yang Liuqing lowered her hands to her sides, her legs numb and aching from being pressed to the ground. Upon hearing this, even the courage she had shown after surviving several brushes with death seemed to fade.
The three questions were increasingly dire.
She clenched her fists. She silently let Yan Dibai dominate her gaze.
“...”
Normally, she should be coaxing a naughty boy, mixing truth and lies as always, trying to overcome one obstacle after another and survive to the end.
But Yang Liuqing let go of his hand and slowly forced a smile.
"yes."
The girl's smile was much more natural than he had expected.
Everywhere is winding, serene and understated.
Yan Dibai squinted at her upturned lips, then lingered on her long, curled eyelashes for a moment, thinking that even without tears, those eyelashes would be passable when they fell. Then he realized what she had said and laughed: "Are you crazy? Do you believe I'd really skin you alive?"
"Do you know how I used to kill people? I'd just stick a dagger into their head and skin them alive." The young man curled his lips into a smirk, his neck flushed with excitement, wishing he could kill someone right now and send them to the human skin shop in the West Market to haggle over the price.
With a lingering sense of satisfaction, Yan Dibai licked his bright red lips, waiting to see Yang Liuqing's terrified face.
To everyone's surprise, that annoying fellow fluttered his eyelashes and said, "I was very excited when I found these things. I can understand Your Majesty now, and I have the means to associate with Your Majesty."
Yan Dibai's interest was immediately dampened by these words. He lowered his eyes with considerable regret.
"Why didn't you lie when you should have?"
The words hinted at a perilous situation, another life-or-death ordeal ahead.
Qingqing remained silent for a long time; in fact, she hadn't told too many lies.
“My family once warned me that a white lie is not a bad thing. But a lie is still a lie. Besides, the evidence is conclusive. I have indeed been getting close to His Majesty. If I were to deny it now, even I would not be able to stand it.”
They were all planning to chop her head off... Yan Di rolled her eyes and raised an eyebrow suspiciously.
"Admit to lying before? You liar!"
Yang Liuqing choked with sobs and naturally denied it: "I only spilled it once or twice, Your Majesty always wrongs me."
Yan Dibai first snorted coldly, then glared: "You've gotten bolder? You're complaining about me now?"
Yang Liuqing: "I don't have any."
"You have!"
She frowned: "I really don't."
Yan Dibai, furious, laughed coldly: "You do!"
"No."
"have!"
After a few exchanges, the booklet lay forlornly on the ground, untouched. The two continued their banter, but Yang Liuqing, still annoyed by Yan Dibai's sudden childlike behavior, nodded woodenly.
“I have it.”
Yan Dibai laughed smugly, "I knew it! I knew you wouldn't accept it!"
"Slave—"
He scrambled to his feet and said, “Yang Liuqing has committed treason and should be beheaded. But I am benevolent and merciful and will not hold it against him.”
He kicked the booklet aside and chuckled, "Do you think I was pitiful before?"
Yang Liuqing was taken aback. Had he come full circle again?
The boy laughed loudly: "Speak!"
Those eyes blazed with fury, filled with a sinister and ruthless intent; in the blink of an eye, the naive boy transformed back into a bloodthirsty tyrant.
Yang Liuqing knew that if she remained silent, he would definitely not let her off the hook.
She sighed, "His Majesty is pitiful."
He was about to laugh when the girl looked down and rolled up her sleeves, revealing the red welts she had gotten from falling in the woods earlier that day.
Piece by piece, though no blood was drawn, the sight was still shocking.
She said calmly, "Most people in the world are pitiful."
"The concubines who were deliberately manipulated by His Majesty are pitiful, as are the maids who died in the palace for no reason. Everyone has their own kind of pity, and everyone has someone more pitiful than themselves."
She glanced at the booklet and pursed her lips: "Princess Xifang is just as pitiful."
She brought up the girl tentatively, which could also be considered a roundabout way of advising her.
Unexpectedly, Yan Dibai's pupils narrowed into slits. He was about to erupt in fury. Before Qingqing could understand what was happening, the surging anger vanished in an instant.
"Alright, order me."
He watched Qingqing with amusement, as if he were watching a play.
"See, you're just so unlikable."
"Yang Liuqing, do you really think you're Guanyin, here to save the world?"
She sighed and shook her head.
"It's not about saving the world; I'm selfish. I'm only trying to save myself."
"Myself?" Yan Dibai instinctively wanted to mock, but Yang Liuqing nodded: "This servant covets wealth and glory. This servant wants to get close to His Majesty and obtain money to save myself."
She added, "I am sick from poverty and cannot endure hardship."
Yan Dibai was about to scoff, but he held back.
Why are you suddenly being so obedient?
He was a little angry. He quickly took a few steps back, then turned back and looked at the serious-looking girl strangely.
"Never mind," he muttered to himself.
"..." It's pointless not to kill them. We'll talk about it later.
Just as he was wondering what to say next, the girl suddenly tilted her head to the side and fell to the ground.
Yan Dibai stroked his chin and squatted down in front of her. "Dead?"
The girl immediately took a deep breath, as if to prove that she was not dead.
Yan Dibai reached out and picked at her dark circles, then moved down to pick at the scratches on her arm, humming:
When were you injured?
"Hmph, you sleep, but do you think I won't sleep?"
He lay down and stretched out his legs.
It was late at night.
Wo Xue waited outside for half the night, wondering why His Majesty hadn't ordered the body to be dragged away yet. Unable to wait any longer, she peeked out and was horrified to see two people lying on the ground:
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty slept with that maid? Could it be that you've really fallen for her?" He covered his mouth in horror, staring at the tangled clothes, wanting to wake her up, yet afraid of dying.
Furious and anxious, she simply wiped away her tears at the door. Yi Fu, who was on patrol, happened to pass by and, seeing this, asked:
"What's wrong?"
Wo Xue glared at him: "It's all your fault!"
Yi Fu asked, puzzled, "Why are you hurling insults at people like that?"
Wo Xue gritted her teeth: "If you had killed Yang Liuqing along with the assassin, would I be crying!"
"...Where did this scoundrel come from? I'm leaving."
Wo Xue: "Go away! All you do is patrol!"
When Yi Furen really left, Wo Xue couldn't help but cry again.
What exactly is the method that makes His Majesty show mercy time and time again?
How I regret not being a woman! Otherwise, I could have been a concubine!
*
Yang Liuqing had a chaotic dream.
In my dream, war raged across the land, smoke billowing everywhere. A towering figure with flowing hair stood before the city gate, beheading with a swift stroke. Countless corpses piled up, blood flowing like a river.
She stood on the hilltop, sniffling from the cold. She desperately wanted to leave that place.
Suddenly, the towering figure turned to face her, its eyes completely black. She was astonished when her dream abruptly ended.
Yang Liuqing opened her eyes, and Yan Dibai had one hand across her body. He leaned his face close to her shoulder, his brows furrowed, as if he had thought of something bad.
She squinted, and just as she turned her head, Yan Dibai woke up. His eyes narrowed menacingly, but when he saw Yang Liuqing's face, they suddenly turned blank.
Yan Dibai stood up, looking disgusted: "Why is it you?"
Yang Liuqing: "I don't remember either..."
Yan Dibai: "Heh, you really went to great lengths to seduce me. Serve me while I bathe, I'm hungry."
"…yes."
Although it was said to be to serve him during his bath, Yan Dibai actually wouldn't let anyone into the bath to serve him. He bathed himself.
Yang Liuqing breathed a sigh of relief. Now she had time to think; she should be considered 80-90% successful, right?
Looking back on last night, there are many suspicious points.
Yan Dibai doesn't seem to find the existence of that booklet surprising at all?
She touched her belly; it was so flat.
"Attendant Yang." A palace maid suddenly called to her.
Before Yang Liuqing could react, the beautiful palace maid curtsied, her face beaming with smiles.
“Congratulations, Imperial Attendant Yang! From now on, the sisters of Xianning Palace will all have to rely on you. My name is Tan Yue, and I am a third-ranked scholar. We live in the small courtyard behind the palace. We've heard that Imperial Attendant Yang's current residence in Wende Palace is dilapidated. Why don't you move in and live with us?”
The "Tan Hua Tan Yue" (探花探月) were considered the highest-ranking working class before. Their main job was to serve Yan Dibai during her washing and grooming, a life of leisure and wealth.
The risk factor is too high.
Seeing the ingratiating smiles on their faces, so unlike the unapproachable demeanor they displayed when she was sweeping in front of the door, Yang Liuqing couldn't help but chuckle.
I roughly guessed why they changed their attitude.
Sure enough, Tan Yue asked, "Last night, His Majesty and you...?"
Yang Liuqing shook her head: "His Majesty only ordered me to wait aside."
Tan Yue was skeptical: "Really? But His Majesty never allowed anyone to stay in the palace while he was sleeping."
"...It was just an accident; His Majesty is prone to making reckless decisions."
“I see,” Tan Yue smiled. She then changed the subject:
"I've heard that Imperial Concubine Yang is very sentimental. Are you quite close to the laundry maids in the Inner Palace?"
Yang Liuqing smiled: "Those sisters helped me. I promised to repay them." Tan Yue nodded:
"Gratitude is a virtue."
Yang Liuqing's expression immediately turned sour: "How can you keep reporting it?"
"Oh?" Tan Yue asked in surprise, but Yang Liuqing didn't give her a chance to ask and quickly moved on:
"Forget it, there's nothing more to say to them."
"I'll go check on breakfast and head over there first. If there's time, I'll move it over then, which will make things easier to do."
The moon-gazing and flower-gazing individuals exchanged a glance.
"They don't seem to be as close as that guy surnamed Deng said."
"I've said it before. Do you think someone who climbed up to His Majesty's side from such a lowly place is easy to get along with? Now that they have power, what do they care about their former friends? Only that guy surnamed Deng thinks he's still one of us."
Tan Yue gloated, "We really should learn from her. Look how angry she made Xiao Cai Ren!"
The two were referring to Xiao Yuanshu, who had returned to the palace with the main group in the middle of the night. As soon as she arrived, cries and curses erupted in Chonglan Palace, so loud that the sounds could be heard throughout several palace grounds.
"My brother won't stand up for me, insisting that that wretched maid didn't harm me! Is it even a matter of whether she harmed me or not?!"
"Nobody likes me, everyone bullies me! I'd rather not stay in this palace!"
"Why did Your Majesty hurt me! Why did you hurt me like this!"
It caused quite a commotion.
This time, however, he didn't even want to coax her.
More than half a month passed in a flash, and Xiao Yuanshu was in a slump for a long time.
And the relationship between Yang Liuqing and Yan Dibai can be considered peaceful?
In short, he was no longer prone to inexplicable outbursts of madness. Yang Liuqing also gradually felt a sense of peace and reconciliation.
She ate a lot of good food, even though it was all food that Yan Dibai didn't want. Yang Liuqing was very happy to have gotten such a bargain. Every day she wouldn't forget to flatter Yan Dibai, saying, "Your Majesty really knows how to choose imperial chefs."
Yan Dibai replied matter-of-factly, "I am just that powerful."
Then, not forgetting to look her up and down, he criticized, "With a body like that, have you been eating for nothing?"
Yang Liuqing smiled. "I can eat whatever I want and not gain weight, there's nothing I can do about it."
The two weren't exactly close, but they strangely maintained a certain balance. It was a rather interesting relationship.
If it weren't for these two letters today.
Urgent dispatches, one from the south and one from the north.
Yan Dibai held the envelope and opened the drawer, which contained a series of anonymous letters that had been intercepted by Yi Fu since that time. The woman who delivered the letters had also become wary and had not been exposed again.
These seven letters all express concern for his health and daily routine.
The handwriting is exactly the same as the letter from the north in my hand.
She was his elder sister, the matriarch of the Li family in Longxi, Princess Xifang.
The princess suddenly lost her husband and son. Overwhelmed with grief, she could no longer bear the cold and hardship of the north and begged to return to the capital to observe mourning.
Yan Dibai stared intently at the handwriting, as if trying to see through the paper.
The south comes from Xiao Yuanjing.
The rebellion in Jizhou was quelled with great success.
Yan Dibai glanced at it for a while, but didn't seem to care much about it.
Whether they win or lose is none of his business. He just wants to promote Xiao Yuanshu's rank.
Holding the delicate letter eagerly, the boy excitedly wrote down the imperial edict.
Since his older sister wanted to go home, how could her younger brother refuse?
Even if we meet again, we would not recognize each other; the past is past.
He is tolerant and magnanimous, so we must not hold it against him anymore.
When Qingqing brought over the sweet rice wine, the boy, his hair disheveled, waved happily at her. "Come here, I have something to say!"
She then went there.
Yan Dibai propped her face up; one sentence left her mind blank.
"Do you want to know what was written in the parts of the booklet that were burned?"
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Author's Note: Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 2023-09-01 22:54:12 and 2023-09-04 22:29:15!
Thank you to the little angels who watered the nutrient solution: 49110111 (20 bottles); 檐上落白 (15 bottles); 略略略 (2 bottles); 天涯双客 (1 bottle);
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