Chapter 44 "Be good and don't move." "The Queen and...
"The Empress's clothes were similar in color to our Empress's today. The Empress was furious and punished our Empress to reflect on her mistakes in seclusion. She even sent our Empress back to the palace in front of so many people..." said the maid.
"Just because she's wearing red, does that mean everyone has to wear blue? What did my mother do to provoke her? I think she's just upset about the Crown Prince's wedding!" Princess An Ning picked up her skirt and left, looking annoyed. "I'll go check it out! Hey, Xiaochan, take Yunyang for a walk."
Yun Yang's knowledge of the affairs in the palace came entirely from hearsay and An Ning's occasional revelations. He knew that Princess An Ning's mother was isolated and powerless, that the Queen and Concubine Li were not on good terms, and that the Queen always suppressed the concubines.
If this really happens, there is nothing you can do.
The princess walked away angrily, her skirt lifted. The maid was stunned for a moment, then whispered to Yun Yang, "Miss Yun, can I take you out for a walk?"
Yun Yang agreed and followed the palace maid out.
The Imperial Garden was quite quiet; I guess the concubines were all attending the Crown Prince's wedding ceremony.
The palace maid saw that Miss Yun Er had an indifferent expression. She only saw her eyes calmly sweeping over the plants and trees in the palace. She didn't say much. Sometimes she would point to the top of a hall and ask what place it was. The palace maid answered one by one, and then she would stop talking again.
She is very different from Miss Xue Jin.
After walking through the long corridor and turning around a few corridors, you will reach the Hall of Supreme Harmony.
Yun Yang stopped and looked for a while. That should be the place where the Cabinet and the civil and military officials attended court.
Walking the same path my brother-in-law walked and seeing the same scenery he saw every day, I felt an indescribable feeling.
Yun Yang's appearance was already good, and she had carefully dressed up before entering the palace. It could be said that every strand of her hair was exquisite. At first glance, even the palace maids who were used to seeing all kinds of beauties found Yun Yang very dazzling.
"Let's take a break here." Yun Yang found an octagonal pavilion and sat down, wiping his forehead. "We've been walking for a while, but it seems like we haven't seen enough. The sun is really hot, and I'm sweating a little."
"Then I'll go get some iced drinks for Miss Yun," said the palace maid.
The girl raised her eyes and looked carefully at the splendid flowers under the towering palace walls. The floors under the corridors were shining with oily luster as if washed with water. She seemed to imagine graceful palace maids walking by.
She immediately felt something was false and unreal. This was the palace in the opera... She actually entered the palace.
She collected her chaotic thoughts, and a complicated expression appeared on her face, which had never concealed anything. She nodded to the palace maid and said, "Go, I'll wait for you here."
Spring is in the air, willows are swaying, mandarin ducks are raised in the imperial lake, birds are singing, mandarin ducks are embracing each other, and they glide smoothly across the calm lake, leaving a long water mark.
As for Xue Yu, he knew that Yun Yang would enter the palace, and he also knew that she was using the excuse of the prince's wedding to see the world. He didn't want to care about her and let her hang out with the princess. But after returning from the Taimiao, he was worried all the way and decided to take time off to look for her.
When the news of Yun Yang's accident came, Xue Yu was not the first to know.
The eighth prince had a high fever when he was young. Since then, it would be more accurate to say that he has been fever-sick rather than mentally ill.
The eighth prince's biological mother, Concubine Shu, cried bitterly, but she was still depressed after crying. She became sensitive and suspicious. If a concubine gave her a look that made her feel something was wrong, she would cry and make a fuss, and be aggressive and unrelenting.
Fortunately, the emperor was kind and treated them and their son leniently.
Xue Yu had met Concubine Shu a few times, but they had not had much interaction. So when he saw Concubine Shu coming towards him, a trace of surprise filled his heart. He bowed and saluted, "Your humble servant greets Her Majesty Concubine Shu."
"I don't know who this girl is, but she's got such a seductive trick that my son can't help but want her," Concubine Shu said coldly. "She took advantage of this important day to come into the palace and try to seduce the prince. She's really scheming. When I asked her who she was, she wouldn't tell me. After asking around, I finally found out she's Lord Xue's sister-in-law."
"Lord Xue, you must discipline her well and don't let her feel resentful after learning her lesson this time." Concubine Shu looked arrogant as she passed by Xue Yu.
Unexpectedly, the powerful young official blocked her path, his tone not as calm as usual, "Please stay, Madam Shufei. Where is my sister-in-law now?"
"Of course he's kneeling in the Imperial Garden." Concubine Shu said, "What's your attitude?"
Concubine Shu came to Xue Yu to file a complaint, but why did this man act so protective?!
Before she could finish her words, a heavy and cold fragrance wafted across her face, and she saw the young man walking away from her with a cold expression and waving his sleeves.
Concubine Shu was angry and followed with her skirt lifted.
The warm spring sunshine could not dispel the anger in Xue Yu's heart. He walked hurriedly, and the corridor that he had walked through countless times seemed so long. He didn't know when it started to rain, and the rain was so heavy that it splashed on the ground like arrows.
He thought he had controlled his emotions well, but when he saw Yun Yang kneeling alone on the raised bluestone slab, he couldn't help but lose his composure and strode over to help her up.
The slender silhouette that had been depicted so many times in his dreams was now kneeling alone in the deserted rain, with a solemn expression, as if enduring pain. Her frail body was trembling slightly, her embroidered shoes were thrown aside with dirt, and her snow-white silk stockings were covered in mud.
He felt as if his heart was stabbed hard, and it began to tremble chaotically. He didn't know how much willpower he had to use to restrain the urge to pick her up.
"...Brother-in-law?" Yun Yang looked at the hand resting on her arm. The Hetian jade ring on the finger was warm and smooth. She raised her eyes hesitantly, facing the light, and recognized the person in front of her. She murmured, "I did not seduce the Eighth Prince..."
Xue Yu lost all his breath when he heard these words. Looking at her clear and calm eyes, he felt a surge of anger. How could she be interested in that foolish prince?!
She looked down on him and the prince.
She didn't know how long she had been kneeling there, she almost went crazy!
The maidservant beside her lowered her eyes and fell silent. She only saw the handsome official in scarlet official uniform, his gaze fixed on the girl's stained stockings, and said in a cold voice, "Yun Yang, get up."
"The Concubine Shu said she would kneel before the palace gate." Yun Yang answered honestly, pointing to the sky, with a pitiful look between her lowered eyes and raised eyelashes. "Now, it's not dark yet."
"Let me tell you." He said coldly, giving up on the words, enduring to the limit, and rushed forward to bend over, picked her up horizontally, and strode out.
But he ran into Concubine Shu who had followed him. Concubine Shu frowned and scolded him harshly, "Master Xue, what are you doing? My words are no longer effective, are they? You ministers eat the royal family's food, yet you bully me!"
Hearing Concubine Shu's words, Yun Yang shrank back timidly and struggled to get down, but was firmly restrained by Xue Yu and could not move at all. However, Concubine Shu's threats just now kept lingering in her mind, and she did not dare to make any more mistakes.
Feeling her struggle, Xue Yu frowned and hugged her tighter, pursing his thin lips with a cold expression.
It had been many days since he had been so close to her, and he had an idea that she should snuggle up to him and be completely away from him.
He lowered his eyes to look at her, and the girl looked up fearfully.
Her fear and helplessness made him feel an irrepressible rage, an rage that was not controlled by reason and was not weighed by the scale of social status.
"Your Highness, my wife's sister has always been gentle and honest. She came to the palace today on invitation to watch the ceremony, and also with the decree of Princess An Ning. She would never do what Your Highness said about seducing the Eighth Prince. I'm afraid Your Highness has recognized the wrong person?" Xue Yu said nonchalantly, but with a cold and aloof air that kept strangers away, and he didn't pause at all as he walked out.
"Lord Xue, I haven't seen you for a few days. How dare you argue with me?!" Concubine Shu was stunned.
"Yun Yang is an official's wife. Your Majesty shouldn't resort to lynching against officials' wives." Xue Yu said, and then she strode out without stopping.
Concubine Shu didn't know whether she should chase after him. If she did, she couldn't catch up. If she didn't, it would be too embarrassing. So she shouted, "Then I will go to His Majesty to seek justice!"
"Don't worry, Your Majesty. I will go to the Emperor to plead my case." Xue Yu responded lightly.
The majestic scenery in the daytime quickly receded, and Yun Yang was held by him and walked all the way out of the palace.
The sound of stringed instruments and wind instruments stopped at some point.
"Has the prince married yet?" Yun Yang asked. "Brother-in-law, are you free now? Can we go now?"
Xue Yu frowned and said nothing. After getting on the carriage, he didn't put her on the seat, but continued to hold her in his arms.
Yun Yang sat on Xue Yu's lap, leaning against him. She felt very uncomfortable, her heart beating like a drum. She said very unnaturally, "Let me go. I can sit by myself."
"Your shoes are gone, how can you sit? Where are your shoes?" Xue Yu's face was gloomy, and his eyes skimmed over her stockings like a dragonfly skimming the water.
"It was snatched away by that Eighth Prince," Yun Yang said. "I thought the nobles in the palace wouldn't act so frivolously, so when he approached me, I wasn't prepared and he snatched my shoes. He even held my shoes in his arms and came up to pull me. In the heat of the moment, I pushed him... But he was so fat that he couldn't withstand the push at all, and he fell into the lake."
"..." Xue Yu was silent for a while, "Good push."
It turned out that she fell into the lake, which was why Concubine Shu made such a fuss.
Xue Yu's face was still as cold as ice, as if the anger just now was difficult to subside. In fact, his heart was full of complicated emotions. Only now did he realize that he was such a protective person. Even if Yun Yang pushed the fool into the lake and drowned her, he would still praise her for doing a good job.
He used to hate being biased and protecting others, and only listening to one side of the story...
"He didn't drown, not at all! The lake wasn't deep, and he was surrounded by many guards. He was pulled out without even getting his lower body soaked." Yun Yang saw his face turn cold, and hurriedly explained, tugging at his sleeve, "Don't be angry, I didn't hurt him..."
Xue Yu laughed out of anger. She actually thought he would take his anger out on her because of that idiot?!
What is he like in her heart?
He just felt bitter, but couldn't express his pain.
Xue Yu was so angry that he couldn't speak. Yun Yang saw that his face was pale and blue, and his chest was heaving. When had she ever seen him so angry? She whispered, "I really didn't hurt him..."
"Fool." He lowered his eyes and smiled faintly, "Who said you can't hurt him? Even if you push him into the Taiye Lake and drown him, I still have a way to make you escape unscathed."
Yun Yang looked up at him in surprise, only to see that the handsome young man's face was half bright and half dark, with his thin lips raised. His usual calmness was completely gone, and his nonchalant look made people tremble.
She suddenly thought of the meeting with him in the dense forest more than a year ago. This man smashed the Buddha statue and was also so crazy and arrogant.
The carriage became quiet, with only a few faint dark auras floating in the air.
Yun Yang felt a faint fear in her heart. Her knowledge of the imperial palace and the concubines came entirely from operas and storybooks. Perhaps it was because the Crown Prince had been too approachable before, so the Concubine Shu surrounded her and threatened her with a timid look. She was frightened. Then she remembered her brother-in-law's words about the execution of nine generations of the family, and she was afraid that she would bring trouble to others and the Xue family...
The carriage was running relatively smoothly, and the moonlight squeezed in through the curtains. Xue Yu saw that she looked sad, half hesitant and half frightened, and her thin shoulders were still trembling slightly. He couldn't describe the feeling in his heart, and he wanted to hold her in his arms and coax her gently.
She was still too young and had seen little of the world, so she was frightened by Concubine Shu, who had been immersed in the palace for a long time.
Concubine Shu had relied on pretending to be crazy and stupid in the palace for many years, which had long caused others to resent her. Moreover, the emperor only favored Concubine Xue Lifei, so if Concubine Shu wanted to compete with the Xue family, it would be like trying to stop a chariot with a mantis arm.
The young man's eyes swept over her still pale face, and he felt restless in his heart. He didn't know whether to blame her for not being able to stand the scare, or blame the concubine for being used to bullying the weak and fearing the strong.
Concubine Shu must have said something to threaten her, so that this wild and stubborn girl gave in.
She has no parents and her sister is nowhere to be found. What else can threaten her?
His eyes softened as he looked at her.
Yun Yang was held in his arms, her slender feet wrapped in dirty stockings, swaying gently in the hem of her skirt as the carriage moved. He had been too angry to look closely just now, but now he noticed a faint blood-red oozing from the tips of her toes.
The Imperial Garden was paved with a lot of gravel, especially around the Taiye Lake.
The young man's gentleness just now disappeared, and his eyes were as sharp as knives.
Yun Yang felt increasingly awkward in her current position. She twisted her body slightly a few times to break free, then tried to get down by tiptoeing.
The next moment, his hands on her waist tightened, and the Hetian jade ring was firmly pressed against her waist. He only heard the cold voice, "Be good, don't move."
He lowered his eyes to look at her, his narrow eyes becoming darker and darker. Yun Yang pushed his shoulders and hid her slender feet under her skirt, "Then don't look!"
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