Chapter Sixty
Early in the morning, Empress Yu, accompanied by several maids, arrived at the prison with pale faces.
"Your Majesty, the Emperor has said that no unauthorized personnel are allowed to enter," a prison guard leader stepped forward and bowed.
"How dare you! Is the Empress some kind of nobody?" a maid standing beside Empress Yu shouted.
The head jailer said, "This... His Majesty said that Empress Yu is not allowed to enter either."
Empress Yu's face grew increasingly pale. Despite her noble status, she bowed slightly to the head jailer and said, "I trouble you, brother jailer, to be lenient. If His Majesty blames me, I will take full responsibility."
The head jailer said urgently, "Your Majesty, please don't be so harsh on your subordinates. This..."
Empress Yu: "The Imperial Brother-in-law is my elder brother. We've depended on each other since childhood. If we don't see each other this time, who knows what will happen in the future?"
"Your Majesty." Suddenly, a clear voice came from behind.
Upon seeing this, the jailers all bowed and said, "Princess."
Empress Yu turned around and saw a woman dressed in a moon-white robe, with delicate and beautiful features, standing beside her a man dressed in black, who was extremely handsome and elegant.
Mo Yinghuo smiled, nodded slightly to Empress Yu, looked at the head of the jailers, and said, "Let the Empress in, I will speak with the Emperor."
The head jailer hurriedly made way, and Empress Yu bowed slightly to Mo Yinghuo in thanks before going inside.
"Brother." Empress Yu's eyes were brimming with tears. The maids around her were shocked to see the virtuous empress in such a state for the first time.
Yu Guojiu struggled to his feet from the cell, his bloated body bulging. Seeing Empress Yu and others present, he grinned and said happily, "Empress, what brings you here?"
Empress Yu disregarded etiquette, saying, "Brother, if I had known, I wouldn't have come to the palace."
Yu Guojiu sighed, "It's because I'm incompetent, sister. Come here, I want to say something to you."
As Empress Yu approached, her face turned pale.
...
"Commander Pu, the Princess has ordered us to follow Empress Yu. What is she doing?" a Yue Zhao soldier standing next to Commander Pu asked curiously.
Lieutenant Pu's bushy beard twitched. "Don't say anything more. Do as the Princess commands."
Empress Yu wore a cloak, and the hanging silk scarf covered her beautiful and gentle face. The several close maids beside her, judging from the speed at which they had just moved, were all people who had been hiding their skills.
"The residence of the Imperial Brother-in-law," Commandant Pu thought to himself. "What are they doing here in the middle of the night?"
The mansion had been sealed off and was deserted, with only scattered items in the courtyard. Empress Yu walked to a dry well, said a few words to the maids beside her, and then one of them took out a rope, and the two maids slowly entered the dry well.
Two hours later, Commandant Pu was horrified by what he saw. Just how greedy was Yu Guojiu? The dry well was actually filled with gold and silver treasures.
Empress Yu stared in disbelief at the gold and silver treasures scattered on the ground, among which was a letter. She carefully opened the letter and read softly, "Sister, the palace is full of intrigue and backstabbing. You and I, brother and sister, have no powerful backing, and sooner or later we will be overthrown. This is what your brother has raised for you. If you ever fall on hard times, take this and secretly leave the palace to live a good life among the common people. Your brother knows that it is hard for the poor to survive, but with this money, your brother can rest assured."
Lieutenant Pu led his soldiers to surround the dry well.
"Your Majesty," Commandant Pu said, bowing.
Several maids rushed to protect the Empress. There were dozens of people and a pile of gold and silver jewelry on the ground. An outsider might have thought that the group had a problem with dividing the spoils.
Empress Yu waved her hand, stepped forward, and said gently, "This captain, was it the Princess who sent you to follow me?"
Commander Pu was stunned, not expecting that Empress Yu had guessed so quickly.
Empress Yu: "I only want to save my brother's life."
"Then, Your Majesty, may I offer a suggestion?" Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and saw that Mo Yinghuo had also come to stand by the dry well.
Empress Yu: "Your Highness, as long as my brother's life can be saved..."
Mo Yinghuo pointed to the ground, "These, and perhaps more, should all be handed over to the Grand Council. Your Majesty knows how much money the Imperial Uncle has embezzled in recent years.
Empress Yu sighed softly, "He has been using my brother from beginning to end. In the past few years, he has really gone to any lengths to support your supplies at the front and make up for the empty treasury."
Mo Yinghuo composed herself. "Empress, His Majesty is also in a difficult situation."
Empress Yu: "I was also part of his plan, wasn't I?"
Mo Yinghuo: "Your Majesty is overthinking it."
Empress Yu nodded and said, "Thank you for your trouble, Princess. I will return all the money that the Imperial Uncle has taken in recent years."
Mo Yinghuo glanced outside the door and said, "Your Majesty, please wait a moment. Minister Li Fenglu of the Ministry of Revenue is on his way to take inventory."
Zhao Shu stood quietly to the side the whole time. Commandant Pu knew his temperament well and only nodded to him, not daring to take a single step closer. The soldiers also looked at this Lord Zhao, who had been observing coldly without any arrogance or rudeness, with utmost respect. Empress Yu's close maids couldn't help but steal glances at him, feeling that they had never seen such a dignified and well-mannered person before.
The entire mansion was quiet, but everyone's attention was tacitly focused on Zhao Shu, except for Empress Yu, who was filled with sorrow and worry.
Mo Yinghuo gently nudged Zhao Shu with his elbow and chuckled softly, "Lord Zhao, I just told you to take Li Fenglu with you, so you don't need to wait here idly."
Commander Pu and the soldiers gasped in shock, while Empress Yu and the other maids, not understanding what was happening, also gasped in alarm.
Zhao Shu didn't get angry. He just turned slightly to the side, seemingly a little embarrassed, and said softly, "I don't touch others."
The door was suddenly pushed open, and Li Fenglu stood panting at the door, holding an abacus in his hand, with two guards beside him carrying two bags.
Mo Yinghuo laughed, "Lord Li, you came running here."
Li Fenglu wiped the sweat from his face and said with a wry smile, "Your Highness is too kind."
Mo Yinghuo: "Then I'll trouble Lord Li and Her Majesty the Empress to sort out the numbers together. Commandant Pu, you will escort the Empress back to the palace later."
Commandant Pu and Li Fenglu replied in unison, "Yes."
After everyone had left, Zhao Shu suddenly asked, "How did you know that the Emperor's brother-in-law would tell the Empress where the money was hidden?"
Mo Yinghuo: "Zhao Shu, did you know that these two siblings already shared the surname Yu before entering the palace?"
Zhao Shu nodded thoughtfully.
The two left first.
"A drug-powered puppet," Mo Yinghuo said with a hint of surprise.
The two were walking on the main street of the capital. Although it was night, there were still a few pedestrians heading towards Yanxi Tower. Mo Yinghuo immediately took Zhao Shu's hand and was about to lead him into the crowd when he suddenly remembered the customs of the Night Star People. He quickly stopped and noticed a set of steps not far away. He then pulled Zhao Shu up to the top and watched with great interest.
Red lanterns hung high above the Yanxi Tower, where scholars and gentlemen sat on the balustrades, drinking and chatting merrily. Below, ordinary people also drank and ate meat, their arms around each other's shoulders. Suddenly, Mo Yinghuo spotted a familiar figure, dressed in a colorful robe and carrying a flower fan, sitting leisurely on the top floor.
"Hey, gentlemen, why is Yanxi Tower so lively so late tonight?" Mo Yinghuo asked the men who rushed over.
"You don't know, Yunxiu Kingdom is finally going to send troops to the northern frontier. The officials and nobles in the capital are all excited and thrilled. They have all contributed money to prepare wine and food at Yanxi Tower, as well as dance and music for everyone to enjoy," one of them said.
"It's all free; you can go whenever you have time," another person said.
"Besides, they've been performing the drug-powered puppet show for three nights in a row. What are you all still standing here for? Hurry up and squeeze into the crowd to watch," another person said.
Mo Yinghuo raised an eyebrow, waved his hand, and smiled, "You guys go first, we'll wait for you."
Mo Yinghuo moved closer to him. Although the two had already taken their relationship to a deeper level, she still remembered the customs of the Nightfall Star people and always kept a certain distance from Zhao Shu in public. After all, according to Zhao Shu's sister, getting too close was tantamount to flirting in public.
“Zhao Shu, do you know? When I was very young, I dreamed of myself riding a fine horse, lingering under a peach tree, lost in thought,” Mo Yinghuo said, looking at the crowd not far away.
Zhao Shu surprisingly moved a little closer to him in front of outsiders, only a fist's distance away, and once again, a rare smile appeared on his face. "Huo'er, love and dreams are things that humanity has never been able to understand, things that transcend all existence. Perhaps they are the secrets that connect different dimensions."
Just as Mo Yinghuo was about to speak, a cheer suddenly erupted from the crowd in front of him.
In the open space in front of Yanxi Tower, dozens of thick bamboo poles supported round plates and square wooden frames, with small bamboo tubes arranged in a circle around them. Additionally, a long stick was attached to each bamboo pole, with puppets hanging from both ends.
At this moment, dozens of bamboo phoenixes atop the bamboo pole began to spin rapidly after the fireworks reached the top, releasing countless sparks. The flames continued to spread upwards along these fuses, and suddenly, the figurines inside the box appeared before everyone's eyes. Almost simultaneously, colorful fireworks surged towards the top of the bamboo pole, layer upon layer, with white sparks flying everywhere, creating a breathtakingly beautiful spectacle.
"Brilliant!" Mo Yinghuo clapped her hands in praise. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Zhao Shu's face, flushed and hot from the sparks, and his widow's peak seemed to complement the moment perfectly. She couldn't help but laugh and ask, "Zhao Shu, are all the people of Nightfall Star as handsome as you?"
Zhao Shu said casually, with a tone of nonchalance, "On Ye Lan Xing, I am the most beautiful."
Mo Yinghuo was taken aback, not expecting him to admit it so readily. He rubbed his temples and asked again, "Does it look good?"
Zhao Shu stared intently at her and nodded solemnly, "Beautiful."
Mo Yinghuo noticed that his gaze was fixed on her and felt a little strange. After a while, she realized what he meant and burst into another hearty laugh. "Zhao Shu, I meant, is the medicine-powered puppet pretty? I wasn't talking about me."
Zhao Shu turned his head away, his earlobes reddening from the sparks, whether from embarrassment or not.
Mo Yinghuo stood aside, arms crossed, secretly gloating, thinking to herself, "It seems this princess has come out on top."
"Your Highness." Suddenly, a voice with tremendous force pierced through the air and rushed towards the two of them.
Mo Yinghuo was overjoyed when he saw Granny Shen and Zhu Chunhua squeezing out from the crowd. "Granny, why are you two here at Yanxi Tower in the middle of the night instead of staying in the manor?"
Zhu Chunhua hurriedly bowed and said happily, "Your Highness, Lord Zhao, look at the medicine-making puppets! These are even better than the ones Your Highness took us to see at the First Prince's place last time."
Granny Shen looked at the two of them thoughtfully and couldn't help but ask, "Your Highness, aren't we at the Northern Camp?"
Mo Yinghuo: "I had something to do, so I came back for a visit. I'll go back in a few days. By the way, did you deliver all the remaining gunpowder to Shurong that I asked you to do last time?"
Granny Shen whispered, "We've already had people from the Ministry of War escort it, and it's been safely handed over to Vice General Shu."
Mo Yinghuo winked at Granny Chen with a sly look, "Granny Chen, do you know the big boss of Yanxi Tower?"
Granny Shen nodded. "Your Highness, would you like a private room arranged?"
Mo Yinghuo glanced at Zhao Shu, and seeing that he didn't say anything, he continued, "Well, I'd like to invite Lord Zhao to try the famous wine from Yunxiu Kingdom."
Granny Shen immediately gave Zhu Chunhua a wink, and the two of them walked towards Yanxi Tower one after the other.
"His Majesty truly possesses the talent to govern the country. In just five years, he has created a prosperous and peaceful Yunxiu Kingdom." Mo Yinghuo leaned against the railing of the long corridor, holding a wine cup, and spoke casually. Seeing that Zhao Shu was merely sitting upright on the round stool, with the wine on the table untouched, she asked, "Zhao Shu, this is the famous Xuan wine of Yunxiu Kingdom. Would you like to try some?"
Zhao Shu: "Isn't there also a woman's fragrance?"
Mo Yinghuo almost choked, his lips twitched, and he quickly said, "Well, I only come here to drink. Besides, Yanxi Tower is a gathering place for literati and scholars, not some kind of brothel. Young Master Zhao, don't overthink it."
Zhao Shu picked up his wine glass, drank it all in one gulp, and then poured himself several more glasses. He remained expressionless after finishing them.
Mo Yinghuo laughed, "So it turns out Young Master Zhao can hold his liquor. I thought you weren't drinking because you were out of alcohol."
Zhao Shu: "Even so, you still keep urging me to drink."
Mo Yinghuo raised an eyebrow, deliberately remaining silent.
Zhao Shu suddenly asked softly, "You know, don't you? Back then, when the King of Dongliang..."
Mo Yinghuo's hand suddenly trembled as he listened to the melodious music coming from downstairs. "What do you know?"
Zhao Shu looked at her without saying a word.
Mo Yinghuo suddenly lowered her eyes and looked down at the bustling crowd for a long time. She whispered, "Yes, so that old palace maid who couldn't speak was my long-lost mother. She..." Mo Yinghuo took a deep breath, her voice choked with emotion, "...just like the King of Dongliang. No wonder King Hunxie always said that my mother was in the palace, but my father turned the entire palace upside down and couldn't find her at all. At that time, who could have imagined it, who could have believed it, so my mother didn't say anything."
Zhao Shu sat down beside her and asked softly, "Are you still cold?"
Mo Yinghuo looked up at the dazzling starry sky and the surging crowd. She suddenly said softly, "Zhao Shu, sometimes I feel like everything I've experienced is a dream. Since childhood, so many unbelievable things have happened. I've watched the people around me die one by one because of me, yet nothing has changed. Five years of war, ruthless battles and glorious achievements—what good are they? The soldiers around me may be gone tomorrow. I feel trapped here, unable to leave no matter how I try. To those people of Shiling Kingdom who can control the situation, I'm probably just an ant. Zhao Shu, if you hadn't come, what would Yunxiu Kingdom be like? The common people, the chaotic situation, a dream of fleeting glory—that would be more despairing than war itself."
Zhao Shu gave a soft "hmm".
“So, recently, when I look up at the starry sky, I suddenly feel a sense of disorientation. It seems that personal life and death are not such important or unimportant matters. Yunxiu Kingdom is but a speck of dust in this universe, and what are people? However, since I am alive, I will live one day at a time. Whether the Bloodthirsty Gu can be completely cured or not, it doesn’t matter. As a prince or princess of Yunxiu Kingdom, I must do my best to accomplish what my father did not finish.” Mo Yinghuo paused, smiled, and continued, “Just like my father, who never gave up waiting; just like my mother, who protected me and my brother until her death.”
Zhao Shu listened quietly the whole time. Suddenly, Mo Yinghuo turned around and asked softly, "Zhao Shu, the Milky Way is vast. What is your journey there?"
For some reason, Mo Yinghuo had been feeling quite melancholy lately. The Yunxiu Kingdom was vast, while they were huddled in this corner. If Zhao Shu left, where could she find him, and how could she get there? The thought filled Mo Yinghuo with immense fear; the stars and moon were vast and indescribable.
Zhao Shu was stunned for a long time, seemingly confused. Seeing this, Mo Yinghuo tilted his head back and drank the wine in his glass in one gulp, then laughed and said, "Zhao Shu, I was just asking out of boredom."
The stars are brilliant, and mountains and rivers pale in comparison. She felt that this person should not be tainted by worldly affairs. She never dared to dream of a future with him, and could only live for the moment, cherishing every moment she spent with him.
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