Chapter 174 Seeking Help, Yi Xingyao
"Back then, it was she who sent me into the palace, severing the connection between us..."
In the candlelight, Narcissus lowered her head, her voice very soft, yet revealing an undisguised shyness.
Yi Xingyao clenched his hands at his sides, as if he had sensed something, and the darkness in his eyes softened slightly.
“Go on.”
The man's voice was low, revealing little emotion, but Shui Xian had witnessed his madness before and knew that Yi Xingyao's emotions were currently calm.
She didn't change her clothes immediately. Instead, she held the coarse cotton dress and slowly sat down on the edge of the bed, her shoulders seemingly unable to bear any more weight.
Shui Xian remained silent. Yi Xingyao waited for her for a while, and just as a hint of impatience appeared in the man's eyes, Shui Xian raised her head at just the right moment.
When Yi Xingyao saw her expression, he was touched. It turned out that Shui Xian's eyes were filled with tears, revealing a tenderness that was completely different from her previous resistance.
Yes, tenderness.
Something in Yi Xingyao's heart seemed to soften for a moment, and he heard Shuixian choke out:
"Do you know that back in the Yi residence... I... I wasn't entirely indifferent to you..."
Although Narcissus's voice was weak, it sounded like thunder to Yi Xingyao.
His burning gaze was fixed on the narcissus, and he said in a hoarse voice, "What did you say?!"
Narcissus avoided his piercing gaze, seemingly ashamed to speak, yet filled with boundless regret, and whispered:
"At that time, I was of lowly status and dared not even dream of such things..."
"But with the general's heroic bearing, which maid in the manor didn't secretly admire him? How happy I was when the general invited me into his room, yet..."
She paused at just the right moment, leaving room for imagination.
Yi Xingyao's heart was in his throat, and after waiting for a long time, it still wouldn't settle down. Naturally, the man was anxious and wished he could help her move her lips and say what he wanted to hear.
After learning that Narcissus had entered the palace, he wrote a letter to his mother to inquire about her.
The mother said that she had given Shui Xian a choice, but Shui Xian, for the sake of wealth and status in the palace, begged her to conceal the fact that she had been carried into Yi Xingyao's room.
Yi Xingyao believed it too, thinking that Shui Xian was indeed the vain person that Madam Yi had described.
Now, Narcissus is saying that she once had feelings for him...
Yi Xingyao felt a ringing in his ears and couldn't tell where the sound was coming from for a moment. Only after he realized it was the pounding of his heart in his chest.
His throat was dry and hoarse for a moment, and he held Shui Xian's hand but couldn't make a sound. Shui Xian saw that his thin lips were slightly parted, so she continued to speak on her own, interrupting Yi Xingyao's unspoken words.
"But who could have imagined..."
"The lady... she so resolutely sent me to the palace. What was destroyed was not just that faint hope, but... my entire life."
She raised her tearful eyes and looked at Yi Xingyao with a sorrowful gaze. It seemed like an unintentional remark, but it was actually a carefully planned provocation by Shui Xian.
"If...if Madam hadn't sent me to the palace, perhaps...perhaps many things that happened afterward wouldn't have occurred..."
What Shui Xian wanted was to sow discord between Yi Xingyao and Madam Yi.
She only has a chance to escape if there is a rift between them.
Narcissus seemed to be wiping away tears, lowering her head slightly, but this concealed the calculation that flashed in her eyes.
Yi Xingyao was so shaken that he didn't notice the unusual behavior of the narcissus.
Narcissus's words were like a key, reminding him of many past events.
He recalled how, when the war in the Northwest had just ended, he couldn't wait to write a letter asking his mother to send daffodils to the Northwest to keep him company.
At that time, all he could think about was that little maid who had always been unknown in the mansion, yet whom he longed for.
But what did her mother say to her back then?
The mother only said that her health was not good and that she needed to keep Shui Xian by her side to take care of her and fulfill her filial duties on his behalf.
He did not have a legally married wife; he took his concubines with him when he left.
However, because Shui Xian said softly that she couldn't bear the bitter cold of the Northwest for a while and was reluctant to part with Yi Guichun, whom she had served for so long, she asked him to wait a while before taking her over.
Serving his mother was indeed Shui Xian's duty as the only person in the Yi household who remained with him.
Therefore, Yi Xingyao tacitly approved of his mother's actions.
Unexpectedly, when he received news of Narcissus again, it was because she had taken Yi Guichun's place in the imperial harem and become one of Emperor Zhaoheng's three thousand beauties!
When Yi Xingyao learned the news, he was extremely anxious and wished he could rush to the palace to question Shui Xian.
However.
He was too busy with military affairs in the Northwest to find an opportunity to go back, so he could only write a letter to question his mother.
What did my mother say back then...?
Yi Xingyao gradually emerged from his memories, his deep eyes filled with surprise as he stared at the daffodils in front of him.
How could this be?!
He had assumed that Narcissus was as vain as his mother had said, but...
Now, listening to what Shui Xian is saying... did she actually have feelings for him back then?
Why...why did her mother have to send her away in such a hurry? Without even waiting for him to come back and discuss it?
A suspicion about Madam Yi, which Yi Xingyao had been unwilling to admit, flashed through his mind.
Narcissus observed his ever-changing expression and knew that the time was right, so she gently added another handful of firewood, her tone tinged with self-mockery.
"It was just wishful thinking on my part... The lady used to admonish us, saying that General, you are in the Northwest... You have beautiful women and confidantes by your side, how could you possibly remember a vulgar maid in your household?"
"My wife told me not to have such unrealistic dreams..."
"Nonsense!"
Yi Xingyao's face was ashen. He paced back and forth, "I fought bloody battles in the Northwest, always ready for battle. How could I have a confidante?!"
Although he had women around him, he was not truly interested in any of them; his heart belonged only to Narcissus from beginning to end.
Yi Xingyao felt increasingly uneasy. His mother knew his feelings for Shuixian, yet she fabricated a story about him having another woman in front of Shuixian when he left home…
Just as Yi Xingyao's emotions were churning and his trust in his mother was beginning to crumble, a series of hurried footsteps suddenly came from outside the courtyard.
And the sounds of assassins trying to intercept them, and Madam Yi's furious voice.
"Madam... the general has ordered that no one should disturb you!"
"Get out of my way! I want to see what kind of spell that little bitch has cast on my son!"
The person who came was none other than Madam Yi!
She actually barged in despite being stopped!
With a loud bang, the door was pushed open forcefully.
Madam Yi was not dressed in fine clothes; she wore a dark brown long dress, and her face showed anger and weariness from her journey.
The assassins had little chance of stopping her, fearing she might cause a disturbance in the dead of night.
As soon as she entered the room, her gaze was like a knife as she looked at Narcissus, who was holding a cotton dress. Especially when she saw Yi Xingyao standing to the side with a complicated expression, Madam Yi's anger reached its peak.
"Yi Xingyao! Are you crazy?!"
Madam Yi pointed at Narcissus and said sternly, "This vile woman who killed your sister and ruined the entire Yi family! Not only did you bring her here, you also let her bewitch you!"
"Have you forgotten how Chun'er died?! Have you forgotten how our Yi family fell to this state?!"
The moment Madam Yi burst in, Shui Xian, like a startled fawn, jumped up from the edge of the bed and stumbled behind Yi Xingyao.
She awkwardly tugged at Yi Xingyao's hem with her fingertips. The moment Yi Xingyao noticed her movement, he instinctively stiffened at the waist, and a warm current surged through his heart.
"General..."
Narcissus seemed startled, and under Madam Yi's murderous gaze, she slowly released her fingertips.
"My wife still won't let me go..."
Her completely dependent, fearful, and helpless demeanor contrasted sharply with Madam Yi's aggressive attitude.
This greatly stimulated Yi Xingyao's protective instincts, coupled with his existing dissatisfaction with his mother.
"Mother!"
Yi Xingyao instinctively pulled the narcissus even tighter behind him, and meeting Madam Yi's angry gaze, he questioned her for the first time in a accusatory tone:
"If you hadn't kept it from me and sent her to the palace while I was away, none of this would have happened. Was Chun'er's death and the downfall of the Yi family entirely her fault?!"
Madam Yi trembled with rage at her son's outrageous words, staring at him in disbelief: "You...you actually dared to talk back to me for this slut?!"
Madam Yi was furious. "Whom did I send her to the palace for? Wasn't it for the future of the Yi family! So that you could have someone to rely on in the palace!"
"Assistance?"
Yi Xingyao sneered, Shui Xian's words echoing in his mind, "You're pushing her into a fire pit! If you really care about me, why didn't you wait for me to come back?"
The mother and son were on the verge of a fight, and a fierce argument broke out in the small room. Shui Xian huddled behind Yi Xingyao, seemingly afraid, but actually calmly observing everything.
She noticed that because of Madam Yi's sudden intrusion, the guards outside the courtyard were all drawn to her presence, and the originally tight security was briefly disrupted.
Just as Madam Yi was so enraged by Yi Xingyao's words that she felt dizzy, Yi Xingyao ordered his trusted bodyguards to take her out.
Amidst the chaos, Shui Xian, using Yi Xingyao's body as cover, swiftly retrieved a hairpin that she had been hiding in her sleeve—the one she had taken from her hair earlier.
Then, when no one was looking, she quietly slipped the hairpin into an inconspicuous gap between the bed and the wall.
Madam Yi was so angry that her face turned ashen. She pointed at Yi Xingyao and stammered, "You...you..." for a long time before finally losing her breath and fainting.
The assassins hurriedly carried her out of the room to find a doctor, fearing that their master's mother might suddenly die there.
Yi Xingyao watched his mother being carried away, rubbed his temples in frustration, and turned to look at Shui Xian, who was still "shaken".
His voice was complicated: "Don't be afraid..."
Narcissus leaned softly against the bedpost at just the right moment, rubbing her forehead, her voice weak: "General... I feel a little dizzy..."
Seeing this, Yi Xingyao had no choice but to suppress his chaotic thoughts and go forward to check.
As for Narcissus, her gaze swept quickly across a corner of the courtyard outside the window, hidden behind her lowered eyelashes.
Originally, there were hidden guards lurking there, but now, due to the chaos caused by Madam Yi, the place is empty.
The hairpin was right beside her, and Yi Xingyao leaned over to examine it, exposing the man's most vulnerable and fatal feature—his neck—to her.
Perhaps, her chance has come...
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com