56. Falling into the Water
It was supposed to be a chrysanthemum viewing banquet. The young men were surrounded by flowers and laughing while enjoying the scenery by the lake. But for some reason there was a commotion among the crowd and one fell into the water in a panic.
It was already cold in autumn, and now that he had fallen into the water, there were screams in the yard.
Xuanyuan He pursed his lips and looked indifferently at the lively rescue scene in front of him. Then, when everyone was rescued, he walked forward and began to make arrangements.
Qin Duan arrived late, and as soon as he saw the officials, he exclaimed in regret and kept apologizing to them for his poor arrangements.
"It was all my negligence. I must make amends. I will send some precious medicinal herbs as an apology. I hope nothing happens to you, gentlemen."
"...Nothing, nothing, thank you, Your Highness."
The officials had forced smiles on their faces, not daring to blame the eldest prince, but they were filled with anger in their hearts.
Xuanyuan He looked serious, but there was a smile on the corner of his lips, which he concealed calmly when others looked at him.
The young men who fell into the water were shivering, wrapped in blankets, and then were taken by servants to the side room to rest and change clothes. It was a wonderful flower-viewing banquet, but all the young men who were dressed up fell into the water, and the banquet ended in a bad mood.
If you keep going back and forth like this, you're bound to catch a cold and won't be able to go out for a while.
The flower viewing party ended in a bad mood and they didn't have much fun. Cui Mingyu and Yun Zhihe walked towards the carriage. Just as they were about to mount the horses, a voice sounded behind them.
"Jinniang..."
Yun Zhihe paused, then turned and looked at Qin Duan.
Qin Duan walked over slowly, holding a hand warmer in his hand, and handed it to Yun Zhihe. He felt the coolness of her fingers and chuckled.
"You don't know how to take care of yourself, your fingers are cold."
Yun Zhihe frowned. She didn't understand why he was so close yet so distant. He had done so many bad things yet still pretended to be intimate.
Perhaps she was annoyed and unhappy, so she didn't say anything, but just looked at Qin Duan's face stubbornly.
Qin Duan still glanced away, stroking her palm with trembling fingertips.
He pursed his lips and spoke in a low voice.
"...Don't look at me like that, brother."
"...But I can no longer see through my brother."
Her voice was cold.
Qin Duan was stunned for a moment, but then he regained his impeccable smile.
"Jinniang really loves to joke."
Still gentle and full of smiles.
Yun Zhihe picked up the hand warmer and was about to leave, but just as she was about to turn around, she heard him ask softly.
"So what if I marry my brother when I grow up?"
Yun Zhihe stopped, pursed her lips and spoke.
"Yes, it doesn't count."
"…It's just a child's joke."
She said nothing more and turned away.
When they got on the carriage, something could be seen on her face. Cui Mingyu propped up his head and looked at her for a while, then suddenly started teasing her.
"I haven't seen you angry in a long time."
Yun Zhihe pursed her lips and looked at the hand warmer in her hand without answering.
"Tsk..." Cui Mingyu seemed to be frustrated and asked for trouble. He lifted the curtain and looked up at Yun Zhihe to signal her.
"But the eldest prince seems like a foolish boy. Look, he's standing there, looking at the carriage."
“Hmm…” Cui Mingyu stretched out his hand through the curtain and felt it.
"It's raining."
"The eldest prince is still standing there. Isn't he afraid of catching a cold?"
Yun Zhihe paused, then stuck his head out from behind the curtain to look.
She saw Qin Duan standing in the hazy drizzle that had just begun, his body covered with a moon-like mist. He just stood there, elegant and graceful, with his head slightly raised, as if he were alone in the world.
Yun Zhihe didn't know if his words were too cruel, and was about to ask him to go back quickly.
Before she could say anything, she saw him smiling from afar. She could see his brilliant smile, which was especially beautiful in the misty rain.
He waved from a distance, and the drizzle was still clearly falling on his face.
Yun Zhihe stopped talking, lowered his eyes and turned his head away.
Cui Mingyu, who had come closer out of curiosity, said, "Huh... but when you stretched it back, he left..."
Cui Mingyu blinked, a smile on his face. "Why? It seems more like that crazy girl Yuan'er. What about you two? Aren't you the eldest prince's biological sisters?"
Yun Zhihe glanced at her and told her to shut up.
Cui Mingyu sighed and returned to his seat.
After returning home, Uncle Wang still murmured with regret and complained, "Why did something like this happen when everything was fine? And all the people who fell into the water were the sons of wealthy families... Oh..."
"We originally wanted to pick a few people, but they all ended up contracting typhoid fever after falling into the water."
He sighed softly.
Yun Zhihe didn't listen carefully. She was just wondering who the figure behind Qin Duan was and why he wanted to help cover up. What did the two of them talk about in secret?
Qin Duan's attitude seemed to have known about the fall into the water for a long time and he didn't care at all, but he felt extremely guilty when facing the officials.
Perhaps... he was the one who planned the drowning incident, and his purpose was to divert attention, allowing the dark shadow that was talking secretly to sneak in or leave silently, so that no one could detect any clues.
The flower viewing banquet may be a cover for secret talks.
Yun Zhihe took a deep breath and paused.
She had been troubled a lot lately, and she rubbed her forehead impatiently.
It was still early, but the drizzle was making her feel drowsy, so she wanted to go back to sleep.
As soon as she entered the door, she saw Xuanyuan Ying.
Xuanyuan Ying stood in Yun Zhihe's room, looking down at the unfinished memorial on her desk, then raised his eyes when he heard the sound at the door.
The two looked at each other, and the scene was particularly quiet.
He probably came in the drizzle, and his face, shoulders and body were slightly wet with rain, but the rest of his appearance was still solemn and stern.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty..."
Yun Zhihe spoke a little confusedly, then turned to look at... Lou Zhi next to him?
Lou Zhi was covered in rain. He skillfully picked up a piece of soft silk cloth in Yun Zhihe's room and wiped his hair.
When Yun Zhihe pushed the door open, he looked at her again, his eyes calm.
Xuanyuan Ying opened his mouth but said nothing. He looked at Yun Zhihe with a complicated expression and gestured to Lou Zhi.
Lou Zhi paused, then climbed out of the window, leaving only two people behind.
Obviously, it was Lou Zhi who brought Xuanyuan Ying here.
Xuanyuan Ying slowly approached him. There was silence between the two of them. Suddenly, he spoke.
"Drinking last night...what did I say?"
"……nothing."
She chuckled softly, with the respect of a courtier. "Your Majesty was troubled, so he only spoke briefly about state affairs, and then fell asleep."
Xuanyuan Ying's eyes were somewhat complicated, and he said "hmm" softly and said no more.
Perhaps they still had doubts in their hearts, and the atmosphere between them was still very strange.
In order to break the dull atmosphere, Xuanyuan Ying considered for a moment, "Jinniang... I heard that you are planning to get married these days?"
Yun Zhihe nodded, "I do have this plan, but I haven't found a suitable husband yet."
His eyes were dazed for a moment, and he pursed his lips. "If there is a candidate, please tell me and I will check it for you."
...No.
He didn't want to be the one to screen her.
No one is worthy of the bright moon, not even him.
All Xuanyuan Ying could do was to make some dark moves in secret, like a resentful and vicious husband.
He concealed the desolate emotion in his eyes.
The two chatted casually for a while, and in the silent atmosphere, Xuanyuan Ying said goodbye.
Lou Zhi heard the noise and walked into the room. Seeing the strange atmosphere between the two, Yun Zhihe chuckled at him.
Lou Zhi paused, his ears turning red, then he picked up Xuanyuan Ying and used his Qinggong skills to leave.
He stood on the roof and asked Xuanyuan Ying softly.
"Can I have her?"
“…I like her very much.”
Xuanyuan Ying suddenly frowned, his expression a little confused.
The two looked at each other for a long time, and Xuanyuan Ying seemed to speak with difficulty.
"……Can't."
Lou Zhi was silent for a moment, thought about himself, and then looked at Xuanyuan Ying.
...He couldn't seem to get it.
It is still the same, Xuanyuan Ying is high above, and he is just dirt.
Lou Zhi said nothing more.
At the same time, Xuanyuan He in the East Palace was lying casually on the bed, shaking his white legs.
Then he couldn't help but chuckle inexplicably in the hall. His voice was the clear voice of a young man and extremely pleasant to the ear.
“Hahahahaha…”
He casually played with the jade pendant in his hand, with tears in his eyes from laughter. He wiped away the tears with his fingertips in amusement, thinking about what happened today.
He sneered and said to the shadow guard beside him.
"Hahahaha... you, you don't know, the expressions of those young men, falling into the water and screaming, well, hahahaha... it's like they've killed someone..."
"It's really hilarious...hahahaha..."
The more sadly the young man who fell into the water sobbed, the happier he was laughing.
Yes, that's what he did.
The young masters invited were those chosen by Uncle Wang for their good character and academic performance, as well as good husbands and fathers. Under the guise of a flower-viewing banquet, they were all thrown into the water one by one.
After all, I won’t be able to seduce others for a long time.
...Tsk.
As if he thought of something, Xuanyuan He's expression suddenly became gloomy.
The only regret is that Qin Duan did not allow anyone to die, and later gave excellent medicinal herbs to those stupid young masters.
...It's really unlucky.
Are they worthy of Yun Zhihe?
Not worthy at all. Was it because of status? Or appearance? Clearly, none of them were as good as him.
...Only he is worthy of it.
He is not old enough yet, but he will definitely grow up like a sprout, his slender waist will become more flexible, and his legs will become longer.
If she likes mature men, he will become like that. Xuanyuan He has always been good at pretending, so it is not difficult for him to pretend for a lifetime.
Xuanyuan He laughed again and casually threw away the jade pendant he was playing with with his fingertips.
The jade pendant was made of extremely fine material, smooth and white, a rare and fine jade, but he threw it away in disappointment and disgust, and it hit the ground and broke into two pieces.
He originally wanted to get a piece of fine jade to carve a crane for her.
But, this jade pendant is not worthy of her.
Yun Zhihe was the bright moon in the sky, and Xuanyuan He was lying lazily on the bed, looking at the ceiling.
He will catch the moon.
The moon can only shine on him.
...He won't give up.
However... it is easy to prevent Yun Zhihe from choosing a husband. Just send someone to kill that Uncle Wang. Given Yun Zhihe's personality, even if he is her wet-father, she will insist on observing the three-year mourning period and not getting married.
Moreover, if he kills that Uncle Wang, he won't have to cooperate with Qin Duan's plan, and it will be straightforward.
Xuanyuan He originally wanted to do this, but after thinking about it, he gave up the idea.
He let out a dull breath and closed his eyes.
She will be sad.
He didn't want to make her sad.
...that's all.
The author has something to say:
This fall into the water was Qin Duan's way of killing two birds with one stone. First, he wanted to prevent Yun Zhihe from marrying a husband, and second, he wanted to take the opportunity to have a secret conversation with someone.
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