Chapter 50 My Heart Belongs Only to One Person (Part 7) The Trap
"To welcome Prince Ke back to the capital, Ye Yixiang was specially appointed to assist Princess Zhaoning in hosting a banquet at Yaoyan Pavilion."
Ye Yixiang bowed her head and kowtowed: "This humble woman receives the imperial decree."
The eunuch delivering the imperial decree looked her down and said, "Miss Ye, Yaoyan Pavilion is not close to where you are. Once you are ready, please come with me. The carriages are already waiting outside the mansion."
"Thank you for informing me, sir," Ye Yixiang replied softly.
Chun Tan cleverly took out a bag of silver coins from his sleeve and stuffed it into the bag: "Please wait a moment, sir, while my lady tidies up her appearance."
Eunuch Zhang weighed the money pouch in his hand, his smile becoming more genuine: "Miss Chun Tan, you're too kind." He then casually slipped the money pouch into his sleeve.
Back in the room, Chun Tan helped her with her makeup while whispering worriedly, "Madam, please be careful tonight."
"What's wrong?" Ye Yixiang asked, adjusting her hair in front of the mirror.
Chun Tan frowned as she tied the sash of her coat: "Although Yaoyan Pavilion is a royal banquet hall, Prince Ke's status is special... This servant is worried that the Empress Dowager's actions have ulterior motives. Moreover, Princess Zhaoning is also present, so I'm afraid it will be difficult to deal with."
"It's alright." Ye Yixiang picked up the jade comb, her eyes calm. "We'll deal with whatever comes our way."
After getting ready, Chun Tan followed her into the carriage. Yao Yan Pavilion was situated on a gentle slope in the imperial city, surrounded by lush flowers and trees, the newly sprouted buds gleaming golden in the setting sun, creating a unique and charming atmosphere.
Ye Yixiang ascended the steps, and before even entering the hall, she heard Zhao Ning's rebuke:
"Foreign officials sit on the right, and members of the imperial family on the left! Do I have to repeat even this simple rule? Take these tables down and rearrange them!"
The palace servants knelt on the ground, pleading, "Princess, please calm your anger!"
"How can the Imperial Uncle use such a wine vessel? Bring me a white jade cup instead!"
"But His Highness Prince Ke has instructed that he only uses gold utensils..."
"Insolence!" Zhao Ning interrupted sharply, "Who do you think you are to question my decision? Do you want to be dragged to the back mountain and fed to the dogs?"
"This servant knows his mistake! This servant will go and change it right away!"
"Get out!"
When Ye Yixiang entered the hall, Zhao Ning turned to look at her, her gaze complex and unreadable.
"You've come at the right time. Quickly, help me take a look at these dishes." Zhao Ning's tone still carried her usual arrogance, but it had lost some of its former sharpness. As Ye Yixiang approached, she lowered her voice and said, "Yesterday, Brother Shaoheng told me... you're also a pitiful person. Although I still dislike you, I won't make things difficult for you anymore."
These words, like the sudden crack of spring ice, stirred ripples across the tranquil lake of Ye Yixiang's heart. She maintained a composed smile, but her fingers unconsciously tightened around her sleeves. What had Xiao Mo said that stirred such pity in this spoiled princess? Had he mentioned her turbulent past, or those untold hardships?
"Your Highness is too kind." She lowered her eyes, concealing the thoughts in them, and spoke softly, like a spring breeze rustling willows. "It is my honor to share your burdens."
She carefully inquired about the guests' identities, then picked up her jade-tipped brush and began to write on the paper. As the brush moved across the paper, she repeatedly pondered Zhao Ning's words. Xiao Mo was indeed a gentleman; he had even gone to great lengths to help her.
By the time everything was arranged, the lanterns were already lit. The palace lanterns lit up one after another, adorning the Yaoyan Pavilion with a dreamlike beauty.
Officials in brocade robes gathered in twos and threes, their laughter and chatter filling the air.
"His Majesty's illness came on fiercely, but it also passed quickly," an official dressed in a peacock-patterned robe murmured, stroking his beard.
"Your Majesty has found the prince who had been living among the common people, and he is also the most valiant general of our dynasty. Now that my younger brother has returned to the court, it is clear that our dynasty is indeed blessed by Heaven."
The ladies at the banquet were adorned with dazzling jewels. Several noblewomen, holding silk embroidered fans, half-concealed their lips, their eyes darting around the room.
"Look at the gold phoenix hairpin with filigree in the hair of Minister Li's daughter; it's probably worth a villa on the outskirts of Chang'an."
"If you ask me, the moon-shine brocade that Miss Xiao wore is truly rare. I heard that the weaving bureau only gets one piece every three years."
Ye Yixiang followed Zhao Ning to her seat. Her gaze swept over the gilded palace gate time and time again. She held her breath slightly when each dark figure appeared, and when that unfamiliar face turned around, she loosened her clenched, white fingers.
"Don't wait anymore." Zhao Ning gently tugged at her sleeve. "My brother has been punished by my grandmother to kneel in the ancestral hall and can't come tonight."
Ye Yixiang's hand holding the chopsticks trembled slightly, and the delicacies on the table suddenly lost their flavor. The clamor in the room receded like the tide, and she sat alone in this glitz and clamor, as if she were on a deserted island.
The hall was brightly lit by candles, and the moment the figure in black stepped in, it seemed as if all the radiance was gathered into one. Chu Xi was peerless in beauty, yet her eyes held an eerie quality that was not of her kind. The half-smile on her lips was like a stone thrown into a deep pool, and many of the young ladies present blushed quietly.
The commotion immediately subsided, and a unified voice rang out: "Long live His Highness Prince Ke!"
"Please, everyone, do not stand on ceremony." He waved his wide sleeves lightly, his voice as clear as shattered jade. "Today is just an ordinary family banquet, so please enjoy yourselves."
Zhao Ning, holding the silver chopsticks, scoffed lightly: "A vase with nothing but an empty shell."
Chu Xi seemed not to hear him and took his seat in the main seat: "I have been traveling beyond the Great Wall for several months and have brought some exotic delicacies to share with you all." He clapped his hands three times, and more than ten veiled girls filed in carrying silver platters. The pastries on the platters were carved into the shape of intricate flowers, each adorned with gold leaf, displaying extraordinary extravagance.
"Bringing spring into the room, I hope you will not find it too crude."
The last young woman approached the main table, her delicate hand trembling slightly. The instant the silver tray was placed on it—a flash of cold light! A dagger was thrust straight at Chu Xi's throat!
The entire room was horrified.
"Ah!" A noblewoman with her hair styled in a high bun accidentally knocked over a plate and a cup.
"Assassin! Assassin!" The young lady next to her was so frightened that she fell off her embroidered stool. The phoenix hairpin with pearls in it broke off with a crack, and the pearls shattered and rolled all over the ground.
Chu Xi didn't even flinch, instead grabbing the girl's wrist with his other hand. The dagger clattered to the ground. He ran his fingertips over her trembling pulse point, then suddenly chuckled, "Who sent you?"
The girl suddenly drew a second dagger from her deerskin boots, the blade reflecting her crimson eyes: "I'll make you pay with your life!"
Ye Yixiang suddenly stood up—that roar was clearly…
"Lingrou! Stop!"
Chu Xi easily removed the weapon and, as the girl struggled, pulled her into his arms. His warm lips brushed against the girl's earlobe, and he whispered like a lover's murmur: "I've been looking for you for so long... and you've finally shown yourself."
"Protect the Emperor! Protect the Emperor!" The old eunuch's shrill voice pierced the hall, but Chu Xi, seated at the head of the table, remained calmly holding his cup.
As the Imperial Guards surged in with halberds, he casually waved his hand and said, "Step back." But his fingertips caressed the back of the neck of the woman in his arms, like stroking a cat with its fur standing on end. "My wife is naughty and has disturbed you all."
Chu Xi picked up his wine cup and raised it to the crowd, saying, "Continue." The amber wine reflected the dark light in his eyes. "Family matters are none of your concern."
He held Ye Lingrou captive in his arms, her eyes burning with a raging inferno. "What family matter? It's a national feud!" Her voice was hoarse, yet every word was filled with anguish. "You killed my father, and I will make you pay with your life!"
The candlelight in the hall seemed to flicker in shock at the accusation, and the once noisy banquet fell into a deathly silence. The officials froze on the spot, the women clutched their silk handkerchiefs tightly, and even Zhao Ning was so startled that she let go, and her silver chopsticks fell to the ground with a crisp sound.
Chu Xi chuckled softly, his fingertips casually twirling a strand of the girl's hair as he leaned close to her ear. His warm breath brushed against her taut temples, but the words he uttered seemed to freeze the air around them:
"Shh—" His voice was as soft as a lover's whisper, yet his dark, python-patterned sleeve had subtly concealed half her face. "There are too many people around. If you continue to say such foolish things..."
He glanced at Ye Yixiang, whose face was pale, and slowly ran his fingertips across Ye Lingrou's trembling lips: "I have no choice but to have someone take you away first." Feeling the person in his arms suddenly stiffen, he chuckled and brought his lips close to her ear, "Rou'er, be good, if you keep making a fuss, you'll implicate others."
"Everyone in the Prince's mansion is dead, only I survive!" Ye Lingrou suddenly looked up, tears splashing from the corners of her eyes onto his gold-embroidered python pattern. "Kill me or torture me, it's all up to you!"
Chu Xi suddenly closed his fingers, and gently pressed the cool jade thumb ring against her lips. This seemingly intimate gesture turned all of Ye Lingrou's unfinished accusations into broken sobs.
He lowered his gaze to her reddened eyes, but the pressure in his fingers did not loosen in the slightest. Instead, he used this restraining position to press the girl even tighter into his embrace. The ferocious python patterns embroidered in gold thread on his black python robe almost seemed to be branded into her thin spring dress.
"They're all dead?" Chu Xi chuckled softly, his warm breath brushing against her damp temples. His voice was so soft that only the two of them could hear it. "Then, Rou'er, have you survived these past six years by living on the open air? Or..." His fingertips lightly traced her slender neck, "...someone has been secretly protecting you all along?"
Ye Lingrou trembled, a hint of panic flashing in her eyes, but she stubbornly turned her face away.
The candlelight flickered uneasily throughout the hall, casting shifting shadows on everyone's faces. The officials bowed their heads, staring intently at the exquisite porcelain plates before them. The women even held their breath, fearing that the slightest sound might bring disaster.
Ye Yixiang clenched her fists tightly in her sleeve, her nails digging deep into her palms. How could Ling Rou be so impulsive, attempting an assassination at the banquet, and now she's in Chu Xi's hands!
Chu Xi picked up the white jade wine cup in front of her and held it to Ye Lingrou's lips, her voice gentle: "After all this commotion, would you like some?"
Ye Lingrou pursed her lips tightly and turned her head away in resistance.
He wasn't annoyed. With a slight twist of his wrist, he drank the wine in his cup in one gulp. Then, leaning down, amidst Ye Yixiang's suddenly contracting pupils and the gasps of the entire hall, he captured the lips of the girl in his arms.
This bold move made everyone lower their heads in tacit understanding.
Ye Lingrou struggled violently, her hands bound behind her back, all her resistance turning into futile sobs. Tears finally broke free, mingled with humiliation, sliding down between their tightly pressed lips.
After a long while, Chu Xi slowly stepped back, his fingertips tracing her slightly swollen lips, his eyes filled with a dark gloom.
"It tastes good," he murmured, as if commenting on wine, or perhaps on a person.
Ye Lingrou trembled all over, her eyes filled with shattered hatred and deep despair.
Chu Xi's fingertips lingered on her lips, his eyes swirling with unspoken emotions, yet he merely instructed his attendants, "Send the Princess back to her residence." He deliberately emphasized the word "Princess," as if branding his prey, "Be careful, if she is injured in the slightest, you will be held responsible."
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