Chapter 104 They went to Yunxiang Tower
On the tenth day of house arrest, the tightly closed door of the side hall of Yanying Palace was finally pushed open from the outside.
The light from the sky poured in, reflecting the tall figure of the person.
Yun Zhao looked up, and when she saw the man's face clearly in the backlight, a hint of surprise flashed across her eyes uncontrollably - the person who came was actually King Qin Xiao Yan!
"What's the matter?" Xiao Yan walked slowly into the hall. His eyes accurately caught the flash of surprise on her face, and a hint of ambiguous smile appeared on the corner of his lips. "Are you surprised to see me?"
Yun Zhao suppressed the doubts that were surging in his heart and said calmly, "Why is Your Highness here at this moment?"
Xiao Yan's gaze lingered over her, as if admiring a lost and recovered treasure. His tone carried the ease of someone in control, "Your Majesty is in poor health, unable to see, and sleepless nights, and his spirits are low. I will temporarily oversee the affairs of state." He paused, took a step forward, and said, "Azhao, why shouldn't I release you now?"
Upon hearing this, Yun Zhao's lips curled up in a hint of cold sarcasm. "Right now, isn't the most important thing for Your Highness the Prince of Qin to do to bring your deposed beloved, Su Mingli, back to the palace in style? Why bother meddling in the affairs of a prisoner like me?"
Xiao Yan wasn't angered by her words. Instead, his smile deepened, and his tone even took on a hint of persuasion: "A Zhao, why are you still saying these angry words? My brother...is already in such a state. Ultimately, I can't grant you the throne. But I can."
His eyes were blazing, but his words were filled with ulterior motives, pressing him step by step: "As long as you agree, regardless of whether the Yun family now has military power or not, you will be my only Qin Princess. Now that your father is unemployed at home, his safety and honor depend on others... You are a smart person, you wouldn't wish him a restless old age, right?"
This is an undisguised threat!
Yun Zhao's heart sank, but he forced himself to remain calm. "What exactly does Your Highness want to do? And what do you want me to do for you?"
Seeing her attitude soften, Xiao Yan's eyes flickered with satisfaction. He stepped forward and tried to hold her wrist. His voice became increasingly gentle, trying to evoke their old friendship: "It's simple. Let's just be like before, forget about the unpleasantness, and start over. Isn't that good?"
Yun Zhao violently shook off his hand, took a step back, and distanced himself from him. His voice was cold and hard: "Your Highness, do you think you can go back to the past? So much has happened, and things and people are no longer the same! Don't you understand that spilled water cannot be undone?"
Xiao Yan encountered a setback, but remained unmoved. Instead, he displayed great patience, even offering a somewhat "sincere" apology: "A Zhao, it was indeed my fault in the past. I was blinded by greed and did many things that wronged you. I solemnly apologize to you here today. As long as you are willing to change your heart, not only will your father be reinstated, but you will also remain the unrivaled Princess of Qin. In the future... perhaps even greater honors await you."
It turned out that he wanted to take advantage of the situation and win over the remaining forces of the Yun family.
Yun Zhao understood instantly.
She knew very well that Xiao Yan would never do anything without a purpose. Since he dared to come so blatantly to threaten and bribe her, there must be a deeper plan behind it, and he might even have set up a more vicious trap.
A head-on confrontation at this moment is definitely not the best option.
Her thoughts raced, her tone softened slightly, and she tentatively asked, "If I agree, Your Highness, can you return the military power of my father's Beijing camp?"
Xiao Yan was secretly delighted to see her change of attitude, but his face displayed an expression of embarrassment and concern for her. "Ah Zhao, this matter cannot be rushed. The Duke is suspected of indiscriminately killing refugees, and the case has not yet been finalized. Resuming military command at this time may cause controversy and damage the Duke's reputation. Let's wait for a while. Once the situation subsides, I will do my best to mediate. Of course, I absolutely do not believe the Duke would do such a thing."
Yun Zhao was silent for a moment, as if weighing the pros and cons. Finally, he nodded slowly, his tone calm and unwavering: "...That's fine."
Xiao Yan's face lit up with joy, his smile growing more genuine. "That's right! Come on, I'll take you out of the palace to relax. Let's go to Yunxiang Tower! Remember you love their signature dishes and their ten-year-old wine."
Yun Zhao raised his eyes to look at him, his tone unable to tell whether he was happy or angry: "I didn't expect that Your Highness still remembered all this."
Seeing her response, Xiao Yan spoke with all sorts of details, trying to impress her with memories of the past: "Of course I remember everything. I remember that you loved plum blossoms blooming in the snow, and you loved to paint sparse, dark bamboo. Your most skilled weapon was the soft sword wrapped around your waist, which danced like a silver snake emerging from a cave..."
…
Inside the Purple Palace, the candlelight flickered, yet the atmosphere was oppressive and suffocating.
Zhang Fuan stood in the hall with his head bowed, beads of sweat oozing from his forehead. He secretly raised his eyes several times to glance at the emperor's expression, his lips trembling, as if he wanted to say something but stopped himself.
Xiao Jin irritably put down the book he hadn't turned a page of in a long time. His voice was hoarse from lack of rest, and he was clearly impatient. "Why are you pacing back and forth and hemming and hawing? If you have something to say, just say it! I forgive you!"
Zhang Fuan shuddered with fear, knowing full well that he couldn't keep this a secret. He had no choice but to bite the bullet and report in a trembling voice, "Your Majesty... Your Majesty... Consort Yun... She... She left the palace with His Royal Highness the Prince of Qin..."
Upon hearing this, Xiao Jin paused flipping through the report, his brow furrowed in a frown. His grip on the paper subconsciously tightened, his knuckles turning white from the strain. But he managed to maintain a hint of calm in his voice, "Leave the palace if you will. I've confined her, but I haven't said I'll keep her imprisoned for life. It's good for her to get out for a walk... and some fresh air."
Zhang Fuan watched the emperor's expression darken instantly, his heart growing increasingly uneasy. He added cautiously, "Yes... yes, they went to Yunxiang Tower. I heard... I heard that it was at Yunxiang Tower that His Royal Highness the Prince of Qin expressed his feelings for the Concubine Shang and gave her a token of love... But don't worry, Your Majesty! The Concubine Shang has always been the most sober and rational, and knows what's important and what's not. Marshal Yun is in a delicate situation now. She must have just been playing coy with the Prince of Qin, trying to find a way out for the Yun family. She would never really..."
"That's enough!" Xiao Jin interrupted him abruptly, his back teeth clattering. A nameless rage, a mixture of anger, bitterness, and sharp pain, suddenly surged in his chest, burning his internal organs. "She can do whatever she wants now! I can't control it, and I don't want to! Yunxianglou... Good, what a great Yunxianglou!"
Seeing that the emperor, though furious, still retained a shred of rationality, Zhang Fuan hurriedly offered another aide, cautiously saying, "Your Majesty, calm down! The food and wine at Yunxianglou are truly exceptional, quite renowned in the capital, and overflowing with guests daily. How about... you go there and try some? You haven't left the palace to relax in a while, and today's weather is good, so you could take this opportunity to get to know the people..."
Xiao Jin immediately seized on this seemingly plausible excuse and abruptly stood up, his tone stern, as if he was only there to review the dishes and had nothing to do with anyone else. "Hmph! Fine! I'd like to see with my own eyes and taste for myself what's so amazing about Yunxianglou's food that it draws so many of you in, making you so reluctant to leave!"
"Your Majesty, please slow down... I will go and arrange the ceremonial carriage..."
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