Chapter 40: Trapped underwater, he suddenly opened his eyes like a mermaid...
The back garden was filled with flowers, and the pavilion was hidden under the dense shade of the trees. As Fang Yilan stepped into the pavilion, she smelled a hint of orchid fragrance.
Concubine Yuan sat upright in the pavilion, her crimson palace dress making her look graceful and elegant, her eyebrows as dark as distant ink and her almond eyes full of affection.
But she doesn't look much like the prince.
Concubine Yuan, holding a cup of tea between her fingers, heard the noise and looked up at Fang Yilan, a smile on her lips: "I have long heard of General Fang's reputation. Now that I see him, he is indeed a wonderful man."
Fang Yilan bowed and said, "Your Majesty, I am truly humbled by your compliments. I do not deserve them."
Concubine Yuan put down her teacup, her eyes fixed on the blossoming flowers outside the pavilion. As if unintentionally, she said, "General Fang, at such a young age, you've already achieved success and fame. I wonder if you've ever thought about getting married?"
Fang Yilan replied in a deep voice, "I am still young and have not considered this matter yet."
Imperial Concubine Yuan raised her eyebrows and glanced at the Crown Prince with interest. "That's really strange. I heard from the Crown Prince that you two had already developed feelings for each other since your meeting at the gate of Shangjing City?"
Fang Yilan's mouth twitched as he explained, "Your Highness, I only exchanged three sentences with the Crown Prince."
Not only was Concubine Yuan not angry, her smile deepened. She took another sip of tea and said calmly, "General Fang is indeed a straightforward person."
As she spoke, she turned her gaze towards the Crown Prince and sighed in distress, "Prince, you can't blame me for not helping you. General Fang had no such intentions. He's made great contributions to Ruining. You can't force him, can you?"
The prince opened his mouth when he heard this, but was speechless. He had never expected that his mother would be so blunt and expose the truth. And how could Fang Yilan have changed her ways now? She had clearly been the one who had been peeking at him in the carriage.
The prince was unwilling and was about to argue again: "Mother! I..." But before he could finish his words, Concubine Yuan interrupted him again: "Alright, Prince, you should go back to the front and do your work first. We can discuss this matter later."
The prince had no choice but to reluctantly bow to Concubine Yuan and Fang Yilan and leave first.
He thought his mother would say a few good words for him in front of Fang Yilan to make this happen, but he didn't expect things to turn out like this.
At present, the emperor is very dissatisfied with his performance. He originally thought that if he could marry into the Fang family, he would be able to consolidate his position in the court and save some face in front of his father.
But his mother refused to help him, so he had to rely on himself to find a solution.
After the Crown Prince disappeared around the corner, Imperial Concubine Yuan's gaze fell on Fang Yilan again, and her eyes softened a lot: "General Fang, you are a courageous woman. I admire you. However, this palace is a place of right and wrong, and the relationships are complicated. You need to be more careful in your future actions."
Fang Yilan's expression changed, and he bowed and said, "Thank you for your teachings, Your Majesty. I will definitely remember them."
Concubine Minamoto's expectations were far different from hers. She had thought that the Minamoto clan and the Fang family were constantly at odds. She might have used this opportunity to push her towards the Crown Prince's side. However, instead of pressuring her, Concubine Minamoto spoke out to help her out.
Concubine Yuan nodded slightly and waved her hand: "Alright, you can go play in the front too. If you have free time in the future, you may as well come to the palace more often."
Fang Yilan bowed to Concubine Yuan and said goodbye, then returned to the banquet and sat down. As soon as she sat down, several pairs of eyes were on her.
A minister stood up, raised his glass, and said with a smile, "Today is His Royal Highness's birthday. It's truly a joyous occasion. I recently heard that His Royal Highness is about to have good news." His eyes could not help but drift towards Fang Yilan, "This humble official is eagerly awaiting good news from the Crown Prince, and will certainly present a gift when the time comes."
These words really touched the Crown Prince's heart. He smiled and replied, "I have been thinking about Elder Wen's generous gift. When this comes true, I will definitely drink with you."
Zhao Huaixu played with the pendant in his hand and leaned back in his chair. "How come I, your younger brother, have never heard of your engagement? How come your father is aware of such a major event? Your parents' orders and the matchmaker's words, yet your brother mentions it so casually? Does he not take your father seriously?"
Zhao Huaixu added, "General Fang has been fighting outside for years, risking his life for Ruining. Yet, he is being maliciously fabricated and speculated about her lifelong affairs. If this gets out, it will surely chill the hearts of all the soldiers."
The prince's face turned pale and red, and he retorted, "Seventh Brother, please don't talk nonsense here. The matter between me and General Fang is well-behaved, and it's not your turn to interfere!"
Zhou Ting'an raised his glass and muttered to himself, "When it comes to relationships, it should be based on mutual consent and affection. If you blindly try to use your status and power to influence others, it's like rowing against the current; you can't force it."
Zhao Huaixu agreed deeply and raised his glass to Zhou Ting'an: "Master Zhou is absolutely right. Feelings can never be forced. One-sided wishful thinking only moves oneself."
But the last sentence was pronounced very heavily.
The prince looked at the two people singing the same tune, and his neck turned red with anger: "You..."
Fang Yilan watched these people bickering and arguing, finding it incredibly noisy. She slammed her wine glass down on the table, the "bang" sounding remarkably loud in the boisterous atmosphere of the banquet.
"Bring the wine." Although the voice was not loud, it was intimidating enough that the few people fell silent obediently.
The maid behind her came to her side and poured wine for her. However, for some reason, the maid's fingers pinched the wine jug, and her body began to tremble uncontrollably. The wine flowed out of the spout, poured into the wine glass, and a few drops splashed onto the table.
Fang Yilan looked calm and composed. She reached out and picked up the wine glass, pouring the wine down her throat. The wine slid down the corner of her mouth, and she raised her hand and casually wiped the wine stains from her lips with her sleeve. She smiled heartily and praised, "Good wine."
But after just a few drinks, she felt drunk and started rubbing her temples with her fingertips. Everyone at the table had a different and subtle expression.
Fang Yilan called the palace maid, then said goodbye to everyone and followed the palace maid to the guest room in the side hall to rest for a while.
Arriving at the door of the guest room, the palace maid pushed open the door and Fang Yilan stepped into the room. As she expected, a faint fragrance was wafting in the air, and a set of teacups was placed on the table.
The palace maid prepared some tea for Fang Yilan: "General, please have a cup of tea first and take a good rest."
After saying that, he walked out and closed the door.
Fang Yilan didn't look like he had a headache at all. He drew the sword from his waist and hid behind a beam.
The prince actually resorted to such a despicable trick in an attempt to harm her. In that case, don't blame her for being cruel and ruthless.
There was a knock on the door soon, and a voice came from outside: "General Fang, are you okay?"
The person who came was actually Zhou Ting'an.
Seeing no one respond from inside, Zhou Ting'an stood there, pondering for a moment. Finally, he raised his hand and pushed open the door, only to find Fang Yilan nowhere to be found. Confused, he wondered if he had remembered the wrong room. After a moment's hesitation, he immediately left and headed elsewhere.
Fang Yilan remained silent in the dark. After a moment, footsteps were heard approaching. The person walked straight into the house without knocking. It was Zhao Huaixu.
The prince did not come, but two uninvited guests arrived one after another.
Zhao Huaixu said calmly: "Alan, there's no need to hide anymore. I've sent Jiang Fu to another place."
Why are they all rushing to rescue her?
Fang Yilan no longer hid and emerged from behind the beam, saying in a sharp tone, "I have hands and feet. When will I need you to save me?"
"Don't you need me...?" Zhao Huaixu's voice was hoarse.
Zhao Huaixu smelled the blood in his mouth. It turned out that he had bitten his tongue directly. He repeated it almost mechanically: "You don't need me..."
He chewed the words over again in his mouth. He forced out a laugh, a broken and dry one, more heartbreaking than a mournful cry.
His composure was being shattered bit by bit, and Zhao Huaixu subconsciously wanted to hold on to something, looking around for a life-saving straw. His eyes were fixed on the teacup on the table, and he picked it up and drank it down in one gulp. Some of the tea that he didn't have time to drink flowed down the corner of his jaw.
Fang Yilan had no time to stop him: "Then the tea..."
Zhao Huaixu turned his head to look at her and smiled cruelly: "But I need you."
Fang Yilan ignored his almost desperate confession: "There must be something in the tea, you'd better take care of yourself." She raised her foot and walked towards the door.
As soon as her hand touched the doorknob, she heard Zhao Huaixu's heavy groan behind her. Fang Yilan paused, her fingers subconsciously tightening. She opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but found that her throat seemed to be choked by something, and she couldn't make a sound.
Finally, he gritted his teeth, opened the door, and walked out of the room.
Before returning to the banquet, I heard a commotion in the distance.
It turned out that Lord Wen had drunk a few too many cups and planned to find a secluded place to rest. The palace maid led him to a side room in the hall. When they opened the door, they found someone inside. Under the curtain, the prince was cuddling with a palace maid on the couch, and their clothes were scattered around the bed.
"This... this is outrageous!" Lord Wen exclaimed subconsciously. Coincidentally, several other ministers were passing by here. When they heard the exclamation, they all came over and were also stunned by the scene before them.
The prince and the palace maid only woke up at this time. They were so scared that their faces turned pale. They hurriedly tidied their clothes, lowered their heads, and wished they could find a crack in the ground to crawl into.
The prince was so anxious that his face turned red, beads of sweat rolled down his forehead. He opened his mouth but didn't know how to explain. He had originally planned to go to Fang Yilan's resting place, but was knocked unconscious on the way. When he woke up, he found himself here and was caught by the ministers. It was obvious that someone had deliberately set a trap to put him in an irretrievable situation.
As the prince was tying his clothes, he realized that the palace maid was the one he had sent to drug Fang Yilan. A chill ran up from the soles of his feet to his head. It was obvious that his plan had been discovered, and someone was using the same trick against him to lure him into a desperate situation step by step.
Imperial Concubine Yuan arrived quickly, her face livid. She ordered the eunuchs to close the door and said to the ministers, "This matter concerns the reputation of the imperial family. It is of great importance. I will investigate it thoroughly and give you a satisfactory explanation. Please disperse."
The prince put on his clothes, buttoning several of them incorrectly, his hair disheveled, and he tumbled before Imperial Concubine Yuan, his voice brimming with tears: "Mother, I have been framed! Someone is plotting against me. Please help me."
Imperial Concubine Yuan's brows knitted into a knot. "As the Crown Prince, you have done something so immoral and corrupt. It's unbecoming. Return to the Eastern Palace to reflect on your mistakes and await the Emperor's decision."
After she finished speaking, she no longer looked at the prince, suddenly flicked her sleeves, turned around and strode away.
Fang Yilan mingled in the crowd, watching this farce coldly. He knew who was behind it, so he quickly bid farewell to the East Palace and returned to the Marquis' Mansion.
As soon as she stepped into the gate of the Marquis' Mansion, Fang Yilan felt exhausted both physically and mentally. She pinched the bridge of her nose and ordered, "Prepare some hot water for me to clean myself and rest early." Shu Xue responded and hurried to prepare.
Just as she was about to head into the courtyard, she saw Zhuang Gu approaching on horseback. He dismounted and handed her a secret letter, saying, "General! The secret letter urgently delivered by Lieutenant General Lin has arrived."
Fang Yilan didn't even have time to rest. She turned around and walked back to the study.
*
General,
The spies sent to Xiling have been summoned and returned. Zhao Huaixu was actually a hostage sent to Xiling by Ruining seven years ago. Since arriving in Xiling, he has been bullied. However, due to his outstanding appearance, he caused trouble and attracted the favor of the princess. He even played with the target in the military camp without showing any signs of cowardice, which displeased the princess.
The general, brutal and tyrannical, kicked him, breaking his ribs and abandoning him to the stable to die. Despite the filth and lack of food in the stable, he stubbornly survived. Soon, intending to disfigure him, the general bit off his ear while he was close, completely enraging the villain and leading to the cruel torture of disembowelment.
When Xiling was holding a memorial ceremony and setting fire to the palace, he escaped in the chaos, hiding his identity and wandering around the northwest border. When Ruining was dispatching troops, he was deliberately captured by the prefect Kangrao, and his intention to approach the general was probably intentional.
This person is cunning and treacherous. General, you must be extremely cautious when dealing with him and never take it lightly.
Lin Hongguang
*
Fang Yilan's eyes reflected the candlelight, the light flowed, and she read the letter in her hand over and over again. She raised her eyes, her gaze penetrating the half-open carved window lattice, and the moonlight poured like tears onto the bluestone slabs in the courtyard.
The nightmare came true.
In the middle of the night, she belatedly returned to her bedroom and opened the door, only to find a man sitting cross-legged in the corner. Zhao Huaixu was soaked to the skin, his clothes clinging to him, and his face was a sickly flush.
Fang Yilan's voice was as cold as ice: "Get out, don't make me call the guards to see you like this."
Zhao Huaixu leaned against the wall, his head tilted back and he was breathing heavily. Drops of sweat fell from his forehead and landed on his clothes. He whimpered in pain.
Fang Yilan stood in front of him, looking down at him, and asked again: "What do you want in exchange for leaving?"
"Take that back."
"Which one?" "Mingzhi Consultant," Zhao Huaixu raised his head and chuckled softly, his smile tinged with self-sarcasm, like frost flowers soaked in moonlight, the sadness in his eyes almost drowning. "Alan, even if you want to lie to me, you won't do it?"
He grabbed the corner of her clothes, followed her wrist, held her index finger, and pulled her in front of him, but he just kissed the back of Fang Yilan's hand devoutly.
Fang Yilan was ignited by the warmth of the back of the hand. She pulled the man to the back room and dragged him into the bathtub which had already cooled down. She grabbed his neck and pressed his head into the water. Water splashed everywhere and soaked her clothes.
"Are you awake now?"
Zhao Huaixu seemed to have lost his life. He closed his eyes and slid into the basin. The water level was above his head. A series of tiny bubbles emerged from the water. He seemed to be sleeping underwater and had no reaction.
Fang Yilan was so angry that her teeth were itching. It was like this again. Zhao Huaixu always used this method to trick her into being soft-hearted.
She just glared coldly at Zhao Huaixu under the water, her nails digging into his flesh, but every second of her silent recitation seemed infinitely stretched.
Trapped in nightmares, what was written in the letters gradually came before her eyes, as if she was the villain Xiling, and she would not be satisfied until she saw him die tragically in front of her.
What if? What if he really fainted?
Fang Yilan took a deep breath and reached into the water to pull the person up. The person underwater opened his eyes like a mermaid, hooked his hands around Fang Yilan's neck and pulled her closer.
The dark jade eyes stared at him intently: "You still feel sorry for me, right?"
The force that restrained her was so great that Fang Yilan was bent over and could not break free for a while. Resentment continued to grow in her heart, so she opened her mouth and her teeth sank deeply into the flesh of Zhao Huaixu's shoulder, leaving a half circle of bleeding teeth marks.
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