Chapter 83 Guan Yue Makes His Statement
Su Yuyao's room was unusually quiet.
Qingyue gritted her teeth and glared at Su Yuyao, whose face was blackened and whose body was covered in dust from the explosion.
Su Yuyao lowered her head, staring at her dirty toes, fiddling with the hem of her skirt with her chubby little hands, not daring to make a sound.
Bai Er knelt on the ground, trembling, too frightened to even beg for mercy.
Su'e stood aside, looking at Su Yuyao's dark face, pursing her lips and trying to suppress a laugh.
"The flood has started!" Feihua suddenly exclaimed, standing blankly at the door. "Yao'er, you saved us..."
"Fairy, let's go back to our room..." Fangchun noticed that the atmosphere in the room was not right, and quickly persuaded the dazed Feihua.
“Yao’er, you can’t leave, you still have to save us! They will come again… they will come again…” Fei Hua muttered as Fang Chun helped her back to her room.
"Su'e," Qingyue finally spoke after a long silence, "the ruler!"
"Your Highness, it's already late, Miss Yao'er..."
"The ruler!" Qingyue roared.
Su Yuyao knelt down with a thud, "Your Majesty, I was wrong... I didn't know that the coal briquette could explode..."
"Bai Er!" Qing Yue ignored Su Yuyao's words and instead shouted sternly at Bai Er, "You have repeatedly made mistakes in serving Yao'er, failing to be diligent and responsible. Do you accept punishment?!"
"This humble servant accepts the punishment..." Bai Er replied, weeping.
"Huh? What did Bai Er do wrong?!" Su Yuyao suddenly raised her head and said indignantly, "She served me very well, but..."
"But what?" Qingyue glared at Su Yuyao and asked coldly.
"Uh..." Su Yuyao blinked. If she didn't plead for Bai Er, Bai Er would be punished; if she did, she might get beaten herself. What should she do...?
Qingyue looked at Su Yuyao's face, which had been blackened by the blow, and she could tell that Su Yuyao wanted to help Bai Er but was afraid of being beaten. Her anger, which had been burning, was slowly extinguished by Su Yuyao's comical appearance.
"Have you decided who will get beaten up?" Qingyue asked, suppressing a smile.
Su Yuyao glanced at Bai Er, pursed her lips, and said with determination, "Hit Bai Er, but don't hit her too hard. She still has to work tomorrow... the work in this room..." As she spoke, she pointed to the bed that had been blown up.
"Miss! You..." Bai Er wiped away her tears and looked at Su Yuyao, unsure whether she should thank her mistress.
"Alright! Then let's beat the white ear!" Qingyue gestured to Su'e.
Su'e walked up to Bai'er with a ruler in hand. "Give me your hand!"
Bai Er trembled as she stretched out her hand.
"Don't hit her hand!" Su Yuyao said, protecting Bai Er's hand. "She still has to wash my clothes and bedding tomorrow!"
Su'e raised her hand and coughed lightly twice to cover her laughter, "Then... I'll hit your back!"
"Oh no! No way!" Su Yuyao hugged Bai Er's back. "She has a lot of work to do tomorrow! If her back hurts... how can she do it..."
"Spanking?" Su'e asked, tilting her head.
"That won't do! She's tired from working and needs to sit down and rest!"
"Then break your legs!" Su'e said, holding the ruler in her hand.
"That won't do!" Su Yuyao hugged Bai Er tightly and asked tentatively, "How about we don't hit Bai Er... or... let her finish her work before we hit her?"
Su'e covered her mouth and turned around, unable to hold back her laughter. Qingyue, seeing Su Yuyao like this, couldn't stay angry.
"Bai Er! This time, Yao'er pleaded for you, so I'll spare you for now! If there's a next time, you'll be punished as well!"
Bai Er wiped away her tears and kowtowed, saying, "Thank you, Your Majesty..."
Su Yuyao's bed is completely ruined!
Guan Xiao stared at it for a long time, puzzled. "Miss Yao'er, the bed was blown up like this, how come you're completely unharmed?"
"How come I'm alright?! I'm completely blackened by the explosion!" Su Yuyao pointed to her face, which she had washed several times, and said, "I couldn't wash it off..."
Guan Xiao looked at Su Yuyao, whose nose and mouth were blackened, whose face was covered with a thick beard, and whose brows were furrowed with worry. He suppressed a smile and reported to Qingyue, "Your Majesty, this bed is unusable. It will take several days to find someone to make one. I'm afraid Miss Yao'er will have to find another room to rest!"
Qingyue nodded slightly, her earlier air of authority instantly turning into apology after Su Yuyao said, "I didn't expect Yao'er to cause such a big trouble, I'm so sorry!"
"It's alright, this place of mine... has also been in disrepair for many years..." Guan Xiao glanced at Su Yuyao again, wanting to laugh but not daring to, unable to hold it in any longer, and could only bid farewell, "This subordinate will take his leave now!"
Qingyue could see that Guan Xiao was struggling to hold back his emotions, so she nodded in agreement.
As soon as Guan Xiao stepped out of the room, Qing Yue pointed at Su Yuyao's head and said, "You child! You never stop causing me trouble! Of all the things to do, why did you have to play with coal briquettes?! Now look what's happened! You've ruined someone's bed! What are you going to do about it?!"
"What should we do?" Su Yuyao looked at the side couch next to Bai Er's—it was too small! She then looked at the woodshed where Bai Migao was tied—it stank!
"Your Majesty, it seems... I have no choice but to sleep with you..." Su Yuyao said reluctantly.
Qingyue stared at Su Yuyao in surprise, "What did you say?! You want to sleep with me?! I told you to figure out what to do?! You're here thinking about how to sleep?!"
"Yes! What else can I do? The bed is already broken anyway, so I can only think about how to sleep... I don't dare to sleep with Feihua, so I can only sleep with you..." Su Yuyao sighed pitifully. Sigh! My freedom is getting less and less!
Qingyue was shocked by Su Yuyao's words. Yao'er had so casually glossed over her mistake! At the same time, she was also pleasantly surprised that she had actually asked to sleep with her. In all these years, no one had ever dared to make such a request to her...
The moon hung high in the sky, and the air was filled with the smell of damp moisture.
Qingyue stroked the small, dark hand resting on her chest, looked at Su Yuyao's dark face, and listened to her rhythmic, deep snoring. A wave of emotion washed over her. If her child had survived, perhaps…
...
"Tuan Yue, from this day forward you will be the ruler of the Ice Wheel Palace," Mother Yi said, sitting on the throne in the main hall, her voice resounding with authority. "I will bestow a new name upon you, but... what name should I give you?"
Tuan Yue knelt in the hall, supporting her abdomen, her face cold, neither responding nor answering.
"Perhaps... let Lady Langzhi think of something for me..." Yimu dusted off her sleeves and called out, "Someone, bring Langzhi up here!"
Hearing the noisy footsteps outside the palace, Tuan Yue began to tremble uncontrollably. She tried her best to calm herself down and not let anything disturb her emotions. She had already shown signs of bleeding in the past few days, and if she was stimulated again, she was afraid that she would lose the baby!
Thump! A muffled sound.
A blurry figure crashed down beside Tuan Yue.
Tuan Yue clutched her abdomen, inhaling the familiar yet blood-tinged scent, and closed her eyes tightly, forcing herself not to look at him...
"Langzhi, I intend to entrust the management of Binglun Palace to Tuanyue, but I can't think of a good name for it. Can you think of one for me?" Yimu said leisurely.
Tuan Yue's abdomen began to tighten, with waves of cramping pain. She trembled, trying to control her emotions, but...
"Qing..." Langzhi's weak voice seemed to have exhausted all his strength.
Tuan Yue could no longer hold back. She opened her eyes and looked over bit by bit. Twisted and deformed hands, dry and peeling lips, a pale face, and scalp covered with blood scabs.
Tuan Yue's breathing seemed to have stopped. She had heard about the extreme torture Lang Zhi had suffered. She had imagined a thousand different ways he might look, but when he appeared before her in such a bloody state, she still couldn't accept it!
This isn't Langzhi! No!
Her abdomen began to cramp again, and she tried to control her panicked heart and suppress the despair in her heart.
Langzhi sensed Tuanyue's helplessness and terror. Unable to open his eyes, he could only exhale with his last breath, "Silly... girl..."
"Ah! Ah!" Tuan Yue could no longer control herself and burst into heart-wrenching sobs.
She tried to throw herself at Langzhi, but was stopped by someone. Amid her painful screams, Langzhi gradually disappeared from her sight...
Tuan Yue collapsed in tears in the main hall. When she awoke, her stomach was completely empty...
...
Qingyue wiped away the tears that had fallen to the tip of her nose, and then lowered her eyes to look at Su Yuyao, who was nestled in her arms, her heart filled with mixed feelings.
I treat all my children as my own, but it is only this Yao'er who has made me truly experience the bittersweetness of being a mother...
Before dawn, Su Yuyao rubbed her eyes and sat up. "Your Majesty, shouldn't we be leaving?"
Qingyue had finished washing up. She gently stroked Su Yuyao's face and said softly, "It's time to go. Get up!"
A light rain began to fall from the misty sky. Su Yuyao lifted her skirt and hopped between puddles, while Qingyue followed closely behind, holding an umbrella.
"Yao'er! Be careful! Don't fall!"
"No way!"
"Yao'er! Don't get wet in the rain! Be careful not to catch a cold!"
"It doesn't matter!"
"Yao'er! Come here quickly!"
"It's fine!"
"Su Yuyao! You stop right there! Walk properly!"
"Hehe, I know!" Su Yuyao finally slowed down and obediently took Qingyue's arm.
Qingyue wiped the raindrops off Su Yuyao's face with a handkerchief and scolded, "A young lady should walk steadily, not skipping and hopping like that! You're not a child! And you make me shout it over and over again?!"
"Okay, I understand..."
"If you keep walking like that, come back to Ice Wheel Palace with me! I'm going to teach you a lesson!" Qingyue wiped Su Yuyao's beard again, but it still wouldn't come off.
"Huh? I don't want to go to the Ice Palace!"
"If you don't want to go, then act like a girl!" Qingyue gave up when she saw Su Yuyao's dark face and put away her handkerchief.
"Yao'er's here!" Langzhi's voice came from afar. "Eh? That face..."
"Why did you come out to greet me?" Qingyue asked softly, gazing at Langzhi's figure.
“I was just about to tell you that it’s the rainy season now, and my area is flat and low-lying. If the rain gets heavy, it will be difficult to travel there…”
"What are you talking about? When has there ever been a rainy season here in Jiujiao Mountain? It's just a normal drizzle!" Qing Yue smiled and held the umbrella over Lang Zhi's head. "Look at you! You're like a child, not even using an umbrella, and you're all soaked!"
"It's alright!" Langzhi chuckled.
"Hehe, Your Majesty, I'll be going now!" Su Yuyao wisely lifted her skirt and ran off.
"Su Yuyao! You're running around again!" Su Yuyao ignored Qingyue's words.
A gentle morning rain falls, lightly touching an oil-paper umbrella; on the bluestone steps, two figures stand side by side.
Langzhi held an umbrella in one hand and put the other arm around Qingyue's shoulder. Looking at Su Yuyao, who was jumping around in front of him, he asked in confusion, "What happened to Yao'er's face?"
Qingyue said angrily, "Don't even mention it! Yesterday, this child picked up a lump of coal from somewhere and lit it on the stove to play with. The lump of coal exploded, ruining the bed and even blowing himself up!"
"Tuan Yue, don't you find it strange?" Lang Zhi looked at Su Yuyao's dark face and asked seriously, "The bed was blown up, so why is Yao'er completely unharmed?"
"How come she's alright?! Didn't you see her face turned black?!"
"Only his face turned black?" Langzhi asked again, "Not even a scratch?"
Qingyue was thinking when she suddenly realized something was wrong! Why did he only turn pale?!
Qingyue's heart leaped into her throat, and she rushed to Su Yuyao, "Yao'er! Come here quickly!"
"What's wrong?" Su Yuyao asked in confusion as Qingyue grabbed her wrist and took her pulse.
"Her pulse is strong and steady, her Qi circulation is normal... Thank goodness, there's nothing wrong," Qingyue looked at Su Yuyao's face carefully again and breathed a slight sigh of relief. "Compared to last night, the dark marks on her face have faded quite a bit!"
Looking at Su Yuyao's smeared image, she felt extremely guilty. "Oh! I was so careless yesterday! I was just too busy getting angry. If only I had asked Guan Xiao to have someone check on Yao'er, she should be alright..."
Langzhi was also very worried, constantly nagging behind Qingyue, "Will this black mark never go away? What kind of coal can't be washed off? Could it be that the internal injury hasn't shown yet? Oh dear... maybe... let Granny Zhong take a look..."
"Langzhi! Shut up!"
"Oh dear, Tuan Yue..."
"Shut up!"
The rain gradually subsided, turning into white mist that condensed in the air and enveloped the entire Jiujiao Mountain. A figure could be faintly seen on the manure drying ground.
"Who is that person?" Su Yuyao asked, pointing at the figure.
“Oh, it’s Young Master Guan Yue!” Lang Zhi replied.
"Brother Yue'er!" Su Yuyao became interested upon hearing this, broke free from Qingyue's hand, lifted her skirt, and ran over.
"Yao'er!" Qingyue tried to call out to Su Yuyao, but Su Yuyao had already run far away. Looking at Guan Yue's figure, she said with dissatisfaction, "What is he doing at the manure drying yard?"
“Last night, Young Master Guan Yue came to inform me that if there is a heavy rain in Jiujiao Mountain, the water should be diverted to my location, so Young Master Guan Yue and I buried the manure pile deep overnight!” Lang Zhi said, putting his arm around Qing Yue’s shoulder.
"Where could there be a downpour?! Jiujiao Mountain is deep in the mountains; even if it rained, it would melt on the way and wouldn't reach here!" Qingyue asked疑惑地, "Why are you worried about a downpour?!"
"Tuan Yue, the floods in the south have already affected the Old De Valley, which is very unusual! So, it's best to be careful!" Lang Zhi squeezed Qing Yue's shoulder tightly. "Starting tomorrow, you and Yao'er shouldn't come! If there's a sudden downpour, it will be very dangerous for me here!"
"And what about you?" Qingyue looked at Langzhi's weathered face and couldn't help but feel worried.
"Don't worry about me! If I can't hold this place, I'll just climb the mountain!" Langzhi gently hugged Qingyue and patted her back, saying, "Tuanyue, just watch over the children, don't... lose them again..."
Qingyue's heart trembled, and the pain that had accumulated for thousands of years burst forth from her tear-filled eyes. The child she had never spoken of, the secret she had buried deep in her heart, the poison that had tormented her for thousands of years, was now being exposed by Langzhi!
"You...you know?" Qingyue asked, trembling, swallowing her hot tears.
"How could I not know? I'm so sorry..." Langzhi hugged Qingyue tightly, choking back tears as she said, "I'm so sorry..."
Qingyue suddenly felt a weight lift from her body, and all her feigned strength was completely shattered by Langzhi's "I'm sorry"!
She clutched Langzhi's clothes tightly, buried herself in them, and wept silently...
"Brother Yue'er! Brother Yue'er! What are you doing here?" Su Yuyao lifted her skirt and broke through the white mist, running to Guan Yue's side.
"Su Yuyao, what happened to your face?" Guan Yue asked Su Yuyao with a puzzled look.
"It's nothing, I just got blackened by the coal briquettes!" Su Yuyao looked at the bare manure drying area. "Where's the manure pile?! Did you hide it?"
Guan Yue looked at Su Yuyao's dark face and said with a smile, "It's buried. If it rains heavily, this place is low-lying and might be flooded, so we need to deal with the manure pile."
"You're always so clean, how come you're burying manure here?!" Su Yuyao said, frowning. "You really were looking down on me before!"
“I…” Guan Yue was at a loss, unable to explain his inner conflict and inferiority complex.
"But you don't mind me anymore!" Su Yuyao said with a grin. "The fact that you were able to hold my hand last time shows that you've improved a lot!"
Guan Yue smiled and used his Qi to push the last pile of excrement into the pit.
"Wow! That's amazing!" Su Yuyao, undeterred by the dirt, squatted by the pit and clapped her hands, exclaiming, "You pushed such a huge pile of poop into it all in one go?!"
Guan Yue tilted his head, looked at Su Yuyao, and asked with a smile, "Are you still going to Jingxue later? Should I ask for leave for you?"
Su Yuyao stood up and looked through the white mist at Lang Zhi and Qing Yue, who were hugging each other and chattering.
"I have to go!" When Su Yuyao thought of the pitying look in Lang Zhi's eyes when he looked at Yu Qing, she felt a sense of responsibility to protect the Empress. She had to keep an eye on Grandpa Lang Zhi!
Guan Yue frowned as he looked at Su Yuyao, "Is your face... alright?"
"It doesn't matter! I can't see it anyway!" Su Yuyao thought that whether someone's appearance is good or bad was for outsiders to see, so she didn't care.
She ran to Langzhi's wooden cart, climbed on, and shouted into the white mist, "Grandpa Langzhi! Let's go!"
Langzhi patted Qingyue's back and said softly, "Alright, don't cry... Look! Yao'er is urging you!"
Qingyue wiped her snot and tears on Langzhi's chest, then turned to look at Su Yuyao, who was waving from the wooden cart. "This child! It's only been two days, and she's already rushing off to Jingxue!"
"Tuanyue," Langzhi hugged Qingyue tighter, "Look at Yao'er, doesn't she look like our child?"
"So what if she looks like her?! I don't want such a troublesome child!" Qingyue wiped her wet eyes and turned to walk towards Su Yuyao. "Yao'er! Come down quickly! Don't fall!"
"Your Majesty! What delicious breakfast is ready?!" Su Yuyao saw Qingyue approaching and quickly sat down obediently against the manure bucket.
Qingyue stroked Su Yuyao's dark face again, "All you know is food! What good food is there here? As long as you're full, that's enough!"
Su Yuyao stared at Qingyue's red eyes, "Your Majesty..." She wanted to ask, but dared not, so she changed the subject, "Everything you make is delicious!"
Langzhi walked over with a smile, patted Qingyue's back, and said, "We're setting off now. Don't overwork yourself. Just make us something hot!"
Qingyue smiled and nodded slightly.
The figures of the father and son slowly disappeared into the mist. Only then did Qingyue turn around to look at Guan Yue. She could see a subtle emotion in Guan Yue's eyes.
“Young Master Guan Yue,” Qing Yue said, adopting the authority of an empress, “Yao’er will surely be Xuan Feng’s immortal wife in the future, and will also hold the position of a palace manager, so… I advise you to restrain yourself a bit!”
Guan Yue withdrew his gaze from the mist and bowed slightly as he replied, "Your Majesty, you also said... in the future..."
“Guan Yue!” Qing Yue’s eyes widened.
“If…” Guan Yue slowly raised his head and looked back at Qing Yue, “If Su Yuyao becomes the Mother of Wuji, wouldn’t she be able to… recruit a few more servants?”
"Guan Yue!" Qing Yue stared in shock at Guan Yue's composed expression. "Do you know what you're saying?!"
Guan Yue smiled slightly, bowed, and said, "This humble servant... takes his leave!" After saying that, he took a few steps back, turned around, and walked into the thick mist.
Qingyue watched Guan Yue's retreating figure, clenching her fists. That silly boy Xuanfeng, why isn't he back yet! He treated Feihua so coldly back then, and now he's leaving Yao'er hanging like this! What if…
She sighed. Xuanfeng himself was already mired in a quagmire; if Yao'er could be with Guan Yue… Uh… what am I thinking…
Qingyue smiled and shook her head, then went into the kitchen. She decided to start a fire and cook; the father and son had such good appetites. What should she make…?
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