Chapter 40
Youyang slept in and didn't wake up until the afternoon. If Qingyun hadn't been afraid that she would suffer from hunger and hurt her stomach, so he dragged her out of bed, she would have probably continued sleeping.
"Zifeng, did you change the incense for me yesterday? Why do my hands smell like cedar?"
Youyang stretched lazily, put the palms of his hands to his nose and sniffed.
Zi Feng remained calm and said, "Perhaps it was accidentally mixed with the other incense when I was making it yesterday. If you like it, I will change it for you tonight."
You Yang shook her head. "Let's use the tranquilizing incense. I haven't been sleeping well lately. I had a nightmare last night."
The fragrance of the hands was addictive to her. "I just feel that this fragrance is familiar, as if I have smelled it somewhere before."
After lunch, Youyang made some noise and hooked her finger at Zifeng who was standing beside her serving the dishes.
"How is it? Have you found any pattern?"
Zi Feng nodded, "Yes, Madam, yes."
"I discovered that if Liu was planning to meet a man outside her family that night, she would have hung a lantern with a picture of mandarin ducks playing in the water at the corner gate behind the courtyard."
You Yang rested her chin on the table with her wrists.
In a moment, her eyes suddenly lit up, and she clapped her hands excitedly and said, "I have a good idea!"
She was determined to make You Guolin feel the pain that his mother had once suffered.
At court today, Song Yunlan was confined to the prince's residence by Concubine Rou and did not attend court.
Emperor Chongde verbally assigned Song Yanting to go to the border town to provide disaster relief. In order to prevent him from making a scene in public in the court and embarrassing the royal family, the next imperial decree granting marriage followed, intending to appease Song Yanting.
Song Yanting just didn't like it so easy for them to achieve their goal, so he refused right away, making sure that Emperor Chongde would not dare to reveal his hypocritical face in front of the court officials.
As expected, Emperor Chongde took the initiative to take a step back and asked the Imperial Astronomical Observatory to re-select a good day nearby, allowing Song Yanting to take the princess with him after the wedding.
After learning that the wedding would be moved up to the beginning of next month and realizing that there was only less than half a month left, Qingyun was extremely anxious. He didn't think it was a big deal that he hadn't prepared the wedding dress yet, as how could he make it in time?
In contrast, Youyang was much calmer. She felt that it was no big deal, as marrying early or late was the same.
At night, You Yang lay on the bed and flipped through the new storybooks sent by Song Yanting, such as "The Domineering Prince Loves You Hard" and "The Romantic Prince Only Spoils You", all of which were love storybooks with princes as the male protagonists.
You Yang thought his taste was very ordinary, but she hadn't been able to find any new novels to read for a long time. Now, even if she was asked to read a story about a grandfather and a granddaughter, she would still enjoy it.
She was so engrossed in watching that a few stones hit the window.
She didn't mind the hassle, quickly got off the bed, opened the window and looked out.
"who..."
He was so angry that before he could even curse, he saw a man walking out from behind the big tree outside his window.
"Fifth Prince..."
Song Yunlan, dressed in black, flew up and stood in front of You Yang, with only a round window between them.
Only when I got closer to You Yang did I notice that his eyes were full of bloodshot, and the dark circles under his eyes were even noticeable. Seeing how miserable he looked, I guessed that he might have sneaked out.
Youyang propped up the window, freed her hands, and took a step back uncomfortably to distance herself from Song Yunlan.
She stared intently and asked, "Your Highness the Fifth Prince, what business has it brought you to this humble servant so late at night?"
"Please don't marry the third brother..."
"Sister...I...I like you!"
"I'm very happy to be with you in the Netherworld. Can you look at me..."
When Song Yunlan spoke, You Yang realized that his voice was extremely hoarse. If there was no one standing in front of him talking, You Yang would have suspected that it was him who was speaking.
"The imperial decree has been announced. If I don't marry him, what will happen to my life?"
Just because the former heroine was attracted to him doesn’t mean that You Yang, the current heroine, will be attracted to him and feel sorry for him when she sees him in such a distraught state.
You Yang is very clear that he and he are not on the same path. Although he is not capable of taking on such a heavy responsibility, he is honest and kind-hearted and will not play power games. It is because of this that he was pushed into that position and then exploited, which indirectly led to the death of the heroine.
She knew that she was not of the same kind as him. She was selfish and killing was nothing to her. She was not a good person.
Even if she didn't leave to save her life, she would never fall in love with Song Yunlan.
Song Yunlan thought Youyang agreed, and in a moment of excitement, he grabbed Youyang's hand.
"Sister, please give me a little more time. I will definitely try my best to obtain the consent of Father and Mother to withdraw the decree."
"Sister, please wait for me. When I inherit our father's throne, I will definitely let you marry me as the queen."
He held it so tightly that You Yang couldn't pull it out for a moment, "Let go...let go first."
Song Yunlan reacted and let go, and saw that Youyang's hand had been left with a red palm print, and felt a little annoyed.
"Sorry, sister, I lost my composure."
Youyang recalled that in the story, Song Yunlan had caused the heroine to suffer unforgettable pain because of his naivety, and she also wanted to speak harshly to Song Yunlan.
But now he is not the Emperor Renwu who was bewitched and exploited and corrupted by powerful officials in the court. He is just Song Yunlan who is full of sincerity.
You Yang sighed for no reason.
"Go ahead. I'll pretend you never said anything today. I think you should differentiate between love and gratitude, instead of impulsively coming here and making vows to me, your future sister-in-law."
Song Yunlan was silent for a moment, then asked unwillingly, "Then...then do you like Third Brother?"
You Yang didn't intend to hide it, "I can't say I like him..." She just felt that he was not as bad as the storybooks said, and that he was a kindred spirit.
Just as bad.
When Song Yunlan heard this, his eyes lit up, as if he saw hope.
"Okay... okay... it's good that you don't like it..." He muttered to himself like a madman, turned around and disappeared into the darkness, as if he had never been there.
When he left, he murmured "wait for me", but Youyang, with his excellent hearing, didn't hear it clearly.
You Yang shivered in the autumn wind, rubbed his arms, closed the window again, and climbed back into his bed to read a storybook.
Tonight, the entire process of Song Yunlan's coming here and leaving was recorded in handwriting by the elite Xuanyouwei who were guarding here and were very good at hiding. Even Youyang didn't notice it, and the record was sent back to Xuanwang Mansion.
When Song Yanting received the handwritten letter, Song Jingmo and Wei Lian cleared out a space in the huge study with him and set up a table.
The three of them sat across the table to discuss important matters. Song Yanting was absent-minded and had a piece of high-quality jade in his hand, on which he was carving a pattern.
After reading the handwritten letter, he snorted disdainfully and threw it on the table. "Wishful thinking."
Song Jingmo picked up the handwritten letter and took a look at it, and was amazed.
"Oh my god, this Song Yunlan is interesting. He didn't even ask for help before the marriage was granted, but he started to regret it after the marriage was granted. It's a bit too late to ask for help now."
"He has quite special tastes and he likes my sister-in-law." Song Jingmo exclaimed in amazement.
Wei Lian glanced at his hand, covered his lips and smiled, "One-sided wishful thinking won't end well."
Both of them looked down upon Song Yunlan's naivety. To put it nicely, he was naive; to put it bluntly, he was stupid. In the court where the winners are kings and the losers are bandits, it was not that simple.
"Mu Lin arrived in Xuanyang yesterday. Passing through the border town, he sent a message saying the situation was not optimistic. I'm afraid if this continues, the refugee riots will develop to a level we cannot predict."
Back to the main business, Wei Lian had a solemn expression on his face, slowly fanning the folding fan in his hand, and speaking in a clear voice.
Song Jingmo couldn't help cursing, "Song Fuyu looked like a decent person, but I didn't expect him to be so cruel, forcing the refugees into this state."
Song Yanting gently blew away the tiny bubbles created by the carving on the jade pendant, and a relief carving of a dragon and phoenix inlaid with pearls came to life.
"Fifth brother is about to enter the court and is favored by our father. Although he has already had a seat at court over the years, he also knows that our father's preferred candidate for crown prince is not him. How can he not be anxious?"
Wei Lian agreed, "After all, he is just a tool for the emperor to maintain stability in the court."
"The emperor's ability is insufficient. If it weren't for..." Wei Lian paused, glancing at Song Yanting's expression, "he wouldn't have been able to take this position at all."
"He thought the Prime Minister was loyal to him and followed his advice to train the First Prince before the Fifth Prince came to court. But he never imagined that the Prime Minister had been the First Prince's man from the beginning."
Song Jingmo scratched his head, "Third brother, seeing that Song Fuyu's power is growing stronger and stronger, have you thought about how to deal with it?"
"Should I respond?" Song Yanting held up the jade in his hand and examined it in the light. Satisfied, he tied a purple tassel on it and placed it in a brocade box.
"Why should I deal with it? Why me?"
"Song Fuyu is so conceited that he thinks he can get rid of me by just letting the refugees riot. Naturally, he doesn't take me seriously. Shouldn't he be targeting Song Yunlan right now, filled with resentment and wanting to get rid of him?"
Wei Lian thought for a moment and chuckled, "I heard that the tattoo pattern copied from the hand of the person His Highness was assassinated has been taken away by Nan Qi, a subordinate of His Highness the Fifth Prince. I'm sure that in a few days His Highness will release a scapegoat to divert attention and put an end to the case of Chun Hongfang colluding with officials to embezzle military funds."
"This is also the first achievement of His Highness the Fifth Prince since entering the court. I believe it won't be long before His Highness is appointed Crown Prince."
The three of them had almost finished discussing the matter. Song Jingmo became interested in the jade pendant carved by Song Yanting and leaned over to take a look.
"Wow, Third Brother, your carving skills are getting better and better. Can you give me this jade pendant?"
Song Yanting pushed his head away mercilessly, "Go cool down somewhere."
"Cang Xu."
Cang Xu pushed the door open and walked in, "Master."
Song Yanting pushed the box on the table away and said, "Send it to her. With this jade pendant, you can command the Xuanyou Jingwei and solve all your troubles. Go."
Cang Xu took the box and left. Song Jingmo was envious. "Brother! I have followed you for so many years, why don't you carve one for me? Why don't you arrange Xuanyou Guards to protect me?"
Wei Lian glanced at him with disdain, "What kind of protection do you need when you're in a brothel every day? Should I carry you out when you're passed out on a woman's bed?"
Song Jingmo glared at him, but he was too uneducated to curse back.
"Your mouth is like a smoky crimson, and you say nothing I like to hear. Just shut up."
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