Chapter 12
The butterfly danced gracefully, sometimes landing in the middle of the flower, sometimes falling into the grass. Princess Yongning's eyes followed the butterfly up and down. Sometimes when she felt the butterfly fell to the lowest place, Yongning stretched out her hands to try to catch it, but in the end she failed.
Princess Yongning was so busy catching flying butterflies that she didn't look at the road and bumped into someone.
The person who was hit cried out "Ouch" and held his waist. It turned out to be Prime Minister Ji Ke.
Prime Minister Ji Ke squatted down and took a closer look. It was a little girl. He said gently, "Princess Yongning, long time no see."
Princess Yongning recognized that this was the bad guy who didn't allow her mother to see her father. She didn't say anything, curled her lips, and ran away quickly. The prime minister didn't take it seriously and left without a care.
When Luo Sanrong found Princess Yongning, she was waiting for him at the place where she had been digging grass. Luo Sanrong wanted to know where Princess Yongning had gone, but because Princess Yongning had been traumatized since childhood and could not speak, and she was also reluctant to talk, Luo Sanrong did not ask any further questions.
*
After Li Yin received the message that Luo Sanrong had found Yongning, he returned to his Eastern Palace with peace of mind. Unexpectedly, he met an uninvited guest at the gate of the Eastern Palace, who was Lord Shang Gong.
Lord Shang is in charge of all the eunuchs in the palace and is usually very busy. His Majesty sometimes orders Lord Shang to stay by his side. Now, it goes without saying who Lord Shang is waiting for with his bow at the gate of the East Palace.
Li Yin stepped forward and said without showing any emotion, "Lord Shang is so busy, yet he actually came in person? I feel embarrassed to refuse him."
Lord Shang ignored Li Yin's sarcasm and responded directly: "Your Highness, the Crown Prince, your Majesty has arrived."
Yes, Lord Shang immediately heard Li Yin's sarcasm. Lord Shang Han Shouyi has been with His Majesty since he entered the palace, watching His Majesty get married and have children. In other words, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince grew up under his care.
Li Yin took a step back and said jokingly, "Then Lord Shang, please just pretend you didn't see me. After all, I haven't been away from the East Palace for more than a day or two. Doesn't Lord Shang know?"
Shang Gong Han Shouyi's expression remained unchanged, and he answered respectfully: "Yes, I know that, but when Your Majesty came to the East Palace two nights ago, I accompanied Your Majesty..."
When Li Yin heard this, a look of toothache appeared on his face: "Why? What do you want to scold me for again!" Without waiting for Han Shouyi to answer, he walked away.
Shang Gong Han Shouyi said from behind Li Yin: "When His Highness came two days ago, I saw you go to the side hall..."
The side hall is where the tablet of your majesty's late queen, Li Yin's mother, is placed. It can be imagined that Li Yin went to the side hall to pay tribute to his deceased mother, but your majesty has never gone to pay tribute once because of guilt.
Li Yin sneered and said to Shang Gong provocatively, "What? I can't even worship my own mother. You can't deprive me of the right to visit my mother just because he's cowardly!"
Shang Gong Han Shouyi didn't reveal any personal emotions because of Li Yin's words. He said calmly: "Your Highness, you know that this is not what I meant. The son concealed it to protect his father, and the father concealed it to protect his son. Do you want to live your lives with only your backs on each other?"
Li Yin didn't say anything and walked straight into the hall.
The candlelight in the hall was dim, and only His Majesty and the Crown Prince were there, so neither of them could see the expression on each other's face. His Majesty sat on the main seat in the East Palace and looked down at his son. In the blink of an eye, his son had grown from a crying child in his arms into a dashing and handsome adult. His Majesty looked at his increasingly dry hands, and a feeling of sadness welled up in his heart, but this sadness must never be revealed in front of others.
Li Yin was in a bad mood and the two of them were silent for a while. Finally, it was His Majesty who broke the silence first.
"My mental state has been getting worse recently. I often feel tinnitus and my memory is getting worse. I can't tell whether what happened yesterday was a dream or reality." His Majesty said in a daze.
Li Yin still didn't speak.
"You must be prepared. You will be in power soon, right away." His Majesty finally got straight to the point, staring straight at Li Yin.
"I don't want to." Li Yin refused directly.
"You don't want to? It's not a question of whether you are willing or not. You are my son, but you are also the crown prince of this dynasty!" His Majesty shouted loudly at Li Yin. The long-term mental stress made His Majesty's emotions very unstable.
"Prince!" His Majesty asked again, and Li Yin still did not change his answer.
Li Yin finally stopped being silent and stated the reason directly: "Being born as a prince is not something I can choose, but what kind of prince I will become must follow my wishes. I don't want to be like you..." Li Yin did not continue with the rest of the words, but His Majesty already understood what he meant, and His Majesty was powerless to stop him. He could only watch Li Yin push the door and leave, while he slumped powerlessly on the dragon throne.
.....
After Luo Sanrong found Princess Yongning, Princess Yongning returned to the palace and told Concubine Shu in detail what had happened in sign language, including the incident of encountering a "bad guy" on the road. Luo Sanrong quickly apologized to Concubine Shu. Concubine Shu thought that Yongning had not spoken to her so much for a long time, and that it was not entirely Luo Sanrong's fault, so she did not punish Luo Sanrong and asked him to do something for her.
Luo Sanrong did not dare to refuse Concubine Shu's "request" and had to agree.
"I really miss Your Majesty recently. Can you deliver a letter to Your Majesty for me?" Concubine Shu took out a letter and handed it to Luo Sanrong, saying softly.
"Is it just a letter?" Luo Sanrong confirmed again and again. Because it was just a letter, Luo Sanrong did not understand why Concubine Shu spoke to her in such an almost pleading tone.
"Yes, I just want to deliver a letter." Concubine Shu looked at Luo Sanrong with burning eyes, making Luo Sanrong suspect that there was some conspiracy behind this matter.
"Okay." Luo Sanying accepted the letter and promised to do it. After that, he took the letter and went out.
Princess Yongning looked at her mother with disapproval and used sign language to express: "Mother, you know... this is obviously impossible to do... maybe it will anger the Queen..."
Concubine Shu touched Yongning's hair bun, then touched Yongning's earlobe, without saying a word, but just cast her eyes into the distance. Then, looking at the osmanthus tree outside the palace swaying in the wind, she murmured, "I really have no choice. I miss him so much..."
Princess Yongning fell silent upon hearing this.
The concubine was originally a singing girl. When His Majesty was on tour, she was noticed by His Majesty because of her melodious singing voice and gentle temperament. She entered the palace and was named a beauty. When the concubine entered the palace, His Majesty had already married a wife, the former queen. The former queen was the daughter of the censor and had been well-read since childhood. His Majesty and the former queen were young couples and had a deep affection for each other. The concubine watched from the side. Although she was envious, she never held any grudges, because she only wanted to see the person she loved happy. Later, Ji Zelan entered the palace and was named a noble concubine with the help of her family power. She was arrogant and domineering when she entered the palace. The late queen, for the sake of His Majesty's former dynasty's stability, had endured all this. Later, Ji Zelan grew increasingly rampant, using her family's influence to poison the late queen. The late queen's health grew increasingly frail, and she ultimately passed away. His Majesty, mindful of the family's influence, had no choice but to remain dormant. After the late queen's passing, she left behind the seven-year-old Crown Prince. To reassure His Majesty, Concubine Shu volunteered to care for him. For over a decade, she had silently loved His Majesty, but now that His Majesty was imprisoned, Concubine Shu wanted only to see him once more, fulfilling her own wish...
As soon as Luo Sanrong walked out of Jingren Palace with the letter, she was pulled over by Nanny Sun, who was beside Concubine Shu, and warned: "I'm telling you, just turn a blind eye to this matter..."
"What?" Luo Sanrong didn't understand and wanted to ask clearly.
Just as Nanny Sun was about to explain to her, she felt a cool breeze on the back of her neck. From the corner of her eye, she saw Princess Yongning standing at the window looking at her. She swallowed back the words she was about to say and said impatiently, "Go ahead and send her off! But don't say too much..."
Luo Sanrong felt a little baffled, scratching his head before heading to His Majesty's palace to deliver the letter...
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