Chapter 48
Since he had already made up his mind to leave, there was no need to hide from Li Yin anymore. So, the next day, Luo Sanrong went to the East Palace to be on duty as usual.
However, only Eunuch Ma was in the East Palace sorting out the memorials. Despite his busy schedule, Eunuch Ma raised his head and reminded Luo Sanrong, saying, "His Highness asked you to go to the Imperial Garden to find him!"
When they arrived at the Imperial Garden, Luo Sanrong found Li Yinchang where he was. Luo Sanrong asked tentatively, "Your Highness, are you looking for me?"
Li Yin turned around and looked straight at Luo Sanrong, with emotions surging in his eyes that Luo Sanrong had never seen before, like a wave that had been suppressed for a long time and was finally about to break through the dam.
Luo Sanrong's heart tightened when he looked at her. She subconsciously lowered her eyelashes, curled her hands slightly in her sleeves, and stood respectfully according to her duties as an eunuch.
Just then, Li Yin spoke.
His voice was not loud, and even had a barely perceptible hoarseness. Every word he spoke fell into Luo Sanrong's ears and hit her heart hard.
"I lied." Li Yin's eyes were fixed on Luo Sanrong, not missing any subtle expression on her face. "I asked you to stay by my side, not as an inner court official."
Luo Sanying suddenly raised her head, her eyes full of disbelief. She opened her mouth, but found that she couldn't say a word for a moment. She only felt that her breathing, which had been steady just now, became a little rapid at this moment.
Li Yin's eyes did not move away from Luo Sanrong's face.
Luo Sanrong was about to speak, but before she could utter a word, he raised his hand to stop her.
The hand stopped in mid-air, its fingertips trembling slightly.
He turned his gaze away, looking elsewhere. "No need to say it." His voice was lower than before, as if he was afraid of disturbing something, or as if he was talking to himself. "Some things have been stuck in my heart for too long, and even I can't tell whether I should ask you or myself."
Luo Sanrong froze in place. He raised his hand and pressed his brows, his fingertips rolling over his furrowed brows, as if suppressing some surging emotions.
"You know," he suddenly chuckled softly, a laugh tinged with self-mockery and bewilderment, "I've been having trouble sleeping these past few nights. When I close my eyes, I see you standing by my side, holding a cup of tea. And when I open my eyes, it's still you. I keep wondering why I have to keep you by my side? Why does seeing you smile at others make me feel like something's blocking my heart?"
He raised his eyes and looked at Luo Sanrong. "I've asked myself this question countless times." His voice was slightly tense, as if he was holding something hot. "After asking for so long, I finally found the answer."
After saying that, he suddenly stopped and his gaze fell back on Luo Sanrong's face. His eyes were surprisingly bright, with a kind of determination to go all out, and also a hint of expectation that he himself had not even noticed.
Luo Sanrong looked at him and suddenly understood - he was not asking himself questions, but was clearly using these layers of self-questions to pave a path leading to an answer, a path that he had hesitated for a long time and finally dared to take.
Luo Sanrong didn't dare to respond to him. He took a step back and said in a tense voice, "Your Highness, what are you doing?"
Li Yin looked at Luo Sanrong in front of him, his eyes filled with unprecedented warmth and determination. He took a step forward, and the air around him seemed to become hot because of this simple action.
"Before I became His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, I was a person, a man, and I... loved you. That's my answer." These words were like emotions that had been pent up for a long time, bursting out in an instant with full force.
Luo Sanrong's body shook violently, as if struck by a bolt of lightning.
She widened her eyes and looked at Li Yin in disbelief, her lips slightly parted, but she couldn't speak for a moment.
For a long time, she had hidden herself in men's clothing and lived cautiously in this palace. She never thought she would hear such a straightforward and passionate confession.
Luo Sanrong's cheeks flushed and her heart began to beat violently uncontrollably.
She lowered her eyes, trying to avoid Li Yin's burning gaze.
"No..." Luo Sanrong stammered, "What's wrong with you? You are the Crown Prince! How can you be so mean to a man like me... No... Eunuch, this is not allowed..." She bit her lower lip, but in the end she didn't have the courage to tell him that she had concealed her identity.
Li Yin seemed to see through her thoughts. He gently lifted her chin with his fingers, letting her look at him. His eyes were firm and persistent: "Don't deny my feelings."
He continued, "Didn't you say that? How can we judge our involuntary thoughts as right or wrong?"
When Luo Sanrong heard Li Yin's affectionate confession, the shock on her face became more intense. She subconsciously took a small step back and unconsciously clutched the corners of her clothes with her hands.
"What? Your Highness... even love can be good or bad. Your Highness is of noble status, shouldering the heavy responsibility of the country. All the people in the world look up to you.
And this way, no matter how you look at it, will not gain the support of the public, this..." Her voice trembled slightly, and her words became hesitant, her lowered eyes filled with worry and helplessness.
"I know, but I want to give this love that doesn't work out a try." His voice was low and powerful, as if he was making a solemn promise.
Li Yin took a step forward, and the crisp pine scent mixed with a faint scent of ambergris wafted towards him. Just as Luo Sanrong was about to step back, he had already firmly grasped her wrist.
His palms had thin calluses from holding a pen during the day, but they were unexpectedly warm. He slowly held her face.
Luo Sanrong's jawline was tense, her eyelashes trembling like frightened butterfly wings, and the panic of the previous argument still lingered in her eyes. "Don't hide."
Li Yin's voice was as low and hoarse as if soaked in honey. His fingertips gently stroked her red earlobe. Before she could say anything else, his warm breath covered her.
At first, Luo Sanrong was stiff, her lips tightly pursed, and she put her hands on his chest to push him away. When her fingertips touched the solid texture under his clothes, it felt like hitting an iron wall.
But his kiss was unquestionably gentle, and the hand pressing against his chest loosened its grip at some point, and the rejection turned into a subtle touch.
Li Yin noticed her softening and kissed her more deeply. When his tongue tip gently pried open her teeth, a tiny whimper escaped from Luo Sanrong's throat. She stood on tiptoe as if possessed by a ghost and raised her hands to wrap around his neck.
Li Yin didn't move away until Luo Sanrong was out of breath, his nose still touching hers, his eyes shining.
Luo Sanrong's cheeks were as red as ripe cherries, and her lips were slightly swollen from being kissed. Looking at his eyes so close to her, she suddenly burst out laughing.
When Li Yin saw her smile, the tension in his eyes instantly disappeared, and he also grinned, revealing two rows of neat white teeth, and even the corners of his eyes were stained with smile.
When Li Yin and Luo Sanrong returned to the Eastern Palace together, Eunuch Ma obviously noticed that the atmosphere between the two was different. He asked Luo Sanrong, but Luo Sanrong said nothing. He asked His Highness, but was afraid that His Highness would think he was too gossipy.
Suddenly, the prince called him and asked him to call Sun Zhong and Yue Xi over. Eunuch Ma didn't understand what was going on.
When Sun Zhong and Yue Xi knelt in front of Li Yin, they didn't know what had happened. They thought that their previous actions had been exposed and looked terrified.
Li Yin raised his head, his gaze fixed on the two of them. He spoke slowly, his voice low and gentle, yet every word clear: "I intend to add you to the list of those to be expelled from the palace. I will erase all records of you as palace servants. Do you want to leave the palace and live with me?"
The two men were originally standing with their heads bowed, not daring to make a sound, and they froze when they heard the words.
At first there was dead silence, as if they didn't hear Li Yin's words clearly, and both of them paused.
Yuexi only felt a buzzing in her ears, and her fingertips suddenly tightened, clenching so hard that her palms hurt, before she dared to confirm that she was not dreaming.
She secretly raised her eyes and saw that there was no joking in Li Yin's eyes. His gaze was still calm, but with an unquestionable certainty.
Sun Zhong, who was standing next to him, suddenly raised his hand at his side and clenched it into a fist, his knuckles turning white and his shoulders trembling slightly.
His Adam's apple rolled a few times, but he couldn't make a sound. He could only stare blankly at the person sitting in the upper seat, with astonishment, bewilderment, and a trace of confusion that he dared not hope for.
Within these red walls, once the list of palace servants is entered into the files, it is like a brand engraved on the bones. In life, they are palace servants, and in death, they are palace ghosts. How can they have any autonomy at all?
What's more, "erasing all records" means that they can walk out of this square city with a clean identity as if they had never entered the palace and live a life that truly belongs to them.
"Leave...leave the palace?" Yuexi's voice was as thin as a mosquito, trembling with disbelief. "Live... together?"
The two looked at each other, kowtowed at the same time, and said in trembling voices: "Thank you, Your Highness!"
Li Yin took a piece of plain paper from the desk, held the wolf hair brush with his fingertips, pondered for a moment, paused the tip of the brush, and then a line of elegant small regular script fell on the paper. There was an imperceptible sense of appropriateness between the strokes.
"Go to this place and find this man. He will find you a place to stay and help you make a living based on your abilities."
Sun Zhong took the paper and asked, "Why would you do such a thing?"
Li Yin replied, "Thank you for letting me know that sincerity can create miracles. You must live a happy life."
The last few words were spoken very softly, but they were like a small stone dropped into the lake of their hearts, creating a circle of solemn ripples.
They all bowed, their foreheads almost touching the ground, their throats choked with words, and finally they could only utter in choked sobs, "Yes, Your Highness!"
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