Chapter 73 [VIP]
"Qing'er, look who I brought with me. This is your beloved ninth brother. Now he has finally come to our hometown, and I brought him here." Li Yunhuo stroked the woman's palm, her bare bones reflecting his affectionate expression like porcelain.
For a moment, Murong Yue was disoriented. It was like a dream, as if he were in a dream. The man's behavior was too strange. He looked at the white bones that had been found from who-knows-where, saw the broken skull of the woman, and the repaired wounds... Could it really be the corpse of his elder sister?
"Have you gone mad? Young Master Li, take a good look at this skeleton and see who it is!" Murong Yue said through gritted teeth.
Lu Xuejin watched from the side, observing Li Yunhuo's demeanor, which seemed genuine. After being momentarily stunned by the questioning, Li Yunhuo laughed, looking at Murong Yue and saying, "How can you say I'm crazy? I never let Qing'er see anyone normally. I only invited you two to my residence because you are Qing'er's younger brother. Although she is now just a skeleton, it doesn't stop me from loving her. If my love cannot even transcend the boundary of life and death, wouldn't that be too hypocritical?"
Li Yunhuo sighed, "If Qing'er were still alive, she would be heartbroken. Love is so difficult to transcend life and death... Your Highness, I respect you. If you are angry about this, we will not see her. But my wedding with Qing'er—even if she were dead, I would still marry her. This is my only wish. Will Your Highness grant it?"
Murong Yue thought to himself, "Dream on! This madman is talking nonsense. Coming here was a mistake." He sneered but didn't answer. He looked at the young man beside him, who seemed to be deep in thought, not saying anything, just staring at the stark white bones, lost in thought.
Li Yunhuo looked at them with a smile, though his expression was questioning; his eyes held a different meaning. His intense gaze made the garden seem like a misty, gloomy mansion, giving those within it a sense of alienation from the world.
“This matter is of great importance. How about we discuss it? What Young Master Li did today is beyond reason and norms. His Highness and I find it difficult to accept and need some time to calm down. Could Young Master Li give us some time?” Lu Xuejin asked.
As soon as the man agreed, Li Yunhuo beamed with joy, a blush spreading across his face. Holding the white bone, he looked at them and said, "Of course. Your Highness. I had someone bring back your baby tooth and birth hair from the capital. Qing'er prayed for you back then, you probably don't remember. It was at Wanfo Temple... Every time I see that baby tooth, I always imagine what it would be like to meet Your Highness."
"..." Murong Yue remained expressionless. He turned his face away from the madman surnamed Li and looked only at Lu Xuejin.
Lu Xuejin remained polite, thanking Li Yunhuo, and did not linger in the elaborately decorated hall. Li Yunhuo escorted them to a side courtyard. The courtyard had been specially prepared for them, and as soon as the door closed, Murong Yue immediately questioned him.
“Brother, why agree? I think he’s a madman, and he’s undoubtedly Li Miaosuo’s son. There’s not a single normal person in this family. I think we should just kill him right here and use him to get us out of the city,” Murong Yue said.
Lu Xuejin shook his head slightly upon hearing this. He said to Murong Yue, "Your Highness is naturally aware that we have already entered his residence, not to mention that Prefect Yin knows we are here. I was just thinking about something from the past... Several years ago, when the Eldest Princess went south, a scholar went to the capital to take the imperial examination because he missed her. At that time, several murders occurred in the capital, and several men from prominent families who were expected to become imperial consorts died. This matter caused quite a stir in the capital back then. Now that I think about it, I wonder if there is any connection. I just asked Prefect Yin, and the time when Li Yunhuo entered the capital almost coincides with that."
Murong Yue: "Who in the world doesn't want to be a prince consort? If he wanted to, he should be able to distinguish between reality and dreams. Besides, my elder sister is already dead. I think he has gone mad with desire to be a prince consort."
“This…this is the first time I’ve ever seen anything like this,” Lu Xuejin said. “Your Highness, please don’t be angry about this. There are many people in the world who are obsessed with something, but very few can go to this extent, which is astonishing.”
Lu Xuejin: "Let's first investigate the strange things happening in this mansion. If we can get out safely, then it's not impossible to do as Your Highness suggested."
Seeing the prince's flustered appearance, he patted the little prince's head. The two met eyes, and Murong Yue, seeing how calm he was, also calmed down.
"I understand, I'll listen to you, brother."
As he spoke, Murong Yue inspected the hall. The room was exquisitely furnished. He watched as His Highness skillfully picked up an unopened incense stick from the incense burner, smelled it, and then threw it away.
“This is a sleeping potion,” Murong Yue said.
Lu Xuejin looked over and saw that His Highness had found many more incense sticks from the corner. As he watched His Highness's actions, His Highness said to him, "My mother loves incense very much. She prepares more than a dozen kinds of incense every day. I am very familiar with these things. I can tell if there is anything fishy just by smelling it."
“The window is very clean, as if it was just wiped today. He must have been prepared,” Lu Xuejin said. As he spoke, he and Murong Yue looked out the window together. The paper window did not block people's view, and their shadows were reflected in the night. He and the prince could see everything they did clearly.
At the corner of the garden, behind the wall obscured by morning glories, the figure of Li Yunhuo was faintly visible beneath the goddess statue. Beside him, guards entered from outside, their shadows covering the flowerbed beneath the goddess statue, casting a large, dense patch of darkness.
Lu Xuejin: "Look, that guard must be after us. Attending the banquet today is like catching a turtle in a jar."
Murong Yue put his hands in his sleeves. "I'm not worried about the guards, but I'm worried about my brother. If my elder sister were still alive, she would have cut off this person's head for such an absurd act."
“…” Lu Xuejin watched Li Yunhuo talking to the guards through the window. His expression was no different from that of an ordinary person. He suddenly asked, “If I were to die one day, what would Your Highness do?”
To be honest, I don't know if he was moved by this person's absurd behavior or if he was inspired by His Highness's lively demeanor. He is much older than His Highness, so it is normal for him to ask questions.
"Then naturally I will live well with my brother's last wishes. My brother is gone, and I would never do such an absurd thing. My admiration for my brother is extremely deep, but that does not prevent me from living in reality. I can distinguish between truth and falsehood, illusion and dream," Murong Yue replied.
After saying that, Murong Yue leaned closer to look into his eyes and asked, "I am so casual, do you think my feelings are not deep or subtle?"
Of course not. Lu Xuejin met those clear, bright eyes. He couldn't possibly be like His Highness; compared to His Highness, he seemed less clear-headed. He couldn't help but sigh. Fortunately, he was older and would always be ahead of His Highness. His Highness had love in his heart; even without him, His Highness could live well.
“I spend every day with Your Highness, so I naturally know your feelings for me. There is no need to say anything or prove it. But seeing this scene today, I can’t help but feel a sense of unease and want to ask Your Highness’s opinion.”
Murong Yue: "This is not my true nature. I have a dark and obscure side, but when I am with you, my true nature becomes more and more beautiful. You have helped me get rid of my dark self. If you were not such a bright person, my dark nature might have come out. Now I admire your virtues and can distinguish between what should be done and what should not be done."
"To leave the body unburied is unacceptable. Since the deceased is gone, we should let go of our obsessions and do what we can. If I were him, I should uphold the virtues of my elder sister and act as she did when she was the crown prince. Instead of indulging in my own fantasies and letting everything in the world reflect my thoughts, that would be going astray. If one falls into the trap of obsession, it will lead to mental illness."
As Lu Xuejin observed Murong Yue's casual yet deliberate manner of speaking, he saw a resemblance to his own youth, stirring a unique emotion within him. The boy seemed to radiate a dazzling light, drawing him closer.
"It is my honor that Your Highness is so intelligent," he said, a smile involuntarily curving his lips as he leaned in to kiss Murong Yue on the brow and eye.
Murong Yue closed one eye and looked at him, his little tiger tooth sticking out, and said slyly, "Brother Changyou, let's pretend to be asleep tonight. He put so much sleeping potion in there, I want to see what he's up to."
"Even if I have to pretend, I'm going to beat him up before I leave."
Lu Xuejin responded, a strange feeling stirring within her as she looked at the young prince. Perhaps it was the dreamlike atmosphere of this place, but it possessed an indescribable sense of unreality, unlike anything in the mortal realm, as if she had stepped into a silent haven. There was no life or death, no sickness; all worldly troubles had vanished, leaving only the beautiful things left behind by the mansion's owner. The mansion's owner had painstakingly created a hollow and decaying palace, which he and the young prince had stumbled upon. All emotions within their souls had been drained away, leaving only a strange tranquility.
"Brother, do you like it here?" Murong Yue leaned closer and asked him.
“No,” Lu Xuejin said, “I was just very surprised. When I was young, I read stories in ancient books about people who devoted their lives to doing things that could not be accomplished… What I see today makes me feel a little dazed. This place is filled with a dreamlike beauty that does not match reality. Things that people take for granted seem to be false here. This place is filled with a kind of childlike innocence… If a child came here, he would probably mistake it for a heavenly realm.”
“He is certainly remarkable,” Murong Yue snorted. “He was probably the one who drugged those monks, which shows that he is wicked and extremely self-centered. He does everything according to his own will… Sooner or later he will realize that things are not like that, and if he insists on doing so, he will eventually suffer the consequences.”
The two of them stayed in the side hall for a while, like two small animals in a strange land, huddled together and whispered to each other, warming and calming each other down. When Murong Yue saw Li Yunhuo again, he was much more polite. He noticed that Li Yunhuo had brought his elder sister's birthday calendar, his elder sister's old clothes, his elder sister's sketchbook, and a doll in the same style as his elder brother, Changyou.
This man sewed many dolls of his eldest sister at home, making them incredibly lifelike with different expressions. He feigned curiosity and asked, "I have never met Young Master Li before, so please forgive my rudeness. Why do you like my eldest sister so much? Have you met her before?"
Upon hearing his question, intense emotions flashed in Li Yunhuo's eyes. Holding the doll, he said to him, "Your Highness, you are unaware of this. I was raised by my older sisters from a young age, and they doted on me. I never wanted anything as an adult. Even when I passed the imperial examinations, it was only because I was following my sisters' orders, until I met the Princess. The Princess traveled south incognito, and I saw her once, and I knew what I wanted for the rest of my life. I... I love her... Since seeing her, I have been unable to eat, and I fell seriously ill because of it. Since then, all I have left is longing for her. I want to marry her... Even if I only find a skeleton when I rush to the capital, I cannot sever my feelings."
"I have only one thing left in this life... This is the only thing I want to do. Your Highness may think I've gone mad. I dream of living with her every day, and the thought that we are destined to be apart in this life causes me unbearable pain. No one in this world loves her more than I do, no one wants her more than I do... I'm willing to give everything for this. In recent days, I've been regretting that I can't do anything and can only let the power in the court change. I... my strength is too weak, and I have no courage to resist. Just surviving is already a struggle... I don't know what other meaning there is to my life except living with her. Then I understood that even though she is no longer in this world, I can still love her, and I will use the rest of my life to prove that my love is unwavering and can transcend life and death. This is the meaning of my life."
Murong Yue's temples throbbed with rage, but he feigned composure and asked, "What would Young Master Li do if I disagreed?"
“Of course not. My mother is currently searching for the two of you. Although I consider Your Highness my brother-in-law, that was after my marriage to Qing’er. If Your Highness does not agree, I will have no choice but to send the two of you to my mother’s place. Perhaps that can mend my relationship with my mother,” Li Yunhuo said.
"Because I am a boy, my mother thinks I am worthless. She even took my name from the names of my two older sisters. If I send them over, perhaps my mother will turn a blind eye and stop being prejudiced against me in the future."
Lu Xuejin: "Throughout history, the abandonment of male infants has been extremely rare."
At this point, Li Yunhuo couldn't help but smile and said to the two of them, "That's right. Gender is all about value. My mother only needs women who can bear children. I have no fertility, so she can't protect my rights. Plus, she has many children, so naturally she doesn't care about me. Sometimes I want to ask my mother why she treats me so unfairly. She would definitely laugh and answer me, 'If she weren't so venomous, she wouldn't have become the Godmother of the South, and I wouldn't have gained such immense wealth because of it.'"
"To my mother, my existence was meaningless. She neither expected me to achieve anything nor cared about my situation. My life and death were irrelevant to her. My love came from my sister and stepmother, and I didn't know where my father was. Whether a baby boy or a baby girl, after being abandoned, we are all the same...drifting in this world, becoming empty and helpless souls."
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