Just before Yun Ruofeng fell into the lake, Qin Ling had mustered up his courage to walk into the back garden. He had been waiting outside for more than two hours, and had grown worried when Prince Yun still hadn’t returned.
When he finally found Prince Yun, the latter was bending over to pick up the pieces of the shattered wine pot before he fell into the lake. Waves broke the surface of the lake, blowing apart its previously serene surface.
Qin Ling immediately ran up and jumped into the lake, taking ahold of Yun Ruofeng’s arm and attempting to bring him to shore. However, drunk as he was, Yun Ruofeng stubbornly struggled to try to stay at the bottom of the lake. Qin Ling had no choice but to knock him out by hitting his neck before dragging him ashore.
When Qin Ling saw Prince Yun’s pallid face, he knew that things weren’t looking good. Prince Yun has been badly affected by his loss of power this time around.
Without thinking about anything else, Qin Ling carried Prince Yun on his back and ran to the main courtyard. He then instructed an imperial guard to secretly summon Imperial Physician Fang from the imperial palace.
A maidservant from the Prince Yun Residence had been summoned to change Yun Ruofeng out of his wet clothes. However, before her hand had touched him, Yun Ruofeng’s eyes snapped open with a cold blaze. “Don’t touch this Prince! Lan-er doesn’t like it if others touch this Prince!”
The maidservant was confused. Who is Lan-er? Does Prince Yun like a woman called Lan-er? The maidservant didn’t know what to do and immediately left the room to find Qin Ling.
When she told Qin Ling about the situation, he immediately understood who ‘Lan-er’ was. “I will take care of it, just keep quiet about this matter.”
The maidservant nodded and turned on her heels to leave.
When Qin Ling entered the main hall, he found Yun Ruofeng sitting on a red wooden chair, the latter’s eyes furiously darting around the room. “Where is this Prince’s tea? Lan-er’s favourite tea is kept here by this Prince. Why did it disappear?! She won’t be happy if she finds out it’s missing.”
When Qin Ling saw that the dispirited Prince Yun was beside himself, he started to worry and hastily walked up. “Prince Yun, you just asked your maidservant to take the tea away, saying that you didn’t want to see those tea leaves. The previous Eldest Imperial Princess has already passed away; you need to let it go.”
“Passed away?” Yun Ruofeng chuckled and suddenly quieted down. “She hasn’t passed away; she is alive. This Prince just saw her. She doesn’t want to forgive this Prince and is refusing to come back.”
Qin Ling was even more worried. Prince Yun is starting to talk nonsense. How can he meet someone who has already passed away? He’s missing the previous Eldest Imperial Princess so much that it has become a disease. But if he misses her so much, why did he kill her? Perhaps if he hadn’t done so, Prince Yun wouldn’t be this way. Perhaps Commander Wei wouldn’t have died either.
Prince Yun brought all of this upon himself. This much was obvious to Qin Ling, but he didn’t dare to say it. Rather, he couldn’t bear to say it.
“This Prince wants to drink tea; bring it here.” Yun Ruofeng looked at Qin Ling and ordered.
“Prince Yun, you should change out of your wet clothes.”
Yun Ruofeng waved his hand. “No, this Prince wants to drink tea.”
Qin Ling couldn’t think of anything else to say besides… “The previous Eldest Imperial Princess might be here soon. If she sees that you are sitting here in wet clothes, she won’t be happy.”
“Won’t be happy…” Yun Ruofeng murmured to himself. His inebriated mind was full of thoughts of Ning Rulan.
“You are right, this Prince will change my clothes. Bring the tea over soon.”
“This subordinate understands.” Qin Ling left then left the room to retrieve the tea.
However, he could only sigh as he walked away. If Prince Yun had known that this would be the result, why would he kill the previous Eldest Imperial Princess? He should understand that what goes around comes around. I hope that Prince Yun can reflect on this and feel some guilt.
