The Emperor’s rebuke soon came to Mingguo Manor. Emperor Zongwen knew about Ling Mingyan’s character, so he spoke very harshly. But the eunuch sent by Emperor Zongwen was taken aback when he heard that Ling Mingyan was really injured and that the injury was serious—there was a bleeding opening on her forehead and she had not woken up from her faint. So, the eunuch hurried back to the palace to report to Emperor Zongwen. Then, Emperor Zongwen asked an imperial physician to come and see her.
The imperial physician bustled to Mingguo Manor at once. After examining the wound, he came to the conclusion that Marquess Mingguo’s wife had bumped her head against something. The wound was rather large and she was still at a critical stage. Immediately, Ding General Manor, the Empress, and the Empress Dowager sent people to deliver medicine materials and their comforts to her. Marquess Mingguo had been sitting by the bed and stayed up all night. His eyes had turned red and swollen.
King Xuan’s Manor was also teeming with visitors. Princess Caifeng was a guest from the Southern Barbarian Lands. She had been injured, and the wound was on her face, which was the most important part for a girl. And it was caused by a crash with the carriage of Consort Yan’s sister-in-law that occurred on her way back from King Yan’s Manor. No matter how one looked at it, this matter had something to do with King Yan.
Early the next morning, King Yan came to visit Princess Caifeng with You Yue’e.
Crown Prince Xieyue happened to be out, so the one who came to welcome them was Hu Qianyue, who had followed Princess Caifeng to the capital. After all, there was not much discrimination on the ground of gender in the Southern Barbarian Lands. Hu Qianyue said that Princess Caifeng was not feeling well and had taken medicine, and she invited them to talk in the room.
In Great Qin, such an invitation could never be allowed. It was improper for a man to enter an unmarried girl’s room, even if he was accompanied by his wife. However, Hu Qianyue repeatedly emphasized that according to the custom of the Southern Barbarian Lands, they were totally allowed to go into the room to visit the patient as long as there was a screen in the room.
You Yue’e was unwilling to do it. However, she thought that this had something to do with her, and Feng Yulei was angry and scolded her yesterday. The two had a fight and Feng Yulei slept in the study last night. As such, she could only keep her complaints to herself.
There was indeed a screen in the room, but the screen was made of light gauze. Even though it was not completely transparent, one could still see the beautiful figure lying on the bed. As Princess Caifeng heard King Yan come in to visit her, her sweet voice sounded from the bed.
“I was only slightly injured. How would I dare to trouble King Yan to come over? Qianyue, tell His Highness and Her Lady to have a seat.”
Feng Yulei sat down and looked at the screen as he said gently, “This is all my fault. If I had known this would happen, I would have sent someone to escort Your Highness here so that you would not have suffered so much.” His words were normal, but coupled with his tone, it made one feel that there was something going on between the two of them.
You Yue’e sat by his side, feeling a surge of bitterness. She lowered her head reluctantly and suppressed the bitterness in her heart!
Princess Caifeng seemed to be crying behind the screen. The palace maid brought a handkerchief to her and she wiped her tears, and said in a sweet voice, “How can I blame you, Your Highness? Yesterday, you accompanied me to stroll in the garden. I felt very happy and wanted to visit it again today, but now…”
“Don’t worry, Princess Caifeng. I’ve already asked the imperial physician. Your condition is not grave. When you recover, I will accompany you to see the beautiful sceneries of the entire capital. It is a gesture of my good will for you.” Feng Yulei’s lips curled up and his voice grew even gentler, sounding a little affectionate for some reason.
He had thought that his marriage with Princess Caifeng would be ruined because of what Ling Mingyan had done. As such, he had not been nice to You Yue’e last night. When he saw that Princess Caifeng still remembered his good will despite her injury, he felt rather gleeful. He had intended to marry Princess Caifeng, so of course, he would do his best to coax her.
“Then I have to trouble you, Your Highness. It’s a pity that I, I’m afraid… afraid that if something like this happens again, I won’t even be able to see you again.” Princess Caifeng shed tears behind the screen. Her delicate voice was filled with soft sadness, which could soften the most hard-hearted man.
You Yue’e, however, was so irked she thought she would spit blood. She would never have thought that a princess of a country would dare to seduce her husband right in front of her, the legal wife. Even though the two’s marriged had been decided, watching it happen with her own eyes was totally different from thinking about it. You Yue’e wrung her handkerchief and gritted her teeth. She could not echo her husband’s view even if she wanted to. Along the way, Feng Yulei had told her what she should say, but when those words reached her throat, they turned into one word—”B*tch!”
“Princess Caifeng is such a b*tch!”
“I… I… I’ll go out to get some fresh air.” She bit her lips and stood up, holding her maidservant’s hand. Before Princess Caifeng could say something, she hurried out. She felt that if she stayed any longer, she might really fly into a rage.
“Your Highness, does Her Lady not like me?” A cold smile appeared on Princess Caifeng’s face when she saw that You Yue’e had fled hurriedly. However, she asked Feng Yulei in a gentle tone as if she was really afraid that You Yue’e would be angry. There was a hint of fear in her voice.
“Bitch, how dare you try to disfigure me? I won’t let you off the hook easily.”
“How could that be? She is just feeling guilty and did not know what to say to you!” Feng Yulei explained. He looked at You Yue’e’s retreating back impatiently from the corner of his eye. He felt a jolt of annoyance. Women were just unable to accomplish anything but liable to spoil everything. They had agreed on it, but You Yue’e stirred up trouble again, almost ruining his plans.
“Somebody remove the screen,” Hu Qianyue suddenly ordered the palace maids beside her.
This made Feng Yulei stunned for a moment. In a daze, he watched the screen between the two of them be pulled away. Then he saw a pair of beautiful eyes that were filled with tears above the veil that Princess Caifeng was wearing. His heart skipped a beat. Princess Caifeng was indeed very beautiful. At this time, her face was veiled, only a pair of watery eyes revealed. The affection in her eyes could make one’s heart flutter when looking at her.
“King Yan, we people of Southern Barbarian Lands do not care so much about etiquette. As you are so close with our princess, you don’t need to bother with those unnecessary etiquettes. Please take a seat and talk to our princess. I will go and accompany Consort Yan,” Hu Qianyue explained with a smile. Then, she curtsied to Feng Yulei and asked the palace maids who were standing by the side, “Did you see where Consort Yan went just now?”
“I will take you there,” one of the palace maids answered, and then the palace maids followed Hu Qianyue out, leaving Princess Caifeng and Feng Yulei in the room by themselves.
You Yue’e did not stay outside for long. She stood under a tree and took a deep breath, exhaling the anger in her chest. The maidservant beside her wanted to say something but You Yue’e waved her down. She reached out to touch her belly. When she thought of what Feng Yulei had said to her, she cooled down gradually.
Marrying Princess Caifeng was King Yan’s idea and also what her elder brother wanted. She had fought for her benefits before, and in the future, only her son could inherit King Yan’s position. King Yan also promised that he would not remove her from the position of being his legal wife. What else did she have to worry about then?
To be honest, You Yue’e had noticed the few princes of the royal family. King Chu was obviously very scheming. One of his wives was dead while the other was mad. You Yue’e felt that the matter was not that simple. King Xuan had been in love with his wife lately, but he was known for his philandering ways. It was hard to say how long his love for Consort Xuan would last.
In comparison, King Yan was fairly better than the rest princes. He had a deep affection for her. Last time when the Emperor had sent two second consorts to the manor, he had touched neither of them at all. The maidservants serving him in bed were still in the manor. But since she married into the manor, he rarely went to their’s. He was very kind and gentle to her, and would always consult with her if anything came up.
Now, though he wanted to marry Princess Caifeng, he still discussed it with her first. Furthermore, the marriage was completely based on interests and he was not really in love with the princess. Then, why would she get jealousy of a shameless woman from the Southern Barbarian Lands? She might as well be more gracious. Anyway, she was his wife and they worked with one heart. When Princess Caifeng entered King Yan’s Manor, she would still have everything in her hands.
After she thought this through, You Yue’e completely calmed down. She waved her hand and returned with her maidservant. She could not allow others to see her being impolite. Even though King Yan wanted to marry Princess Caifeng, she could not allow others to say that he had done something wrong and had a secret date with an unmarried woman. Even if the Southern Barbarian Lands did not care about it, they had to avoid that someone of the Qin Kingdom would take advantage of this and ruin his reputation.
“Consort Yan?” When she reached the door, You Yue’e suddenly heard someone calling. She turned around, but did not recognize who it was. She just frowned and looked at the official in front of her.
“Greetings, Consort Yan, I am Lian An.” Lian An immediately cupped his hands to greet her politely when he saw that it was really Consort Yan.
“Sir Lian, what are you doing here?” You Yue’e asked gently, even though she could not remember who he was.
“Under His Majesty’s order, I’m here to deliver some medicine materials and check on Princess Caifeng’s injury,” Lian An replied.
“Aren’t there others in the manor?” You Yue’e asked with a frown. Lian An was considered an outside man. It was inappropriate for him to be brought to see Princess Caifeng. King Yan wanted to marry Princess Caifeng and she didn’t want him to misunderstand, so she did not say anything. However, Lian An was different.
If Princess Caifeng was really such an unceremonious person, the entire King Yan’s Manor would lose face after she married into the manor.
“It doesn’t matter. Miss Hu ahead asked me to come in to see Princess Caifeng. I’ll only bow to Princess Caifeng outside the room and inform her of His Majesty’s intention,” Lian An explained.
You Yue’e suddenly remembered who Lian An was. She looked him up and down suspiciously. She had heard her elder brother say that the man was on Consort Zhao’s side. The last time they failed to plot against Mo Xuetong in the temple, it had something to do with Consort Zhao. The carriage that caused the trouble set off from the Lian’s Manor. In the end, it secretly returned to his manor.
“Didn’t you work in the Ministry of Works, Sir Lian? When did you start handling the affairs of the Imperial Household Department?”
The former minister of the Ministry of Works now was an official of the Imperial Household Department. There was a wide gap in the status of the two offices.
“My Lady, where His Majesty asks me to, I will be there. I will follow His Majesty’s orders.” Lian An did not seem to feel such a huge gap. He was calm, which made You Yue’e praise him secretly. She thought that Lian An was a talent, who was not moved by official honor or disgrace. She might ask King Yan to try to accept him as a subordinate.
The two of them arrived at Princess Caifeng’s room while they were talking. Lian An stood below the steps, and before he could speak, they suddenly heard a woman’s scream from inside, “Quick, quick… Ah!” Then, there was a shattering sound.
The two were both shocked. Ignoring You Yue’e, Lian An strode forward with a few guards behind him and pulled open the curtains. Next, he stood there, petrified…
