“Try coming back tomorrow. Prince Yun won’t see anyone today.”
The sentence calmed the worries in the Minister of War’s heart, and he finally agreed to return to his residence.
At this time, Yun Ruofeng had already made his way into the wine cellar of his residence. After grabbing a large pot of wine off the shelf, he headed straight for the lake in the back garden.
All the imperial guards were asked to withdraw, leaving Yun Ruofeng alone as he gazed at the calm surface of the lake. Ning Rulan’s ashes had been scattered here, and so… this is where her body rests.
Yun Ruofeng lifted the red cloth covering the top of the wine pot and brought the pot to his lips. He pitched his head back and drank, the wine overflowing as it dripped down the corners of his mouth and down his neck. His adam’s apple bobbed up and down as he continued to drink, and when he finally put the wine pot down, it was already half empty.
His face was still plastered with a smile, but it wasn’t the same as before. Instead, his faint grin had a desolate feeling to it as he gazed at the surface of the lake. “This Prince already stepped back and agreed to give half of my power to His Majesty, so why won’t you return to this Prince’s side? You really think that Prince Hao is so kind? He is also very hungry for power! Wait until Beimin’s little Emperor becomes an adult; Prince Hao won’t give away any of his power!”
At this point, Yun Ruofeng raised his head and laughed. “Ning Rulan, you are right. This Prince really can’t compare to Pei Qianhao. He rules over all of Beimin, which is much stronger than Nanzhao in the first place. How could I compare to him? However, you are this Prince’s woman. How could you leave with him?! How could you?!”
He started to drink right after he finished yelling, the alcohol burning in his throat. His heart was completely hollow, and his mind was full of images of Su Xi-er together with Pei Qianhao.
“Come here.” Pei Qianhao only had to call her softly for her to walk straight past me, allowing him to hold her by the waist.
It’s true that people blurted out words of truth after drinking alcohol. Yun Ruofeng now truly understood his own feelings. Only now do I recognise that I loved Ning Rulan so deeply. There is nobody who can replace her, but it’s already impossible for her to forgive me no matter what I do.
Even if I hand all my power to Ning Lianchen, she won’t even spare a single glance at me. I know full well how she treats traitors; there was once a soldier who leaked intel to the enemy when we were at war. When she found out about it, she snapped the tendons in his arms and legs and left him to his own devices.
She was so vicious, and now it’s my turn. Yun Ruofeng laughed in misery. “Lan-er, return to this Prince, alright? Let’s just live together with you educating the children and me returning home to see you every day. I’ll only be with you for this whole lifetime. Why won’t you agree to this wonderful life?”
Why did she reject me and follow Pei Qianhao? Can she really say that her life will be better? With her status the way it is? She’s no longer Ning Rulan, but a lowly maidservant known as Su Xi-er!
No matter how much power Pei Qianhao holds, he still has to be mindful of the Pei Family and the ministers of the court. Not to mention, there are other powerful men in Beimin like Xie Yun and Situ Li!
The more Yun Ruofeng thought about it, the more depressed he became.
When the last drop of wine finally passed his lips, the sun had already fallen below the horizon. A gust of wind picked up, and rain began to fall.
Yun Ruofeng only continued to motionlessly stand beside the lake, letting the wine pot slip out of his fingers and smash into the ground with a loud bang.
Yun Ruofeng was suddenly feeling tipsy as he looked at the broken pieces of the wine pot on the ground. “Broken. Even if they were glued together, there would still be remnants of the cracks. Lan-er, are we really unable to get together?” After that, he bent down to pick up the broken pieces.
Halfway through the motion however, his feet slipped, and he went tumbling into the lake. The icy cold water gushed into his mouth and nose, but although Yun Ruofeng knew how to swim, he didn’t attempt to resurface. With the lake water mixed with Ning Rulan’s ashes, he felt as if he was being embraced by Ning Rulan in the lake water.
Although it was ice-cold, he still felt that it was warm.
