Chapter 40: Grasshoppers On the Same Rope
"Li Qingqing's no less restless compared to Su Muzi. Allow her to do as she wants for now. As soon as a good time comes, this consort wants them caught in the act!" said Yao Mowan coldly.
"Understood!" Liu Xing nodded respectfully, then withdrew. Ting Yue looked towards Yao Mowan in puzzlement.
"Your Highness, you're not planning to let Li Qingqing off?" Her master seemed to have been much more generous with Su Muzi.
"Does she deserve that? Back then, Yao Zhenting hadn't forced her to marry into the Yao Residence. However, she's still a child's mother after all, so this consort won't take her life." Yao Mowan lowered her eyes and lifted a cup of tea. However, right as she lifted the lid, Ye Junqing appeared in the palace.
When Ting Yue saw that it was Ye Junqing, she tactfully withdrew. From these past few days of observation, Ting Yue could see that everything Master did was for this man. If she couldn't understand what was important from this, she didn't have the right to stay at Master's side.
"You sure got up early. The sun hasn't even set yet." Once Ting Yue left, Ye Junqing walked over to Yao Mowan. His teasing tone contained a faint trace of displeasure.
"What could Mowan do? His Majesty was too intense." Yao Mowan indifferently tasted the tea even as a trace of dim darkness flashed through her eyes. She questioned her own motive for saying this. Was it an explanation or an attempt to probe? Perhaps she needed to spend some time adjusting her attitude.
Ye Junqing fell silent when he heard this. That inexplicable stifling sensation filled his chest again. He once again admonished himself and stated that the person he loved was Yao Moxin. He didn't know when this started, but he was started to have to remind himself of this frequently. It was like if he didn't remind himself, he would forget.
"Since you don't love His Majesty, why spend the effort pandering to him?" Ye Junqing spoke lightly even as he struggled to suppress the strange emotions in his heart.
"Mowan hadn't pandered to him at all. It's just that His Majesty extremely attached. How could a fool know how to pander to someone? Cough cough… It's already past the time for the noon meal. Prince couldn't have come here just to check whether Mowan had woken up yet, right?" Regardless of whether it was an explanation or an attempt at probing, she still felt like it was very hard to discuss this topic with Ye Junqing.
"This prince wants to know why you had Feng Yihan attack great Chu. He said that it had been to repay a favor to this prince, but this prince doesn't understand." Ye Junqing restrained the hurt in his eyes and replaced it with a serious expression.
Of course. With how much His Majesty doted on Yao Mowan, she didn't need to pander to him at all. She could obtain endless amounts of love and affection just by sitting there.
"Without this battle, both of us would be in danger. We might even be in the Yellow Springs right now." Yao Mowan set down the tea cup and walked slowly to the chaise lounge to pick Fluffy up. Ever since Fluffy gave birth to Jewel and Si Qing, she's been unbelievably lazy.
"Because of Ye Liyu?" With some things, it wasn't that Ye Junqing didn't understand, but just that he didn't want to think about them.
"How could His Majesty not be aware of Ye Liyu's temperament? How many guts must he have eaten to have an affair with Yao Suluan? There was also the incident at the transcendental prince's residence. Even if there was no evidence, His Majesty still would've pointed the blame towards Prince. Even though Prince is already under house arrest in Guan Osprey Palace, His Majesty is still uneasy. However, after this campaign, even if His Majesty wants to do something to Prince, he'd probably still have to take into consideration the military's stance and the public opinion." Yao Mowan explained the situation based on the facts so that Ye Junqing would become more cautious and aware of the fact that his situation was currently very bad.
"So everything you had done was for the sake of protecting this prince's life?" Ye Junqing suddenly felt a little depressed. What kind of situation was this? He was actually being protected by a woman!
"Although Mowan doesn't want to admit it, but the reality is that Mowan and Prince are grasshoppers on the same rope. If anything happens to Prince, Mowan would be implicated as well. Ye Liyu has also exposed the fact that Yao Mowan is just pretending to be a fool in front of His Majesty several times. Although His Majesty took this to be something Yao Suluan told him to say, with time, His Majesty will start to harbor suspicions, so Mowan must make preparations beforehand." Yao Mowan's eyes were bright like stars.
"You… What do you mean by making preparations beforehand?" Ye Junqing looked towards Yao Mowan in confusion. Even though they've interacted for a long time, he still had no way of figuring out what went on inside Yao Mowan's head.
"Of course it's you, Prince. If His Majesty one day decides to chop off Mowan's head, you wouldn't just stand by and watch, right?" Yao Mowan wanted to make herself become Ye Junqing's responsibility. Only people who bore responsibilities would persevere through struggles and refuse to give up.
"Are you joking? This prince doesn't even know how long I'll be able to live. How could I save you?" Ye Junqing was baffled with Yao Mowan's strange way of thinking.
"So for Mowan, it's best if Prince makes sure to live a while longer. At the very least, don't die in front of Mowan."
"Why'd I have to do that?" exclaimed Ye Junqing.
"Because Mowan is the younger sister of the woman you love most!" Yao Mowan knew that this was the only reason that Ye Junqing would accept without question.
"In reality… Even if you didn't do so much, you still wouldn't have to worry about His Majesty executing you. He dotes on you that much after all." Ye Junqing didn't refute this because he really couldn't ignore Yao Mowan if she was ever in danger because of Moxin.
"All beauties eventually grow past their prime. Mowan will get old sooner or later. Perhaps even before Mowan's beauty fades, His Majesty will find a new favorite. Of course Mowan has to make plans for herself. In this era, every person must fend for themselves in this harsh world. Mowan has never been someone that just silently endured grievances." As Yao Mowan stroked Fluffy, the light in her eyes were as sharp as that of a hawk's.
"You're already His Majesty's consort. No matter how much you plan, what can you do?" Ye Junqing was thinking that perhaps he would never be able to understand this woman. Her way of thinking was always outside of his expectations.
"There's plenty of His Majesty's consorts that have run off!" replied Yao Mowan lightly as she concealed the solemnness in her eyes.
Yu Funing and Xie Siyin were the best examples.
"You want to leave the imperial palace?" Ye Junqing was surprised.
"In any case, Mowan won't sit and wait for death like Prince, nor will Mowan allow herself to be trampled on," said Yao Mowan as she looked over with lifted brows.
Ye Junqing didn't reply. He really wanted to tell Yao Mowan that it was only because there was nothing left for him in this world that he didn't mind Ye Hongyi's little schemes. If he had the desire, this country would've already changed masters.
Yao Mowan watched as Ye Junqing silently left and her eyes gradually filled with faint pain. A single page of testimony from her had ended up making Ye Junqing endure so much pain. She swore to one day allow the unyielding and proud Ye Junqing of the past to reappear in front of everyone.
Yao Mowan hadn't known that the only thing Ye Junqing cared about was returning to her side…
Once Ye Junqing left, Yin Xue abruptly appeared.
"Reporting, Master, this subordinate has searched the entire palace but didn't find any traces of Feng Duo. This subordinate has failed in her duties," said Yin Xue in a tone of shame.
"You couldn't find him… Ye Hongyi is sure being cautious this time. He definitely wanted to help Feng Duo attack Qi, then form an alliance with Qi in order to resolve his worries about the southwest. It's just a pity that Feng Duo is complete trash that will never succeed no matter how much help is given. If that wasn't the case, then why would he have lost so badly when the previous king of Qi and Consort Hua had helped him so much? He's not a match for Feng Yihan at all!" Yao Mowan shook her head with a sigh.
"Should this subordinate search outside the palace?" asked Yin Xue.
"No need. Ye Hongyi's greatest peculiarity is that he wants everything to be within his control, especially when it's something that's related to stabilizing the throne. Just based on this, there's no way that he'll let Feng Duo out of his line of sight. This consort is certain that Feng Duo is in the imperial palace. Have you found any place in this palace that's suspicious?" After being husband and wife seven years, how could she not know Ye Hongyi's temperament? It was precisely because she had been more intelligent than he could control that she ended up being murdered by him.
__________Credits: Translated by Chiyomira
[Chiyomira's Corner]Enjoy~
