Chapter 67: You Don't Have Any Routes of Retreat Left
"Zixiao will give up on the imperial throne for the time being… Zirou, let's return," said Ye Zixiao gently as he hugged Duan Zirou.
Duan Zirou's heart immediately turned cold. She silently backed out of his embrace, her gaze calm and cold.
"The throne or Zirou, you can only choose one. If you cannot bring yourself to give up on imperial power, then just allow Zirou to live out the rest of her life here peacefully. Don't appear here again. At the very least, this way, Zirou doesn't have to be plagued by worry over your well-being," replied Duan Zirou coldly. She had heard the unspoken implications in Ye Zixiao's words.
"Zirou, you have to believe in this husband! There will definitely come a day when this husband will take Ye Hongyi's place and become a dragon among men." Ye Zixiao moved up with a fervent look in his eyes and reached out to pull Zirou back into his arms. But he suddenly felt a chill come from behind his back. He abruptly turned around and with a flick of his sleeves, sent the dagger that was flying towards his face over to the side where it embedded deeply into the white jade guqin.
"It's not impossible for Luminescent Prince to become a dragon among men, however, it really wouldn't be easy. Of course, if Luminescent Prince's life is long enough and can hold out until Ye Hongyi dies of old age, Luminescent Prince will have a large chance. However, Jing Xin recently heard that Ye Hongyi is taking immortality pills, so who can be certain whether Luminescent Prince will really be able to live longer than Ye Hongyi?"
Yao Mowan was standing in the elegant moonlight in a robe of black. As the night breeze swept up her ink black hair, they rippled like waves of the dark sea. The black silk veil she was wearing emphasized her mysterious aura even more.
"Who are you?" Ye Zixiao looked towards Yao Mowan in alarm as he moved in front of Zirou protectively.
"In the past whenever people asked this, Jing Xin would just reply with who I am is not important. However, in reply to Luminescent Prince's question, Jing Xin can tell you that who I am is very important. As long as I am here, Luminescent Prince will never be able to get the imperial throne in this lifetime, because Jing Xin believes that that position has a different fated owner," stated Yao Mowan without holding back, her aura unnaturally oppressive.
Even though Ye Zixiao couldn't sense Yao Mowan's inner strength, he was still stunned by the imposing aura that she gave off. He found it hard to even meet her gaze, because the sharpness in those eyes seemed to contain enough power to destroy everything. It caused people's hearts to feel chilled due to instinctive fear and reverence.
"How are you so certain?" demanded Ye Zixiao angrily, trying to conceal the lack of confidence he was feeling.
"Based on the fact that when Luminescent Prince left, Jing Xin had hidden several forged letters of exchange between Luminescent Prince and Yao Zhenting in Luminescent Prince's residence. If Jing Xin's guess is not off, then these letters have already fallen into Ye Hongyi's hands by now. It seems like Prince won't be able to return to Luminescent Prince Residence."
Yao Mowan chuckled lightly. Making use of Yao Zhenting's accusation of rebellion as an opportunity to implicate Ye Zixiao had been her plan from the start. It was the so-called, 'the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind.' Yao Mowan's original target had been Ye Zixiao from the start and now, everything had played out perfectly.
"What? His Majesty won't believe it." Ye Zixiao's heart abruptly dropped and his brows furrowed tightly.
"Whether His Majesty believes it or not is one thing, and whether His Majesty will pretend to believe is another. Luminescent Prince has a rather strong position in court. If Ye Hongyi can take advantage of this opportunity to eradicate one of his greatest opponents, do you think he would choose not to believe? Or that he would choose to pretend to believe?" Yao Mowan hit the nail on the head. In reality, the moment Yao Mowan had revealed the forged letters, Ye Zixiao knew that he had made a crucial mistake and that his momentum was now gone.
"Who are you doing this for?" asked Ye Zixiao coldly as he stared at the woman in front of him. At this moment, he suddenly had a feeling that he had been used as a chess piece."Jing Xin can only tell Luminescent Prince that even if Jing Xin hadn't done anything this time, Luminescent Prince, you still wouldn't have successfully obtained your desire. Did you forget how fierce the struggle over the throne had been back then? Ye Hongyi had been able to survive in the midst of that bloody turmoil, so how could he ever be an easy foe? Luminescent Prince, the amount of armed forces that you possess have no way of resisting the iron blood army that Ye Hongyi had secretly built up," said Yao Mowan with a disdainful snort.
"Iron Blood Army!?" exclaimed Ye Zixiao has he looked towards Yao Mowan in confusion.
"So Prince hasn't even heard of this before? Forget it, this is all Jing Xin will say. Farewell." After saying this, Yao Mowan made to turn around, but Ye Zixiao suddenly lifted his sleeve. In the next second, Yin Xue was already standing in front of her with three silver needles caught between her fingers.
"Lady is truly not an ordinary person, to possess such a strong hidden guard. May I ask whether the person Lady is trying to protect is Ye Junqing?" If one's status was low, no matter how much money they had, they would not be able to hire the most skilled hidden guards. The woman in dark garments standing in front of him was clearly even stronger than Ling Yun.
"Since Prince has already left the game, the matters of the game no longer have any relationship with Prince. Rather than staring with longing towards the distant green hills, why not cherish the person in front of you? Prince, may you make the best choice." Yao Mowan's gaze was sharp as a knife and her tone was filled with warning.
Once Yao Mowan left, Ye Zixiao couldn't help but sigh. It was fine even if he didn't have any roads of retreat left. At the very least, Zirou was still with him.
The fifth day after Prime Minister Yao's residence was searched, Luminescent Prince's residence was searched. In addition, while Luminescent Prince's residence was being searched, Luminescent Prince had suddenly disappeared without a trace in the night.
Before one wave of trouble had calmed, another wave had already risen. Just as Ye Zixiao's matters had settled down, the next day, Guan Osprey Palace caught on fire. The entire east wing was consumed by flames so large they rushed towards the skies and roared in the wind.
"Why are they still not out? This won't do, this consort is going in!" Yao Mowan was beside herself with worry as she looked at the large fire. The handkerchief she was holding had already been twisted beyond recognition. When Ting Yue saw that Yao Mowan wanted to rush inside, she immediately moved to drag her back.
"Your Highness! This fire is too large, you can't go inside! Liu Xing has already sent people inside to save Prince. Esteemed Prince will definitely be fine!" As Ting Yue was doing her all to stop Yao Mowan, Liu Xing had already rushed out of the fire with Ye Junqing on his back.
"Liu Xing, how is he?" Yao Mowan immediately rushed over the moment that she saw Liu Xing come out. For some reason, her legs felt extremely weak and she almost fell. Her face was filled with anxiety and a hint of deep fear.
"Don't worry, Your Highness. The Prince is fine." Liu Xing carried Ye Junqing into Guan Osprey Palace's main hall, then placed him on the chaise lounge. Yao Mowan ran in after him and Ting Yue closed the door behind them in order to prevent the people working on putting out the fire from hearing.
"He's…. He's asleep?" Ye Junqing's face was a little dark from the soot and his hair was scorched in some places. The hems of his garment were also a little burnt, but other than that, he was breathing evenly with a calm expression. When Ye Junqing subconsciously flipped around and continued to sleep soundly, Yao Mowan was astonished.
"Replying Your Highness, when this servant rushed in, Prince had an ice silk outer garment draped over him so he wasn't injured at all." Yao Mowan then turned to look at Liu Xing. In comparison, there was not a single part of Liu Xing that was unharmed. There was even the scent of scorched flesh.
"Ting Yue!" Yao Mowan immediately called Ting Yue in.
"Your Highness?" Upon hearing the sound, Ting Yue pushed open the doors and walked in before looking towards Yao Mowan in confusion.
"Immediately bring Liu Xing to see an imperial physician," instructed Yao Mowan worriedly. Right at this time the sound of salutes came from outside the door.
"Don't worry about things here. Ting Yue, you make sure that the imperial physician diagnose Liu Xing carefully," said Yao Mowan as she looked towards Liu Xing with heartache.
At this time, Ye Hongyi had already pushed opened the doors and stormed in.
"Wan er!" The instant Ye Hongyi came in, Yao Mowan abruptly threw herself into his arms as tears streamed down her cheeks.
"Your Majesty, Wan er's scared! The fire's so big!" At the side, Ting Yue silently supported Liu Xing and withdrew from the palace.
"Let us have a proper look." Ye Hongyi held Yao Mowan's snow shoulders as he worriedly looked her over. He only loosened a breath in relief once he found that she was completely fine.
__________Credits: Translated by Chiyomira, Transcribed by Alicia
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