Volume 1 Chapter 74

Chapter 74: The Message in the Letter

At this time, Liu Xing had already returned from sending Su Muzi back to the residence.

“Reporting, niang niang, this servant has already sent Third Madam back to the residence. Little Young Master has been safely rescued by Zhou Chengwu as well. This servant has already settled them down in an inn. Everything is going according to plan,” reported Liu Xing.

“Very good.” Yao Mowan nodded slightly, then lifted the teacup to take a sip. The tea’s flavor was strong and fragrant.

“Niang niang…” Liu Xing glanced at Yao Mowan and hesitated.

“What is it?”

“Didn’t you say that you were going to tell the Lord about little Young Master?” asked Liu Xing, puzzled.

“Of course he must be notified of this, but right now isn’t the time. The right time is after he finishes funeral arrangements for Yao Yu.” Yao Mowan smiled and the light in her eyes became dazzling bright.

One thing that surprised Yao Mowan was that, in the end, Yao Zhenting told Ye Hongyi that Yao Yu had accidentally fallen in the water and that the incident had nothing to do with Yao Suluan. With this, Ye Hongyi naturally wouldn’t punish Yao Suluan. However, Yao Mowan knew that after this incident, Yao Suluan no longer had a father. Yao Zhenting had lost a daughter at the same time that he lost a son.

The funeral arrangements were so grand they caused a sensation. Everyone could see how much Yao Zhenting valued this son. Yao Suluan claimed to be ill and didn’t go back to pay her respects at the funeral, but Yao Mowan had gone back. On that same day, Su Muzi went crazy in the mourning hall. Yao Zhenting’s practice had always been to kill the donkey once it did the work. After Su Muzi went crazy, Yao Zhenting cared even less about her. He didn’t even send people to search for her when she got lost.

In Guan Osprey Palace, Yao Mowan stroked Fluffy’s slightly bulging stomach with a faint smile on her face.

“Niang niang, this servant has given your one thousand tael’s worth of banknotes to Third Madam and saw them safely out of the Imperial City. They’ve been handed over to the person Vanguard Ben sent,” reported Liu Xing.

“You’ve done well, go rest.” Yao Mowan nodded slightly.

Ever since that accident with Yao Yu, to comfort her, Ye Hongyi had her eat her meals in Dragon Stem Palace everyday and would keep her company whenever he had free time. He was deeply worried that Yao Mowan would be hurt to the point she ruined her health. In Yao Mowan’s eyes, his actions were extremely ironic. She had never seen him show even a fraction of this concern back then when she was working day and night and skipping meals to help him.

“Niang niang, a while ago, Eunuch An delivered the message that His Majesty is occupied by governmental matters and so won’t be able to accompany niang niang during this meal. This servant has already finished preparing the meal.” Ting Yue ordered the palace maids outside to put the dishes on the table, then walked to Yao Mowan’s side in a respectful manner.

“En, you guys can withdraw.” Yao Mowan nodded, then put Fluffy down to walk towards the table. Right when she reached the table, she smelled a familiar scent. It had probably been a week since they’ve ate at the table, thought Yao Mowan.

“You… are you alright?” Ye Junqing was wearing an azure garment as he walked softly to Yao Mowan’s side. His tone was slightly probing, but mostly he was trying to sound comforting. After all, from what he could tell, Yao Mowan liked that younger brother a lot.

“I’m alright, very well in fact ah. Mowan has always been the type to become more resolute the more a person yelled at Mowan.” Yao Mowan lifted her gaze. Her glistening eyes flickered with dazzling colors and the smile at the corners of her lips seemed to contain deep meaning.

“Cough cough… this prince thought you had already forgotten.” That day, after Yao Mowan left, he hadn’t been able to sleep the entire night.

“Mowan has always been the type to hold grudges, and with how horribly Prince had bad-mouthed Mowan, it’d be hard for Mowan to forget even if Mowan wanted to,” said Yao Mowan angrily as she lifted the porcelain bowl.

“This prince thought that you would be very hurt right now though?” Ye Junqing slowly sat down and sized up the woman in front of him again. Even after experiencing a harsh event like that, she seemed completely fine as if nothing had happened. Yao Mowan continued eating without saying anything.

“It… It was your scheme, wasn’t it? Yao Yu’s not dead?” Ye Hongyi abruptly got up and looked towards Yao Mowan with sudden realization. He slapped his own head. How could he have forgotten? This woman always liked to pretend to be a pig in order to eat the tiger!

“You’re using Yao Yu to frame Yao Suluan? But how can Yao Yu come back after you did this? As of now, the Third Madam of the prime minister’s residence has already gone crazy. If Yao Yu found out…” Ye Junqing glared at Yao Mowan angrily only to see that Yao Mowan seemed completely unconcerned.

“Third Madam is collaborating with you? Why?” Ye Junqing’s sharp brows furrowed tightly. At this instant, he suddenly found that Yao Mowan had too many secrets. No matter how deeply he probed, he couldn’t find the source of them all.

“Prince wishes to know?” Yao Mowan exhaled and put down her chopsticks as she looked up towards Ye Junqing. Ye Junqing nodded. He really wanted to know.

“How about Prince sings a round of ‘Riverside Immortal’ for Mowan? If Prince sings it well, perhaps Mowan will tell Prince!” Yao Mowan said lightly with a smile beautiful enough to collapse a city.

Upon hearing this, Ye Junqing’s face immediately filled with black lines. Then he sat down at the table and lifted the porcelain bowl without another word. What a joke! No matter how useless he was, he was still a prince! There was no way he’d fall to the point that he’d have to perform a song. It wasn’t like he needed to know for sure. Even if he wanted to know, he wouldn’t ask this two-faced person again! This was what Ye Junqing was thinking.

After the evening meal, Ye Junqing returned to the east wing with a belly full of stifled anger. He sensed that something was off the moment he stepped into the room, so he looked around cautiously. He only loosened a breath when he ascertained that there was no one in here. After lighting a candle, he found that there was a letter placed on the table.

‘The Empress’s cause of death was not childbirth. There is more to this matter. Midnight at the former site of the Cold Palace, the whole truth may be found.’

Ye Junqing’s hand slowly crushed the letter and cold filled his sharp gaze. His heart that had turned still from heartbreak now heated and started pounding again! He gritted his teeth and the veins on his forehead bulged out as if they were about to explode.

Moxin didn’t die from a difficult childbirth? How was that possible!? Up to this very moment, he had never doubted Moxin’s cause of death. As he had once said, no one could compare to how good Moxin was, especially with how much she loved Ye Hongyi. Thus he believed that it was only natural for Ye Hongyi to cherish Moxin a lot. Due to this, he felt that there should be no other possible cause of death other than difficult birth!

Ye Junqing clenched the letter as a chiling light spilled out from the depths of his eyes. Then, he stormed out to head directly towards where the Cold Palace used to be.

In Guan Osprey Palace, Yao Mowan was sitting next to the dressing table and gazing at the face in the mirror. She recalled the shock and fear in Yao Suluan’s eyes earlier and the despair on Yao Zhenting’s face. They deserved this retribution, and it was still far from enough.

“Master, something terrible has happened. This subordinate saw the Esteemed Prince rushing towards the Cold Palace while holding a letter of unknown origin.” Just as Yao Mowan was sinking deep into thought, Yin Xue appeared with a serious expression on her face.

“The Cold Palace? Let’s go take a look!” Yao Mowan’s eyes instantly turned cold. She draped an outer robe on, then quickly walked out of Guan Osprey Palace.

It was clearly the beginning of summer, but the night wind was cold to the point it chilled people’s hearts. Clouds covered the moon, causing the world to seem somber and desolate. Ye Junqing stared at the side room in front of him as he clenched his fist. For some reason, his heart clutched with pain.

Right at this time, a slight sound came from the door of the room. Ye Junqing’s eyes lit up and he ran to the room to push open the door.

“Who?” Ye Junqing’s expression turned extremely cold. Underneath the dim light of the stars, he saw that the pile of straw at the corner of the room was shaking slightly. Without speaking, Ye Junqing took a step forward and pulled off the straw, only to see that a woman dressed in palace maid attire was trembling as she looked at him.

“Don’t kill me… don’t kill me.. I didn’t see anything… I didn’t…” The palace maid’s figure was very thin and her hair and face were messy and dirty. Her eyes that were mostly covered by her hair were filled with fear. The maid was covering her head with both hands as she begged for mercy.

“Who are you? What did you see?” Ye Junqing looked around vigilantly. He was certain that the letter he was holding did not come from this palace maid, but he also knew that this palace maid definitely knew something.

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Credits: Translated by Chiyomira

[Chiyomira’s Corner]Enjoy~

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