Volume 1 Chapter 35

Chapter 35: You Sought Shelter From Her!?

"If lao fu loses lao fu's son! Lao fu won't let her off either! You think lao fu doesn't know what you're thinking!? Dou Xianglan! You overestimate the value of that imperial gui fei daughter of yours too much! If she was amazing, right now she should be empress! How could she be a little imperial gui fei!? Lao fu will give you one last chance. Hand over Yu er and lao fu will spare your life! Otherwise…" Yao Zhenting narrowed his glowering eyes as he increased the strength in his hand.

"Urh… let go… hurry and let go…"Just as Dou Xianglan's voice was getting fainter and her eyes rolled back to reveal the whites, the door of the room was suddenly pushed open and Yao Yu jumped in.

Behind him, Yao Mowan stood with a cold expression at the entrance. Her pupils were chilled as frost. She won't let Dou Xianglan die this easily. Some debts must be counted and repaid stroke by stroke!

"Yu er! Yu er ah! You're unharmed, that's great! That's great!" The instant he saw Yao Yu, Yao Zhenting flung Dou Xianglan away and tightly pulled Yao Yu into his arms. His mouth that had a little stubble continuously landed on Yao Yu's face.

Yao Mowan saw clearly that tears had flashed through Yao Zhenting's eyes. He truly did love this son.

"Cough… cough cough…" Dou Xianglan who had been flung by Yao Zhenting onto the floor was battered and exhausted as she fiercely sucked in air. Only then did her facial color return to normalcy a little.

"Wan er kowtows in greeting to Father!" Only after she finished enjoying the show did Yao Mowan step into the room and prettily walk to Yao Zhenting.

"Mowan… oh… this old servant kowtows in greeting to Yao fei, kowtows in greeting to the Esteemed Prince!" Yao Zhenting looked at Yao Mowan with astonishment. It was only when he saw Ye Junqing walk in that he realized his improper bearing. He hastily released Yao Yu and respectfully gave his greetings.

"How could Wan er accept such a big show of etiquette from Father? Hurry and stand up!" Upon seeing this, Yao Mowan hurriedly moved to help Yao Zhenting up.

"What are you still lying around there for!? Hurry and offer tea to Yao fei and the Esteemed Prince!" Yao Zhenting glared at Dou Xianglan who had just slightly recovered as he said sternly.

"Yao Mowan! Why is Yao Yu together with you? Was it you that hid him away? Speak!" The second she saw Yao Yu and Yao Mowan, Dou Xianglan was shocked as if her head had been anointed with the purest cream and enlightened. No wonder Cai Ying couldn't find Yao Yu, it was definitely due to this damned yatou's trick!

"It's not Wan er jiejie that hid me at all. It was that palace maid called Cai Ying that bullied Yao Yu. She wanted to push Yao Yu into the lake, that's why Yao Yu ran! Later Yao Yu ran into Wan er jiejie. Daddy, Wan er jiejie treats Yu er wonderfully!" Yao Yu pulled the corner of Yao Zhenting's clothes with a completely sincere smile.

"You're making things up! Cai…" Dou Xianglan's eyes were like nails as she glared ferociously at Yao Yu.

"Silence! Causing such a fuss, are you trying to start a scandal? Don't you see that the Esteemed Prince is still here!" Yao Zhenting glared at Dou Xianglan, a set belief already in his heart.

"Lao ye! You can't believe his one-sided statement!" Dou Xianglan hastily tried to explain.

"I've let the Esteemed Prince see a joke. Yao fei, wang ye, please, come to the main hall!" Yao Zhenting suppressed his anger for the time being and extended his hand respectfully to indicate for Ye Junqing and Yao Mowan to leave. Then, he pulled Yao Yu and walked out of Bamboo Wish Pavilion.

As they headed back to the palace, Yao Mowan was silent. Just the recollection of the scene in which Su Muzi was covered with blood caused her to remember her own mother. At that time, she was too stupid, to actually have believed that Father and Dou Xianglan would treat Mother well. For the sake of helping Ye Hongyi strengthen the country, the number of times she visited Mother were few to the point they could be counted on one hand. Only at the instant she knelt in front of mother's couch did she finally see the true faces of these hypocrites. It was a pity that it was way too late.

The lush jade fingers curled up tightly, causing the joints to be bleached white. Yao Mowan didn't feel it as her nails dug into her palm and her beautiful eyes gradually grew moist.

"The Prime Minister's wife seems so domineering. You've probably suffered a lot at her hands, right?" Sensing how Yao Mowan's entire body was stretched taut, Ye Junqing asked softly.

"Ha, it's good that those days are already past. In the future, I won't let anyone bully me or people precious to me ever again!" Yao Mowan took a deep breath and languidly leaned against the agarwood planks inside the carriage. Her eyes swept, seemingly without care, across Ye Junqing as her lips hooked in a trace of a self-confident smile.

"That's why you thought of the idea of pretending to be a fool in order to attract His Majesty's liking? As long as you have His Majesty's protection, you wouldn't need to fear anyone anymore? That doesn't seem right. You've pretended to be a fool since you were a child. It couldn't be that you knew since you were little that you would be conferred the title of a fei?" Ye Junqing was led into confusion by his own question.

"If wang ye guesses right, I'll tell you the reason!" It was rare to see Ye Junqing in such confusion. Ye Mowan's lips lifted in a slight smile.

"If ben wang guessed right, would ben wang still need to you tell!?" Ye Junqing suddenly had a feeling that he was being laughed at and indignantly glowered at Yao Mowan.

"Wang ye truly is worthy of being called the lionheart of countless battlefields! Wang ye's reaction sure is fast!" The smile at the corners of Yao Mowan's lips deepened. It was just that no matter how Ye Junqing listened to it, he couldn't seem to feel that Yao Mowan was praising him. Just at this moment, the curtain of the carriage was suddenly lifted by someone and a man dressed in white abruptly got onto the carriage.

"This subordinate kowtows in salute to Yao fei! Kowtows in salute to wang ye! Has wang ye been well?" A resounding voice carried a unique local accent filled the carriage. Upon hearing this, Ye Junqing was a bit stunned and looked with disbelief towards the person that had entered.

"Ben Lei? Didn't you go back to your hometown to farm?" The person that had arrived wasn't any stranger but the Ben Lei who was at the Esteemed Prince's Residence that day.

"Ben Lei felt like farming had no prospects, so went to seek shelter beneath Yao fei's influence and became a secret guard." Only then did Ye Junqing notice that Ben Lei had actually cupped his hand toward Yao Mowan.

"You… you sought shelter from her? Do you know who she is?" Ye Junqing was a bit baffled with this situation. The subordinate that he was most proud of and his most loyal subordinate had actually chosen to rely on this woman by his side who only knew how to pretend to be a fool.

"Who she is is not important, what is important is that she is Ben Lei's master!" Ben Lei replied respectfully.

"Looks like wang ye is feeling a little regretful? Such a loyal bodyguard, yet it ended up being just becoming a bargain for Mowan." As she looked at Ye Junqing's shocked expression, Yao Mowan proceeded to pour oil on the fire.

"Humph! From the looks of it now, he doesn't have quite enough loyalty!" Ye Junqing said grudgingly.

"Ben Lei, how's the task going?" Yao Mowan didn't pay attention Ye Junqing who resentfully turned his head away and instead, looked towards Ben Lei with a serious expression.

"Yao fei, don't worry. Ben Lei has already taken it over according to Yao fei's instructions… the business firm you have in Mang Yuan." Ben Lei said vaguely. In reality, what he took over was the secret troops that Yao Moxin had secretly established along with several money-spinning large businesses.

"You have a business firm in Mang Yuan?" Ye Junqing looked with skepticism towards Yao Mowan, feeling that it was inconceivable.

"Does wang ye really want to know? If you beg me, I can consider telling you!" Yao Mowan lifted her brows as she looked at Ye Junqing who turned his head over, her brows curved.

"Who wants to know!?" Ye Junqing immediately turned his face away again, refusing to beg for this. Speechless, Yao Mowan chuckled, then soon turned towards Ben Lei again.

"You've done well. In here are the instructions for the next step. I'll be leaving Mang Yuan in your hands!" Yao Mowan spoke as she took out a bamboo tube from her sleeve and handed it to Ben Lei, her eyes filled with firm resolution.

"Master, don't worry. Ben Lei definitely will not betray your expectations." Ben Lei took the bamboo tube and his eyes subconsciously glanced towards Ye Junqing. However, he saw Yao Mowan slightly nod, so he didn't delay any longer and left the carriage.

Her heart, felt indescribably heavy. Yao Mowan leaned heavily against the agarwood plank as she gazed at the carriage wall. Mang Yuan had many metal and mineral resources and was known as the land of fish and rice. Its location was between the nations of Chu and Shu, but it had yet to enter either of the two's domain. It had always been a focus point of conflicts between the two nations. At that time, for the sake of this treasure location, Yao Moxin had kept it from Ye Hongyi and secretly sent people to live there longterm. She allocated resources to construct banks, cloth factories, grain factories, and privately accepted solders and brought horses. It was known publically as the self-defense force, however, the manipulator behind the scenes was Yao Moxin.

__________

Credits: Translated by Chiyomira, Unedited

[Chiyomira’s Corner]Enjoy~

Please support Yumeabyss’s Patreon!

Thanks for supporting! ♡〜٩(^▿^)۶〜♡