第十九章Chapter 19

er eyes and ignored him as she looked down.She saw that Nian Tianqin and Qin Yucen had already taken their seats. Nian Tianqin sat in the second row, while Qin Yucen was seated beside Chancellor Qin....Volume 1: Smiling at the Splendor Chapter Nineteen

Jonggye noticed Li Yun's head resting on the table with even breathing and slightly curled his lips, but didn't say anything.

The Cloud Old Regent was speaking enthusiastically and naturally hadn't noticed that Li Yun had fallen asleep. After talking for a while, he felt thirsty and reached out to grab tea from the table. Whether it was the teapot or the cup, they were empty. He then discovered that Li Yun was fast asleep on the table. He immediately became furious, "You damned brat! Wake up at once! How can you sleep soundly with guests here What a lack of manners!"

Li Yun jolted awake, sitting straight up abruptly, half-scared out of her sleep.

"I thought you would have learned from your experience and grown up. Instead, you've become even more outrageous! Look at the ladies in this capital city—can any one compare to you Your mother used to be gentle and elegant—how did she give birth to such a damned brat as yourself I wonder what evil I committed in my past lives that led me to have such a granddaughter who causes trouble every day." The Cloud Old Regent glared at Li Yun again, lecturing her once more.

Li Yun felt somewhat guilty. With elders and guests present, it was indeed impolite of her to fall asleep even if she was very tired. So, without saying a word, she listened carefully to the lecture.

The Cloud Old Regent's face softened considerably at seeing Li Yun attentively listening. He turned his head to Jonggye and sighed, "I've embarrassed Crown Prince Ji in front of you. My old self is better than your old man in all aspects except for having such a spoiled granddaughter who never learns her lesson. If I had a grandson like you, I would have no regrets even if I were to die."

Li Yun felt ashamed.

"Old Master Cloud, you are too kind. A lady from a prominent family may be admirable, but it's better to have genuine character," Rong Jing said in a mild tone.

The Old Prince Cloud nodded and the look of thin anger on his face faded away, replaced by a smug expression. "This stinky brat is good for nothing, except for this one trait. She certainly lives up to being my granddaughter."

Li Yun rolled her eyes violently.

The Old Prince Cloud was about to say something more when the sound of tinkling jade pendants and women chatting reached them from outside the courtyard. He immediately frowned, his expression turning stern as he asked out loud, "Jade Bracelet, who is causing a commotion outside"

"Old Prince Cloud, it's the ladies coming to pay their respects," Jade Bracelet quickly replied.

"Tell them all to go back! Don’t think I don't know what they are after. Tell them to behave themselves or else I’ll kick them out of the Cloud王府 and save my eyes from seeing them." The Old Prince Cloud's previously relaxed face turned stern again.

"Yes!" Jade Bracelet hurriedly went down to deliver the message.

Li Yun glanced at the darkening sky outside, then looked at Rong Jing. Clearly, their purpose was not merely paying respects at this hour. She couldn't help but grumble in her heart, "He still doesn’t believe he’s got桃花運even after being proven wrong." But having suffered from it before, she could no longer voice that out loud. Seeing Rong Jing looking at her with a half-smile, as if knowing what she was thinking, she couldn't help but lower her head and twitched at the corner of her mouth.

"Misses, the old prince is entertaining important guests. He said there's no need for you to pay your respects today; please go back first!" The voice of Yuzhu sounded from outside without being humble or servile.

"Grandfather, we are also your granddaughters. How can you treat us so differently We know that Mu'er is clearly here; why can't we pay our respects to you Does it mean that she, as a legitimate granddaughter, deserves more respect than us illegitimate ones" After Yuzhu spoke, a young woman's voice filled with dissatisfaction came from outside.

"That’s right! Grandfather, this kind of favoritism is simply unacceptable!" Another female voice echoed in discontent.

"We are not ashamed to be seen by guests; we just want to show our filial piety..." another woman's voice said.

Immediately after, a bunch of voices started chattering outside.

Li Yun wondered how many daughters the Cloud Prince actually had besides her and how many granddaughters the old prince had. She was truly amazed by the ancient society’s powerful reproductive capabilities.

"All of you get out! If I hear another word, all of you will be sent to a separate residence and won't ever be allowed back into Cloud Prince's Manor for the rest of your lives!" The old prince thundered loudly from inside.

The noise outside instantly ceased.

"Misses, you should all go back. Filial piety doesn't depend on this moment. The old王爺was already ill before, and if he really gets angry at us and sends us to the annexed mansion, it would be a great loss." Lady Yu calmly advised, especially emphasizing the phrase "a great loss."

The girls had initially been unwilling, as Prince Jǐn hadn't left his residence for ten years, and now they finally had an opportunity to meet him. However, unexpectedly, they couldn't even see him in person, which was truly infuriating. What gave Yun Qianyue the privilege of meeting him And how could she also receive assistance from Prince Jǐn Was it just because of her status as a legitimate daughter As for them, what did they have other than not knowing anything about music, chess, calligraphy, painting, needlework, and etiquette Although they were concubine-born daughters, didn't they surpass Yun Qianyue by many folds They couldn't understand why the old man liked her so much. But no matter how unwilling they were, there was nothing they could do about it. Compared to being expelled from Yun王府, having a chance to meet Prince Jǐn in the future wasn't too bad.

After thinking this way, all the women looked at each other and sneered before slowly leaving the courtyard.

Lǐ Yún thought that either the distinction between legitimate and concubine-born was too severe in this world or Old Yun王爺only favored Yun Qianyue, ignoring everyone else. It seemed that she had it good with Old Yun王爺's protection in Yun王府. After thinking this way, getting scolded for a while didn't seem so unfair.

"How infuriating! They're all worthless people!" Old Yun王爺was seething and snorted angrily.

"Grandpa, don’t be angry. If you get sick, it would be bad. Come on, give me a smile." Lǐ Yún thought that this old man was like a child who needed to be coaxed, so she reached out to pull his beard in hopes of getting him to laugh.

"You stinky brat! Are you hoping I get sick for real so no one will take care of you" Old Yun王爺glared again and waved away Lǐ Yún's hand.

"Of course not, hahaha..." Lǐ Yún retracted her hand and chuckled. She thought he was always glaring with his eyes without getting tired.

Rong Jing watched the two of them and smiled again. He glanced at the sky outside, stood up, and with his slender white fingers gently smoothed out the creases on his crescent moon-colored brocade robe. Then he bowed to Old Cloud Imperial Prince, "It's getting late, Rong Jing will take his leave now. The Emperor instructed Qianyue to serve you well; you should continue pretending to be ill for a while longer!"

Qianyue Li Yun thought that they weren’t yet very familiar with each other! Old Cloud Imperial Prince continued pretending to be sick Her face was now even more lined with frustration.

"Yeah, you really know my heart. Hahaha..." Old Cloud Imperial Prince nodded and laughed loudly, waving his hand. "Yeah, go back now! If you don’t return, Lord Rong will come looking for me to retrieve you. It’s better for you to keep pretending that you’re sick."

"Rong Jing takes leave. Grandfather Yun, rest early," said Rong Jing as he smiled and turned to walk out.

"Filthy brat, what are you still standing there for Don’t you know how to see off a guest" Old Cloud Imperial Prince waved dismissively at Li Yun.

“Yes!” Li Yun slowly got up from the chair and stepped out. She thought that she could finally go back to sleep after sending this big Buddha away. She was so tired.

The two of them left Old Cloud Imperial Prince’s courtyard one after another, with Li Yun heading towards the main gate based on her memory.

Rong Jing still walked at a leisurely and elegant pace as he did when he arrived. It seemed that even thunderbolts or hailstones falling from the sky wouldn’t make him hurry.

After walking for a while, when Li Yun saw that no one was around, she turned back to Rong Jing and said, "Since you know the way, walk on your own!"

"Alright," Rong Jing nodded his head and walked past her.

To her surprise, he was so compliant. She really didn't have to see him off then! Looking at his back, she hesitated for a moment before yawning. Unable to withstand the drowsiness any longer, she turned around and went back without seeing him off.

Cai Lian had been waiting outside of Cloud Old King’s mansion the whole time. After seeing Li Yun see Rong Jing out of the manor, she followed behind them from afar. When she saw her mistress actually send Rong Jing off on his own and return by herself, she hurriedly caught up to her and whispered, "Mistress, how could you let Prince Jingshi leave the manor all alone"

"He said he didn’t need me to see him off and that he knew the way." Li Yun yawned repeatedly. She waved away Cai Lian’s worried face with a dismissive wave of her hand, "It's fine. Come on, let’s go back and sleep. I'm so sleepy."

Cai Lian looked at Li Yun and thought that her mistress was too honest. Prince Jingshi said he didn’t need to see him off and she really stopped seeing him off! Looking at how she yawned repeatedly out of drowsiness, Cai Lian felt helpless but also heartache. Ever since the fire incident yesterday night, her mistress hadn't slept well. Today’s ordeal had certainly worn her down. She quickly took hold of Li Yun's arm and dragged her onto a path, "Mistress, if you’re tired, let’s go back! I’ll help you wash up for bed."

––– Excerpt –––

Another year older today, originally planned to just quietly pass by. Who knew the news would spread like wildfire and be known to everyone. These days, warm-hearted blessings have been bombarding me one after another. My QQ message box is flooded early in the morning with birthday wishes, making my eyes well up with tears of emotion! Crying with a tear-streaked face is too elementary; I left the computer, crouched down and walked around three times while holding my head. Even my little child who’s barely walking looked at me blankly as if he didn’t know what his mother was up to. Looking out through the window where high-rise buildings stood in rows like a forest and cars sped by, with people hurrying on their way, young people full of vigor going to school or work, elderly people leisurely taking walks… my heart suddenly felt happy. Though time passes and we grow old, our hearts will remain forever young as life is so beautiful that every day should be cherished! Cherish those who love you truly and send blessings your way, for distance and time are not issues when certain things bring us close to each other. That’s all it takes! Wishing myself and everyone a happy day everyday, not just on my birthday~owed Yun Qianyue’s instructions and prepared some light dishes while Ting Xue and Ting Yu helped.Yun Qianyue then left the small kitchen with Ling Lian and Yi Xue. It was already dark by now, and a br...