Chapter Thirty-Five
ately responded."Tell the empress to go see her!" The old emperor gave his instructions to Wen Lai."Yes, Your Majesty!" Wen Lai replied."Wait! Prepare for a journey. I will pay her a visit personally,...Volumn 1: Smiling at the Splendor Chapter 35
Yè Tiānqīng watched Yè Qīngrǎn's back as he went back into the house, narrowed his eyes slightly, and followed him inside.
The Prince also tacitly agreed and followed them into the room.
In the room, the Old Prince was closing his eyes to rest. Yún Qiǎnyuè was lying on top of the Old Prince like a little cat, seemingly asleep.
Yè Qīngrǎn was stunned for a moment, and Yè Tiānqīng was also slightly taken aback.
The Prince suppressed his anger and said to the Old Prince: "Father, it has been confirmed that Xiānhé bullied Qiǎnyuè first. Qiǎnyuè only injured her hand in self-defense; it's not Qiǎnyuè's fault for throwing Feng Concubine into the lake when she was trying to kill Qiǎnyuè. How do you think we should deal with her"
"She’s your woman! Deal with her however you want!" The Old Prince said without even looking up.
The Prince fell silent for a moment, his gaze fixed on Yún Qiǎnyuè: "Qiǎnyuè, what do you think we should do"
Yún Qiǎnyuè was breathing evenly and sleeping deeply, completely oblivious to everything.
"Shallow Moon! Wake up!" The Prince Regent raised his voice. With the Crown Prince and Little Prince still around, it was simply inappropriate for her to be sleeping on top of Old Prince Regent. Indeed, it was extremely rude. Originally, he wanted to scold her but remembering how he had neglected this daughter these past years, he could not bring himself to do so. Thus, he softened his tone, "Don’t sleep anymore. Wake up and tell me what we should do about this matter!"
Woken by the noise, Cloud Shallowmoon felt irritable; she couldn’t even have a good nap. Moving her body slightly, she slowly raised her head, opening her drowsy eyes to look at the Prince Regent lazily and said, "She’s your woman, of course you should deal with it yourself. I don’t interfere." Finishing her sentence, she lowered her head again and prepared to continue sleeping.
"You foul brat! If you want to sleep, go back to your own courtyard! Your weight has numbed my arm," Old Prince Regent pushed her away.
"Alright then. You’re a pile of old bones anyway; they hurt me!" Cloud Shallowmoon took the chance to really get up and started walking out.
"You damn brat!" Old Prince Regent waved his cane at her.
Cloud Shallowmoon didn’t turn around. She lightly grasped his cane, yawned sleepily, and said, "Grandpa, how old are you Your temper is truly terrible. Don't you know about self-cultivation Oh well, I suppose there's no hope of changing that now. Truly frustrating." Throwing the cane away, she continued walking while yawning.
Old Prince Regent blew his beard and glared with eyes full of fire; yet when he threw out the cane and actually hit her, he felt regretful and could only watch as she left.
Night Qingran couldn’t help but laugh softly. As Cloud Shallowmoon passed by him, he grabbed her arm and asked, "Hey, are you really so sleepy"
"Mn, I haven't had a good sleep in several days. Tired!" Cloud Shallowmoon stopped walking.
Night Qingran scrutinized her carefully. Seeing that she looked dazed and sleepy, as if really exhausted, he quickly released his grip on her hand and said, "Alright then, since you are so tired, go to sleep quickly! I will come find you another day for the horse race."
“Mm-hmm!” Yun Qianyue nodded and left the room.
The moment she stepped out of her quarters, Cai Lian and people from Shallow Moon Pavilion immediately followed, and they quickly exited Old Marquis’s compound without even glancing at those who were standing or kneeling around in the courtyard.
Night Tianqiong clenched his fist tightly inside his sleeve. Only he knew how desperately he wanted to grab hold of her and ask if she really was going to cut ties with him completely It seemed that today, even a glance at him was too much for her. Or could it be that this was all just an act so as to win back his attention If this were the case, Yun Qianyue, you’ve succeeded. He barely managed to suppress the urge inside him and didn’t follow after her.
“Since Sister Moon is going to sleep, I also feel very tired. I’ll be heading home now as well. Prince Imperial Brother and Grandfather Cloud look rather exhausted too. If this is the case, let’s all get some rest.” Night Qingran threw out that sentence and left Old Marquis’s compound in a leisurely manner.
Old Marquis twitched at the corner of his mouth. This little monster!
"Both Emperor Father and Empress Mother have always been worried about my health, so Tianqiong was also not assured today and came to see me again. Since I seem better now, it’s likely that within a few days, I’ll be able to attend court sessions once more. Tianqiong is very delighted by this. Emperor Father and Empress Mother will definitely feel much relieved as well. Tianqiong shall take my leave for now and report this good news to them." Night Tianqiong also bid farewell.
“Alright, I reckon that with these old bones of mine, I can still live another two days or so. Let Emperor and Empress rest easy.” Old Marquis waved his hand dismissively.
"Uncle Wu need not be upset about this matter. Every household has its troubles," Night Tianqiong said to the marquis.
"Your Highness, the Crown Prince, please take your leave. This old minister will not see you off."
The Night Tianqing turned around and left the house of the Old王爺.
"Crown Prince..." Yun Xianghe had been in a daze since Feng Side Concubine was accused by everyone, but she suddenly came to her senses as she saw Night Tianqing about to leave. She immediately called out softly.
As soon as Night Tianqing heard this, he stopped and turned back to look at Yun Xianghe. The woman looked up at him with tear-filled eyes, but his phoenix-like gaze swept over her indifferently before he turned around again and walked away without a word. His personal guard immediately followed behind him, and the group left the Old王爺's courtyard in no time.
Yun Xianghe suddenly burst into tears.
Feng Side Concubine looked at Yun Xianghe with concern in her eyes. She glanced fiercely at those women and concubines' daughters, seeing cold smiles of schadenfreude on their faces. She lowered her head, gripping the sleeve-covered hand tightly.
"Still haven't sent your people away to deal with them After you're done with that, tell everyone outside to leave immediately."
"Yes, Your Majesty!" The王爺nodded and left the room.
The door closed. Old王爺yawned; getting up so early in the morning had exhausted him, he was indeed still tired. What those brats said was right – he should continue sleeping.
In the courtyard, the Prince's eyes were sharp as he looked at Concubine Feng. After a moment, he spoke sternly: "Depose Concubine Feng to the rank of妾 (侍妾), reclaim her authority over the mansion’s covert guards and household management, and from today onwards, move her to the ancestral hall in the rear courtyard for reflection. No one is allowed to visit without my command."
"Prince!" Concubine Feng did not expect such severe punishment. She could accept being confined to the ancestral hall, and she was prepared to reflect there after moving from her quarters. The only thing she hadn't anticipated was him demoting her to a妾 (侍妾). For a moment, she stared at the Prince in disbelief.
"Servant, take her into the ancestral hall!" The Prince did not look at Concubine Feng.
"No, Father! Please spare Mother!" Yun Xianghe woke up with a start and immediately knelt to beg the Prince for mercy.
"Xianghe, you have disappointed me too much. Considering your injury is also a form of punishment, I won’t penalize you further today. From now on, you must take responsibility for yourself." The Prince glanced down at Yun Xianghe and brushed her aside; he seemed to age overnight. He waved his hand tiredly towards the crowd: "You may all leave."
After speaking, he did not linger but stepped out of the courtyard.
Yun Meng gestured with a wave, two people immediately walked forward and led Concubine Feng to the ancestral hall. Yun Xianghe collapsed weeping on the ground. Seeing that their greatest rival had finally been removed, the concubines and secondary wives returned home proudly, each leading their daughters, maidservants, and servants.
Soon after, the elder Prince's courtyard became quiet again.
At this time, Yun Qianyue was already back at her residence. Upon entering her room, she immediately dived into bed for a long sleep. However, Cai Lian suddenly recalled something and exclaimed: "Miss, have you reported the matter of your wet nurse to the elder Prince"
Yun Qianyue was startled, opened her eyes, shook her head, and said, "I've forgotten!"
"What should we do then Should we let the old prince catch the person who killed the wet nurse" Cai Lian immediately asked.
Yun Qianyue thought for a moment with her head lowered, waved her hand, closed her eyes and continued sleeping. "Forget it! Find someone to deliver the wet nurse's body to her family for burial. After all, she was just a servant, so the authorities won't investigate her death anyway. She had done many evil deeds in life; dying will bring closure to everything. Give some money to her family as compensation for our master-servant relationship."
"Yes!" Cai Lian nodded and thought that her mistress was truly kind-hearted, still giving the wet nurse's family money despite how she had treated her so badly. Yet, she liked this kind of mistress too. Nevertheless, she expressed her worry: "But if we don't investigate, what if the thief comes back to harm my lady"
"When the thief returns, it will be a perfect time to catch him then. Let's do that! Don't worry; no one can hurt me," Yun Qianyue waved her hand again. She was still not well-rested and ordered: "As long as I am asleep, nobody is allowed to wake me up for any reason."
"Alright, Miss, go back to sleep then! I'll instruct Ting Yu and Ting Xue to guard outside your room while you rest. I will take the wet nurse's body to her family now," Cai Lian said.
"Mm-hmm." Yun Qianyue responded with a hum.
Cai Lian tucked in the corner of the blanket for her and walked out, closing the door behind her. She quietly instructed two young maids who were around the same age as her to guard outside the room, and they nodded in agreement. Then she led people carrying the wet nurse's body out of Qianyue Hall.
INTERLUDEl. The second wave also met the same fate; before they could approach, screams echoed as people fell again.Yun Qianyue narrowed her eyes and saw that there was some dense fog over there, making it har...