Seventh Chapter

aining his snow-white sleeves red. The drops fell to the ground where old dried blood lay, new blood dripping continuously, dyeing that spot red like two crimson mandala blossoms blooming on either si...Volume 1: Laughing at the Splendor Chapter 7

Li Yun didn't expect anyone to save her; she immediately turned around when the restraint beside her was removed, turning to look at the person who spoke up for her.

Only then did she notice a white jade table placed not far behind the colorful crowd. Seated opposite each other by the table were two people, with the chessboard overturned and pieces scattered about, indicating that they had just been playing a game of Go. Due to the large number of people blocking their view, she hadn't noticed them until now.

Both individuals appeared extremely young, around eighteen or nineteen years old. They were both handsome in appearance and graceful in posture. One of them was standing up and walking towards her; he wore a light green silk robe, with a jade belt at his waist and a emerald jade pendant hanging therefrom. The pendant swung lightly from side to side as he walked gracefully. His eyebrows arched beautifully, and his voice sounded clear and pleasant; everyone in front of him moved aside to make way for him.

Many women changed their earlier gaze at the Crown Prince, shifting it entirely towards this young man instead. Their faces flushed slightly, their eyes avoided direct contact, and they appeared bashful, as if unable yet unwilling not to look at him. It seemed that even the air in the viewing garden had become lighter.

Li Yun guessed that since he mentioned Uncle Emperor just now, he must be a member of the royal family. As she looked at the young man and thought about how it was only now, after coming to this world, that she finally saw someone who appealed to her taste, she felt it was quite hard-won. She would soon find out his identity.

Gazing away from her line of sight to the man seated beside the white jade table, this man did not stand up but instead bowed his head, staring at the scattered chessboard on the table as if lost in thought. From her vantage point, she could only see one side of him, yet even that was enough to glimpse his extraordinary good looks. She averted her gaze and refocused it on the approaching man, silently remarking how ancient times indeed produced handsome men, with examples like "throwing fruits filling carriages" proving such instances existed. The two walking down the street would likely obstruct traffic.

“Qingran! I thought after seven years of worldly experience, you should have grown more mature, but it seems you’re still the same old self.” The Crown Prince looked at the man who had come out with a mixture of helplessness and reproach in his expression, scolding him: “When you were young and didn’t know any better, burning down Hongxiu Lou could be excused. But how can yesterday’s incident where my Moon Sister burned Wangchun Lou be compared to it Back then, no one was injured, and given your youth and the Emperor's favor towards you, he naturally couldn't bear to punish you. This time, however, over a hundred lives were lost.”

“Why can’t they be compared I see nothing different between them; both are places of filth and disgrace. If it weren’t for your protection back then, I would have burned them to the ground without leaving a single tile standing. Not just hundreds but thousands of lives shouldn’t matter either.” The man walked into the middle of the space and glanced at the Crown Prince, raising his eyebrows further as he spoke with even more arrogance.

Li Yun was stunned, thinking that this must be Qingran, or rather, the Little Prince Rang her maidservant had spoken about

The Crown Prince hesitated and his expression darkened instantly. “Those are human lives! How can they be treated like a game”

“My dear Imperial Brother, after seven years apart, you’ve become even more naive Human lives may indeed be precious, but the lives of shameless scoundrels who indulge in filth and disgrace aren’t worth preserving. Moreover, how many lives have perished under your rule these past years beyond just a hundred Now suddenly showing compassion towards them is truly strange! Could it be that you only feel such pity for those who lost their lives at the hands of my Moon Sister” The man stopped three steps away from Li Yun and looked intently at the Crown Prince, expressing his astonishment.

The Crown Prince's expression stiffened, and a thread of annoyance flashed in his eyes.

The man ignored it, and his previously light tone suddenly changed as he sighed, saying, "I heard that you don't like Moon Sister and don't want to marry her. But why do you push someone to death just because of that Although the Cloud王府 only has one legitimate daughter, there are many concubine-born daughters. Even the founding emperor didn't require a legitimate daughter as empress; it's possible for a concubine-born daughter to be chosen too! Why does Moon Sister need to work hard at learning proper etiquette and restraining her true nature Why must she enter the palace In my opinion, Moon Sister is already great just as she is. No one in this era can match her genuine character!"

A slight curve appeared on Li Yun's lips for a moment before vanishing. This person was much more appealing than the Fourth Prince.

"Yue Qingran!" The Crown Prince's stiff expression turned angry as he looked at the man, his voice growing heavy as he said his name, "Although the founding emperor didn't specify whether it had to be a legitimate or concubine-born daughter, where in history has there ever been an empress from a low-status concubine Your words are utterly absurd."

"Whether my words are absurd is something that His Imperial Highness the Crown Prince knows well. Among these people sitting here, how many didn't have several, even dozens or hundreds of people die under them each year As far as I know, there has been a game among nobles' children in recent years where they place the lowest-status commoners on horse tracks and make those people run while simultaneously shooting arrows at them. The winner is whoever shoots the most arrows. One can imagine that blood would flow like rivers, which isn't an exaggeration. Even though I haven't been in the capital for seven years, I don't believe His Imperial Highness the Crown Prince could be unaware of this matter every day while serving in court If you really didn't know about it, then your knowledge is extremely limited."

The Crown Prince was momentarily speechless and seemed to lose his words to refute him.

Li Yun's gaze darkened as she realized that this place was truly an ancient era where the emperor held supreme power and human lives were treated like grass. Initially, she thought that the act of burning down a building by the owner of her current body deserved severe punishment for taking hundreds of lives, but compared to the cruel game played between noblemen, it seemed insignificant. Just thinking about the scene made her heart chill.

"Compared to these people treating life as worthless, Moon Sister's act of burning down Wang Chun Lou is truly a great deed. I don't believe that Uncle Emperor and Empress Dowager are unaware of this event. If Uncle Emperor, Empress Dowager, and Prince Imperial haven’t stopped such cruel games from existing over the years, how can they punish Moon Sister today This simply doesn't make sense!" Zhang's voice continued, a hint of ridicule coloring Night Qingran’s gaze—subtle yet hard to miss.

Li Yun watched every move Night Qingran made and saw his mocking expression clearly. It seemed that although he was rescuing her, he was also using this opportunity to criticize the cruel games played by nobles. If she were punished today, then all the high-ranking officials and noble sons would be guilty, which could lead to a major scandal.

Thinking of this, she felt even more respect for him. She thought that it wasn’t surprising he had traveled abroad for seven years. Despite his flamboyant behavior, he seemed much better than those seated around him.

The Crown Prince’s expression darkened further as he looked at Night Qingran with a deeper gloom, seemingly not expecting him to bring up this matter.

"That's right; if Moon Sister burning down Wang Chun Lou is considered a crime, then the daily cruel games played by high-ranking officials and noble sons should also be crimes. If Moon Sister is punished while those people are let off, it doesn't make sense." The Fourth Prince, who had been silent until now, glanced meaningfully at Night Qingran before looking at Li Yun, his eyes flickering slightly.

The Crown Prince remained silent, his dark gaze shifting to Li Yun, filled with enigmatic depth.

"Moreover, Qingran was right. The Holy Ancestor Emperor never specified that the Crown Princess must be a legitimate daughter of the Cloud王府. There are numerous illegitimate children in the Cloud王府; what difference does it make if Moon Sister alone fails to adhere to etiquette It's merely the death of one hundred people at Wàngchūn Tower, while countless lives are lost each year due to such games in the Holy Dynasty—how should those deaths be accounted for Hasn't the Crown Prince always refrained from reporting these incidents to His Majesty Why single out Moon Sister today Could it be because she likes you" The Fourth Prince's words left no room for interpretation, and he seized any opportunity to undermine the Crown Prince. After speaking, he turned and smiled at Li Yun: "If this is the case, then let Moon Sister take a good look at the person you've liked all these years! You have given your heart in vain; if you are imprisoned because of him, how will those who truly care for you feel"

The last sentence was loaded with meaning and lingering warmth.

Li Yun's lips twitched slightly as she thought that this Fourth Prince was indeed shameless. Did he genuinely care about her She doubted it!

"Yes, how sad it would be for those who truly care for you! Ha ha..." Ye Qingran looked at Li Yun and laughed softly; his flamboyant voice softened unexpectedly, becoming inexplicably gentle. With the change in his tone, every corner of Wàngjǐng Garden was suddenly filled with a warm breeze like spring, as tender as a drizzle. Even the Crown Prince's gloomy expression seemed to soften.

Seeing the amusement in his eyes and hearing both his voice and tone, Li Yun felt a chill down her spine. She had long figured out how unappealing this body was to others. Now, however, their words made it sound as if she were highly sought after. Lowering her head, she rolled her eyes for once.

Night Qingran was looking at Li Yun when he saw her rolling her eyes and immediately froze. After a moment, his laughter became even more unrestrained.

The Fourth Prince kept shuttling between Li Yun and Night Qingran, with a slight frown on his forehead as if he couldn't figure out why Night Qingran acted this way.

Not only did the Fourth Prince find it incomprehensible, but even the Empress and Crown Prince were puzzled by how someone who had just returned from a seven-year journey could care so much about Yun Qianyue that they would offend them for her sake. Moreover, he had exposed the ugly scandals within the noble youth of Heavenly Saint Dynasty, which was a matter with wide-reaching implications and very unpopular. On top of this, without even having firmly established himself in court after his return, he dared to recklessly make enemies, surpassing even what happened seven years ago, making everyone scratch their heads.

After a long silence, Crown Prince's dark eyes dimmed as he looked at Li Yun and Night Qingran. His phoenix-like eyes were deep like a pool, and he spoke again: "What Qingran and Fourth Young Prince say is indeed correct, but in recent years, those noble youth have been playing with their household servants. Although Father Emperor and this Crown Prince have heard about it, we don't want to interfere with the affairs of officials' families. But today's fire at Moon-viewing Tower that claimed hundreds of lives are not household servants from Cloud Manor. This matter has caused a great commotion in the capital; common people and court officials alike are unhappy about this. If we do not punish Yun Qianyue, Heavenly Saint’s citizens will be dissatisfied. It won't end well if we don’t deal with it properly at that time. Therefore, we must give an explanation to all officials and the people of the realm."

Upon hearing this, Li Yun's face turned cold; she didn't expect this Crown Prince was determined to put her in a difficult situation. How hateful!

Night Qingran hadn’t expected his argument would be overturned completely, and that the Crown Prince still wanted to punish Yun Qianyue. Furthermore, with just one sentence about not wanting to interfere in officials' family matters, he had shaped those cruel slaughter games as a fixed pattern and shifted all responsibility away from himself. Night Qingran's expression also darkened slightly; it seemed he underestimated this Crown Prince, Night Tianqiong. He was indeed different from seven years ago.t Tianyi again!"Yun Qianyue panted lightly and thought for a moment when she heard this. She opened her eyes to look at Rong Jing. Her hazy gaze met his clear, misty eyes. Recalling how considerate an...