Volume 3 Chapter 12
Chapter 12: Beauty Envied by the Heavens
"Your Highness, the esteemed prince seemed to have drunk a lot." Ting Yue leaned towards Yao Mowan's ear to say this quietly. Yao Mowan nodded then shifted towards Ye Junqing slightly. On the other side, Chu Moxin was still playing the finger-guessing game with Kubu Zheer while gulping down wine. Meanwhile, Feng Yihan had already plopped on the table to pass out.
"Junqing?" Yao Mowan looked with heartache towards Ye Junqing whose entire face was red. She really wanted to help him out of here, but since the banquet hadn't officially ended, leaving first would be impolite.
"Moxin? Moxin, you're finally willing to appear again… Do you know how much this prince missed you?" When Ye Junqing saw Yao Mowan, his hazy eyes glistened unnaturally brightly, then a tear fell silently.
"I'm Mowan, not Moxin." When Yao Mowan saw the tears glistening in Ye Junqing's eyes, she felt her heart clench so hard that she couldn't breathe.
"Moxin, I'm sorry… I didn't know that your death was so tragic… It was my fault! It was my fault for not protecting you properly! I'm sorry…" Ye Junqing took Yao Mowan's hand as his tears overflowed.
"Ye Junqing, how much longer are you going to blame yourself? Moxin's death has nothing to do with you, so why keep yourself imprisoned in this cage?" Yao Mowan didn't shake off Ye Junqing's hand. Her eyes were turning misty as well.
"It is my fault… Moxin, don't leave me again… Please…" Ye Junqing collapsed onto the table, unconscious. As he closed his eyes, the tear at the corner of his eye dropped down into Yao Mowan's palm.
"I won't. I won't leave you ever again…" said Yao Mowan as tears whirled in her eyes. It felt like her heart was being cut apart.
"Blergh!"
Right at this moment, Chu Moxin suddenly set down his wine bowl and started vomiting hard. Yao Mowan only found out after she turned around that Kubu Zheer was long gone and the only people left were the out-of-commission men that had collapsed onto the table.
"Junxiu, hurry and help the little prince back to rest. Ting Feng, you should help King Qi back too. Remember to have the kitchen make hangover soup. Ting Yue, come help." After Yao Mowan gave these instructions, she worked with Ting Yue to help Ye Junqing back to his room.
On the bed, Ye Junqing's brows were scrunched up in pain as he continuously muttered Yao Moxin's name. Yao Mowan send Ting Yue to the kitchen to simmer some hangover soup, then sat down by the side of the bed. Her face filled with heartache when she saw Ye Junqing's pained expression and she couldn't stop herself from reaching out to smooth out his furrowed brows. However, the instant she touched him, Ye Junqing once again grabbed her hand tightly.
"Moxin, it's good that you're back… Don't ever leave again," beseeched Ye Junqing, half conscious. His thick eyelashes glimmered slightly with droplets of tears.
After leaving the room, Yao Mowan sighed lightly, then chuckled bitterly. It has always been said that alcohol resolved all worries, but after sobering up, would those worries no longer plague the heart? If this wasn't the case, why did everyone lie to themselves?
Just as Yao Mowan was about to start walking back to her room, she saw a familiar figure standing alone in the corridor ahead. Beneath the moonlight, that flawless face seemed to be bathed in a halo of silver. It was breathtakingly beautiful.
"Princess, amazing alcohol tolerance." Yao Mowan slowly walked to Kubu Zheer as she said this in admiration. Kubu Zheer just continued to gaze quietly up at the stars. After a good while, she finally shifted her gaze to Yao Mowan.
"Does Big Sister really think that Zheer's alcohol tolerance is good?" Kubu Zheer's eyes were bright and clear. They gleamed as beautifully as the gem-like stars in the sky.
"Could it be that it's not?" Yao Mowan was taken a back and she looked towards Kubu Zheer in surprise.
"Of course not. All that Zheer drank was water. Zheer was only putting on an act. However, what they drank was top quality Daughter's Red that had been fermented for fifty years!" Although Kubu Zheer said this, Yao Mowan still couldn't quite believe it. A child that was only thirteen years of age had acting skills so good that even she hadn't suspected that five out of the twenty jars of Daughter's Red actually contained only water.
"Princess, why did you tell Mowan? Are you not worried that Mowan will tell?" Yao Mowan looked towards Kubu Zheer with an interested smile.
"You won't. But even if you do, what could they possibly do to this princess? Ha…" Kubu Zheer tilted her head to look towards the sky again as her eyes dimmed.
"Actually, if you don't want to get married, you can tell King Loulan directly. With how much he loves you, he definitely won't force you." Yao Mowan could see what was weighing in Kubu Zheer's mind, so she said this gently.
"It's precisely because Imperial Father loves me so much that I don't want to go against his wishes. In addition, everything Imperial Father has done is for the sake of giving Zheer a perfect life…" Kubu Zheer lifted both legs onto the railing and hugged her legs while resting her chin crookedly on her knees. Her eyes flickered slightly with tears.
"Could it be?" Yao Mowan was stunned. Soon after, heartache surfaced in her heart.
"Although Imperial Father had kept it carefully secret, Zheer knows that she was born with a strange illness that destined her to die before fifteen. It's just that Imperial Father doesn't understand. Zheer doesn't want something like a perfect life. Zheer only wants to be together with Imperial Father. Since Imperial Father likes Zheer's naivety and innocence, then Zheer will do everything she can to make herself seem like a fool. There's nothing bad about that. But this time, Imperial Father is determined to have Zheer get married, so what is Zheer supposed to do?"
"Big Sister, Zheer doesn't want to leave Loulan. Even if Zheer will die, Zheer wants to die here." The immature voice of a child voiced a sorrow that even Yao Mowan had no way of enduring. As Yao Mowan took in the distress in those eyes, she reached out to tuck back Kubu Zheer's fallen hair.
"Trust Big Sister, Big Sister will definitely find a way so that Zheer can keep living. Zheer will be able to happily stay in Loulan and stay by King Loulan's side." Yao Mowan's voice resounded with strength and resolution as she made this vow.
"But what can be done? Zheer no longer has any hope…" Everyone had so many melancholies this night. As Yao Mowan looked at Kubu Zheer's glistening eyes, she couldn't stop her tears from falling. The Heavens have always envied beauty, but Zheer was still just a child!
Ye Junqing only woke up once it was noon the next day. He had already completely forgotten about what happened yesterday night.
"Prince, you've woken up?" Ting Yue entered the bedroom upon hearing the disturbance to find that Ye Junqing was shaking his head while rubbing his temples.
"How much did this prince drink last night?" Ye Junqing got off the bed and walked to the table to pour himself a cup of tea, then gulped it down.
"No small amount. Five jars of Daughter's Red. Prince, you drank so much that you lost all sense of rationality and insisted on pulling my master over to sleep with you," replied Ting Yue, seemingly off-handedly.
"Pfff! Cough cough cough… What did you say? This prince was that drunk?" Ye Junqing abruptly coughed out the water he was drinking as he looked towards Ting Yue with wide eyes.
"That's right. If my master hadn't bit your hand, you said that you wouldn't let go even if you die," replied Ting Yue as she started taking the food out of the food box. Upon hearing this, Ye Junqing reflexively glanced down and found that there were two distinct rows of teeth marks on the back of his hand.
"Ahem… Your master sure didn't hold back! Alright, you can withdraw now!" Ye Junqing's cheeks instantly flushed as he brushed off the topic and hastily dismissed Ting Yue.
"If Prince has any instructions, just call. This servant will be waiting outside." Ting Yue knew that her goal had been achieved so she didn't say anything else. Just as she was about to turn around, she was called back by Ye Junqing.
__________Credits: Translated by Chiyomira
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