Volume 3 Chapter 3
Chapter 3: Wouldn't Satisfy This Feeling of Hatred
"And who knows about this?" asked Yao Mowan sternly.
"This prince and you!" Ye Junqing's brows were tightly furrowed as suppressed waves of anger surged in his eyes.
"Prince is one of the people involved and this consort is Eldest Sister's biological younger sister who's also known as a fool! Who would believe our words? In the eyes of the world, trying to explain is just trying to cover things up. Some stains only spread the more you try to wipe them. Eldest Sister has already died a tragic death. Could it be that you want Eldest Sister to be insulted by everyone even after her death!?" demanded Yao Mowan sharply. Every single one of her words stabbed Ye Junqing's heart like nails.
"That what do I do? Could it be that we should allow Yao Suluan to continue getting away with that crime? This prince can't do that!" shouted Ye Junqing angrily.
"Continue getting away with that crime? But how come this consort feels like the current Yao Suluan's life is worse than death?" Yao Mowan's lips pressed together lightly as a faint smile appeared in her eyes.
"What do you mean?" Ye Junqing looked towards Yao Mowan in confusion.
"Prince, think about it. How could a highly respected imperial noble consort ever fall to a state this pitiful?" said Yao Mowan slowly as her lips curved upwards.
"It… It was you?" Ye Junqing's brows furrowed.
"When Mowan found out that His Majesty was apprehensive of Huan Heng's power, Mowan knew that His Majesty would use Huan Caier to attack Huan Heng. As long as Huan Caier did something improper in the inner palace, Huan Heng would definitely give up his military power to protect his daughter."
"At that time, the one person who had the ability to deal Huan Caier a fatal blow was Yao Suluan, so Mowan found a random swindler called Bai Mei to trick Yao Suluan into believing that the child in her belly was Eldest Sister's reincarnation. Her crimes weighed heavily on her conscience and that in combination with her strong greed made her propose to Ye Hongyi the plan of sacrificing the child in her belly to frame Huan Caier."
"In the end, even though Yao Suluan got rid of her child, Huan Heng found saffron in Pure Flowers Palace. Yao Suluan was caught red-handed, so she lost her title was imperial noble consort and was demoted two ranks to the rank of consort," said Yao Mowan lightly.
"You were the one that placed the saffron there?" Ye Junqing looked towards Yao Mowan in sudden realization.
"This act also counts as this consort getting revenge for her little nephew. This consort was also the one that arranged for Yao Tu to jump into the lake to ruin Yao Suluan's relationship with Father. All the events that occurred in the inner palace afterwards were very much related. Without Father's support, Yao Suluan had no power to do anything.
"It was precisely because of this that she took the risk of scheming revolt with Luminescent Prince Ye Zixiao. Although Father was the only openly implicated by this incident, Yao Suluan is Father's daughter. After this event, she has definitely lost all imperial favor."
The curve of Yao Mowan's lips deepened. These were probably two of the most insignificant out of all her schemes. The only reason she told Ye Junqing about them was because she wanted him to understand that she had always been working hard to get revenge for Eldest Sister.
"You knew from the start that Yao Suluan was the one that caused Moxin's death?" After hearing what Yao Mowan said, the indignance in Ye Junqing's heart finally started to calm down. In this moment, he finally understood why Yao Mowan had targeted Yao Suluan so much ever since entering the palace.
"What else could it be? Did you really think Mowan cared about imperial favor?" Yao Mowan pressed her lips together in contempt.
"How did you find out? Why didn't you tell this prince?" Ye Junqing frowned in annoyance.
"Mowan had heard from Dou Xianglan. As for not telling Prince, naturally it was because Mowan was worried that Prince would act rashly like today and try to kill Yao Suluan with one slash of the blade. That ending really wouldn't satisfy this feeling of hatred at all." Yao Mowan inwardly sighed in relief as she got up and poured a cup of water to pass it to Ye Junqing.
"That's right! Someone that has committed such an outrageous crime really shouldn't die so easily! It's just that… You couldn't be planning to let her off just like this, right?" Ye Junqing felt like his mouth was dry so he gulped down the water Yao Mowan passed him.
"Of course not. It's just that, before Mowan comes up with a better way to mess with Yao Suluan, Prince, could you not interfere in this matter?" Yao Mowan took the empty cup Ye Junqing passed her as she asked this with lifted brows.
"Alright! You're Moxin's biological younger sister after all, so it's only right that you handle this revenge! This prince will wait to see Yao Suluan get her retribution!" Ye Junqing nodded hard, then sat down.
"Don't worry, Prince, Mowan will definitely put in full effort to make sure you're satisfied." Yao Mowan smiled. She finally managed to make Ye Junqing give up on looking further into this for the time being. However, after this incident, Ye Hongyi would definitely be making a move, so she had to be prepared and act carefully.
Ye Hongyi had become very depressed and moody ever since Wang Qinruo left and the number of times he visited Guan Osprey Palace decreased significantly. Yao Mowan was enjoying the peace. She finally didn't have to act as much anymore and was free to do as she pleased. However, the calm only lasted a few days before ripples started occurring again.
In Guan Osprey Palace, Yao Mowan was sitting on the swing and swaying lightly. As the autumn breeze swept up her ink-like hair, a few leaves occasionally drifted onto her shoulders, adding a degree of natural grace to that beautiful face.
"Your Highness, Huan Heng wishes to meet with you. He says that it's something extremely urgent." Yin Xue landed silently by Yao Mowan's side, her movements even lighter than that of the leaves.
"Something extremely urgent… Go arrange it. Midnight, Yuelai Inn, Sky, first room," instructed Yao Mowan quietly as ripples stirred in her heart.
That night, the curved moon hung in the sky like a pulled bow as the surrounding stars emitted faint light. The entire Eternal Peace Street had an atmosphere of indescribable desolate. The quiet rustling caused by the chilly breeze only added to that atmosphere.
Yao Mowan was dressed in simple white as always and wearing a black veil. She had already been waiting by the table a long time when Huan Heng finally appeared in front of her with a worried expression.
"Wonder what it was that made Old General Huan request so urgently to see Jing Xin?" Yao Mowan could see the clear anxiety in Huan Heng's eyes.
"If this old man didn't remember wrong, Lady has once said that if this old man is willing to follow Lady loyally, Lady will guarantee that this old man's family will be safe this entire lifetime?" Huan Heng looked towards Yao Mowan solemnly as he asked this.
"Jing Xin has indeed said that before. Could it be that Old General Huan has encountered trouble?" Inwardly, Yao Mowan was already starting to wonder about the situation. The imperial court was currently calm and there were no wars right now, so Huan Heng should currently be safe.
"It's not this old man, it's this old man's daughter! Caier recently sent this old man a secret message saying that His Majesty wants to send her and the esteemed prince as ambassadors to Loulan! Lady, you're not an ordinary person so you can definitely guess His Majesty's intentions in doing this!" said Huan Heng with a conflicted and worried expression.
"His Majesty wants Consort Chen to head out of the capital with the esteemed prince?" Yao Mowan's brows furrowed. Inwardly, she was alarmed. It seemed like her guess was on the mark. Ye Hongyi was preparing to make a move.
"If it weren't a crucial matter, this old man wouldn't have dared to bother you with this!" Huan Heng looked towards Yao Mowan beseechingly.
"Old General Huan's meaning is that His Majesty wants to use Consort Chen's life as a pretext to get rid of Esteemed Prince? In this expedition to Loulan, if Consort Chen is not able to return, then it means that Ye Junqing had failed in his duty to protect her and could be punished with the death penalty, correct?" Yao Mowan hadn't expected for Ye Hongyi to actually hide this news so well. She hadn't heard anything about this at all.
"Aside from this, this old man can't think of any better explanation. It's currently troubled times. Of the four noble consorts, some have died and some have vanished, and now it seems to be the turn of this old man's daughter!" sighed Huan Heng, his face filled with worry.
"This is pretty easy to handle. Have Her Highness Consort Chen feign illness in order to get pass this." Yao Mowan's eyes whirled as an idea occurred to her.
"That's easier said than done. It's not like the imperial physicians are only in the palace to freeload! If His Majesty finds out, Caier won't be able to escape the crime of deceiving the monarch. At that time, her fate will be death all the same!" Huan Heng voiced his disagreement.
__________Credits: Translated by Chiyomira
[Chiyomira's Corner]Enjoy~
Announcements~
~~~