diskusbooks Chapter 225 The Living Abandoned Empress of the Cold Palace X The Invading Unruly Buddhist Son 59
Chapter 225 The Living Abandoned Empress of the Cold Palace X The Invading Unruly Buddhist Son 59
It was Qi Heyao. He frowned deeply, but when his eyes met Yun Qian's, he froze for a moment, as if trying to hide his gaffe. His brows twitched, and then he tried to soften his gloomy expression. He tugged at the corners of his mouth, trying to force a smile, but it seemed forced, even futile.
His coldness did not fade, but instead gained a hint of complex stiffness, and that kind of forbearance and uneasiness was particularly evident in him.
Yun Qian saw it clearly, a subtle flicker of shame in her eyes, but she didn't let it linger for long. She understood his current state of mind, but she didn't want to expose it directly with words. With light steps, she stepped forward, not getting too close, but stopping just in front of him, maintaining a delicate distance.
"Your Highness." Her voice was like a gentle warm current, slowly dispersing the stagnant air around her.
Qi Heyao saw her sympathy and softened the coldness between his brows. He pursed his lips and said, "Qianqian, why are you here? Don't worry. In two days, you and I will be married. This will never change."
Yun Qian heard his determination and felt sad, and said "hmm".
Two days, just two more days, and she will be able to let go and do what she wants.
"Let's go," Qi Heyao whispered, his tone less stern and more peaceful than before. Yun Qian raised her eyes and scanned his face, noticing that the wrinkle between his brows had faded considerably, as if he had finally unloaded some invisible burden.
She felt a little puzzled and tilted her head slightly, with a questioning look in her eyes, as if silently asking him the reason.
"My mother has matters to discuss with the ministers, so I'm afraid she won't be able to see you."
At this point, Qi Heyao paused for a moment, as if he was embarrassed to speak, before he spoke, "Plus... I just told my mother that I want to go to the front lines and command the three armies..."
His tone darkened slightly, and he paused for a moment, as if weighing his words, before continuing, "My mother refused. She said that while the front lines were dangerous, they weren't a place I should be setting foot on. She... told me to take care of my marriage first."
After Qi Heyao finished speaking, he looked up at Yun Qian's expression, but was surprised that he did not see the "expected" displeasure in it. She did not look as disappointed as he had imagined, and there was not even a trace of annoyance. Her eyes were as calm as water, and there was no ripple on her face, as if these words had nothing to do with her and she did not care at all.
"shallow……"
Qi Heyao opened his mouth, but a single word escaped him before he abruptly stopped. His gaze shifted slightly, as if he were testing her mood, as if he wanted to ask something, but he couldn't find the right words. He wanted to ask if she was truly not upset? Or was she just feigning composure? But such a question would seem unnecessary and weak. How could he bring himself to open his mouth?
Yun Qian looked at his slightly furrowed brow and the complex expression on his face. Her eyes shifted slightly, and then she whispered, "Let's go then." As she finished speaking, she realized that their previous conversations seemed to have coincidentally converged. She looked up at Qi Heyao and found his gaze somewhat wandering, as if he was considering something. His hesitant look made her even more puzzled.
"You..." She began doubtfully, but stopped herself the next moment because Qi Heyao simply shook his head slightly, as if to indicate that nothing was wrong. His movement was small, yet it carried an indescribable heaviness, as if a thousand words were weighing on his chest, yet he was swallowing them back.
Yun Qian frowned slightly, wondering inwardly: What on earth was this guy trying to say? But his gentle sigh silenced all her doubts. Well, since he wouldn't say it, she wouldn't ask. Right now, she had more pressing matters to consider, and she didn't have time to fuss over these trivial details.
She lightly walked out, Qi Heyao following closely behind. The distance between them was just right, yet it seemed as if an invisible barrier was hiding between them, separating them from an unreachable state of mind.
At this moment, Yun Qian didn't know that in this quiet night, a letter of peace sent by the rebels was quietly delivered to the court, right in the Golden Palace, and was held in Yun Piao's hand.
The conditions proposed in the letter were shocking: they were willing to negotiate peace with the royal court and divide the country into two parts from then on.
But Yunpiao had to cancel—postpone—her niece's marriage to the prince.
When Yun Piao first saw it, deep doubts filled her face, forming deep wrinkles. She was also stunningly beautiful when she was young, and even now that she is middle-aged, she still has the generosity and vigor of an evergreen tree. It's just that the recent news has made her look much more haggard.
After a brief moment of contemplation about what that fellow was up to, she had finally figured out that the "bald man" currently sitting in the rebel army's center was none other than Qi Jueyu, the man who had escaped from Qianqiu Temple. However... he might have another name, another identity: the prince born to the Northern King's daughter, the one who should have died long ago...
Ever since the unrest in the North, Yun Piao had ordered an investigation into what had happened in the Night Court. It turned out... it turned out that the careless man had once favored the North King's daughter, but refused to give her a legitimate status, hiding her in the Greenhouse Palace until she became pregnant. Then, coincidentally, he rejected her, and who knows, she returned and gave birth to the child...
The files she asked people to investigate showed that the woman had continuous bleeding when she died. Everyone thought she had some strange disease, but Yun Piao realized with a little thought that it was clearly due to lack of proper care and heavy bleeding during childbirth. She probably died of exhaustion of her blood and essence.
"What a beast!" Yun Piao cursed the emperor with disgust.
Frankly speaking, her feelings towards the emperor were very complicated. In the past, it was he who personally gave her more and more power. She should have been grateful to him, but it was also him who indulged himself and committed many love debts, which caused unrest in the harem. Now everyone said that they didn't know what had happened to the emperor, so he was intoxicated with pleasure and had no interest in state affairs.
But only Yun Piao knew that it was she who fed him one "magic pill" after another, which made him increasingly obsessed. But he finally calmed down for so many years. Yun Piao never regretted doing these things. She already had an heir chosen by her in the harem, and she didn't need the emperor to harm so many women. Many young palace maids, who could have been released from the palace when they reached age, had their wings clipped by him.
She harmed him, firstly for herself, and secondly for her daughter.
This beast doesn't care about her child, so he is not worthy of being a father.