Chapter 5: 第2章 爱与恨

Chapter 2: Love and Hate

Thinking of this, Jing Yue'er could not help but lower her eyes. "Yue'er leaves everything to my grandfather's decision."

Ye Yunxie suddenly let out a sigh of relief. He stood up and abruptly took Jing Yue'er's hand in his. "With these words from the Princess, Yunxie will certainly not fail the Princess's devoted heart."

"Boy, what are you so impatient for?" The Northern Emperor pulled Ye Yunxie's hand away in dissatisfaction, laughing out of sheer exasperation. "Get down."

"Yes, Yunxie obeys."

Having received permission, Ye Yunxie was naturally delighted. He turned, flicked his sleeves, and returned to his position to wait for the Northern Emperor's decree.

"Since that is the case, I shall decide. Let the Ministry of Rites choose a date for the wedding." The Northern Emperor grinned from ear to ear, pulling Jing Yue'er into his arms. "I have only this one granddaughter. If you... dare to mistreat her..."

"Yunxie knows. I will certainly give the Princess a magnificent wedding," Ye Yunxie promised with a smile. "I will never allow the Princess to suffer even the slightest grievance."

"Hahahaha..." The Northern Emperor laughed heartily. "You brat, you'd better. Otherwise, you'll have it coming."

After Jing Yue'er said she would leave it to her grandfather, almost everyone present breathed a sigh of relief, offering intermittent thanks to Ye Yunxie. Yet, it seemed everyone overlooked the fact that Jing Yue'er remained calm and undisturbed throughout.

"Grandfather, I am a bit tired. I shall rest first."

Jing Yue'er frowned slightly. "I should also go and inspect my courtyard."

The Northern Emperor was in high spirits and no longer held anything against her. He simply summoned several palace maids to her side. "Accompany the Princess down to rest."

"Yes!"

The man waited to the side. Once Jing Yue'er walked down, the four palace maids followed obediently behind her.

However, seeing Jing Yue'er leave, Ye Yunxie also felt the palace had become dull. He made up a random excuse and departed.

Down below, a woman dressed in emerald green sitting in the first row of the second step gazed at Ye Yunxie's retreating back. Suddenly, her eyes shimmered with glistening tears.

"Ying'er, your mother loved once when I was young. In truth, how many women in this life can obtain love?"

The woman beside the emerald-robed lady looked at her daughter with affection.

As the woman's tears silently dripped onto the crystal grapes on the table, her mother handed her a tissue. "Mother will allow you to cry this one last time. If you cry for another man next time, you will be grounded for a month, until you have forgotten that man."

"Mother, I cannot forget..."

The woman's voice was weak as she leaned against her mother, weeping.

"Even if you cannot forget, you must!"

The mother's voice suddenly turned stern as she gritted her teeth. "When we return, you will accompany me to the ancestral hall to copy scriptures."

The woman continued to weep silently, no longer speaking.

Yan Yuxiao closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He also loved his sister dearly—very dearly. But he also knew clearly that Jun Lanfeng's ambitions were too heavy, his heart set solely on the empire. Such a man was not suitable for his most precious sister.

But Yunxie was different. He naturally preferred a peaceful life in the mountains and rivers. He did not possess much ambition! Consequently, he was naturally more devoted in matters of affection than Jun Lanfeng.

~

Jing Yue'er walked aimlessly along the path, with the four palace maids following closely at her side without making a sound. Passing through the vast Imperial Garden, bursts of fragrance wafted toward her. Jing Yue'er took a deep breath and, feeling bored, found a place to sit down.

The maids naturally understood her meaning and quickly brought a pot of tea before her. Jing Yue'er casually shook the fallen plum blossoms from a branch, placing the petals into the teapot. As the tea infused with the plum blossoms, a fragrance immediately filled the air.

She took a light sip and looked up at the solitary stars. The fragrance of the fallen plums was elegant and light, but upon entering her mouth, it felt utterly tasteless to Jing Yue'er. She had intended to use the plum blossoms to soothe her mood.

Unfortunately, the more she tasted it, the more she realized her former state of mind was gone. Instead, a wave of irritability rose from her heart. In a fit of anger, she smashed the teapot directly onto the ground. The four palace maids trembled all over, hurriedly kneeling on the ground.

In her anger, Jing Yue'er did not seem to notice; she merely looked up at the sky, forcing back her unfaithful tears! She refused to let even a single tear fall.

As for when such things had begun to appear in the depths of her eyes, Jing Yue'er had already forgotten. It seemed she had forgotten because she did not dare to remember easily, fearing the pain in her heart would grow even more intense.

"If drinking tea is uninteresting, Princess, why not try drinking wine instead?"

From the shadows, a figure gradually approached. His brocade clothes fluttered wildly in the wind. Ye Yunxie signaled for the four maids to leave. The maids looked at Jing Yue'er until she nodded, only then departing submissively.

Ye Yunxie carried a flask of wine, walked over, placed it before Jing Yue'er, and personally poured her a cup.

Then, he drained his own cup first. He turned the cup upside down to show her. Jing Yue'er froze for a moment, then took the cup and drained it in one gulp.

"You really are something, keeping this from me for so long," Jing Yue'er sneered.

"Did you not hide it from me as well?"

Ye Yunxie smiled and refilled the cup once more. "If it weren't for the incident in the fishing village that forced you to save people, combined with the series of events that followed, perhaps we would still be living in that broken thatched hut."

"Do you wish we would live there forever?"

Jing Yue'er smiled and drained another cup. In this palace, she knew all were her kin and nothing would happen to them. Therefore, Jing Yue'er wanted to get drunk again—perhaps even drink herself to death.

"Yes. That way, at the very least, no one would disturb us, and there wouldn't be so many troubles."

Ye Yunxie shook his head helplessly. "If I hadn't seen you reach your limit in the dungeon, I wouldn't have sent word to the Prefect to come save us. Actually, I knew that once the Imperial Court found out, I would inevitably have to return."

Jing Yue'er glanced at him and sighed. "I am not that good. You only saw the surface. Over time, all sorts of problems will arise." Another cup of wine entered her stomach; she finally understood why many people preferred wine over tea.

Wine was stimulating, and that stimulation made it easy to forget many things one shouldn't remember. Thus, she didn't know when she had started to like drinking.

Jing Yue'er remembered that in her countless missions in her past life, even when she was exhausted or injured, she had always kept those things inside. She understood that alcohol was a thing that caused trouble; once one was tainted by it, one would be controlled by it.

But when she had clearly seen those plum-blossom-like bloodstains on that handkerchief, she felt as if her entire head were about to explode.

In truth, leaving someone is simple, but if that man has already taken root in one's heart and established a position, saying one will give up is not something that can be done in a short time.

"Princess, I have waited for three years." Ye Yunxie proactively poured a cup for Jing Yue'er and another for himself. "For these three years, even I found it laughable. And just as I was about to leave, I ran into you. It was then I realized there is a person you can meet at first sight and find impossible to forget for a lifetime. I would rather follow by your side, no matter how humble my status. Even if I only watch you from afar, I feel satisfied."

As he finished speaking, he silently drained his cup. As the liquid went down, Ye Yunxie closed his eyes. "Master Juechen was right; in this life, I am devoted only to you. I have indeed lost, and I have lost with total conviction."

Her clear phoenix eyes looked at the man before her, and her heart suddenly ached. It seemed that person had said similar words to her as well. The only thing that man had failed to do was—in order to see him, she had foolishly endured three years of hardship in a fishing village.

Speaking of which, she truly felt extremely ashamed. A woman who was originally heartless, having undergone various trainings since childhood that had tempered her temperament, seemed to have had the seeds of emotion—which had not yet sprouted—stirred by something. She had allowed those seeds to overflow recklessly, and thus, these people found her special and pursued her relentlessly!

Such is the nature of emotion in this world. Everyone knows that such obsession is not good. Everyone knows that foolishly pursuing someone who does not love you, and foolishly torturing yourself, is the most foolish thing in the world.

And yet, all those involved fail to see it...

She, Jing Yue'er, was like this; even if there was hate in her heart, she still could not accept it when facing Ye Yunxie.

And Ye Yunxie was the same; as dashing as he was, he had been caught by curiosity upon meeting her for the first time, and since then, he had been unable to extricate himself from the sea of passion!

Jing Yue'er could only handle three cups; drinking was her weakest skill. After only a few cups, she could not even hold the cup steady.

"Heir... call my maids back. I want to go back to my palace to sleep..."

Jing Yue'er stood up, turning weakly to prepare to leave. Her body was as fragile as a willow in the wind; Ye Yunxie finally could not resist and pulled her into his arms.

"Heir..."

The maid's expression changed drastically, looking helplessly at Jing Yue'er being carried in Ye Yunxie's arms.

"Since the Princess is already my fiancée, what harm is there in this Heir carrying her back personally?"

Ye Yunxie's expression shifted, and he frowned before turning to walk away. The maids following behind dared not utter a single word of dissent.

Jing Yue'er's face was flushed pink, her jade-like fingers resting lightly on Ye Yunxie's shoulder. A low murmur escaped her lips: "Lanfeng..."

Ye Yunxie's fingertips trembled. Only after a long moment did he calmly continue carrying Jing Yue'er toward the Purple Bamboo Palace.

The Purple Bamboo Palace was flanked by precious purple bamboo, leisurely shrouded in the night. It was exceptionally charming under the dim glow of the glass lamps. Inside the palace, layers upon layers of light gauze were lifted one after another. Behind the final layer, behind the purple mountain-like folds, lay a purple brocade quilt.

The entire bed was suspended, and upon every copper and iron support hung countless orchids, which naturally entwined around them as if they had never withered.

Ye Yunxie placed her on the bed and found someone to bring sobering soup. But Jing Yue'er did not drink a drop, so Ye Yunxie could only guard her by the bed alone, watching her sleep!

"Lanfeng, don't leave me..."

Jing Yue'er unconsciously grasped Ye Yunxie's hand, and tears fell bit by bit, blooming like flowers on her pillow.

Ye Yunxie squeezed that hand deeply within his own and let out a heavy sigh. "Brother Yuxiao said you have never forgotten him. I didn't believe it at first." As his voice fell, he couldn't help but smile. "He treated you like that, so why do you..."