CH 82

November 16, 2022Merchie

Qi Yirou’s words were deliberately sharp and harsh. Qi Changyi couldn’t understand the meaning behind them, but she didn’t believe that the little eunuch hadn’t either.

The blood on Li Yu’s arm dripped over his skin. He looked at Qi Yirou, who was teetering on the edge of madness, then grabbed Qi Changyi, and hurriedly tried to leave with him in tow.

But Qi Yirou wouldn’t let them go so easily. She pointed her dagger at the two and blocked their path.

“Stay there and don’t move, or I’ll kill you both!”

Qi Yirou suddenly roared, “Today is a joyous occasion, don’t force me to do this myself!”

Li Yu pulled Qi Changyi behind himself to shield him, “Third Princess, you shouldn’t even be here on a day like this. You should return to the main hall now.”

He tried his best to keep his voice low, so as to not provoke Qi Yirou.

“Heh, you want me to return to the main hall? Ask them, and see if they’d let me in! Pei Zheng has trapped me here in the Prime Minister’s Manor for so many days now. Every day, I want to die…”

Qi Yirou took a step forward, staring at Qi Changyi.

“You’ve really reduced me to this state! Are you satisfied now?! Everybody protects you, and sides with you, why is that?! Royal Father once cherished me the most, but now, he doesn’t even care what happens to me. If it wasn’t for Second Sister speaking up for me, Royal Father would have allowed Pei Zheng to keep me here forever!”

The more Qi Yirou spoke, the angrier she became. The days when she was the moon surrounded by stars1 were gone forever, and the person in front of her was definitely involved in her downfall.

No, that wasn’t right; everything was his fault!

“My mother was right, you and your Mother Consort are just lowly wretches. That shameless woman seduced Royal Father, and gave birth to you, a foreign bastard! And you, you latched onto Pei Zheng; do you really think I don’t know about all the obscene things you’ve done together?!”

Qi Yirou walked up to the two. The gloomy ruthlessness on her face was evident.

“A slut is a slut; you’ll never be able to be on the stage2! Second Sister can now marry Pei Zheng openly and honestly, but you? Who do you think you are?! Pei Zheng was just playing with you, why would he ever like an idiot like you? Even if he does like men, the one he actually has feelings for should be the Fourth Prince, who looks just like you-“

Qi Yirou began to laugh; her expression was terrifying. She laughed until tears began to flow out of her eyes.

“Oh right, I also heard that a tattoo artist came to the manor a few days ago, I’m guessing that he came to tattoo you. Tsk tsk tsk, did you know, that only criminals and prostitutes get tattoos. Tell me, which of the two does Pei Zheng think you are?”

The blood in Qi Changyi’s face slowly drained away, and it looked as though he had lost his soul.

Qi Yirou had let her guard down, so Li Yu took the opportunity to rush forward and try to snatch the dagger away. The two immediately fell into a furious brawl.

Qi Changyi stood dumbly to the side, and slowly reached up to cover his ears. He squatted down, and stared at the ground, his body racked with shudders.

“It’s not… It’s not like that… you’re wrong… wrong…”

“Your Highness, Your Highness, you must leave now!” Li Yu’s hand was sliced by the dagger.

Qi Yirou had already lost control of her emotions; her strength was astonishing. She blindly waved the dagger.

“Don’t even think about leaving! You’re the one who turned me into a cripple, so I’m going to rip out your kneecap too!”

As she shouted, Qi Yirou charged in Qi Changyi’s direction. Li Yu hurriedly turned around and butted her aside, and the dagger was also knocked out of her hand, falling to the ground with a clang.

Qi Yirou didn’t have the dagger anymore, so she furiously scratched at Li Yu, who also slapped her many times in the ensuing chaos.

The two were still wrestling. Qi Changyi looked at the dagger at his feet and slowly reached out to pick it up.

The blade was sharp, and there were a few bloodstains on it, gleaming coldly under the dim moonlight.

Li Yu’s arm had been injured earlier, so Qi Yirou pressed it hard several times, and he curled up in pain. The moment Qi Yirou saw this, she quickly clambered up off the ground, and fiercely kicked Li Yu’s head.

“Dog servant! Who let you hit me, you dare to hit me, I’ll send you to your death, to your death…”

With every word, she gave him a kick, and Li Yu was about to faint from the pain.

Qi Changyi gripped the dagger in his hand, and slowly walked over, until he was right behind Qi Yirou.

She hadn’t noticed his presence at all. As she raised her leg high, and prepared to kick again, a flash of cold light cut by, and her entire body suddenly froze, her eyes widening.

The dagger in Qi Changyi’s hand was embedded into the back of the person in front of him. Blood flowed over his fingers, and the warm stream spilled all over the ground.

The dagger was suddenly pulled out. Qi Yirou’s mouth was half-open, but she couldn’t make a sound. The terrible pain in her back finally stole her consciousness, and she fell, her body limp. She twitched twice as she lay on the ice-cold ground.

Li Yu was so shocked that he forgot about his own pain. He propped himself up and sat upright with great difficulty, and looked over at Qi Yirou, who had passed out. He reached out with a trembling hand and placed a finger beneath her nose to check if she was still breathing.

“Your Highness, Your Highness, Your Highness…”

Qi Changyi’s face was pale as paper. It was only when he heard Li Yu call for him that he lifted his eyelids and glanced at him.

“Your Highness, here, give me the knife…”

Qi Changyi gazed at the bloody dagger in his hand, and, as if he had lost his mind, obediently handed the knife to Li Yu.

“Your Highness, listen to me. Right now, you must return to the little pavilion by yourself, you hear me? Didn’t Lord Pei tell you to wait for him there? Go back and wait for him, Lord Pei will definitely have a solution, don’t be scared. If anything happens, this servant will take care of it3…”

Qi Changyi lifted his hand, turning it over repeatedly and staring at the blood staining his skin, “Xiao Yuzi, I killed someone, didn’t I…”

“You didn’t, you didn’t kill anyone. None of this has anything to do with you, it was all this servant’s doing, you understand?”

The bright red of the blood suddenly stung Qi Changyi’s eyes, and he couldn’t see clearly. He wiped his hands forcefully on his clothes, but he couldn’t get rid of the filth no matter how hard he tried. Instead, his bright red cloak looked even redder.

“My hands are dirty, why can’t I wipe them clean? Xiao Yuzi, I can’t wipe my hands clean, can you help me…”

In reality, the blood on Qi Changyi’s hands had already been wiped off on his cloak, but he was still rubbing his palms vigorously, and a layer of watery mist slowly veiled his gaze.

Li Yu couldn’t even stand up at this point. He sat on the ground and looked at Qi Changyi, who was ceaselessly mumbling to himself, and had no clue what to do.

“Your Highness! Stop wiping, your hands are already clean…”

Qi Changyi was startled by his sudden yell, and his hands slowly stopped moving. Fat tears began to drip down his face and splash to the ground.

The sound of footsteps sounded from not too far away; the guards patrolling the manor were close by.

Li Yu became nervous, “Your Highness, go quickly, go back, you must leave now!”

Qi Changyi cried and shook his head at the same time, “No, Xiao Yuzi, I don’t want to be by myself…”

“Your Highness, please don’t cry, listen to me first.” Li Yu knew what he was afraid of, “This servant swears to you that nothing bad will happen. Your body can’t handle the cold any longer, go back inside and wait, okay?”

Qi Changyi wanted to shake his head again, but Li Yu turned around before he could answer, knelt down, and slammed his head into the ground as he kowtowed thrice.

“Your Highness…”

Qi Changyi couldn’t say a word. He never had Li Yu perform this kind of formality in the past. But now, Li Yu was kneeling on the ground for a long time, refusing to get up.

“Xiao Yuzi, I’ll listen to you… I’ll leave… Please get up…”

Li Yu continued to kneel and didn’t move.

Qi Changyi choked back his sobs, and stood up. He was suddenly overcome with dizziness as he slowly staggered back towards the garden.

After walking a few steps, he looked back. Li Yu was still kneeling in the same kowtowing position, facing him as he was leaving, unmovable as a mountain.

Qi Changyi’s footsteps were unstable as he swayed along; he was but a single, forlorn shadow, lonely and with nothing to depend on. Under the dim moonlight, he walked towards the small, ice-cold pavilion, one step at a time.

His face was covered in tear tracks. The moment he wiped one away, a new tear would flow out to replace it.

He knew that what had just happened was no small matter. If Li Yu were to take the blame for him, he would never be able to return. But he didn’t have a way out, he didn’t have the slightest clue. He couldn’t save Xiao Yuzi, nor could he save himself. He was so useless; all he could do was watch as everything unfolded before him.

The moment he walked into the back garden, those complicated matters were all blocked out.

The lonely lanterns in the back garden were still glowing, but it was a pity that no one was here to admire them.

Qi Changyi didn’t return to the little pavilion; he didn’t see what the point was in him going back by himself, so he continued to walk along the path in the back garden, and walked for quite a while.

He reached a door that looked like it had never been opened before.

Qi Changyi reached out and pushed it lightly. It had actually shifted ajar. Without the glow of the firelight, the inside was pitch dark.

Qi Changyi stepped inside. After several twists and turns, he actually popped right into the main street of the Imperial City.

He had just been in the back garden of the Prime Minister’s Manor; it turned out that the garden was actually connected to the street.

There were many pedestrians walking along the road and bustling about. The two sides of the street were also lined with many small stalls, each displaying a myriad of dazzling objects.

Qi Changyi stared dumbly at the crowd of people whose faces were full of smiles.

Those cheerful, chattering passersby gradually contorted and twisted before his eyes. The noisy clamor pierced his ears, and he was extremely uncomfortable. He supported himself with the tree trunk beside him and gasped for a while.

A strong black horse was tied to the trunk. Qi Changyi slowly walked over and lifted the reins that were looped around the tree.

When they went hunting last time, he had learned how to ride a horse. He trembled as he climbed up onto the saddle, turned his body, and mounted the horse. Just as he managed to sit properly, the horse, as if it had been startled, furiously charged out.

Qi Changyi hurriedly bent over, hugged the horse’s back tightly, and pressed his face against its coat.

The horse rushed out into the street and began to gallop out of the Imperial City.

Because of the princess’ wedding, the gates of the Imperial Capital had been open for the past few days, welcoming guests from far and wide to come to the city and celebrate.

That black horse carried the quiet little prince on its back, charging out of the city gates and into the darkness.

Qi Changyi turned his head to the side and looked at the blurry, fleeting landscape around him. The only sound he could hear was the bitterly cold wind whistling past his ears.

He didn’t know where he wanted to go; he simply allowed the horse to sprint off and take him away on a bumpy ride.

The horse galloped under the moonlight, passing through forests, hills, and fields, and had actually reached the royal family’s hunting grounds.

The hunting grounds were completely empty; everything was dark and silent.

The horse still didn’t stop; after entering the hunting grounds, it continued forward and ran up the mountain.

When the horse finally stopped, the man on its back was so cold that he was almost frozen stiff. He wanted to dismount, but he had nothing to step onto and fell directly to the ground. The horse neighed once at the sky, then turned and ran into the forest behind him, disappearing without a trace,

The small man who had fallen couldn’t get up for a long time. He lay sprawled on the ground, and after a long while, he could finally see his surroundings clearly.

The mist-covered mountains stretched endlessly into the horizon. He couldn’t see what was in the distance under the gloomy moonlight. All he could feel was the sadness and bitterness clinging to the freezing gale that blew by.

This cliff was a familiar sight to him.

Notes

Multiple very thick and long chapters soon~

Sigh…

Thanks for reading~

1.众星捧月 (zhòng xīng pěng yuè): Stars surrounding the moon, meaning that a lot of people are surrounding/praising one person

2. 上得了台面 (shàng dé liǎo tái miàn): to be on stage, to get on the table. Uhm… I’m not really sure how to explain this, it’s like being able to be seen… in public/formal occasions.

3.Hmm, what Li Yu said here is actually “顶着”, meaning that, if they were discovered, he would still be there to take the blame for Qi Changyi ;-