CH 96

There is really no order in the world.

Qiu Chan’s heart beat violently, how could she have thought that the slave of the Yeyou Court back then would become the current 2 rivers and 3 provinces General now. She heard that he abandoned the wrong way of life and relied on the crown prince. He’s also one of the two major subordinates that the crown prince relied heavily on. It looks like His Majesty was done for, and the crown prince was about to ascend the throne, then the future of this General Daren is….

Her breath was hot, a feverish flame burned again in her desperate heart, burning her heart. A sharp voice cried out, she did not believe that her life was so cheap, she obviously had such a beautiful face, even His Majesty had been infatuated with her, how could she not have a good life!

If it weren’t for that poisonous woman! If it weren’t for that poisonous woman! Qiu Chan thought of Empress Sima’s seemingly gentle and virtuous face, and hated it in her heart!

Everyone spoke of Empress Sima’s warm, kind-hearted, virtue and intelligence but no one knew how black hearted she was under that soft skin better than her! If it weren’t for her instructions, how could she have been left in this washing clothes division! To be tortured by that old lady day by day!

At that time, when Empress Sima found her, she thought that her fate had changed. She was indeed about to change, she relied on her face that was quite similar to the most favored female entertainer girl back then, whom had won the favor of His Majesty for several years. With that favor, how could she be willing to be only an entertainer, so she gave birth to some side thoughts, and secretly replaced the soup she drank every day with childless soup–the female entertainer of the Western Regions back then, she could have relied on her son, but because she gave birth to such an ominous person who was neither male nor female, she died of metrorrhagia all alone, how could she(Qiu Chan) be as as unlucky as she was!

Everything was in her plan, the only miscalculation was that the poisonous woman who thought she was virtuous actually made such a poisonous plan after she became pregnant, so that she not only lost the child in her belly, but was also deeply hated by His Majesty. That’s how she fell into such a bitter place and was tortured in every way by the ruthless old lady – all this, how could she not hate it!

She gritted her teeth and threw herself to the rusty copper mirror on the side. The cheeks in the mirror were sunken, only a little of the original appearance could be seen. This made her tremble with hatred, such a ghostly day, she didn’t want to live in it for a moment longer.

Not to mention whether what the ominous person said was true or false, she had to try it – she only had this chance!

She was secretly planning, when a scolding came from outside, Qiu Chan trembled as she hurriedly put the clothes back in the cabinet, and closed it properly. The door was kicked open with a bang, the sharp sound almost pierced the eardrum: “You lowly wench is slacking off again!”

Seeing the eight-foot-long violent woman standing at the door, it was the supervisor of this washing clothes division. Qiu Chan only saw the rattan in her hand when her legs already almost became soft. She was about to open her mouth to beg for mercy, but the supervisor had already taken two to three steps forward, grabbed her hair, inserted the rattan on her waist, and slapped her left and right. She beat Qiu Chan to the point that her mouth and nose were full of blood. 

“ You sl*t, could it be that you still think you can serve His Majesty!? What a good life you’re living in! You didn’t even look at where you are!” She kicked her chest, Qiu Chan flipped to the ground. The supervisor’s eyes were round, and a gloomy light bloomed: “If the ten buckets outside today aren’t cleaned, hum!” 

She pulled out the rattan around her waist and jerked it towards the table on the side. The loud noise made Qiu Chan tremble, the supervisor snorted, then cursed and left.

Qiu Chan crouched on the ground and gasped, hearing the slam at the door. The old woman’s voice gradually faded away, Qiu Chan ignored the dirt on the ground, and went straight down and cried.

This kind of day, she definitely can’t continue to live it!

A mouthful of silver teeth was almost crushed, and now, she had no other way but to give it a try!

***

Late at night, the sound of the bell indicating it’s 11pm-1am sounded. Qiu Chan quietly came to the corner of a side courtyard with a package, she still had some wounds on her face, her expression was extremely vigilant as she tiptoed. Bypassing layers upon layers of rockery, she came behind the thickest bush where there was already a dark shadow standing still in waiting.

Qiu Chan was overjoyed, and hurriedly stepped forward to bow as a greeting: “Eunuch Sun.”

The middle-aged eunuch with a face full of scabbness in front turned around, he looked behind her for a while, making sure that there was no third person, then he glanced at her: “What about the things?”

Qiu Chan hurriedly handed him the package in her bosom. Eunuch Sun opened it and borrowed the moonlight to take a look. His expression suddenly changed: “It’s just a torn shirt, is it worth my time coming out in the middle of the night?”

If the palace maids, or even some concubines who did not have enough money, would send him some good things to sell outside the palace, the money was divided into two and eight. Since his superior bribed the imperial guard, this black market shady business had continued for several years.

He thought that there was a new product today, but unexepctedly it was such a broken thing. His heart was on fire as he threw the package back into her arms, and without waiting for him to curse, Qiu Chan had already flatteringly explained: “I’m not here to sell, I’m looking for you to help me send something outside the palace.”

After finishing speaking, she hurriedly felt the bag of things from her bosom and carefully handed it to the eunuch: “This is your hard-earned money.” 

Enuch Sun took a look at it, but it looked as if he couldn’t see it as he threw it back to her: “This is internal and external delivery, if the imperial guard caught sight of it, it won’t be just a matter of getting beaten by the planks! Don’t tire me out!” 

He spat: “What bad luck, what type of person would be here in the middle of the night, to be hoofed by you here.” 

Qiu Chan hurriedly knelt down and begged: “Gongong, please help me.” 

The eunuch didn’t even turn his head as he waved his hand directly: “Come on, I’m not such a good person who would do any charity!”

Seeing that this was the only opportunity to break in front of her, Qiu Chan gritted her teeth and stepped forward to grab the hand of the eunuch. Eunuch Sun turned his head and looked at her with annoyance, Qiu Chan hurriedly let go of him. She hung her head, hooked her messy hair to her ears, and showed a smile: “I know you don’t look upon this bit of broken silver…”

She slowly took a few steps forward: “Won’t this bring you other things later?”

Eunuch Sun frowned, touched the scab on her face and looked at her a few times, seeing her appearance of wanting to say something but didn’t, he instantly understood. His eyes narrowed slightly, and for a long time, he burst out laughing. 

***

With He Yunyi’s help, Li Yuanmin had avoided the ritual for the remaining days on the grounds because of his health. He rested in the inn for two days, finally stabilizing the fetus.

On the third day, the lord of the Wala state also led the embassy into the capital in the name of worship. The capital was under martial law as the imperial army guarded the main road to welcome the Wala procession.

Li Yuanmin stood by the window, watching the mighty grand procession over Zhuque Street, he knew that a great change was in front of him, but the wonderful thing was that his heart was unusually calm.

There was a slight sound outside the door as someone entered, it was He Yunyi, who walked towards him with steaming medicine.

Li Yuanmin was stunned: “Why are you here?”

“ Today is a day off and I happened to pass by, and ran into Miss A Ying, so I helped her bring this here.”

He Yunyi put the end plate on the table, peeping at his complexion, seeing that it had improved a lot, his heart was relieved. He took his pulse along the way, after a while, his face gradually relaxed: “Fortunately, your body is still contentious.”

Li Yuanmin pulled the corners of his lips slightly, consciously picked up the bowl of medicine on the table, and quickly drank it with bated breath.

The imperial guards who were imposing the martial law below slowly retreated. He Yunyi closed the window for him, as if casually: “My wife heard that you came to the capital, and personally cooked a few small dishes. She sent me to invite Your Highness, I wonder if Your Highness would do me the honor?” 

How could Li Yuanmin not know that He Yunyi saw that he was hiding in this inn all day and wanted to take him out to get some air, so how could he brush off his kindness. A smile appeared on his face: “Okay, I haven’t been to your house yet.”

At the moment, he put on an overcoat and explained a few words to Ni Ying, then put on a mask and walked out of the inn with him.

The spring color on the street was getting stronger, the tender green willows were gradually turning green, looking vibrant. There were not many people on the sidewalk, which was very peaceful.

Because the He Mansion was not far from here, He Yunyi suggested to simply walk over. The two chatted casually along the way, occasionally looking at the spring scenery on the street, nevertheless it was very leisurely.

Li Yuanmin looked at the man beside him, and was grateful for his unintentional care.

Just as he was about to say something, the sound of horses’ hooves suddenly came from the quiet street, making a rumbling sound. Li Yuanmin looked up and suddenly froze.

He Yunyi noticed his abnormality, and followed his gaze, thirty or forty tiger warriors rode tall horses towards this side majestically. Especially the brave, tall and cold leader, he was even more majestic, making one unable to look directly.

Li Yuanmin didn’t know why, his breathing was slightly rapid, he hurriedly lowered his eyes. When he realized that he was still wearing a mask, he pinched the corner of his clothes and slowly raised his eyes.

At that moment, he saw a pair of extremely indifferent and cold eyes. His heart palpitated, there was a ridiculous feeling, he felt that he recognized him, but the next moment he felt that there was none, that kind of eyes only stayed on him for a moment, and soon moved away, as if he was just a passerby in front of him.

Li Yuamin stood for a long time, waiting for the smoke and dust brought by the group of people to subside, then smiled with He Yunyi on the side, “Let’s go.”

He Yunyi looked at the smile on his face, his Adam’s apple moved, but he did not say anything, and led him away.

The He Mansion was located at the mouth of the west lane of the capital, covering a small area, but it was very exquisitely rennovated.

He Yunyi’s wife Zhou Shi was very gentle and generous. The first time she saw Li Yuanmin, although she was stunned for a moment, she soon came forward to pay respect with a thoughtful but unintentional courtesy. Li Yuanmin hurriedly helped her up. Her belly was already very large, although it was only the sixth month, her abdomen was bulging high, as if she was about to give birth.

“It’s a twin.”

He Yunyi explained gently, he raised his hand, wanting to touch the belly. But he seemed to think it was inappropriate, so he blankly put his hand down. The husband and wife looked at each other and smiled, even Li Yuanmin could feel the feeling of warmth from them.

He looked and felt envy but he didn’t know what to envy about, so he was a little confused. Only taking advantage of the time when no one was paying attention, and quietly, as if doing an ulterior thing, he secretly touched his stomach.

The usually flat lower abdomen seemed to bulge out slightly. Li Yuanmin was startled and hurriedly removed his hand.

***

In the embassy, the lights were bright, and the deputy generals of the Qingzhou Army and the Liangjiang camp were stationed here. The envoys did not dare to snub the crown prince’s trusted generals, so they were entertained diligently.

In the huge hall, the commander of the Qingzhou Army, Wu Qi, was already drunk, and the rest were almost crooked. Ni Lie felt stuffy, he instructed his company a few words before coming out of the hall to get some air. His whole body reeked of alcohol, but his mind was clear, his face was cold as he looked at the lights in the distance.

There was no trace of emotion in his eyes, it sank like stagnant water.

There was a sudden uproar outside before it was suppressed, then it was silent again. Ni Lie rubbed his brows, and said to the entourage beside him: “Go and see what’s going on?” 

The entourage went immediately, and returned after a while.

“A person who came from nowhere, said that he would send a dress from eight years ago to the General and such crazy words, I think it’s a fool. I will chase them away now.” 

Ni Lie frowned, and was about to wave his hand to let him retreat, when his heart moved: “Wait!” 

His Adam’s apple moved, and for a long time, he said, “Bring the person here.”