Chapter 10: Fragile

olve the engagement for His Highness, you will be closer to him again." Xuan Ge said happily. "Although there is an emperor in Eastern Sea Kingdom, it’s rumored that he has actually been deprived of h...Chapter Ten: Fragile as a Blossom

With just one glance, Yun Qianyue took in the scene outside the Meridian Gate and turned her gaze to Rong Jing.

Rong Jing gave her a faint smile and whispered, "Don't laugh today. Otherwise, there won’t only be corpses waiting for Ye Qian's curse of burning on this execution platform; your laughter might scare some poor souls to death."

"You truly don't feel satisfied unless you bully me!" Yun Qianyue was both amused and irritated upon hearing his words. She never willingly became such a ghostly figure! It was simply because the face without powder was too unbearable to show.

At least the powder not only covered her face but also masked the wound at the corner of her mouth.

"I bully you every day; one day, when I stop bullying you, you’ll feel that the world has lost its color! Only by doing this can you possibly never let anyone else occupy your heart…" Rong Jing muttered softly to himself.

"What did you say" Yun Qianyue didn’t hear Rong Jing’s voice clearly as it was too soft.

“Nothing! Quickly get off the carriage, we’re just in time.” Rong Jing smiled at Yun Qianyue and raised his head.

Yun Qianyue pursed her lips, intending to jump down from the carriage but suddenly remembered something. She changed her mind and slowly got off the carriage with a delicate appearance, holding onto the carriage pole.

Rong Jing watched Yun Qianyue's actions, his eyes hiding a smile as he also slowly got off behind her.

Lu Gonggong’s carriage arrived a step behind. As soon as the carriage stopped, Lu Gonggong hurriedly got out and ran toward where Emperor Zhaoyi was sitting on the execution platform.

"Where should we go" Yun Qianyue asked Rong Jing.

Before Rong Jing could reply, she heard Ye Qian shouting from the execution platform, "Yun Qianyue, come quickly; it’s almost time."

Hearing this, Yun Qianyue looked up to see Ye Qian waving at her. She nodded and was about to walk over when someone suddenly appeared before her like a gust of wind—Night Qingran. She stopped in her tracks, watching him.

"Little girl, you…" Night Qingran saw Yun Qianyue's even paler face under the sunlight and was startled, taking a step back as if he had mistaken someone for her. After another look, however, he realized it wasn’t an error and asked while pointing at Yun Qianyue: "What happened to you Why do you look like this"

How could she explain that because of some person's bullying, her face couldn't bear being seen, so she had to cover up with powder

Skepticism flashed in Yun Qianyue’s eyes, and she replied weakly: "It’s nothing!"

"Little girl, why are you looking so frail" Night Qingran frowned, concerned.

“Last night my blanket was snatched by Ye Qian; I caught a cold.” Yun Qianyue fabricated the story.

Rong Jing looked up to the sky.

"That evil woman!" Upon hearing this, Night Qingran became slightly annoyed and added in disapproval: "Why did you still come if you have a cold"

“Such an important matter as identifying the murderer is too significant; how could I let a little common cold stop me Even if I had to crawl here from bed, I would,” Yun Qianyue continued her fabrication.

"No way! You look so ill that you can't possibly be bled. Come with me to speak to Uncle Emperor and say we’ll do it another day. Qin Yucun also has a cold, but she’s too delicate to come; why are you so foolish as to come You’re far more delicate than her," Night Qingran truly believed Yun Qianyue's words and came forward to pull her.

Yun Qianyue instantly felt guilty. Who is this Night Qingran, who’s so easily deceived—truly heartbreaking. She dodged his hand and replied weakly: "It’s nothing; I’m strong enough to handle it. It's just a cup of blood, no big deal."

“No way! Look at your face—it looks like you’re already dead,” Night Qingran forcefully tried to pull Yun Qianyue.

Yun Qianyue dodged again and thought that this kid couldn't say a single truthful word. She turned her head and glared at Rong Jing.

Rong Jing still looked up at the sky, seemingly oblivious to the commotion between Night Qingran and Yun Qianyue.

"Why are you hiding Why do you smell so heavily of powder" Night Qingran only now noticed, raising an eyebrow and asking.

"I look bad, so I used more powder." Yun Qianmo thought she had offended another person. She forced a laugh and asked: "Is my face looking better now"

Night Qingran opened his mouth to say that it looked better but couldn't bring himself to do so. Looking into Yun Qianmo's earnest eyes, he suddenly shifted his gaze away from her and said, "Wait here for a bit while I go talk to His Majesty! He won’t make you bleed." With that, he didn’t wait for Yun Qianmo to reply and leaped towards the execution stand using his martial arts skills.

Yun Qianmo saw Night Qingran leave. She glared at Rong Jing and snapped, "What have you done"

Rong Jing withdrew his gaze, suppressing a smile as he gently said, "Yes, I did do something good! You weren’t wrong."

Yun Qianmo’s face turned red. She turned her head away from him and saw Night Qingran fly up to the execution stand at almost the same time as Landan Gonggong who was running out of there. She turned back to Rong Jing, yelling: "Night Qingran is much better than you."

Rong Jing immediately stopped smiling, glancing indifferently at Night Qingran who was talking to Emperor Ning in front of the execution stand and reminded her, "As good as he may be, he likes Ye Qian and not you."

"I know. So are you happy now There’s no one else in this world that likes me besides you! No need for constant reminders," Yun Qianmo glared back at him with the whites of her eyes showing as she turned to face Night Qingran who liked Ye Qian. Did he really have to remind her every single day

"Yes, glad you understand! There’s no one else that likes you in this world besides me." Rong Jing's smile reappeared and the corner of his mouth curled up.

Yun Qianmo rolled her eyes and ignored him after that.

"Cloud Shallow Snow, why are you still standing there Hurry up and get over here!" Ye Qian yelled again.

Looking at the execution stand, Yun Qianmo saw Night Qingran talking to Old Emperor Ning. She turned to Rong Jing with an eyebrow raised in inquiry and he smiled at her: "Since you’re already here, why don’t you go up there"

Yun Shallow Snow took a step towards Ye Qian.

Rong Jing followed behind Yun Shallow Snow calmly.

"Ye Qian is calling me. Why are you following me" Yun Shallow Snow glanced back at Rong Jing.

“To come with you!” Rong Jing said.

Yun Shallow Snow's lips curled up a little, and without another word, she turned around to walk forward again. She could clearly hear the light sound of Rong Jing’s footsteps behind her, which gave her an oddly comforting feeling. Whenever she looked back, he would be there for her, this sensation was difficult to describe.

Upon reaching the execution stand, Yun Shallow Snow glanced at those corpses with a faint expression and just as she wanted to speak to Ye Qian, heard her suddenly yell out in fright: "Ah! A ghost!"

Yun Shallow Snow stopped walking. She looked over at Ye Qian who was looking at her with fear and couldn’t help but be annoyed: “Have you ever seen a ghost like this one in broad daylight”

Ye Qian recovered herself, took another look at Yun Shallow Snow, and then angrily said: "Cloud Shallow Snow, what are you doing making such a scary face You could have scared someone to death! I nearly had my soul scared out of me." “You’re not afraid of these dead bodies on the ground, yet you’re afraid of a ghost” Yun Qianmo rolled her eyes.

"Right now, you look much scarier than all these corpses put together!" Ye Qian sighed and pouted while saying: "Can’t I choose to stay away from these corpses I was forced into this. Although I learned the secret incantation of our Southern Borderlands, I’ve never used it before. This is the first time that I’ll be using it because of you."

Seeing Ye Qian’s pitiful expression, Yun Shallow Snow found herself amused: "Isn’t she the only daughter of the South Borderland King Who else would learn the Southern Borderland incantation besides her Someone has to inherit that legacy. You’re bound to have your first time one day anyway, so let this be an experiment."

Ye Qian seemed to build up some courage and saw Rong Jing had come over as well. She was surprised and asked: "Young Prince Jing I didn’t call you here! Why are you here"

"The more people, the better! Would Princess Ye disagree with me coming here" Rong Jing raised his eyebrow.

“Of course not, it’s best for you to come up. With Young Prince Jing here, I don’t feel as scared.” Ye Qian immediately said that. After her words, she moved closer to Yun Shallow Snow and nudged her arm while asking in a low voice: "Are you two alright now

"Did we have a fight" Yun Qianyue thought that Ye Qian looked confused, but in reality, she was quite shrewd!

Ye Qian choked and immediately moved away from Yun Qianyue, no longer asking questions. She looked toward the execution platform where Nie Qingran was still arguing with the old emperor. She frowned, "What is Nie Qingran doing"

Yun Qianyue also turned her gaze to Nie Qingran, thinking that he really treated her well and was a true friend. She told Ye Qian, "You mustn't be indecisive; Nie Qingran is such a good person. If I hadn’t known earlier that you liked him, I would have liked him myself."

Ye Qian froze.

Rong Jing’s gaze flashed with a hint of profundity.

"You… You don't think… You…" After being stunned for a moment, Ye Qian suddenly pointed at Yun Qianyue, stammering for a while before seeing that Nie Qingran had stopped arguing with the old emperor and was flying towards them. She loudly said, "Who said…"

"Princess Ye, it’s time!" Rong Jing suddenly reminded her in a cool tone.

Ye Qian sharply turned to look at Rong Jing, who calmly stared back at her. Seeing the warning in his gaze, she immediately swallowed her words and looked away, silent.

"What's wrong" Yun Qianyue asked Ye Qian.

"Nothing!" Ye Qian glared at Yun Qianyue irritably.

Yun Qianyue glanced at Rong Jing and saw that his expression showed no signs of change. She also noticed that Ye Qian suddenly turned her back on her, leaving her confused. Frowning slightly, she was about to say something when Nie Qingran had already landed gracefully on the high platform. Thus, she remained silent.

"What are you doing up here" Ye Qian asked Nie Qingran.

"I just told Uncle Emperor that the little girl is unwell and cannot have blood drawn. He agreed to it, so I came to tell her to go back home for rest. We’ll conduct this ritual another day," Nie Qingran explained.

Yun Qianyue didn’t expect the old emperor would actually agree to it. She wasn’t sure whether he believed what Nie Qingran said or was simply too annoyed by him to argue, but in any case, he had agreed. Yun Qianyue did not rush to voice her opinion and looked at Ye Qian.

"What You want to postpone this until another day Do you know how early I got up today just for this To say postpone means postponing! How can she be unwell all of a sudden She looks perfectly fine in my eyes. Don’t worry about other people, but why do you still fuss over her like that" Ye Qian shouted at Nie Qingran.

Nie Qingran was taken aback by the outburst.

"Isn't it just that she has more powder on her face now Look closely; don’t you know some medicine as well Come and take her pulse, clearly she is in perfect health," Ye Qian grabbed Yun Qianyue and pushed her towards Nie Qingran.

Yun Qianyue stumbled backward from the shove and almost fell into Nie Qingran’s arms.

Nie Qingran was startled and quickly steadied Yun Qianyue, then angrily said to Ye Qian, "What nonsense are you talking She clearly got chilled when you took her blanket. Now she can hardly stand straight. Why do you yell at me like that Look at her face, it’s pale even without powder on! How is this not an illness"

As he spoke, Nie Qingran suddenly wiped his sleeve across Yun Qianyue's face in anger, moving too fast for her to dodge. Most of the powder was removed from her face, revealing her true appearance.

The moment Ye Qian saw Yun Qianyue’s face, she fell silent but then said resentfully, "So what if she looks pale Didn’t you take her pulse just now Perhaps she is just pretending!"

Yun Qianyue thought that if they carried on like this, her face wouldn't be able to remain white and even blushing like a peach blossom was out of the question.

"You woman, you are simply beyond reason! Let’s leave!" Nie Qingran pulled Yun Qianyue away.

"Stop right there. Take her pulse, she is completely fine," Ye Qian stopped him forcefully, "Don’t be foolish all day long; do you know that she actually likes…"

"Princess Ye, watch your words!" Rong Jing suddenly spoke up in a cool tone.

Ye Qian trembled slightly, looked at Rong Jing once, then turned her head to look at Ye Qingran who was visibly irritated. She said in frustration and disappointment: "You are the one who insisted on finding out who killed your little girl behind her back despite my warnings. What do you think of me now I worked hard for half a day preparing everything. Can you just dismiss all my effort like that"

Ye Qingran pursed his lips and remained silent.

"Tell you something, it's impossible!" Ye Qian shouted angrily, clearly very upset.

"Why is it impossible Are you going to just sit back and watch her bleed to death" Ye Qingran was angry too. He reached out a hand to place on Yun Shangyue’s pulse, paused for a moment then gently pushed Yun Shangyue towards Ye Qian. "Did you check her pulse Look at how weak she is! Are you going to let her lose more blood when she can hardly take it anymore You made all these claims without checking her pulse first. Take another look, do you see that she’s about to collapse in the wind"

Ye Qian took Yun Shangyue who was pushed over to her, and looked at Ye Qingran’s determined face. She pressed a hand onto Yun Shangyue’s pulse in puzzlement.

Yun Shangyue bitterly smiled inwardly. It was true that children lying would eventually get what they deserved sooner or later; look, here it comes now. She hadn’t expected Ye Qingran to actually care about her so much. While feeling incredibly guilty and remorseful, she made up her mind to never deceive Ye Qingran again.

"How could this be Why is she in such a bad state" Ye Qian asked Ye Qingran.

Ye Qingran glared at Ye Qian angrily. "Now do you understand Do you think she can afford to lose any more blood Is it more important for her to help find out who killed your little girl or is her life worth more A bunch of dead people and one person who will eventually die after being found out, which would be a better deal if you put the only legitimate daughter in Yun王府at risk If anything happens to her, can you take responsibility Can Nanyang King take responsibility"

Ye Qian’s anger subsided instantly. She was speechless under Ye Qingran’s roar and turned to Rong Jing for an answer: "She… what happened to her"

Rong Jing remained silent, staring at Ye Qian with a mild expression.

Ye Qian looked back at Yun Shangyue, her attitude completely changed compared to before. She asked: "Hey Yun Shangyue, weren’t you lively and energetic I thought you were looking well when I saw you yesterday, but how did you get this bad"

Yun Shangyue bitterly smiled inwardly. After she had been trapped in the underground temple of Lingtai Temple with Rong Jing, she almost lost all her energy from that day onwards. Then after returning home, she was forced to stay up late reading books and didn’t get any rest. She then encountered an assassination attempt which caused her to lose a lot of blood; she also got her period right afterwards… Under such circumstances even if she were as strong as an ox she would be exhausted too, let alone the fact that this body’s constitution was weak by nature, so it was normal for her to feel extremely weakened at present. But Ye Qingran said she could fall over with just a gust of wind – she placed a hand on her own pulse and was surprised to find how weak her pulse felt; it was as if there wasn’t any blood left in her body…

Yun Shangyue turned around to look at Rong Jing, his long eyelashes quivered slightly. She suddenly remembered the chicken soup and medicine she had eaten for breakfast this morning – she could tell that two of them were brain tonics but the rest probably made her extremely weak. Had he foreseen from the start today’s blood-drawing plan In a situation like this, anyone with medical skills wouldn’t allow her to draw another drop of blood. If not for the fact that she wasn’t showing any unusual symptoms, she would never have believed herself so weak as Ye Qingran claimed…

Yun Shangyue looked at Rong Jing speechless – he was someone who could predict everything and plan ahead! She wondered if she had fainted during the blood-drawing process because of her weakness if it weren’t for Ye Qingran’s tantrum.

"I need three bowls of blood. You can't cope with this at all in your current state! If you have to draw another three bowls, even if you don’t die, you’ll be bedridden for a year," Ye Qian said as she didn’t let go of Yun Shangyue’s hand. She frowned.

Yun Shangyue was speechless – there wasn't anything else to say!

"What do you have to say now" Ye Qingran glared at Ye Qian, thinking that he had been lucky in preventing this situation by approaching his Imperial Uncle.

"How would I know she’s so weak It’s all for you!" Ye Qian let go of Yun Shangyue and said angrily.

"What did you do for me What am I supposed to be grateful for" Ye Qingran wasn’t buying it.

"You…" Ye Qian turned around abruptly, not looking at Ye Qingran. She said hatefully: "I deserve this alright But so do you! You… hmpf, if only you deserved death too; no wonder nobody likes you."

"Impossible to reason with!" Ye Qingran snapped and looked at Rong Jing. "Weak beauty, how could you bring her here knowing she’s in such a weak condition What are your intentions"

Rong Jing smiled faintly, saying neutrally: “I originally knew she was too weak for this task but the Imperial order must be obeyed! If she didn’t come today, Emperor would blame us. You can’t have her defy his orders now, can you” Rong Jing seemed not to notice their argument; he remained expressionless.

Ye Qingran’s face turned cold. "Imperial Uncle is not that heartless!"

Rong Jing smiled faintly again and said: “She was born on a dark day, dark month and dark hour of the year. There is someone else who was born on a dark year, dark month, dark day and dark hour which makes him more suitable for this task. But he caught a cold yesterday and Grand Eunuch Lu went to ask but found out that he’s bedridden due to illness, so the responsibility fell onto her.”

"Someone born on a dark year, dark month, dark day, and dark hour Who" Ye Qingran asked.

"Who is it" Ye Qian also asked.

"It's Miss Qin from the Chancellor’s Manor. Didn’t Grand Eunuch Lu tell you Or did he only report to His Majesty Since His Majesty pities that Miss Qin from the Chancellor’s Manor has caught a cold and been bedridden, she won't be used this time. The second time, Grand Eunuch Lu was sent to Cloud Prince's Manor again, insisting on bringing this woman here, who could be knocked over by just a gust of wind. This woman wants to find out who the murderer is, but fearing that doing so might backfire and harm her, she can only come!" Rong Jing looked indifferently at the figure in bright yellow on the execution platform, smiling as he said, "Miss Qin has always been pampered and well-fed every day. Even if she falls ill, it should be better than a woman who is constantly being chased by assassins and doesn't look like a human anymore, right Can His Majesty not understand this logic Therefore, it seems that His Majesty might have abandoned her in favor of Miss Qin from the Chancellor’s Manor."

Ye Qingran frowned; his expression was not good as he did not say anything.

Cloud Qianyue also remained silent and looked at the figure in bright yellow on the execution platform. She thought that Rong Jing's words about Qin Yuning being "fit to be a queen mother" might have taken effect. The old emperor was acting as if he were giving up her in favor of protecting Qin Yuning. Did this mean that the old emperor had already decided to completely abandon the idea of marrying her into the royal family again By kicking her out and hoping she dies, then he could use Cloud Prince's Manor’s lack of a legitimate daughter as an excuse to appoint Qin Yuning as the next empress…

Cloud Qianyue sneered inwardly. If Qin Yuning becomes the empress, that would be best; she was unwilling to marry into the royal family anyway. If the old emperor really wants to make a move against Cloud Prince's Manor and take action against her, he must consider the consequences.

"So, that Miss from the Chancellor’s Manor was born on a Yin year, Yin month, Yin day, and Yin hour That is even better!" Ye Qian’s eyes lit up as she suddenly remembered something. She asked Rong Jing: "Is this the woman who can be a queen mother, Qin Yuning"

"Yes, Princess Ye is right," Rong Jing nodded expressionlessly.

"That's great! Night Qingran, go bring that woman here and I'll use her!" Ye Qian said.

"Look at the sky. It’s already past noon now." Night Qingran reminded her, "Also, didn’t you hear about Miss Qin Yuning being bedridden with a cold"

"Since Cloud Qianyue was born on a Yin month, Yin day and Yin hour, my spell must be cast at noon for it to work. But since that Qin Yuning is also born on a Yin year, Yin month, Yin day and Yin hour, her blood can be used anytime without worrying about the time." Ye Qian said: "How precious is this Qin Yuning She just caught a little cold! Can a common cold kill someone Is she more delicate than this woman in front of you I don't believe it! Go bring her here for me to see. If she’s really too weak, then fine, but if she can be used and isn’t being used, I won’t waste time on such nonsense anymore from now on!"

Night Qingran frowned as he looked at the old emperor sitting upright on the execution platform. He was hesitant after hearing what Rong Jing said about the emperor wanting to protect Qin Yuning.

"Did you hear me" Ye Qian glared at Night Qingran, "Do you pity that Qin Yuning Don’t want to use her"

"What nonsense are you talking Why should I pity her" Night Qingran glared back at Ye Qian.

"If you don't pity her then hurry up and bring Qin Yuning from the Chancellor’s Manor here! As I said, she is essential. If not, don’t think that this princess will be a pushover who comes to serve you in Tian Sheng just because of your favor. If Qin Yuning is indeed useful, no matter who tries to protect her, including the emperor of Tian Sheng, they won't succeed. If someone does try protecting her, then such matters shouldn’t come my way anymore in the future. You don’t know that using our Nanyang’s spells can be harmful to oneself"

"I’ll go talk with Uncle Emperor now!" Night Qingran finally nodded and started walking towards the execution platform.

"Wait! Since we’re not urgent, let's all go together," Ye Qian called out, looking at Rong Jing and Cloud Qianyue. She said irritably: "Come on, you two also come along. This matter was caused by both of you, so it’s only fair that this princess is helping you."

"Princess Ye is right!" Rong Jing smiled amicably.

Cloud Qianyue smiled and said to Ye Qian: "If you speak to him like that, aren’t you afraid of not being able to see his Purple Bamboo Garden"

Ye Qian’s stern expression froze; she looked at Rong Jing. She noticed that the smile on Rong Jing's face was much warmer than when he had glanced at her before, so she sighed and pulled Cloud Qianyue aside to whisper: "I forgot! Thank you for reminding me."

Cloud Qianyue could only be speechless. She thought Ye Qian looked formidable earlier but it turned out that she was just a scared mouse.

"Aren’t you going together Hurry up and follow," Night Qingran said coldly over his shoulder to Ye Qian.

"We're walking, aren't we! With your foul temper, no woman would like you!" Ye Qian glared back at him before dragging Cloud Qianyue away.

"Your temperament is good" Night Qingran snorted. "You and this little prince are even; neither of you can talk about the other’s faults!"

"My bad temper is better than yours, you’re just…" Ye Qian was somewhat angry.

"Come on, come on, everyone is looking at us!" Yun Qianyue reached out to cover Ye Qian's mouth and saw that Lao Gong had already walked over.

Ye Qian swallowed the words she was about to say and glared at Ye Qingran once more.

Yun Qianyue released her hand from covering Ye Qian’s mouth, thinking that it was fortunate for her mental strength. These two people causing a commotion were not ordinary individuals either; she glanced at Rong Jing who remained unperturbed and thought he truly lived up to being black-hearted as his realm indeed surpassed hers.

"Old servant pays respects to Crown Prince Jing, Young Noble Ye Qingran, Princess Ye, and Miss Yun Qianyue!" Lao Gong hurriedly ran over to meet the group with a quick bow. He continued speaking, "The emperor said that since Miss Yun Qianyue is not feeling well, he will wait until she recovers before having Princess Ye perform the spell."

Yun Qianyue gave a cold laugh; why didn’t the old emperor say to wait until Qin Yuning was better

"Can't the little girl do it There's still Miss Qin, isn't there" Ye Qingran glanced at Lao Gong with a cold look. "Move aside, this young noble and Princess Ye, the little girl, and weak beauty are going to see Uncle Emperor!"

"Young Noble, Miss Qin is currently bedridden…" Lao Gong was startled.

"What nonsense! Can she be more delicate than a little girl" Seeing that Lao Gong did not move out of the way, Ye Qingran kicked him and strode towards the execution platform.

Lao Gong yelped and flew backward from the kick before crashing to the ground with a thud.

Yun Qianyue thought that this Ye Qingran was truly impressive; he even dared to kick the emperor's chief eunuch. He was indeed the little devil king.

"This stinky person is sometimes very manly!" Ye Qian praised Ye Qingran.

Yun Qianyue found herself at a loss as to whether she should laugh or cry; kicking an eunuch made him seem more masculine. Was Ye Qian complimenting or insulting Ye Qingran Right when Yun Qianyue thought about this, she saw Ye Qingran turn back and glower at Ye Qian. "You'd better behave yourself; don't think that relying on your mastery of the Southern Barbarians' incantations makes you great. I have to use you no matter what. If you misbehave, I will find a way to expel you from the capital city and send you back to the South where I can summon King of the Southern Barbarians."

Ye Qian immediately stopped talking.

Ye Qingran turned around and ignored Ye Qian as he continued walking towards the execution platform.

Ye Qian muttered something under her breath. Yun Qianyue didn't hear what she said; she glanced at Lao Gong who was struggling to get up, then looked at the execution platform, thinking that meeting with the old emperor would likely bring another storm of trouble this time around. But how could she be afraid

The four of them walked in silence towards the execution platform.

"Moon girl, why did you make yourself look like this" The old emperor didn't wait for anyone to speak up and his gaze landed on Yun Qianyue as he frowned. "Why have you been bedridden these days Your complexion is too poor; Gong Lao said your face looks ghastly, so coming to see Uncle Emperor would be an insult to the heavens. So I put on more powder."

Yun Qianyue did not pay respects and weakly tugged at the corners of her mouth as she spoke in a weak voice.

Lao Gong endured his pain while crawling up from behind, nearly falling back to the ground when he heard what Yun Qianyue had said. He thought that Miss Yun Qianyue was randomly throwing blame around; it was clearly Crown Prince Jing who had spoken those words. How could they have become his words Moreover, she wasn't as weak looking when he saw her earlier. Just as Lao Gong was about to refute her, he remembered not to offend Crown Prince Jing and thus stopped himself.

"So it’s like that! Moon girl is family; how can there be any insult" The old emperor looked at Lao Gong with a frown. "How did you get so much dirt on yourself You’re getting worse at handling things!"

"Old servant… Old servant accidentally fell…" Lao Gong had difficulty explaining, of course he didn’t dare say it was Ye Qingran who kicked him. He couldn't offend Crown Prince Jing or Young Noble Ye Qingran, so all he could do was blame his own bad luck.

Even though he blamed himself, Ye Qingran did not let Lao Gong off the hook; he angrily said, "Uncle Emperor, this servant failed in his duties. Miss Qin from Chancellor’s Manor is clearly born in a year, month, day, and hour of yin, but instead of going after her, he went for little girl who was also born under yin. He even forced her to come here. If I hadn’t felt that she was too weak and gone to Uncle Emperor for help while Ye Qian had also checked her pulse and said that if little girl were bled, she would surely die, there’s no telling what could have happened. So, Uncle Emperor must give this dog of a servant a heavy punishment; it would be best to drag him out and execute him! He dared to deceive his superiors and protect Miss Qin from Chancellor's Manor, letting little girl suffer, which is truly despicable. It seems that he’s been bribed by the chancellor for some benefit. Truly deserving of death!"

Upon hearing this, Lao Gong was shocked and couldn’t believe his ears; Chancellor Qin sitting near the old emperor also had a drastic change in expression.

Outtake:

Thank you for your blessings and gifts. Although it’s been hard this year, I’ve been extremely happy!ncle, "Uncle, are you referring to a lady in black and a man on a donkey""Yes, they’re them," the Southern Frontier’s Imperial Uncle nodded."Do you know these people well then" Yun Muhan asked again."...