Chapter 444

Gu Huanghou exclaimed in shock, "What nonsense are you spouting? Ye Qingran is the Emperor Sovereign's woman; we can't afford to provoke her!"

Dongfang Ling'er narrowed her eyes and said with ill intent, "I didn't say let the Crown Prince marry her; just playing around once would be fine, right?"

"What do you mean..."

Gu Huanghou's eyes gleamed.

"Empress Mother, you know this too: for a man, what he can't have is often the best. If the Crown Prince gets a taste of Ye Qingran, he probably won't be so infatuated with her. After all, women are all the same once undressed, right? For the Crown Prince, what kind of beauty isn't there?"

"Then we'll help the Crown Prince out once. Once Ye Qingran realizes she's suffered a loss, she'll likely be too afraid to speak up. After all, if the Emperor Sovereign knew Ye Qingran had been defiled by another man, he'd surely kick her to the curb."

Gu Huanghou's eyes lit up.

"I have to say, this plan is truly brilliant!"

"Let the Empress Mother think it over..."

Dongfang Ling'er smiled smugly on the side.

Ting Yu Xuan.

That night.

The moon was bright, the stars sparse.

The wind after nightfall carried a bone-chilling chill.

"Miss, we can't find the Madam's whereabouts right away; it's cold outside, go back to your room."

Han Xing thoughtfully draped a cloak over Ye Qingran.

"I'm not thinking about that," Ye Qingran said, shaking her head with a smile.

"The matter of Yun Sui Feng indeed can't be figured out quickly, so she won't obsess over it."

"Then what is the Miss thinking about?"

Han Xing asked curiously.

Ye Qingran pondered for a moment, looked at Han Xing, and asked solemnly, "Xing Er, if—I mean if—Wuhen and Fu Hanxiu are the same person, what should I do about him?"

Han Xing's expression froze instantly.

"What, what?"

"The Miss said, Wuhen and Fu Hanxiu are the same person?"

"Although, she has been emphasizing 'if'..."

"But, having been by the Miss's side for years, she knows very well that the Miss never speaks without certainty."

"This only shows that, in her heart, she has long believed Fu Hanxiu and Wuhen are the same person!"

"Miss, is this really true?"

Ye Qingran gave a slight nod, "I can't be certain, but that's what I think."

"Before, I didn't dare think about it, so it seemed absurd."

"But when she had this suspicion, she only then realized how many similarities there were between Wuhen and Fu Hanxiu."

"Besides, I put 'Like Smoke' in Wuhen's tea yesterday."

"Like Smoke?"

Han Xing was startled.

"Like Smoke is a drug; after taking it, one feels nothing, but it enters the meridians and continues to volatilize for the next three days, colorless and odorless—even the most skilled alchemist can't detect it."

"If someone who has taken Like Smoke has Dragon Yan Grass within one chi, the grass turns from purple to black and withers quickly."

"So, has the Miss already been testing Wuhen?"

"Then, Miss, when do you plan to summon the Emperor Sovereign to confirm?"

"As long as the Emperor Sovereign's body contains Like Smoke, that proves the Emperor Sovereign and Wuhen are the same person!"

"After all, Like Smoke is no ordinary thing; on the contrary, it's extremely rare."

Ye Qingran shook her head. "No need for me to call him; I think he'll come to me on his own in the next two days."

"Come to the Miss on his own initiative?"

Han Xing glared.

"Miss, you mean the Emperor Sovereign is ready to come forward and admit his mistake to you?"

Ye Qingran didn't answer that question.

She recalled that day, Wuhen's anguish; at first she thought he didn't know how to explain his sudden departure to her.

Now it seems he was actually torn about whether to confess fully to her.

"Ah, how should I face him?"

Ye Qingran let out a faint murmur of doubt.

After Han Xing gradually accepted this fact, the corner of her mouth twitched.

She didn't know exactly how the Miss would face the Emperor Sovereign, but she was certain that, given the Miss's temperament, she could never easily forgive him.

"Emperor Sovereign, you're playing so dirty—do you even realize it yourself?"

"Moreover..."

"Brace yourself for the wrath of her Miss!"

Guoshi Fu.

His subordinates were reporting to him the situation at the Peak of Contending for Deer.

"Your Majesty, the Wuji Hall Master is pressuring us again, saying that if you don't acknowledge the engagement with the Holy Maiden, then don't blame Wuji Hall for being impolite..."

Fu San looked at Fu Hanxiu cautiously.

"An engagement? That engagement was something he privately set with that woman; what does it have to do with this venerable self? Spread the word that this venerable self will accompany—if Wuji Hall is determined to be an enemy of the Peak of Contending for Deer, then this venerable self will go along!"

But, the old lady's side...

Fu Hanxiu swept his gaze over, and Fu San could only shut his mouth.

Fu Hanxiu's right eyelid suddenly twitched.

"All of you, retreat."

"Yes..."

After Fu San and the others withdrew, Fu Hanxiu thought for a moment, then turned and left the room.

Han Xing had just silently mourned the Emperor Sovereign for a second in his heart when the person in question appeared.

Descending from the heavens, especially overbearing.

Han Xing glanced at the Emperor Sovereign, and sympathy rose in his eyes.

"Miss, I'll go in first..."

After saying that, Han Xing hurried back to his room and happened to run into Leng Yue coming out at the doorway.

"Why are you running so fast?"

Han Xing glanced outside, then grabbed Leng Yue and yanked her into the room.

"What are you doing? I still have to take tea to the miss!"

"Don't bother! I'll tell you a secret."

"What secret?"

"Wuhen and the Emperor Sovereign are actually the same person..."

Clang—

The thing in Leng Yue's hand slipped from her grasp...

Not yet recovered from the complexity in Han Xing's eyes, Fu Hanxiu heard another clear sound from the room, feeling that the atmosphere at Ting Yu Xuan today was somewhat strange.

He looked at Ye Qingran, seeing her complexion faint, propping her head with one hand, gazing at the stars overhead, seemingly unaware of his arrival.

"Cough~"

Fu Hanxiu raised his hand, made a fist before his lips, and gave a light cough, trying to draw Ye Qingran's attention.

This cough indeed had its effect.

"You've come."

She glanced at Fu Hanxiu from the side, then turned her gaze away and continued to admire the stars.

That tone, that manner, so familiar it was as if they were... an old married couple.

Fu Hanxiu felt a slight surprise, but after that, unease welled up in his heart.

Something's off, very off!

"Please have a seat."

Fu Hanxiu sat down opposite her.

"If you want tea, pour it yourself."

Fu Hanxiu hadn't wanted tea, but seeing his hands with nowhere to go, he silently picked up the teapot, first refilling Ye Qingran's cup, then poured himself one.

"Thank you."

She curved her lips into a smile, and the words she spoke carried a faint aloofness.