Chapter 114: A Fog Lifts

"Indeed — ruler and minister first, father and son second." Mo Junyan gave a faint smile. "But Imperial Father must not forget: conquering the realm is easy; holding it is hard. Right now, the only one in court who can help you hold the realm is your son. The military generals willing to defend it for you were all trained by my own hand."

These words were already a blatant threat.

Sure enough, the moment his words fell, the Emperor's face turned as ugly as could be.

"Mo Junyan, you are threatening Us. Are you not afraid of the suspicion that your merits overshadow the sovereign?"

"Merits overshadowing the sovereign… How could I compare to your tireless labors and great deeds? Not only must you hold the realm, you must also murder the loyal and drive concubines to their deaths — unlike your son, who only knows how to expand the borders."

"You!" The Emperor grabbed a teacup and hurled it heavily to the ground. "Get out! Get out of Our sight this instant!"

"Your son takes his leave." Mo Junyan waved his hand, and Yun Shui walked in with head lowered, pushing the wheelchair away.

The Emperor clenched both fists, glaring at his retreating back, wishing he could kick over that wheelchair with one stroke.

"Your Majesty." Eunuch Li walked in and picked up the broken shards of porcelain from the floor. Seeing the Emperor's grim expression, he softly consoled, "Your Majesty, Prince Li used to be very respectful toward you."

"Hmph! Even you know — that was before!" The Emperor slapped the desk in resentment. "That brat, every time he sees Us it's as though he's swallowed eighteen kinds of weapons. Not a single word can he say to Us calmly. Now, thinking of his injured leg, We went to the trouble of sending an imperial physician all that way to treat him. Did you hear that? Did you hear what that brat said? He said breaking both legs fulfilled Our wish, and that he deserved to have both legs broken!"

Eunuch Li naturally knew it was all angry talk. He had served the Emperor since childhood; all these years, the one the Emperor had been most lenient with was Prince Li. The reasons were, first, his mother the consort, and second, that Prince Li was indeed the most outstanding among all the princes. Had his legs not been broken, even though the Eldest Prince was the Crown Prince, the throne might not necessarily have been his.

It was just a pity…

A pity about the Second Prince's legs.

"Your Majesty, the Second Prince has suffered injuries to both legs now. It is inevitable that he feels sorrowful."

"Enough." The Emperor waved his hand. "That brat does have a temper somewhat similar to Mine in My youth. Since his legs have not healed, send him Our Reunion Paste."

"Yes, this old servant will see to it at once."

After Eunuch Li left, the Emperor sat on the dragon throne and let out a deep sigh. The fury in his eyes slowly dissipated, replaced by a trace of gratification.

He opened the box and took out the scroll he had already stroked countless times, saying softly, "Wanrou, can you see? Our son's wings have grown hard, and he no longer puts this old man in his eyes. Rest assured, I will certainly find someone to heal his legs. Even if a false one must be attached, I will have him stand again."

At this moment, in an inn in Qingjun County, Chi Nan Yi looked at the woman before her with some surprise. She had never imagined that Ru Lan would actually come to her door.

"Miss Ru Lan, is there something the matter?"

Ru Lan was dressed in night-travel clothes, clearly afraid of being recognized.

"What the Young Master said today, Ru Lan has pondered all day. There are some things I wish to ask clearly once more."

Chi Nan Yi nodded. "Ask away."

"How did the Young Master know of my relationship with the Crown Prince?"

"If I said I guessed, would the young lady believe me?"

Hearing this, Ru Lan gave a cold laugh. "The Young Master is so less than forthcoming — how is Ru Lan to believe you?"

"Whether you believe me or not does not concern me, because you already have an answer in your heart." Chi Nan Yi's expression was calm. "If you firmly believed that you and the Crown Prince were mutually in love, you would not have appeared here today." She poured a cup of tea and handed it to Ru Lan. "You know full well that everything now is but passing clouds. Once he truly ascends the throne and becomes emperor, your person, your identity — not only will they not add luster to his glory, they may even become his stumbling block. Given his petty and vicious nature, do you think he would eliminate you, or keep you around?"

Hearing this, Ru Lan's body could not stop turning cold.

"You still have some use for now, so he will not touch you." Chi Nan Yi smiled and said, "But there is one thing I would like to ask Miss Ru Lan."

"Please ask, Young Master."

"Does the young lady truly love him as a person, or does she love his power?"

"I…" Ru Lan could not help but freeze.

"From your guqin music, one can indeed sense your feelings for the Crown Prince, but within those feelings there seems to be a trace of unwillingness. That unwillingness is likely not about being unable to stay by his side, but about being unable to control your own fate. Am I correct?"

As Chi Nan Yi's words fell, Ru Lan abruptly raised her head, her pupils contracting sharply. "You… you truly heard it."

"Miss Ru Lan, if you wish to control your own fate, you cannot rely on others and become their appendage. You must be your own queen. Rather than deluding yourself about an impractical future — where the best outcome would be competing with the consorts of the three palaces and six courtyards for one man, waiting until youth fades and beauty is gone, to then die lonely in old age, sealing your finest years within those four-square deep palace walls — what meaning is there in that? You have no clan to revive, no brothers seeking official careers. Why trap your life within that square of heaven? A person lives but one lifetime. Why be someone else's chess piece, instead of the one who plays the pieces?"

With just these words, Ru Lan felt as though a fog had lifted.

Yes! Why not be the one who plays the pieces?

"Southern First Young Master, thank you."

"No need for courtesy."

Ru Lan took out a jade pendant from her robes. "This is the jade token of our Millennium Pavilion. As long as you bring this jade token to the Millennium Pavilion, whatever request you have, Southern First Young Master, simply name it. Our Millennium Pavilion will refuse nothing."

Chi Nan Yi accepted the jade token and said with a smile, "This is quite a grand gift."

"Southern First Young Master is Ru Lan's discoverer, and even more so the one who pointed out the way for Ru Lan. The Young Master's great kindness, Ru Lan will never forget for all her days. If it cannot be repaid in this life, then in the next I shall weave grass and carry rings to repay it without fail."

After Ru Lan left, Chi Nan Yi knew that it would not be long before all the spies the Crown Prince had sent to lurk within the Millennium Pavilion would be rooted out, clean to the last.

Sure enough, early the next morning, Yun Shan came to report what he had witnessed the night before.

In the Millennium Pavilion, a total of nine corpses were carried out, one after another.

"Nine?" Chi Nan Yi's brow furrowed slightly. In the original owner's memory, Mo Junyan seemed to have planted ten people in the Millennium Pavilion.

Just then, a figure appeared in her mind.

When she went to the Millennium Pavilion the next day and Ru Lan dismissed the servants, those eyes that had fallen upon her…

It was her!

"Was the maid who invited us upstairs that day among those carried out?"

Yun Shan shook his head. "No. Last night it was that very young maid directing the servants to carry away those corpses."

Chi Nan Yi's heart jolted in alarm. She rose abruptly and headed toward the Millennium Pavilion.