Volume 1: Laughing at the Prosperous Chapter 10

  Although Old Master Lu was advanced in years, his enunciation was clear. As soon as he finished speaking, the entire Scenic Garden fell silent.

  The queen slightly revealed her surprise, and the night sky frowned tightly. The fourth prince looked at Li Yun in disbelief, as if everyone did not understand why Rong Jing, who had not left the mansion for ten years, would say such a thing. Especially on this occasion. Would he not go to the Cloud King's Mansion himself? Just wanting to travel with Yun Qianyue? Wasn't this clearly protecting Yun Qianyue?

  Especially the women on that side who were secretly gloating, upon hearing that the Grand Marshal of the Imperial Guard had personally come to deliver this message from the Crown Prince, became so jealous they couldn't bear it. The Crown Prince had surpassed the top scholar of the imperial examination at the age of seven and was praised by the Emperor as a "Heavenly Saint Child". However, after falling severely ill later on, he almost lost his life, so he had been bedridden in the Rong Wang Fu, not leaving the house. But every year, the new top scholar of the imperial examination would be appointed by the Emperor to go to the Rong Wang Fu and compete with the Crown Prince once. They would enter with high spirits and come out dejected. For ten years, countless people were defeated, and no one was able to surpass the Crown Prince's talent. He thus firmly held the title of "Heavenly Saint First Genius".

  It's infuriating to see Yun Shangyue, who has been notorious for ten years, being the first thing that Jing Shizun does after leaving his residence. In their hearts, Jing Shizun is an untouchable existence.

  Almost everyone in the garden was puzzled as to what kind of luck Cloud Shallow Moon had stumbled upon, that she could get both Dye Xiao Wang Ye and Jing Shi Zi to vouch for her. It's worth noting that these two were not ordinary people - one had been famous throughout the land since he was just seven years old over a decade ago and still continued to thrive, while the other had been a mere child when he had stirred up the entire Tian Sheng into chaos. In other words, these two individuals were figures who could make the ground shake with a single stomp of their foot in Tian Sheng. Now, they were simultaneously stepping out to vouch for Cloud Shallow Moon, which was truly unbelievable.

  "Hehe, it seems that today Moonlight Sister is indeed not going to be imprisoned!" Ye Qingran chuckled softly.

  Ye Tian's face didn't look good as he looked at Lu Gonggong and asked: "Is there any message from the Emperor?"

  "Returning to the Crown Prince's palace, the Emperor knew that Jing Shizi left the mansion today and Dye Xiao Wangye returned to Beijing, he was really happy, so he exempted the morning court. Now, with Jing Shizi, they played chess for a whole morning, it can be said that Jing Shizi is indeed formidable, ten years ago the Emperor couldn't win against Jing Shizi, now still can't win against Jing Shizi. The Emperor praised Jing Shizi more than ten times in half a day, saying that Jing Shizi truly deserves to be the number one prodigy of Tian Sheng! Lu Gonggong mentioned Rong Jing, his eyebrows and eyes smiled into a slit, obviously with pride."

  Yè qīng rǎn piē piē zuǐ, dī shēng dū nong le yī jù, "Nà ge ruò měi rén..."

  Translation:

  At night, she lightly painted her lips and muttered in a low voice, “That weak beauty...”

  "Does the Emperor know that Prince Jing has assigned you to deliver a message to Yuer?" The Empress, who had been silent all along, looked at the Crown Prince and then at Li Yun, who was still being held in custody, and asked aloud.

  "His Majesty naturally knows that I have come to deliver a message. Moreover, he instructed Miss Shallow Moon to take good care of Prince Jing and not to get angry with him again. He also said that Miss Shallow Moon does not need to enter the palace for the time being, but instead focus on serving Old Master Yun." Duke Lu bowed his head and reported truthfully.

  The queen nodded and looked at the prince, her expression seeming to relax a bit, asking: "Imperial son, what do you think of this matter?"

  "As the Crown Prince is going to visit King Yun with Princess Moon, Father Emperor has already granted permission. How can I not follow the rules? I just wanted to teach Princess Moon a small lesson to warn others, so I didn't mind the heartache of taking her down. If I really put Princess Moon in the Ministry of Justice's prison, I wouldn't be able to bear it either. Sitting in this position is difficult, and I'm sure Mother Empress can understand. Now I've also given an explanation to the officials of the imperial court who have been criticizing me. The Crown Prince's face had all emotions drained away, he took a deep breath, looked at Li Yun, his eyes warm, "I hope Princess Moon can understand my intentions."

  Li Yun lightly scolded him, as if she hadn't heard. This person's quality had already reached a certain level.

  Ye Tian Qing leaned against the railing, waving his hand at Yin Wei, who retreated silently in an instant. He seemed to be completely oblivious to Li Yun's disdainful gaze, taking a slow step forward to stand before her, reaching out to help smooth out the wrinkles on her sleeve that had been creased from being pressed down.

  "Get out of the way!" Li Yun waved away Ye Tian's hand, which was reaching out to her, and took two steps back in disgust. Looking at his stiff face, she thought that now she was no longer Cloud Shallow Moon, it was necessary to make things clear. Solemnly, she said: "From today on, you and I are through. From now on, I hope we will have nothing more to do with each other. I swear to death that I will not marry into your prince's mansion. Nor will I enter the palace. If I break this oath, may heaven strike me down with lightning. You listen well."

  Ancient people valued oaths the most; Li Yun wanted to block this possible revival path.

  The night sky suddenly changed color, as if he didn't dare to believe his eyes, staring at Li Yun, meeting her firm and unfeeling gaze without a hint of emotion. He trembled, suddenly feeling that something important but not cherished by him had quietly flown away.

  "Empress!" The queen exclaimed. It was too late to stop her from speaking out.

  Li Yun didn't look at the empress and the crown prince again, but instead turned to Ye Qingchen who was staring at her in a daze and said: "I'll remember this favor today."

  "Is this all?" Ye Qing Ran looked at Yun Qian Yue with an unsatisfied expression, "I saved you, but what I want is not for you to owe me a favor."

  Li Yun furrowed her brow, it was truly a case of "a tiger falling into a humble village"! In the past, she had been someone who could get whatever she wanted with just one request, but now that she was actively offering herself to him, there were actually people who didn't want her. She thought about what else she could give him, and looked down to search around her body, but apart from her precious jewels and cosmetics, there wasn't anything good, only the jade bangle on her wrist seemed valuable enough to be worth a city. She raised her hand, turning the bangle towards Ye Qingchen, the implication clear without needing to be said.

  Yè Qīng rǎn liǎn yī hēi, "Běn xiǎo wáng shén me hǎo dōng xī méi jiàn guò, bù quē zhè ge."

  Translation:

  Ye Qing's face turned black, "I, Xiao Wang, have seen all the good things, I don't lack this one."

  Li Yun shrugged her shoulders and said, "I'm just talking nonsense, if you don't want to listen, I have nothing good to say anyway."

  Ye Qingran was taken aback again, and suddenly burst out laughing. As she laughed, she said: "Moon sister is indeed different from seven years ago, now it's really much more interesting."

  Li Yun raised her eyes to look at the sky, and after dawdling for so long, the sun had already slanted westward. She thought that now that her soul had changed into another one, wasn't she different from seven years ago? However, this matter only heaven and earth knew, and she herself knew, fearing that she would never dare to say it to anyone again.

  "Actually, I didn't plan on asking you for anything, but now I've changed my mind." Ye Qingchen stopped smiling, her eyes sparkling like stars. She said seriously: "Alright, then as you said, I'll ask you for a favor."

  Li Yun nodded. He would know how serious she was afterwards. Then he stopped talking, turned his head to look at Lu Gonggong who was standing respectfully beside her, and asked: "Gonggong, have you seen my personal maid?"

  "Miss Shallow Moon's personal maid, Cai Lian, is waiting outside right now. You can see her as soon as you go out." With over 30 years of experience serving the emperor and knowing countless people, Butler Lu sensitively detected that today's Miss Shallow Moon seemed different from before. Could it be that yesterday's incident at Wangchun Building really changed her personality?

  Li Yun nodded, and it turned out that her maid was called Cai Lian. Without staying any longer, she lifted her steps and walked up the Jade Bridge, heading outside.

  "Miss Shallow Moon, don't forget Master Jing's entrustment. You must wait for him at the palace gate." Duke Lu reminded her again with concern.

  "Understood." Li Yun replied without turning around.

  The four princes and Ye Qianyan spent nine years of effort, but couldn't rescue her from the crown prince's hands. Jing Shizi effortlessly saved her with just one sentence, so she naturally wanted to meet him. Just because of this favor, no matter what his true intentions were or whether he was good or evil, she would wait for him out of politeness.

  Li Yun had just taken two steps when Ye Qingchen suddenly quickened her pace, reached out and grasped her hand. "Wait for what? He's not unfamiliar with the road, I also need to go to the Cloud King's residence to pay my respects to Old Master Cloud, let's leave the palace together."

  Li Yun tilted her head to gaze at the soft moonlight.

  Ye Qingran winked at her and whispered close to her ear, "I went through so much trouble and almost got my hands stained with blood to save him, but that weak beauty just took all the credit away with a single sentence. It's really infuriating." He paused for a moment before continuing, "Moon sister, you must remember my contribution, don't let that weak beauty deceive you. That guy is a wolf in sheep's clothing, he'll eat people without spitting out their bones. You should keep your distance from him in the future."

  Li Yun looked at Ye Qing's resentful and unwilling expression, and softly laughed without saying a word.

  At this moment, he was filled with hatred in his heart, but when he saw Li Yun's smile, he suddenly froze. He used to think that all women smiled coquettishly and seductively, which made him feel disgusted. But today, her smile was clear and pure, extremely innocent, and it was the first time he had seen such a smile. Unconsciously, he forgot his anger and stared at her, unable to look away.