Volume 1: Laughing at the Splendor Chapter 7

  Li Yun didn't think that someone would save her. The restraints beside her were removed and she immediately turned around to look at the person who spoke for her.

  It wasn't until then that she noticed a white jade table not far behind the crowd of people, with two people sitting opposite each other at the table. The chessboard had been overturned and the pieces were scattered all over, it seemed that the two had just been playing against each other. Because there were so many people in the crowd and they blocked her view, she hadn't noticed until now that such a unique scene existed amidst the commotion.

  Both of them were extremely young, about eighteen or nineteen years old. They both had beautiful faces and elegant figures. One of them stood up and walked towards her, wearing a pale blue satin long shirt, with a jade belt around his waist and a pale green jade pendant hanging from it, swaying back and forth as he took light steps. His eyebrows were raised high, his voice was soft and clear, and as he slowly walked out, the people in front of him all made way for him.

  Many girls who had previously looked at the crown prince with admiration, shifted their gaze to him, everyone's face turned slightly red, their eyes darting back and forth, a hint of a smile on their faces, as if they didn't dare to look but couldn't help looking. For a moment, even the air in the garden seemed to have lightened up a bit.

  Li Yun speculated that the person had just mentioned the Emperor, and thought he must be a member of the imperial family. She looked at the man, thinking that since she came to this world until now, she finally saw someone who caught her eye. It's not easy! Soon she would know his identity.

  She shifted her gaze to the other man sitting beside the white jade table, who didn't stand up but instead lowered his head, staring at the scattered chessboard on the table as if in deep thought. With just a glance at his profile, she could already see that he was exceptionally handsome, with only one side of his face visible. She withdrew her gaze and refocused on the man walking towards her, thinking to herself that indeed, ancient times were known for producing beautiful men, and the phrase "fruit overflowing from carriages" was truly not an exaggeration. If these two walked down the street together, it would probably cause a traffic jam.

  "Lightly stained! I thought that after seven years of traveling outside, you would have become more stable, but it seems like nothing has changed." The prince looked at the man who came out, his face seemingly filled with some helplessness and scolding, saying: "How can you compare the fire burning Red Sleeve Building when you were young and didn't understand things to yesterday's fire burning Wang Chun Lou by Moon Sister? At that time, no one was hurt, and since you were young, Father Emperor spoiled you, naturally not daring to blame. This time, however, hundreds of lives were lost."

  "How can they not be mentioned in the same breath? I don't see any difference, it's all just a place for shady and dirty things. If those people back then didn't have you to protect them, I would have burned them to ashes long ago. Not just hundreds of people, but thousands too." The man spoke as he walked into the arena, glancing at the prince with raised eyebrows, his tone even more arrogant.

  Li Yun was taken aback, thinking that this person was actually Qing Ran, also known as Xiao Wangye, the one her personal maid had mentioned?

  The crown prince's expression changed, his face suddenly sinking, "That is a life, how can it be treated like a child's play?"

  "My good Prince brother, not seen for seven years, how have you become even more naive? Human life is precious, but the lives of shameless and despicable people are not worth having! Moreover, in these years, the number of people who died at your hands is no less than a hundred. How can you now be so sympathetic to the heavens and pity the people? It's truly strange! Is it that you only feel sympathy for the lives lost by Moon Sister's hand?" The man stopped three steps away from Li Yun, looking at the prince with a serious expression, clicking his tongue in amazement.

  The crown prince's face stiffened, and his eyes flashed with a hint of anger.

  The young man's gaze was distant, his gentle voice suddenly changed, and he let out a sigh. "I've heard that you don't like Moon Sister, you don't want to marry her, but do you have to push her to death? The Cloud King's estate has only one legitimate daughter, but there are many illegitimate daughters. Even the founding emperor didn't require that the empress had to be a legitimate daughter, so an illegitimate daughter can also be one! Why does Moon Sister need to work hard to learn etiquette and guard her temperament? Why must she enter the palace? In my opinion, Moon Sister is already very good. There isn't a single person in the entire Tian Sheng who can surpass her true nature!"

  Li Yun's mouth corners slightly curved into a faint arc, fleeting. This person is more likable than the Fourth Prince.

  "Night lightly stained!" The prince's stiff face also contained anger, looking at the man with a heavier voice, directly saying his name, angrily: "Although the founding emperor did not explicitly say whether it was a legitimate or illegitimate child, since ancient times, where has there been a lowly-born concubine entering the palace as an empress? You are simply absurd."

  "Isn't it nonsense, Prince Huang's brother is clear in his heart. Among the people sitting here, which year has not killed a few people, even tens or hundreds of people under their hands? As far as I know, many noble young masters in the court have liked to play a game in recent years, that is, putting the most humble and inferior people on the horse track, letting them run, and they shoot arrows at those people. Whoever shoots the most arrows wins. It can be imagined that the scene was bloody and terrifying. Although I haven't been in the capital for seven years, I've heard about it, so I don't believe Prince Huang's brother doesn't know about this? If you didn't know, then you're too ignorant." Ye Qingran sighed and then her voice became loud again.

  The crown prince was suddenly speechless, as if he had lost his words of rebuttal.

  Li Yun's eyes dimmed with the information she had obtained, and it wasn't until now that she truly felt that this was a real ancient era. The imperial power was supreme, and human life was as worthless as straw. Originally, she thought that the owner of this body burning hundreds of people to death was unforgivable, but compared to the game with that noble young master, this was simply insignificant. Just thinking about it made her heart feel cold.

  "Compared to those who treat human life as worthless, Yueliang's burning of the Wenchun Building is actually a great kindness. I don't believe that even the Emperor and Empress are unaware of such things existing. If over the years the Emperor, Empress, and Crown Prince have not stopped this cruel game from existing, how can they today suddenly decide to punish Yueliang for her crime? This is simply unreasonable!" Zhang Yang's voice continued, while Ye Qianyu's eyebrows and eyes took on a hint of mockery, very slight and hard to detect.

  Li Yun gazed at Ye Qing's every move, but it was as if she had truly seen the mocking expression on his face. It seemed that this young master Ye, although he was saving her, wasn't using her to play a cruel game that was unbearable to watch? If she were to be punished today, then all those noble sons in the imperial court would also be guilty. In this way, the matter would become even more complicated and serious.

  Thinking so, her good impression of this person deepened a bit. It's no wonder that someone who has been abroad for seven years is quite capable. Although his behavior is unrestrained, it seems that he is much stronger than these people sitting here.

  The crown prince's face grew even darker, and his gaze at Ye Qingran was also darker, as if he hadn't expected him to bring up this matter.

  "It's just that, if Moon Sister burning the Wang Chun Lou is a crime, then all the princes and nobles' sons in the imperial court who play that game every day are also guilty. If you punish Moon Sister but not those people, it's not convincing." The Fourth Prince, who had been silent until now, looked at Ye Qingran with a profound meaning, then glanced at Li Yun, his eyes flickering slightly.

  The crown prince fell silent, his dark eyes turned towards Li Yun, profound and unfathomable.

  "And that sentence was indeed correct, the Holy Emperor didn't say that the Cloud King's legitimate daughter must be the empress. The Cloud King has many illegitimate children, and it doesn't matter if Moon sister doesn't follow the rules. It's just a hundred people who died in the Wishing Spring Pavilion, every year on this day countless people die in the Holy Dynasty because of that game, how can we count? The Crown Prince didn't report to the Emperor about handling it, why did he suddenly focus on Moon sister today? Is it really because she likes you?" The Fourth Prince's words were relentless, and he wouldn't let go of any opportunity to attack the Crown Prince. After speaking, he turned his head to smile at Li Yun: "If that's the case, then Moon sister should take a look, this is the person you've liked for so many years! Your true heart was wasted in vain, if you end up going to jail because of this, how heartbreaking would it be for those who truly care about you?"

  The last sentence is profound and warm in meaning.

  Li Yun's mouth twitched slightly as she thought that this Fourth Prince was really shameless. Was he truly good to her? Unlikely!

  "Yes, how heartbreaking it must be for those who truly care about you! Hehe..." Ye Qingran smiled lightly as he looked at Li Yun, his voice suddenly soft and gentle. The atmosphere in the garden seemed to warm up like a spring breeze, moistening like fine rain. Even the crown prince's gloomy face seemed to brighten up slightly.

  Li Yun looked at him with a flickering gaze, and upon hearing his tone of voice, she suddenly felt a chill. She had already figured out why this body wasn't likable, but now that she heard their words, it seemed like she was the one who was being liked. She lowered her head, rarely rolling her eyes in annoyance.

  Ye Qingran was staring at Li Yun, seeing her roll her eyes, he was taken aback for a moment, then his laughter became even more unrestrained.

  The fourth prince kept darting back and forth between Li Yun and Ye Qingran, his brow furrowed as if he couldn't understand Ye Qingran's actions.

  Not only did the fourth prince fail to understand, but also the empress and the crown prince couldn't comprehend how this person who had just returned from a seven-year journey abroad could be so concerned about Yun Shang Yue. Moreover, he didn't hesitate to offend them in order to help her, and even exposed the ugly internal scandals of the noble families within the Tian Sheng dynasty, which was a most unpleasant thing that implicated many people. And yet, he dared to be so reckless and make enemies before even establishing himself in the court after his return, surpassing what he had done seven years ago, truly leaving one perplexed.

  After a long silence, the crown prince's dark eyes faded away, looking at Li Yun and Ye Qingran. His phoenix eyes were as deep as an abyss, and he spoke again, "Qingran and the fourth imperial brother's words are indeed correct, but in recent years, those noble sons have been playing with house slaves. Although the emperor and I have heard about it, we can't ask about the affairs of our subjects' families. But today, the hundreds of people who died in the fire at Wangyue Tower were not house slaves of the Yunwang Fu. This matter has caused a great disturbance in the capital, and the common people are all dissatisfied with this move. The civil and military officials also have their own opinions. If we don't punish Yuer, I'm afraid it will be difficult to appease the people. Therefore, it's better to give an explanation to the officials and the people of the world."

  Li Yun's face turned cold upon hearing this, she didn't expect that this prince was determined to put her to death, how detestable!

  The night was lightly colored, and he didn't expect his words to be completely overturned. The prince even wanted to punish Yun Shangyue's crime, and with a light sentence of "it's not good to ask about the affairs of one's family", those cruel killing games were finalized, and the responsibility was pushed away cleanly. His face also sank slightly, it seems that he really underestimated Prince Ye Tianqing, who is different from seven years ago.

  The night sky was falling, and the words were not yet lightened. The deep eyes coldly smiled, the tone was clear and severe, and there was no room for doubt. He shouted: "Come on, take Yun Shangyue to the Ministry of Punishment's great prison, strictly guard her, no one is allowed to visit, wait for the emperor's disposal."

  By the way

  It's getting more and more wonderful, everyone is eagerly waiting for it ~