TVLMS Chapter 81

“Greetings, Your Highness, the Third Prince.” On the long corridor, the palace people hastily curtsied and saluted when they saw the black figure walking slowly towards them.

It was as if the man did not see them, keeping his usual gentle pace as he brushed past them amidst the sudden silence of the path. He did not say anything to excuse them or ask them to rise.

The palace people, however, took it for granted and did not rise until the oppressive figure had disappeared at the end of the corridor.

But when they got up this time, they sneaked a look in the direction Wei Chiyan had disappeared, and a palace maid couldn’t keep her curiosity down and asked with a strange expression, “Did I see it wrong? His Highness… Is His Highness injured?”

“He was coming from the direction of the imperial study, right?”

“Did he quarrel with His Majesty?”

“Stop it, don’t talk freely about the affairs of the heavenly family, it’s time to go.”

As Wei Chiyan walked out into the open air, the cold wind slipped along his open collar and went into his clothes. He raised his head and realized that the leaves on the trees in the palace garden had all fallen.

The tip of his nose was suddenly drenched in a gentle chill, and his eyelids trembled slightly to keep the falling frost from falling into his eyes.

Winter was already here.

There was a hideous cut on his forehead above his left eye, as if he had been hit by something hard, and blood was still flowing from the fresh wound. He stood on the stone ground that was gradually soaked with falling snow, and was not affected by the pain coming from the wound. On the contrary, he gently hooked up a smile, and there was a hint of madness under his eyes.

“You, you, where’s your decency?”

After Wei Chiyan confessed to his father that he liked a man and insisted on being with him, he unsurprisingly angered the other party. The emperor was probably too surprised, and in his anger, he grabbed the inkstone on the table and threw it at him.

The emperor regretted It as soon as it left his hand. He saw that Wei Chiyan did not move to avoid it, and he watched as it hit him hard on the corner of his forehead.

Wei Chiyan didn’t seem to care that much, as if he didn’t feel the pain at all. He didn’t even blink his eyes, which showed how determined he was.

The emperor was somewhat surprised. Although he had never cared much for his handicapped son, he knew that he had a casual attitude towards many arrangements in the palace and his own affairs. For example, in the past, he had accepted all the women arranged by his mother – even though they all disappeared by some unknown means in the end.

Wei Chiyan even asked him, “If it is said that ordinary people are not qualified to choose, but I am the third prince of the Yao Kingdom, do I need to be like those ordinary people?”

Many high-ranking officials and noblemen or sons of aristocratic families have that strange hobby, but among the royal family, Wei Chiyan was the only one who was so blatant about it in front of the emperor. The emperor calmed down and thought that Wei Chiyan might have said these things on purpose to defy the idea of trying to arrange a marriage for him.

He said, “Just say It if you don’t want to have a family, you don’t need to give Zhen and your mother such an absurd reason to be unhappy.”

Wei Chiyan lowered his head slightly, and said in a calm tone: “Father is worrying too much; this son didn’t intend to contradict father and mother. I really don’t like those women, but I just don’t want to refuse Father and Mother’s kindness.”

The emperor’s breathing was a little heavy as he tried to comfort himself, telling himself that perhaps Wei Chiyan was just a hothead who wanted to get one back for some private fun first; after all, as a prince, one would have to give up a lot of things if one had to be such a maverick.

So the emperor said to Wei Chiyan, “If it’s a whim or you need someone to help you with your needs, then you don’t need to inform me of such things. Weren’t you given a residence outside the palace a while ago? Take him there and do what you want with him; just don’t publicize it.”

Wei Chiyan gave the emperor a funny look and reiterated, “Father, you may have misunderstood.”

“What I am saying is that I want to marry that Gonzi and make him my only imperial wife.”

The emperor’s brow was about to twist into a knot, and he reminded him, “Do you know what it means for the world to know that you have married a man as your imperial wife? First of all, you will be directly disqualified from competing for the succession to this kingdom.”

Although the throne had been passed to the eldest prince per the dynasty’s historical succession qualifications, it did not mean that the eldest prince was really the old emperor’s preferred son. He himself had experienced the power struggle and was naturally aware of the kind of things that would be played out between his sons.

Being born with a disability was taboo in the Yao Kingdom, and he had never valued Wei Chiyan, but as he grew up, the boy exceeded his expectations. Even if he wouldn’t consider this son in the end, Wei Chiyan’s request was a bit too absurd, so he decided to use this to put some pressure on him.

No prince would be without such ambition, especially one like Wei Chiyan, who had been pressured for years.

The emperor thought so and saw his son, who wore a half-silver mask, calmly looking at him, as if he could see through all his thoughts at once.

Wei Chiyan’s tone was very resolute: “I don’t care about the right of succession.”

“I must marry that person.”

It did not matter if he had to give up his royal status.

When the emperor heard these words, he knew that he could not use his power to change Wei Chiyan’s mind.

Wei Chiyan looked at him for a moment, then suddenly chuckled and said, “Besides, isn’t this what many people in the palace want? What’s wrong with that?”

The emperor was silent; Wei Chiyan saw many things clearly, but just didn’t want to talk about them. He had not wanted to support this son, but he was still his son, and he had felt more or less guilty about the way he treated him all these years. So after a long struggle, he suddenly felt that it was better to let him go.

The emperor’s attitude softened a little: “Which family does that son come from?”

He was troubled with having a son who was a broken sleeve; it was somewhat disgraceful. But on second thought, it was Wei Chiyan himself who would be laughed at, and since he didn’t mind, there was nothing he could do to stop him.

He replied, “He Is just a commoner, not the son of a famous family.”

The emperor breathed a light sigh of relief, and his opposition was no longer so strong: “Zhen understands; you can go down first, We…. Have to think about it more.”

The words fell on Wei Chiyan’s ears, and he knew it was already a done deal.

He didn’t lie, he really didn’t covet the so-called throne much; he didn’t care whose hands this kingdom ended up in, he just didn’t want their fight for the crown to be so smooth and uneventful. He wanted to be a spectator in the muddy waters more than a participant in them.

Wei Chiyan had paved the first layer of the road to marrying Gu Xiyu in the future, and he returned to his palace in a happy mood. He cleaned up his injury and planned to meet Gu Xiyu sometime to surprise him.

According to the reports from the people below, the fourth prince, Yuchi Rong, had already returned to his palace. He had confirmed that Gu Xiyu had successfully met up with them, and it was Gu Xiyu himself who had said that he wanted to come to the Imperial City to find him. But for them to be together in a dignified manner in the future, he had to withdraw from the peace marriage with the Dayan Kingdom, so Gu Xiyu could enter the palace directly.

So Wei Chiyan decided to get a day to make a personal trip to Yuchi Rong’s palace and give Gu Xiyu another surprise.

[Don’t be in a hurry; he may have his own arrangements and may come to you afterward.]

Gu Xiyu, who was at Yuchi Rong’s residence, heard the intelligent system’s comforting words and sneered, “Really? Then how did he know that I was here?”

“System, is there something you’re hiding from me?”

[The target is the Third Prince, and he’s not the only one who knows about the extra people in the Fourth Prince’s residence.] The system sort of avoided his second question.

It was common for spies from various factions to be planted among the participants in power struggles. There were probably many people from the outside investigating his and Murong Qingwan’s origins. As the male protagonist, Yuchi Rong was quite capable, and he covered for them well enough that he didn’t need to worry about his identity being revealed for a while.

Still, the system’s remark planted a small seed in his heart.

Gu Xiyu was indeed anxious about the fact that he couldn’t meet the Great Demon. So it would be a relief if he really came to him. He had to confirm whether Ah Wen was really the Great Demon or at least sense …… something.

At noon, people came to the fourth prince’s palace.

“This humble servant has met His Highness the Third Prince.”

Wei Chiyan, who didn’t even want to spare time to excuse people from kneeling, was too approachable today, raising his hand to let the steward of the fourth prince’s residence rise and saying, “I wonder if my brother, the fourth prince, is around? I came over today and have important matters… and things that I have to ask him for.”

If Gu Xiyu was present, he would probably have indignantly scolded him for calling him a ‘thing’.

Wei Chiyan could even imagine Gu Xiyu’s sulking face, and the pleasure in his heart was gradually stirred up. Even the aura around him was rarely softened.

The middle-aged steward’s face was more than a little apologetic when he heard the reason for his visit: “I’m really sorry, Third Highness, but Fourth Highness happens to be out of town, so I’m afraid you’ve made a trip for nothing.”

Wei Chiyan paused, but didn’t really care about it, after all, he didn’t come for a chat, and it wasn’t Yuchi Rong that he wanted to see.

He did not want to beat around the bush with the steward and said bluntly, “Did he bring guests back the other day?”

The butler hesitated for a moment, but did not dare deceive Wei Chiyan, who seemed to have the ability to see people’s hearts, and admitted it.

He then said, “One of his guests is a friend of mine, so it doesn’t matter if the Fourth Imperial Brother is not in the house. If you are not at ease, you can first ask him if he wants to come out and meet me.”

Unexpectedly, the butler’s expression became even more troubled, he lowered his head and said helplessly, “I’m… afraid I’ll have to disappoint Third Highness after all.”

“Today, people came from the palace, I don’t know what was said to the Fourth Highness and the others, but one of the guests was taken to the palace. His Fourth Highness failed to stop them, and not long after they left, he left with the other guest; I don’t know if it was to deal with this matter.”

“When His Fourth Highness returns to the palace, I will certainly tell him that His Third Highness came to see him today.”

Wei Chiyan was still confused when he walked out of the Fourth Prince’s residence. He frowned as he got into the carriage, not understanding why Gu Xiyu was suddenly summoned into the palace.

The sun, which was gradually setting on the other side of the mountain, dragged in a long tail, making the sky orange red. In the distance, birds of prey were lining the sky, flapping their wings as they departed, and the street vendors started packing up to go home.

As the carriage passed on the road, the chatter of the people outside caught his ear.

“Have you heard? That princess sent to our Yao Kingdom by the Dayan Kingdom for marriage is not dead, she has been found!”

“Hey, yes, I heard from the palace guards that it was probably the Fourth Prince or the Crown Prince’s men who found her, so it’s a great achievement.”

“Why, what’s this? Wasn’t that princess promised to His Highness the Third Prince? I also heard that the Crown Prince fell in love with her at first sight after he picked her up. It is just as well that the Third Prince announced that the peace marriage has been called off, the Crown Prince is now using this interval to personally call on the Emperor to have the princess of Dayan be given to him in marriage.”

Wei Chiyan almost crushed the window panel of the carriage when he heard these words…

“But …… the Crown Prince is powerful, if he wants to marry again, there are plenty of noble ladies in the country who can further consolidate his position for him, why would he ask for that princess from a vassal state?”

“This is not clear. But, as they say, the Dayan kingdom has beauties, so I guess that princess is as amazing as the rumors say, so beautiful that even the crown prince is smitten with her!”

The Crown Prince …… it’s the Crown Prince again! Yuchi Lan!

Wei Chiyan really hates this name now. He had just found out not long ago that Chen Wei, whom he had trusted as a brother all these years, was in fact Yuchi Lan’s subordinate. His past of practicing martial arts with his master was true, but he was already Yuchi Lan’s disciple by the time he met him when he went down the mountain.

He just didn’t know If Chen Wei was lurking at the Luohe fortress because Yuchi Lan had already figured out his identity, or if he had another purpose. But he was really well informed, he even knew that Gu Xiyu had slipped away. Worthy of the one who had been appointed by the emperor.

The people in the palace had picked up the princess, so it was likely that Yuchi Lan had also noticed that the bride had been substituted and had picked up the real Murong Qingwan.

However, this suspicion was directly and mercilessly overturned when he drove to the palace the emperor had given him to live in after he got married, and saw Yuchi Rong and Murong Qingwan standing outside the door.

He got off the carriage with a black face.

Yuchi Rong and Murong Qingwan had also just arrived at the Third Prince’s residence and did not expect to squat on Wei Chiyan, who seldom returned to the residence.

Although Wei Chiyan and Yuchi Rong were brothers, they were born to different concubines and had little interaction when they were growing up, making their relationship even more distant than that of ordinary friends. Yuchi Rong had always been wary of him and was probably the only one who was conscious that he was capable of many crazy deeds.

Wei Chiyan got out of the car and walked straight up to Yuchi Rong, pulling him by the collar and asking angrily, “Where is he?”

Seeing that Yuchi Rong did not reply immediately, he added with little patience, “You know who I am asking about!”

Yuchi Rong was shocked by his violent reaction, and only after getting back to his senses did he pull away. “He was taken by the Crown Prince’s people, we couldn’t stop them.”

Wei Chiyan sneered, “Oh? I heard that they came for the princess; is he a princess?!”

Murong Qingwan’s eyes carried unease and caution, as well as worry for Gu Xiyu.

She spoke before Yuchi Rong and the man called the Third Prince started quarreling. “Don’t blame him, it’s all my fault, brother, he…..”

At that time, at noon, people came to the fourth prince’s residence and said that he knew that the princess of the Dayan Kingdom was there. The two sides argued, but the people from the crown prince’s place couldn’t be resisted. Gu Xiyu did not want Murong Qingwan to take risks, so he once again pretended to be a woman and entered the palace for her.

Only then did Yuchi Rong add, “Before Prince Murong left, he told me to find a chance to meet you to give you this item.” If it weren’t for Gu Xiyu’s request, he would never have made this trip.

Wei Chiyan lowered his head. In his imperial brother’s hand was the white jade plaque that he had brought to Gu Xiyu from the palace.

His head suddenly began to ache again.

Chen Wei had not known that Gu Xiyu was a man back then at Luohe Fortress, but he had probably guessed that he was the runaway princess, especially since he had not deliberately concealed it from him at the time. At that time, Chen Wei had been approaching Gu Xiyu, getting along with him, and he may have even been the one who set the fire to help Gu Xiyu escape from the fortress, but by mistake, he was unable to do so.

If Chen Wei was one of Yuchi Lan’s people, combined with Yuchi Lan’s unusual behavior now, Chen Wei’s purpose for trying to help Gu Xiyu was not pure …… What exactly was Yuchi Lan trying to do?