WMSG Chapter 71
by VolareWhen Ye Yueshen and Yan Kui rushed to the palace, Zhaoyang Palace was still in an uproar. The Emperor was pacing back and forth in the room, cursing Gong Xunwu.
Gong Xunwu sat in a soft chair, leaning back slightly, appearing relaxed and at ease.
Ye Yueshen waited outside the door. A servant hesitated for a moment before going in to report. When Gong Xunwu heard the words “Third Young Master of the Junzhu’s family,” he straightened up slightly, his hand half-supporting himself on the armrest, ready to rise at any moment.
The Emperor, seeing his reaction, snorted coldly and said, “Let him in.”
As soon as Ye Yueshen walked in, Gong Xunwu returned to his previous posture, not even glancing in his direction.
“Your Majesty, Yueshen has something important to say.” Ye Yueshen knelt on the ground, not bothering with any preamble, and said bluntly, “Presumably, Your Majesty already knows that I was being hunted, otherwise the Third Prince would not be confined to the detached palace outside the capital.”
The Emperor kept a stern face and said nothing, waiting for him to continue. Gong Xunwu didn’t understand what he was going to say, and worried that he would say something wrong, so he unconsciously turned his head to look at him.
Ye Yueshen felt his movement out of the corner of his eye, and subconsciously turned back to look at him, then froze.
Half of Gong Xunwu’s face clearly had a red handprint. Hearing that he had been hit was one thing, but seeing it with his own eyes was another.
In Ye Yueshen’s impression, Gong Xunwu had always been a noble and inviolable figure of authority. Whether it was in the original book or the real person he had met, everyone said how transcendent Gong Xunwu’s position was.
Even the Emperor, who was above all others, was not as imposing as he was. The Emperor’s inviolability was displayed in his unquestionable throne, and with the gray hair at his temples, he seemed much more benevolent.
But Gong Xunwu was young, gloomy, and reckless. He could argue with the Emperor and even strike a prince.
But now, with the mark of a slap on half of his face, Ye Yueshen suddenly felt a crack in the sky above him, and he had a real sense of the supreme power of the emperor to decide life and death.
He came back to his senses and turned his head. This time, he did not look directly at the Emperor, but lowered his gaze, not because he was afraid of the Emperor, but because he felt a little sour in his heart.
He continued, “The Third Prince did instruct his subordinates to try to kill me, but the person who initially wanted to kill me was someone else.”
The Emperor glanced at Gong Xunwu, a hint of schadenfreude in his eyes, and asked him in a deep voice, “Are you saying Qi Wang?”
“Not Qi Wang.” Ye Yueshen closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, he said without hesitation, “It’s the Crown Prince.”
The Emperor’s face changed drastically. The muscles in his cheeks tightened suddenly, even twitching imperceptibly. Gong Xunwu had already pulled Ye Yueshen back into his arms, holding him protectively, and whispered in his ear, “I am very touched that you came to save me, but at least discuss it with me before you take such a risk. If you always act like this, I can only follow behind you to clean up your corpse.”
Ye Yueshen pushed his shoulder with his hand, straightening his arm to push him away, “Stop being so sentimental, I didn’t come to save you.”
The Emperor was calmer than he had expected. He walked a few steps towards the Luohan couch, and after sitting down, he placed one hand on the armrest, his posture appearing somewhat old and decrepit.
Ye Yueshen felt a little guilty. He remembered Yu Guifei that he saw when leaving the palace banquet, and suddenly felt compassion.
Until the Emperor asked him in a cold voice, “Why does the Crown Prince want to kill you?”
“Because I stumbled upon the Crown Prince’s affair.” Ye Yueshen paused.
The Emperor pressed, “The Crown Prince’s affair with whom?”
Ye Yueshen couldn’t bring himself to say it, but if he couldn’t give a reason, the Emperor would be furious. Slandering the Crown Prince was a serious crime. If he wasn’t Qi Wang’s darling in the Emperor’s eyes, he would have been slapped already.
Before the Emperor lost his patience, Gong Xunwu helped him say it, “It’s Yu Guifei.”
The Emperor’s eyes widened, but his surprise didn’t last long. Instead, it was a realization that some inconsistencies finally made sense.
But he still maintained the dignity of an emperor, “Nonsense!”
Ye Yueshen couldn’t hear this whitewashing. Since someone had helped him say it, he no longer had any qualms and stubbornly emphasized, “It’s true. Not only did I see it, but Yuanbao, who is next to the Third Prince, also saw it. This is the reason for many of the subsequent incidents.”
Gong Xunwu watched his elder brother’s face become increasingly ugly and reached out to cover Ye Yueshen’s mouth. Ye Yueshen turned his head to push him away.
“Stop shouting.” Seeing that he didn’t understand how to navigate social situations, the Emperor simply told him directly, “I know, but outsiders can’t know.”
Ye Yueshen patted Gong Xunwu’s wrist, signaling him to let go of him, and that he wouldn’t say anymore.
Gong Xunwu was surprised that his elder brother was actually showing tolerance, and didn’t get angry with Ye Yueshen.
The Emperor fell into deep thought. Ye Yueshen had a sentence in his heart, “If Your Majesty still has doubts, you can summon the Third Prince back to the palace for questioning,” but he didn’t dare to say it out loud at the moment.
It was impossible for Ye Yueshen not to be afraid of accusing the Crown Prince in front of the ruler of a country.
Fortunately, the Emperor had many aspects to consider and didn’t make a decision in time. Instead, he waved his hand, “You all go out.”
Originally, Ye Yueshen thought that he would have to spend a day or two here, or even several days, stuck on this matter. From lodging the accusation to the Emperor ordering the Third Prince to be brought back from the detached palace, if Yuanbao was still alive, he would have to be brought back as well, and then the parties would confront each other.
The Crown Prince would become enraged and refuse to admit it, and would most likely try to bite back and drag Ye Yueshen down as a scapegoat. And whether the Third Prince would betray him was also unknown.
He wasn’t even sure if his impulsive act for Gong Xunwu would be a case of unrequited love. If Gong Xunwu turned around to watch the excitement, or waited for him to beg him out of desperation, what would he do?
Fortunately, none of this happened, and Gong Xunwu was temporarily let off the hook because of this shocking news.
The two of them left Zhaoyang Palace and walked along the palace road. After being silent for a long time, Gong Xunwu opened the conversation: “Compared to the ghosts and monsters born by my imperial brother, the eldest prince is a rare good person.”
There was almost no description of the eldest prince in the original book, but every stroke had its purpose, and Ye Yueshen was not surprised by the sudden appearance of the story line.
“He is six years older than me.” Gong Xunwu said very calmly about the past: “His mother, the imperial consort, gave birth to him six years earlier than my mother gave birth to me. He doesn’t mind calling me little imperial uncle, and I call him big nephew. I have called him that since I can remember, and I didn’t think there was anything wrong, and he never said there was anything wrong. According to seniority, I am his imperial uncle.”
Ye Yueshen found it a bit confusing and didn’t respond to him.
“But the Crown Prince is very annoying.” Gong Xunwu looked ahead: “He is also older than me, two years older. He didn’t want to call me imperial uncle, and was scolded for it.”
From the time he was injured and poisoned, Gong Xunwu, who took care of him day and night, initially showed some human touch, but still seemed to have ulterior motives.
Until this moment, when he talked about his own affairs, Ye Yueshen’s heart was somewhat touched.
“I am senior in terms of seniority but young in age. The Crown Prince tells people that I am an ancestor who cannot be provoked.” Gong Xunwu seemed to sneer: “But being young also has its disadvantages. When he murdered his elder brother, I was unprepared and watched Jin Yin breathe his last.”
Ye Yueshen couldn’t help but hold Gong Xunwu’s clenched fist for a moment. Realizing what he had done, he slowly let go, and looked up to find Gong Xunwu smiling.
Gong Xunwu smiled without any flaw, even teasing him casually: “Do you feel sorry for me?”
Ye Yueshen didn’t answer directly, but said, “I don’t want to let go of this opportunity.”
They were almost at the palace gate, and few people passed by here. Ye Yueshen said, “In any case, you helped with Du Ruxiang’s matter, although it made things more complicated. But at that time, I really didn’t have a better way to handle it. After I was injured and poisoned, you helped me preside over the situation and took care of me for a while.”
Gong Xunwu realized what he was going to say, and his face gradually cooled down. He couldn’t help but wonder what was so terrible about him that made Ye Yueshen reject him again and again.
“Although you may not believe it, if I hadn’t risked making an accusation today, you might have been placed under house arrest. Although house arrest is neither painful nor itchy, it is tormenting. You can take a look at the Third Prince’s skeletal appearance now, and you will know if what I said is credible.”
Ye Yueshen paused, as if he had made a decision: “My actions today should be considered as repaying you. In the future, you are not allowed to take advantage of my gratitude. If you threaten me again, we will argue in front of the Emperor. Now my mother already knows, as long as you stop pestering me, I can persuade my mother to let it go. We…”
Ye Yueshen suddenly forgot what he was going to say. He raised his head in a daze, looking at the sunset in the distance. Today was just an ordinary day in his life, and he would see countless sunsets in the future.
Don’t tremble, Ye Yueshen said to himself in his heart.
Gong Xunwu stepped forward and grabbed his shoulder. Just as he was about to say something, Ye Yueshen shook him off with force.
Gong Xunwu hesitated for a moment, but still chose to pull him firmly. The two of them entered a small scenic pavilion next to them, closing the door tightly, so that it was not very well lit.
In the dim light, Gong Xunwu said to him with pity, “Ye Yueshen, are you having a hard time? I forced you to come to the Wang estate, and you were disturbed by it. What do you need to repay me for? Even though I treated you like this, you still feel like you owe me something. Has no one ever been good to you?”
Ye Yueshen was stunned. Gong Xunwu accurately hit his sore spot. In his previous life, no one had been particularly nice to him during his long eighteen years.
“My father, mother, and brothers are all very good to me.” Ye Yueshen stubbornly said: “I just have a conscience.”
“Yes, the spoiled youngest son of the Marquis’s estate. There’s no reason for you to feel gratitude for me taking care of you for a few days.” Gong Xunwu shamelessly pressed: “In my opinion, you are moved by me.”
Ye Yueshen couldn’t bear it any longer: “I won’t be moved by a rotten person.”
With a bang, the door of the small pavilion was pushed open. The Junzhu’s eyes were red with anger. She stepped forward and pulled Ye Yueshen behind her, glared at Gong Xunwu, and then looked outside.
Following her was a steward palace maid from the Empress Dowager’s side. She could hardly hide her surprise and fear, and feigned calmness as she said, “Your Highness, the Empress Dowager wants you to go to Heyun Palace…”
Gong Xunwu was easy to talk to now, and his mood could even be considered good.
In Heyun Palace, the Empress Dowager had her hair half-loosened, a wide forehead band wrapped around her head, and was constantly rubbing her temples with her hands.
This was generally done to show the Junzhu, hoping that the Junzhu would calm down since she was also worried. It was also generally true that she was worried.
The Empress Dowager had heard about Gong Xunwu provoking Ye Yueshen when Gong Xunwu was about to execute the Third Prince. But she was old and couldn’t control the affairs of the younger generation, especially since Gong Xunwu always had his own ideas.
She didn’t even say anything to order Gong Xunwu to stop, but angrily blamed him: “If Yongning finds out, I won’t say half a word in your defense.”
Ye Yueshen followed the Junzhu obediently, always holding on to a bit of the Junzhu’s sleeve, looking wronged and pitiful. Seeing him like this, the Empress Dowager couldn’t say that he was a seducer, and only felt that a good child had been bullied.
The Empress Dowager closed her eyes, almost not wanting to open them to face the scene before her, but there was no escape. She could only bite the bullet and scold Gong Xunwu: “Nonsense!”
Gong Xunwu knelt down, his back straight, looking like he was unyielding and stubborn: “This subject knows his mistake. This subject sincerely admires Yueshen, and this subject will never back down.”