Chapter Thirteen: Light Green and Soft Red Reunite

  The sky is clear and faintly hidden at the edge of the darkening horizon. The low window of the peach blossom heart wood, the bamboo curtain half rolled up, through the green gauze sends in a gentle breeze. In front of the corridor, the fragrance of osmanthus lingers, a single osmanthus tree with a canopy-like shape half covers the courtyard, its subtle scent floats, intoxicating people.

  You turned your head to look out of the window, and were finally drawn by that faint scent, pushing open the door and walking out.

  The new moon is like a faint mark, the sky is clear and far-reaching, the surroundings are quiet and peaceful like a dream, as if you can hear the osmanthus flowers blooming quietly in the depths of the night, the clear wind passes through the treetops, lingering and forgetting to return.

  Why bother with pale blue and light red when osmanthus falls in the moonlit night? Amidst simplicity, there is a unique elegance that surpasses plum blossoms, incomparably serene and comfortable.

  Across the moonlight, the lanterns on Xianyu Lake seemed to be floating in a very distant place. The Zhan Wang Fu was bustling today, she deliberately avoided going there, deep in the vast sky there was another world, every night she looked up and gazed longingly, as if that was where she truly belonged.

  Standing under the tree in a daze, something suddenly flashed before her eyes, she was startled, and without turning around, she heard a burst of refreshing laughter. Ye Tian lazily leaned against the tree with his hand, holding a branch of osmanthus flowers and tossing it to her, laughing and asking: "What are you staring at? Your soul is wandering too far away, look again and you'll fly up to the moon and become an immortal."

  "You weren't at Qing Cui Pavilion, how did you end up here?"

  "Night Sky raised an eyebrow, with a playful and irreverent look: "What's the point of going to Qingtui Pavilion? Father is here today too, it's suffocating. Come on, I'll take you to find some good wine to drink. The best wine in Seventh Brother's place is the lotus leaf wine brewed by the mansion itself, not inferior to Tian Du Tao Huang."

  As soon as she mentioned the lotus leaf wine, Yu Jin felt her face burning, fortunately it was dark and Ye Tian couldn't see clearly. She shook her head firmly: "I don't drink."

  Yè Tiān Liáo didn't care, dragged her and left: "What's there to be afraid of?"

  "You can accompany me to find wine and watch you drink, but I won't drink!"

  "Stolen wine tastes especially sweet, don't believe me? Try it in a bit." Ye Tianxiao smiled slyly, without a hint of the prince's demeanor. He was familiar with the layout of the Zhan Wang Fu and walked quietly, taking a circuitous route to avoid detection, and surprisingly didn't encounter anyone along the way.

  The flowers were densely blooming, and the two of them turned to a corner of the flower wall. Suddenly, they heard footsteps coming from the opposite direction, the sound was both chaotic and urgent. Ye Tianyi heard the sound and stretched out his hand to pull Qingchen away, but on the other side, several people rushed out in a hurry, with one person walking extremely quickly, and accidentally collided with Qingchen's body.

  You didn't expect someone to be so reckless, and you stumbled backward a few steps, almost falling down. Fortunately, Ye Tianyi was behind him in time to support him, but before he could see clearly who the person was, the other party had already shouted angrily: "Bastard! Have you gone blind?"

  Qing Chen listened to the rude words without making a sound, only slightly raising her phoenix-like eyes, lightly sizing up the person. The man didn't notice Ye Tian Li standing in the shadow of the lamp at first and thought Qing Chen was just a maid from the Zhan King's mansion. Seeing that she neither bowed nor spoke, he became enraged, raised his hand and swung it towards her face.

  "Third Imperial Brother!" The two people on the side simultaneously shouted to stop him, Ye Tian Lie stepped forward and blocked Qing Chen's path, while Ye Tian Zhan stopped that person. And the one who collided with Qing Chen was none other than the current Crown Prince, born from the same womb as him, the Third Imperial Son Ye Tian Ji, now titled as the King of Ji.

  Ye Tian stayed by King Ji's side, his expression warm and calm as usual, but upon closer inspection, he seemed to be slightly anxious. He turned to ask Qing Chen, "Is everything all right?"

  You dust heard him call San Huang brother, and thought that this was King Ji. Today is not a good day to sweep away the excitement, so he lightly shook his head.

  At that moment, King Ji was taken aback and scolded a maid servant. Unexpectedly, two of his imperial brothers blocked him. He looked at Qingchen again and saw that her expression was calm and serene, but it was hard to see clearly in the dim light. She wore white clothes and a plain skirt, with an ordinary face, but there was a kind of noble and unyielding spirit in her eyebrows and eyes. Just as he was about to ask her something, a group of people rushed over from the front, with someone holding a child who had fainted and several female officials following behind, frantically wiping away tears. The child was King Ji's only son, Yuanting, who had sneaked out of the banquet to play on his own and didn't know how he ended up fainting. King Ji had just found out about this and rushed over from the front in a hurry.

  The king of Ji saw his son in such a state and couldn't care about anything else. He hastily ordered the people beside him, "Where is the imperial physician? Why hasn't he arrived yet?"

  "Brother Emperor, please calm down and don't worry, I've already sent for the imperial physician."

  Yè Tiān Lì saw Yuán Tíng's weak breathing and knew he wasn't doing well. He softly said to Qīng Chén, "Our wine has gone flat. Third Brother Húang was just anxious in his heart and acted rashly, don't take it to heart."

  You dusted him off with a smile, indicating that it was okay. Suddenly, he saw that Yuanting's small hand was tightly grasping something resembling a bunch of flowers and grasses. He concentrated his mind to distinguish it, and was slightly surprised: "Grass Wus?"

  "What?" Ye Tian Liao asked.

  "It's a deadly poisonous weed." Qīng Chén said, seeing Yuán Tíng breathing rapidly, his whole body stiffened, and gently pulled Yè Tiān Zhàn: "Let me see."

  At night, Tian Zhan remembered that she knew medicine and nodded to let her through. Qing Chen stepped forward, took a look at the grass leaf in Yuanting's hand, and then reached out to lift his eyelids, taking his pulse while saying: "It's the severe poison of Aconitum, hurry up and find some licorice or honey, if you're late it'll be too late!"

  Before the night was over, the eunuchs in the mansion had already rushed to fetch something. Qing Chen stretched out his hand and pulled Yuan Ting back, pressing on several acupoints on his face, including the zygomatic bone, mandible, and chin, slowly loosening his tightly clenched teeth, then used his fingers to press on the root of his tongue to induce vomiting. Yuan Ting let out a loud "wa" as he coughed violently, instantly spitting out more than half of what he had eaten.

  King Ji saw Yuan Ting in great distress and angrily said: "What are you doing!"

  Yè Tiān Zhàn stopped him: "Your Majesty, you can trust her."

  At this time, the eunuch had already brought honey and licorice root together. Qing Dust lightly pinched Yuan Ting's teeth and tried to feed him as much as possible. After a while, Yuan Ting's body was slightly warm, and his breathing seemed to be smoother.

  You dusted off your sleeves and raised your head to say to Ye Tian, "We need to use medicine to clear out the remaining poison first. Let's send him inside to lie down, and give him some water to drink."

  The imperial physician rushed to the palace, and Qing Chen stepped aside. After diagnosing, the imperial physician said: "It is indeed the severe toxicity of grassy aconitum, fortunately, the rescue was timely, otherwise, her life would have been lost."

  You saw that Yuanting was fine, and there were imperial physicians by his side, so you quietly got up and left. At night, Tianhui turned her head to call out to her, but saw that Tianshen had already followed her, so she just smiled and gave up.

  The night wind brought the moist scent of lake water, easing the busy atmosphere. Ye Tian walked behind Qing Chen, who turned around to see him smiling at her, his eyes warm and gentle in the night light, and she smiled back at him slightly.

  Tonight, Tian walked slowly along the bluestone path towards the depths of the flower shadows: "I have to thank you today, if anything unexpected happens to Yuanting, I really can't explain it to Third Imperial Brother."

  "You don't have to thank me, I learned this antidote method from a book in the Smoke Wave Pavilion. If you want to thank someone, thank yourself for collecting so many good books."

  Yè Tiān Zhàn said: "In that case, I'll give all these medical books to you. If I keep them and don't read them, it would be a waste."

  "Today's birthday person is giving me a big gift instead, what kind of logic is this?"

  The night sky was filled with a gentle smile, but then Qin Yue came running over, bowing down to say: "Your Highness, the front is sending word that the Emperor wants to see Feng Gongzhu."

  "You see me?"

  Yè Tiān Zhàn was also somewhat unexpected, and after a moment of contemplation said: "Never mind, I'll go with you."

  The attendants led the way, carrying a row of crystal lanterns along the winding corridor by the side of Jade Lake. In the distance, under the soft glow of the lanterns, the white-clad figures seemed to be floating on the night air, their light blue robes fluttering like startled swans, as if they had emerged from the green leaves and lotus flowers in the lake. Their faces were as beautiful as jade, with a gentle and elegant demeanor, making one wonder if he was gazing at a painting.

  The King of Zhou had already come over and was chatting with the Heavenly Emperor. The Clear Emerald Pavilion was decorated with bright lanterns, low tables were arranged in order, jade cups and golden goblets shone with a warm light, elegant and refined everywhere, the night sky sparkled with a hint of smile in his eyes, as he led Feng Qiu into the pavilion, "Your Majesty, this is Miss Feng."

  You immediately knew that the old man in a long shirt with cloud and dragon patterns was the current emperor. Before you could see the other people around him, you felt a deep and sharp gaze piercing into your eyes.

  Suddenly, she felt a slight chill on her scalp. She quietly raised an eyebrow, unhurriedly adjusted her clothes and curtsied. A majestic and steady voice sounded in her ear: "You may dispense with the formalities, I heard that you just cured Yuanting?"

  "You calmly and politely thanked him and stood up, replying: 'Yes, Your Majesty.'"

  Taking advantage of the gap to look ahead, the Eastern Palace Crown Prince Ye Tian Hao was sitting beside the Heavenly Emperor. He wore a cloud-colored long shirt with a purple sash and a leisurely belt, his handsome face as white as beautiful jade, his whole body exuding an elegant and refined aura. He sat extremely quietly, yet he had an air of nobility that even the night sky couldn't conceal. If the Heavenly Emperor was awe-inspiring and stern in his majesty, then Ye Tian Hao was noble and unapproachable in his elegance.

  "Hmm, good," said the Heavenly Emperor: "Lift your head and let me take a look."

  You dust heard words raised head, pupil light quietly then against Tian Di's eyes.

  A pair of extremely deep eyes, as if they can contain all emotions, joy, anger, sorrow and happiness all disappear here, without a single ripple, and then produce a majestic and solemn atmosphere. She looked at the Heavenly Emperor with some curiosity, her calm and composed expression did not show any avoidance or fear, just the same tranquility.

  It's already an insult to speak of it, the Heavenly Emperor seemed to be intentionally silent, and Qīng Chén didn't lower his gaze either. Yè Tiān Zhèn's eyebrows slightly furrowed, just about to speak, when the Crown Prince said beside him: "Father, don't you think this Qīng Chén girl looks a bit like someone?" Yè Tiān Zhèn immediately smiled and said: "Your Highness has also noticed it. At first glance, I thought she looked somewhat similar, but upon closer inspection, there are some differences."

  Everyone present was on high alert, and Qīng Chén looked at Tiān Yuán with a puzzled expression, but then heard the Heavenly Emperor laugh and say: "Is it said that the Phoenix will fly?"

  "It is indeed." The prince said: "Just now, from a distance, I thought it was Luan flying over."

  You hadn't figured out the meaning of these words yet, when Ye Tian Lian followed up with another sentence: "Actually, if I had to say who it resembles, I think it's more like Ninth Aunt."

  Looking at you, it seems that there is something wrong with your heart. At this time, a voice slowly said: "It's like Xian Dance." The heart suddenly tightened, as if it was grasped by an invisible hand. This voice somehow carried a painful feeling, as if there was some kind of sorrow that could not be resolved, entangled and endless, making people involuntarily feel sad for him.

  The speaker was Ninth Prince Ye Tianming. Ye Tianlie retracted his jumping and laughing expression, and said with a hint of apology: "Ninth Brother, I didn't mean to..."

  Ye Tian's face floated with a wistful smile, shaking his head: "I know." After that, his gaze fell faintly on Qing Chen: "It's not just the eyebrows and eyes that resemble each other, but the shape and movements, every frown and every smile, somehow seem to have some resemblance. The prince just thought it was Luan Fei following the emperor, I mistakenly thought Xian Wu had come back to life. Ha, Luan Fei and Xian Wu were indeed carved from the same mold."

  You felt a chill on your back, and it turned out that she was being compared to someone who had already passed away. No wonder Ye Tian and others didn't mention her before. From the tone of the conversation, it seems that the Ninth Prince and the Princess had a deep affection for each other, but I don't know what kind of tragic fate led to this lonely sorrow.

  She slightly turned her head to look over, and couldn't help but secretly praise them. The several men of the Ye family were all born handsome, but if one had to say who was beautiful, then it would truly be this Ninth Prince.

  His skin seemed too pale in the bright light of the crystal lamp, and his fine, long eyes under his slightly raised eyebrows were quietly watching a corner, but they floated and sank into the light and shadow, scattering out an extremely enchanting temptation. With a straight nose and thin red lips, he was almost perfect. A man with such good looks would make even women feel inferior. He held an ice jade cup in his hand, and when he looked at Qingchen, he also sized her up. His gaze followed the curve of her eyebrows and eyes, gradually moving down, and suddenly his whole body shook. He stood up abruptly from his seat and exclaimed: "Fengwu!"

  Everyone was stunned, and Qīn Chén lowered his head along his line of sight. The duì jīn liú yún shān she wore today was the ordinary attire of Tiān Cháo women. The outer garment was made of thin gauze, like a misty veil, with a white silk blouse underneath, and a long skirt that flowed like a waterfall. Because it was midsummer, not only were the sleeves wide and loose, but also exposed her neck and jade-like skin. Yè Tiān Hóng was staring blankly at the phoenix butterfly tattoo on her chest, hidden under her clothes, his veins bulging, his hands trembling slightly, almost crushing the wine cup.

  You subconsciously used your hand to tidy up your collar, and Ye Tian said warmly, "Ninth brother." His words were filled with doubt and a hint of almost imperceptible unease.

  Ye Tianming seemed to have been startled awake, his hand loosening as he turned around dejectedly towards the Heavenly Emperor: "Your son... was impolite, please forgive me, Your Majesty."

  The Heavenly Emperor couldn't hide his sorrow for his son, neither did he offer any words of comfort nor scold him, he simply waved his hand and ordered Ye Tian Mo to sit down.

  The night sky was fine and beautiful, with a subtle beauty in her eyes as she glanced at Qingchen's face. After sitting down, she finished the wine in her hand and said: "The phoenix family's daughter has a tattoo of a butterfly on her collarbone, which was done by the famous painter Zhu Xianqing using the jade sand of Mochizuki Mountain when she was young. The shape is vivid and lifelike, and with the rich and vibrant color of Mochizuki Mountain's jade sand that never fades, it can be considered a wonder in the world." Her expression seemed a bit dazed as she spoke, with a hint of drunkenness and confusion, as if she had already fallen into a distant memory. Her eyes dimmed slightly as she looked at Qingchen: "Why does Miss Feng also have the same mark on her body? Is there some connection to the Phoenix family?"

  The Feng family, the leader of the aristocratic families, has been prosperous for a hundred years. The descendants of the clan are all over the country, and at its peak, nearly two hundred people in the imperial court held official positions, almost monopolizing all the key government posts. The late Empress Xiaosheng's brother, Feng Yan, was appointed as the prime minister of two dynasties, with great power and influence, and was one of the three powerful families that rivaled the Wei and Yin families.

  The young daughter of the Feng family, Feng Luanfei, who was just mentioned by the Crown Prince, has been appointed as "Shouyi". Over the years, she has followed the Heavenly Emperor and gained his trust. Although the Shouyi female official does not hold real power, she is always present at court to listen to politics, review memorials, draft imperial decrees, and convey oral orders. She is in the center of government affairs, with a noble status, which is an extremely high honor for women from aristocratic families.

  The eldest daughter of the Feng family, Feng Xian Wu, was married to the Ninth Prince Ye Tian Ming a few years ago. Originally, it was a beautiful love story with a deep affection and harmony between husband and wife. Unfortunately, she had a weak body and fell ill last year, but medicine was ineffective, and eventually passed away. After the death of his wife, Ye Tian Ming was heartbroken and bedridden for more than half a year before showing signs of recovery, but from then on, his temperament changed greatly.

  You dust also had heard of the Feng family, and shook his head in response to Ye Tianming's dark gaze, indicating that he had nothing to do with this gate family. Ye Tianming smiled self-deprecatingly: "Even if there was, what could be done?" After speaking, he downed another cup of wine.

  The Crown Prince and Tian Ming came out of the same mother, but their mother passed away early. The Crown Prince was especially fond of this imperial brother, seeing that he was still very depressed, couldn't help but feel worried in his heart, saying: "Maybe it's just a coincidence, Ninth Brother doesn't have to take it to heart. Father Emperor, let's go for a walk on the lake, also to clear our heads from the wine, Seventh Brother's Idle Jade Lake is elegant and beautiful, this year's lotus flowers seem to be blooming better than last year."

  The Emperor nodded and stood up from his seat, "Zhan'er lead the way, go take a look at what new scenery has been added to this mansion."

  The eunuch in front immediately held the lamp, and Xingchen secretly let out a breath, taking advantage of no one letting her follow to slip away. All the princes followed the emperor to walk towards Xianyu Lake, Ye Tianyi paused slightly as he passed by her side, saying in a low voice: "I'll find you another day at Kunlun Garden to ride horses." He gave her a fleeting smile and left with the Heavenly Emperor.