Chapter 114 The hard choice (2)
Wanyan Kang's arrival made the whole atmosphere become relaxed.
"Wangfei1, congratulations!" Bai Yi Yue also came forward to congratulate.
More and more people came forward to congratulate Feng Cang and Murong Qi Qi. Feng Cang was very happy. His face showed a blissful smile. Many people had come to congratulate. In the end, Feng Cang grabbed Wanyan Kang to help him. He himself escorted Murong Qi Qi to take their leave at Wanyan Lie's. They hurriedly left the palace and returned to Nan Lin wangfu2.
"Empress mother, see how impatient this child is. Perhaps, next year, you will be able to hold a great-grandchild!" Wanyan Lie supported Dongfang Lan, "Now, you can be at ease!"
"To be or not to be at ease, still need to wait till tomorrow morning to know." Dongfang Lan was happy for Murong Qi Qi and Feng Cang, but the thought of those women who’d died in the past, she frowned and was very worried.
Feng Cang had finally encountered a woman he loves. If Murong Qi Qi's fate was the same as those women, then wouldn't Feng Cang be ruined at one stroke? As a maternal grandmother, Dongfang Lan's love towards this only grandson (from her daughter's side) was very evident.
Dongfang Lan's words made Wanyan Lie pause a moment. Then he laughed, "Empress mother, zhen3 feels that Nan Lin wangfei is a blessed person. Nothing would happen this time, don't worry!"
"Mm! If it truly could be the same as what emperor said, then one of aijia's 4 wishes would be fulfilled. At that time, aijia would still go to the temple. This palace is too noisy. Aijia is already old and can't stand liveliness. Aijia likes it to be quiet."
"Didn't you just return? Empress mother, you should stay at the palace, so this son can show you filial piety! Since the death of Ming Yue, you have been depressed. You only stayed a few days in the palace. Zhen, as a son, feels guilty."
The ashamed look on Wanyan Lie’s face made Dongfang Lan laugh, "Emperor, you're a monarch of a country. The affairs of the country are what you should care about the most. Aijia, ah, is old and likes the quiet. Aijia's mood will become good when looking at the green hills and clear water, small dogs and small birds! You should just let aijia go!"
Dongfang Lan already said it like that, Wanyan Lie could only nod and agree. Seeing Dongfang Lan’s aged back, Wanyan Lie revealed a strange smile, "Jing De, is everything prepared?"
"Answering emperor, everything is prepared." Jing De stood behind Wanyan Lie with a bowed back.
"Let's go! Arrange to go to Long Autumn palace!"
The original palace banquet prepared for Feng Cang's and Murong Qi Qi's wedding didn't become cold and cheerless because the main characters had left. Instead, it became livelier.
Murong Qing Lian drank some wine. Her small face was flushed like a red apple. She looked at Longze Jing Tian who had been drinking to drown his sorrows. Her mood also went down because of this. Why couldn't he see her? Murong Qi Qi was already married, why did he still need to torture himself like this?!
Murong Qing Lian really wanted to use herself to warm up Longze Jing Tian, but the other party didn't appreciate it. He didn't even give her a single glance. This made Murong Qing Lian sullen. At this time, someone who looked like a palace maid came to Murong Qing Lian's side, "Miss Murong, someone let this slave bring this note to you!"
The palace maid put down the note and left. Murong Qing Lian opened the note. On it appeared a string of familiar handwriting. "Fourth little sister, help! See you outside the hall where the flower path is, Murong Xin Lian."
If it wasn't because Murong Qin Lian was familiar with Murong Xin Lian's handwriting, that she would’ve believed this was a prank. However, she had fought for so many years with Murong Xin Lian; she knew Murong Xin Lian's handwriting; so, the moment she saw the note, she became startled.
Murong Xin Lian mixed into here? This made Murong Qing Lian very surprised. How come that woman is still not dead? She became like that and is still alive? Besides, she's in Bei Zhou's palace? Truly incredible!
Murong Qing Lian looked around once but didn't see Murong Xin Lian. She felt curious and even more surprised.
If she could catch Murong Xin Lian and hand her over to Longze Jing Tian to let him deal with her (MXL), then wouldn’t she (MQL) attract some good feelings from Longze Jing Tian? After all, it was Murong Xin Lian who threw away all of Longze Jing Tian's face. If she catches Murong Xin Lian, the 'wanted criminal' who’d escaped without a trace, maybe then her wish (of getting with LJT) would be able to come true!
This was a happy event that had 'dropped from the sky'. It seemed that she was destined to be Longze Jing Tian's bride! Murong Xin Lian would be her gift to Longze Jing Tian!
Thinking till here, Murong Qing Lian stood up. She pretended to go take some fresh air and left the hall.
When Murong Qing Lian followed the instructions of the note and found the flower path, the one she saw was Wanyan Bao Zhu. Murong Qing Lian was surprised. Wanyan Bao Zhu chuckled, "Are you looking for Murong Xin Lian? I'll take you there. She's at my place!"
Murong Qin Lian's desire to catch Murong Xin Lian and take credit for it eventually prevailed her doubts of Wanyan Bao Zhu. Moreover, she has inner energy; how could she be afraid of Wanyan Bao Zhu?! Thinking till here, Murong Qing Lian pretended to be worried. "Princess, do you really know where my big sister is? She had disappeared for a long time. Our whole family is very worried about her!"
Seeing Murong Qing Lian's 'anxious' expression, Wanyan Bao Zhu sneered in her heart.
Continue pretending, later I'll make it so that you won't even be able to cry out! However, on the surface, Wanyan Bao Zhu was full of smiles, "She's very well. Only her body isn't very well. That's why she couldn't personally come here. Follow me!"
Murong Qing Luan followed Wanyan Bao Zhu and turned a few corners in the palace. In the end, they stopped at a remote chamber.
"My second big sister is here?" Murong Qing Lian couldn't believe it and looked vigilantly at Wanyan Bao Zhu.
"Of course! Now, she's a palace maid in the palace, but her body is weak. She's temporarily recuperating here. Quickly go in! I'll look out here for you. There's not much time. Make the long story short!"
Wanyan Bao Zhu's expression was very sincere. Nothing fake could be detected. Dubiously, Murong Qing Lian opened the door. She hadn’t even crossed the doorway yet, when she had been pushed inside by Wanyan Bao Zhu.
"Who…," Murong Qing Lian didn't get the chance to shout, when her mouth was covered by a white cloth. On the white cloth, there was an unusual taste. It made Murong Qing Lian sleepy. She didn't even take a good look at who was in front of her when she’d fainted.
"Done?" Wanyan Bao Zhu opened the door and entered. "Send her to crown prince!"
Tonight, Murong Qing Lian had a beautiful dream. She dreamed about her marriage with Longze Jing Tian. Everyone came to send their blessings. Murong Qi Qi knelt in front of them and begged for Longze Jing Tian's forgiveness. She wanted to become his bride again, but has been sent flying by a kick from Longze Jing Tian.
"I would only have Murong Qing Lian as a woman, how would I still love another?!" These words made Murong Qing Lian's heart feel sweeter than honey. She was woken by her laughter.
The moment Murong Qing Lian opened her eyes, she found herself in a completely strange environment. Nothing was on her body. She was lying on the bed and her limbs seemed to have been tied at the four corners of the bed. Her mouth was stuffed with a cloth.
"Help! Help!" Murong Qing Lian struggled. She wanted to scream, but her mouth was stuffed. Her hands and feet were also bound. She simply couldn't escape.
"Yo! Did you wake up?" Wanyan Hong, who was only wearing a single robe, came to Murong Qing Lian's side. In his hand, he shook a wing of a butterfly.
"You woke up faster than this crown prince's expectations!"
You are…the moment she saw Wanyan Hong, Murong Qing Lian was shocked. Her body struggled harder.
"Yo, still want to escape, ah?!" On Wanyan Hong's gloomy face appeared a sarcastic smile. The butterfly brush in his hand slowly fell on Murong Qing Lian's toe. It was as gentle as a breeze. A numbness spread through Murong Qing Lian's body. What do you want to do? Murong Qing Lian was in disbelief.
"Hehe, this crown prince likes virgins the most!" Seeing the red-like blood gecko cinnabar mark on Murong Qing Lian's arm, Wanyan Hong lowered his body. He opened his mouth and bit on the gecko cinnabar mark, "So fragrant! Only a virgin could emit such a pure fragrance! This crown prince likes it!"
Now, Murong Qing Lian finally understood what she was about to experience. No! She shook her head. Tears filled her eyes. No! I beg you, no!
"No?" Wanyan Hong seemed like he could read minds. He was able to read Murong Qing Lian's expression.
"How could that be right?! This crown prince is already interested in you! If you don't believe it, take a look!" Wanyan Hong pulled away his robe and revealed a strong body.
A sense of shame emerged in Murong Qing Lian's heart. She quickly closed her eyes and refused to look. However, the butterfly brush in Wanyan Hong's hand once again fell on the back of her foot. That numbing feeling once again hit her, making her face become red from holding it in.
"Hehe, so sensitive! This crown prince likes it!" Wanyan Hong took advantage and went on top of her. "Be good, be this crown prince's woman!"
No, no! Murong Qing Lian's eyes were wide open, but what could she do? When a pain spread through her whole body, Murong Qing Lian had already cried a lot. Save me! Wangye,5 save me! Save me, ah!
Wanyan Bao Zhu stood not far away. She looked at how Murong Qing Lian was humiliated by Wanyan Hong. She felt pleasure from taking revenge. She also wanted to let people experience what she had experienced. She also wanted to let others experience her pain…
It was just, when she saw the bed being tainted with red, Wanyan Bao Zhu bit her lips. So, this man could touch women and had feelings for women. Him using such sick ways to wreck her was nothing more than his disdain for Wanyan Bao Zhu because she was not a virgin!
Thinking till here, a sense of shame, anger and discontent filled Wanyan Bao Zhu's heart. No matter what, she and Murong Qing Lian still had differences. Wanyan Hong refused to use the normal way between men and women to treat her! Thinking of the humiliation Wanyan Hong brought her, the pain from there once again pierced Wanyan Bao Zhu.
She seemed to have won this time, but the one who truly won was still Murong Qing Lian, because Wanyan Hong didn't treat her (WBZ) as a normal woman!
The promises Wanyan Lie made at Feng Cang's wedding deeply prodded Wanyan Hong's proud and sensitive heart. He needed to get the feeling of conquest from another's body.
For example, like now. Murong Qing Lian's eyes filled with pain, her flushed face and her tears filled with hatred made his heart get a great sense of satisfaction. Now, in his eyes, Murong Qing Lian became Murong Qi Qi. Since Feng Cang stepped on him under his (FC) feet, then he (WH) would press Feng Cang's woman under his body!
His eyes burned anger. Wanyan Hong had long forgotten that Murong Qing Lian was a virgin and hadn't experienced intercourse before. He only wanted to quickly vent out his anger and the injustice he felt! He vented all his dissatisfaction towards Feng Cang on Murong Qing Lian. From Wanyan Hong's point of view, Murong Qing Lian is Murong Qi Qi's little sister and Feng Cang's sister-in-law. Humiliating Feng Cang's sister-in-law is humiliating Feng Cang!
At one corner in the palace, Wanyan Hong was enjoying the prey Wanyan Bao Zhu had found for him. At another corner of the palace, Wanyan Hong's father Wanyan Lie was also doing a frightening thing.
In a dark room under Long Autumn palace, Yue Lan Zhi had been stripped clean of her clothes. She was tied to a wooden cross.
"Emperor, what do you want to do?" Yue Lan Zhi was horrified. She couldn't imagine that Wanyan Lie, who had been speaking so happily to her before, would do such a thing now.
"Hehe, beloved consort, don't be afraid. Zhen came to help you!"
On Wanyan Lie's hand was a bamboo whistle that was as long as a finger. It was the color of green jade. It looked very beautiful. Seeing this bamboo whistle, Yu Lan Zhi suddenly thought about that scene she had seen before coming down here. She’d looked at the other side. A woman, who had a similar appearance to her, stood there.
"No! Emperor, don't!"
Yue Lan Zhi finally came to understand how cruel this act was. She struggled and cried. She wanted to use tears to move this man with a gentle smile in front of her, "Emperor, what did chenqie6 do wrong? Why do you treat chenqie like this?! Emperor, have mercy, ah! Emperor!"
Hearing Yue Lan Zhi's shouting and crying, Wanyan Lie shook his head, "No, no, no. You didn't do anything wrong. Yue er,7 zhen likes you the most!" Wanyan Lie's big hand travelled all over Yue Lan Zhi's body. He looked infatuatedly at Yue Lan Zhi's face, "Zhen likes you. Zhen couldn't even pamper you more!"
"Emperor…," Yue Lan Zhi sensed the darkness coming from Wanyan Lie. The gentler this man spoke; the more terrifying the things hidden inside of him would be. A new fear spread through Yue Lan Zhi's heart. She didn't want to die! She didn't want to die, ah!
The thought of that night a few months ago, she was also led here and looked at how that woman had died in pain. Yue Lan Zhi was so scared that she had lost control over urination and defecation.
"Tsk, tsk!" Smelling the stench emerging in the air, Wanyan Lie frowned. He hid far away. "Yue er, how come you lost your propriety now? Since you're like this, what's the use of keeping you (alive)?!"
Hearing that Wanyan Lie wanted to use such an excuse to kill her, Yue Lan Zhi forgot the filthiness beneath her and suddenly laughed.
"Hahahaha!" Inside the dungeon, Yu Lan Zhi generously laughed. It was very ear-piercing.
"What are you laughing at?" Wanyan Lie had never seen such a Yue Lan Zhi. That's why he didn't go directly to the main subject, but looked at Yue Lan Zhi's pale face. He wanted to know the answer.
"Emperor, I'm laughing at you. I pity you."
Suddenly, Yue Lan Zhi calmed down from the terror and tension of just now. She seemed to have seen through everything. That pair of bright eyes stared at Wanyan Lei as if they wanted to see through his heart.
"Pity zhen? What qualification do you have to pity zhen? You're only a dog zhen kept!"
The irony in Yue Lan Zhi's voice made Wanyan Lie very dissatisfied. He only likes people who followed him. Now that Yue Lan Zhi suddenly became like this, Wanyan Lie was not used to it and also disliked it very much.
"Humph, emperor still said you're not pitiful. Look at my face! Then look at the face of the woman lying down in the underground; you still say you're not pitiful? Hehe, emperor, you're the most pitiful person in the world!"
"You possess the whole country, but you can't possess the woman you love. Because you're siblings. You would never be able to get princess Ming Yue. So, you found all the women who looked like princess Ming Yue to satisfy your desire. Is such a person not pitiful? You're the most pitiful person in this world!"
"Presumptuous!" His mind being spoken out loud by Yue Lan Zhi made Wanyan Lie furious. He took out a sword and cut off Yue Lan Zhi's left arm.
"Ah!" Yue Lan Zhi's shrill screams seemed to have penetrated throughout the whole ground. Her arm being cut off made a layer of cold sweat emerge on Yue Lan Zhi's forehead. This woman, who had been the most pampered one in the harem, at this moment, was pale faced and sweating from her whole body like a fish who was had just been scooped out of the water. Blood flowed out of the amputated area. It didn't take long before the ground was red.
"Humph, fly into rage out of humiliation?…How much is it not accepted to fall in love with your own little sister, ah?! So, you're jealous of Feng Xie. You hate him! So, you don't let Feng Cang off, because you also hate him…You hid princess Ming Yue, because like that, you can get her. However, she would rather go into a deep sleep than to see you, this sick big brother…"
"Shut up!" Wanyan Lie's anger had been completely lit. The sword rose once again and cut off Yue Lan Zhi's right arm.
Now, Yue Lan Zhi was in so much pain that she didn't even have the strength to open her mouth, "Emperor…you, can't take the mother gu…if I die…the mother gu will also die…then you won't be able to control…Feng Cang…"
Yue Lan Zhi slowly said that. The smile on her face was pale and her eyes were empty. She lost. Originally, she imagined getting the love of an emperor; originally, she imagined getting Wanyan Lie's true love, but these two cuts from him destroyed all of her imaginations.
Wangfei: main wife/consort of the first-rank prince ↩ Wangfu: residence of the prince of first rank ↩ Zhen: I, used by the emperor ↩ Aijia: I, used by an empress dowager ↩ Wang/wangye: prince of first rank ↩ Chenqie: this subject wife/ I, used by the wives of the imperial family ↩ Er: term of endearment ↩