Chapter 18
The Yun wangfu, though lacking the splendid and luxurious feel of the Imperial Palace, had a unique, ancient air . The rocky mountains and stone sculptures, water pavilions and regular pavilions, corridors and bridges and all sorts of foliage made the scenery look chaotic but not complicated, and it was obviously carefully managed and arranged .
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Yun Meng was talking to Rong Jing while leading the way, the latter nodding with a smile from time to time .
Li Yun silently memoried the terrain and roads of the wangfu, thinking that if she got lost in the Yun wangfu, she would be made into a joke .
From time to time, a servant boy or girl passed by, and everyone stared at him with looks of reverence, the maids sending especially adoring looks at Rong Jing . When they saw Li Yun following Rong Jing, their faces showed envy .
“What a peach blossom1!” Li Yun muttered .
“A bride returning to their home is obviously guilty of being a peach blossom!” Rong Jing suddenly turned back and smiled at Li Yun .
Li Yun’s face twitched . He had heard the people on the streets . She suddenly stared away from him, but she had already been caught . She wanted to take it back immediately but could only change her tune, “I didn’t say you . ”
“Well, I didn’t say you, either . ” Rong Jing turned back .
Li Yun suddenly choked .
She only heard Rong Jing chuckling softly, a sound that was very gentle and pleasant to the ear . She couldn’t take a breath for some time, thinking that you really couldn’t judge others by their appearance! He looked like a good and warm gentleman, but sure enough, as Ye Qing Ran said, he was a wolf in sheep’s clothing .
However, he was now the big Buddha of the Yun wangfu, who also rescued her from imprisonment . She was new here, without a stable foothold, so it was better not to offend . She could only hold anger in her heart and walk behind him with a straight face .
Yun Meng in front didn’t seem to notice this confrontation behind him, still pulling Rong Jing to talk about things in excitement . Rong Jing also cooperated, from time to time, adding short replies that were just right, making the Go-adoring Yun Meng even more delighted .
Li Yun thought about how Yun Meng was called a Go lover, and how it was more fitting to call him talking lover (basically he was talking very enthusiastically) .
They crossed the front courtyard to the back of the main courtyard . Yun Meng finally stopped talking and said to Rong Jing behind him, “Prince, the old Prince said that you and Miss Qing Yue can go straight in without needing to announce it . Shall this old slave take you in?”
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“Mm!” Rong nodded .
Yun Meng made a gesture of invitation, making Rong Jing look back at Li Yun . She snorted and smiled unconsciously, slowly walking into the yard .
“Is Prince Jing and the smelly girl back?” Just after entering the courtyard, an old voice questioned from the main house in the middle . Although the voice was mature, it was full of vigor .
Li Yun thought that after listening to this voice, Old Prince Yun didn’t seem like an angry or sick person .
“Grandpa Yun, it is Rong Jing . ” Rong Jing answered with a smile .
“Well, when I heard the smelly girl snorting with her pig nose, I knew she had brought you back . ” Elder Yun’s voice came again, unceremoniously belittling Li Yun .
Li Yun’s face darkened . The smelly girl was her? She snorted with a pig nose? Although this man was old, his ears were really sharp .
Rong Jing turned his head and smiled at Li Yun without saying a word .
Old Prince Yun continued, “Your footsteps are quiet and silent, more natural and much lighter than the smelly girl . It seems that you’ve recovered from your serious illness?”
“Partly, Grandpa Yun . ” Rong Jing arrived at the manor’s door .
Yu Zhuo was already waiting at the door, and pulled the curtains open as Rong Jing walked in slowly .
Li Rong took a deep breath and followed Rong Jing in .
She saw that the room was spacious, with a longevity scroll facing the door . The furnishings in the house were all antiques . Placed on the ornate table was tea that had just been laid, emitting a faint fragrance . The large mahogany bed’s curtains were pulled open, showing a thin old man leaning on the bed . He had a grey beard with eyes squinting in their direction .
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Though Li Yun had done a lot of thinking, she was still nervous . After all, her soul was not really Yun Qian Yue . Fortunately, the old man did not look at her, only peering at Rong Jing .
Rong Jing looked back at him, his face not showing a hint of hesitation . He impolitely approached the bedside, lifted the hem of his garment and sat on the chair beside him with indescribable grace .
Li Yun clasped her hand together, and the sweat in her palms dissipated a little . She wondered if she should walk over and call out to her Grandpa .
“Well, partly better is still better . Not bad . ” Grandpa Yun looked at Rong Jing and nodded, then glanced at Li Yun who was standing at the door behind him . Suddenly his voice changed, becoming angry . “You stinky girl, if you are bullied, then bully them back! What’s the point in hiding away by that mandarin duck pond? Nothing!”
Li Yun looked at the old Prince Yun and licked her lips, revealing a wronged look .
“Are you still wronged? Were your martial arts learned in vain? Why didn’t you use the secret guard I gave to you? The second girl of Rong family and the little girl of Prince Xiao family bullied and beat you . How many times have I told you that I’ll stand up for you if you hit someone . Why don’t you remember anything!” Lord Lord Yun bombarded Li Yun without pause .
Li Yun knew she had martial arts skill but a guard? How would she know…
“Go reflect on it! Save me from looking at an eyesore . ” Old Master Yun was so angry that his beard twitched .
Li Yun lowered his head and walked slowly to the table to sit properly .
“Every time you get frustrated you always have this dejected look . You really haven’t grown up . Stay away from me . ” Grandpa Yun waved his hand as if chasing a fly away .
Li Yun was speechless . It was hard to imagine that Yun Qing Yue being scolded like this day in and day out? He wanted her to stay away? Then she would just leave . She didn’t have to be here! It’s better to go back to the body’s own yard and close her doors instead of studying the situation here .
“Come back! Did I let you leave?” Elder Lord Yun saw that Li Yun was going out and became even grumpier .
Li Yun rolled her eyes in his heart then turned his head reluctantly . She couldn’t care less if Rong Jing would regard her like joke, as long as she passed this obstacle . She looked at old Prince Yun meekly and whispered, “The furthest I can go is the door but if you won’t let me go there then where should I go?”
Rong Jing chuckled .
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“You…” Old Prince Yun heard Rong Jing’s laughter, remembering they weren’t alone . Scolding his granddaughter so mercilessly in front of others made her look bad . He coughed dryly and said unnaturally, “Then sit back!”
“Yes!” Li Yun sat back again . This time, she felt bolder and picked up a teacup from the table, disregarding whether it was hot or not and took a deep gulp of tea .
“How rude!” Grandpa Yun stared, and seeming afraid that she might get burnt, shouted, “Slow down! Slow down! Hey, you stinky girl!”
Li Yun put down the teacup and stuck out her tongue at old Prince Yun, then turned to add water to the teapot, pouring again .
She also wanted to understand if this body was truly Yun Qian Yue? This will do . As long as she doesn’t say anything, who could guess she wasn’t? There was no reason to check whether she was fake or not . She could just say her personality changed . Thinking of this, her heart became less tense . Let’s see what happens!
Grandpa Yun snorted coldly and ignored Li Yun .
“Grandpa Yun looks energized and is full of energy when scolding . It seems that he recovering well from his illness . ” Rong Jing commented with a smile after watching the encounter of Li Yun and old Lord Yun .
“I’m not sick at all . It’s only to protect this stinky girl . ” Old Prince Yun pushed the quilt away .
Li Yun was stunned, so he was not sick? It was all pretend?
Rong Jing didn’t seem to be surprised at all, the smile still on his face .
“What are you looking at? If it wasn’t to protect you, I wouldn’t have had to pretend to be sick . The emperor has to take care of my old bones as well as yours . You’re the only granddaughter I have . If you were to be killed, I’d have to run into the wall 2 . It’s only fair to your dead mother . ” Old Lord Yun looked at Li Yun’s amazement, glared at her and raised her beard again .
“Yes, yes, you are right, you are too wise to actually be ill . ” Li Yun immediately nodded then asked, puzzled, “Aren’t there many concubines and sisters? Even if I died, there are many more!”
“Hmph, I don’t acknowledge them . ” Old Prince Yun snorted again .
Li Yun rubbed her nose with her hand . She didn’t understand what was going so she didn’t know what to say, finally deciding to bow her head silently .
Grandpa Yun seemed to have vented enough, and no longer ignored Li Yun . He said to someone outside, “Yun Meng, bring dinner to my room . Prince Jing and stinky girl are both dining in my room tonight . ”
“Yes! Old Prince!” Yun Meng has been outside the door, and responded quickly .
Rong Jing did not refute or excuse himself, seemingly obeying to Prince Yun’s arrangement .
Yun Li thought that this person was too ignorant of what politeness was . But after saving her, she should at least treat him to a meal .
After the old Prince Yun ordered, he turned to talk with Rong Jing .
Not long after, dinner was served, and the three sat down opposite each other . Li Yun had been hungry the whole day and couldn’t wait to take her chopsticks and eat, but old Prince Yun knocked her hard . She laughed awkwardly, slowing down .
Rong Jing, on the other hand, behaved elegantly, chewing and swallowing slowly . Yun Li couldn’t duplicate it and could only sigh in her heart . Since she was a child, she felt that eating should be done quickly, just like work .
Old Prince Yun started a conversation with Rong Jing . They discussed everything, from how he annually won against the top scorers these past years to winning chess against the emperor… Rong Jing answered all his questions, occasionally listening to old Prince Yun . His expression was not arrogant, impatient, or hurried . This made old Prince Yun quite satisfied . He laughed even more when he heard that the emperor could not make a move today .
The atmosphere in the room was lively for a time, and the two were obviously talking animatedly . Li Yun watched them go back and forth without a word .
Li Yun listened with great interest at first, but gradually became sleepy after eating and drinking . She remembered that before she came here, she had spent days awake trying to dismantle the time bomb . Then here, she encountered many dangers . Now that everything has passed, her body and mind were relaxed and she drifted off to sleep on the table .
Before she fell asleep, she was still amazed that this man was the greatest genius of Tiansheng .
1 桃花: peach blossom/basically someone who has lots of people chasing after them
2 running into wall: in ancient China, people sometimes ran into pillars or walls to commit suicide