Chapter 45: You're Truly Seeking Your Own Death
"Do you have proof?" Yao Suluan glanced at Yao Mowan coldly with a smug smile.
"How did they die?" Yao Mowan's every word was like ice. She hadn't seen Nurse Sun and the others ever since she had been forced to the cold palace.
"This consort thought you knew everything. So there existed something in the world that even you didn't know? Since you seem so curious, then this consort will tell you. Their deaths weren't just tragic and the most pitiful part was that they didn't understand why they were being killed even until up to their last moments." Yao Suluan looked towards Yao Mowan with a cold smile, her eyes flickering with ruthless delight. Since she now had Ling Yun's help, she felt like she could do whatever she pleased in the inner palace.
"So you had watched them suffer with your own eyes…" Yao Mowan's voice softly arose like an ominous knell. When Yao Suluan saw the beast-like murderous intent in Yao Mowan's eyes, she subconsciously moved to back away. However, she recalled that Ling Yun was protecting her from the shadows so she straightened her back and met Yao Mowan's gaze head on.
"Yao Mowan, there's nothing much that this consort can keep secret from you with how things are now. That's right, not only had this consort personally witnessed it, it was this consort that gave the order for them to be killed! However, this wasn't this consort's idea, it was His Majesty's! His Majesty couldn't tolerate Yao Moxin and so he gave a secret order to get rid of her and kill these servants to silence them. His Majesty is the one that's truly behind this!" Yao Suluan walked over and whispered this softly into Yao Mowan's ear.
"Aren't you worried that Mowan will tell His Majesty about this?" Her slightly curled eyelashes hid the coldness in her eyes as she spoke softly. Inside her sleeves, her hands were clenched into fists so hard that her nails were digging into her flesh. However, she didn't notice the pain at all.
"This consort doesn't dare to believe this of other people, but this consort trusts that you won't tell him. After all, you're Yao Moxin's biological sister. Even though you act like a fool in front of His Majesty, it doesn't change this fact. As soon as you show suspicion about Yao Moxin's death, His Majesty will suspect you." Yao Suluan tried to conceal the fear in her eyes as she said this. She had been too elated over her newfound power and forgot to consider this.
"If Second Older Sister wishes to continue playing, there's no reason for Mowan not to accompany you. However, Mowan will give just one warning. If this incident hadn't occurred, perhaps Mowan would've let you die in a more merciful way. However, Mowan's changed her mind now. Death would only be letting you off. Mowan won't allow you to be freed so easily." Yao Mowan smiled lightly. Her smile was like the glow of spring, but there was a dark scent of death.
"I would say the same to you!" Yao Suluan couldn't stop herself from reflexively taking a step back. However, her eyes remained stubborn and calm.
"Your Highness, His Majesty is here," warned Ming Yu. When Yao Suluan heard, she turned to leave but Yao Mowan grabbed her.
"Second Older Sister wants to leave right after you've had your fun? How could the world possibly be so perfect?" said Yao Mowan with a cold laugh. As she spoke, she pulled Yao Suluan out of the crowd and flung her to the ground. She went with the momentum and fell in the direction that Ye Hongyi was coming from.
"What are you all doing? Hurry and withdraw! Oh, Your Highness Consort Yao, what happened to you?" An Bingshan walked up ahead of Ye Hongyi to help drive the crowd away and just happened to see Yao Mowan fall to the ground with tears in her eyes. When the eunuchs and maids saw An Bingshan, they immediately dispersed. In a few seconds, Yao Mowan, Yao Suluan, and Ming Yu were the only people left in front of Changle Palace's doors.
"Wuuwuu…" Yao Mowan wept in distress as her scraped hands left vividly bright streaks of blood on the ground.
"Wan er? Why are you here?" The moment Ye Hongyi saw Yao Mowan, he walked up and placed his hands on her shoulders in concern.
"It's Second Older Sister… Second Older Sister said that Mowan wasn't a fool and insisted that Mowan come here to look at corpses… They're so scary. Mowan wanted to leave, but Second Older Sister wouldn't allow it and forced Mowan to stay… Your Majesty, Mowan's so scared…" Yao Mowan threw herself into Ye Hongyi's arms, seeking comfort. However, an instant later she moved away. "Oww, it hurts…"
When Ye Hongyi saw the blood on Yao Mowan's fingers and arm, his eyes turned ice cold with fury.
"An Bingshan, immediately send an imperial physician to Guan Osprey Palace! Qing Long! Deal with those three corpses!" Ye Hongyi pulled Yao Mowan gently into his arms, then walked towards Yao Suluan menacingly.
"Your Majesty, this consort didn't." Yao Suluan was taken aback, but she forced herself to remain calm in the face of Ye Hongyi's cold gaze. Currently she had no choice but to kneel humbly in front of Ye Hongyi and beg for mercy. The relationship between them had gotten so bad that there was no hope for repair.
"You didn't? Who else besides you would do something like this!?" said Ye Hongyi coldly. Yao Suluan could tell that he was pointing to the corpses.
She had already predicted his reaction to this incident, but once a dispute started between Ye Hongyi and Ye Junqing, there was no way Ye Hongyi would have the time to pay attention to her. In addition, Ye Hongyi wouldn't take any risks unless there was seriously no other option.
"Your Majesty, this subject wife truly is wrongly accused!" Yao Suluan tried to just pass this off. She didn't mind the fact that Yao Mowan had framed her again since the relationship between her and Ye Hongyi was already broken beyond repair.
"We will naturally get to the bottom of this!" said Ye Hongyi angrily, then he left with Yao Mowan. As he turned away, he glanced towards Changle Palace. Something seemed to tug at his heart for a second. That strange sensation caused him to freeze. He felt regret? No! Yao Moxin's death allowed him to feel relieved and free!
Even though Yao Mowan only had scrapes, Ye Hongyi had still made a big deal of it and called all the imperial physicians to Guan Osprey Palace. He said that if Yao Mowan's injury left a scar, every single one of them would be executed. Truly, no one has had such imperial favor before.
That night, Ye Hongyi had Ting Yue withdraw, then hugged Yao Mowan as he lay on the bed. He only let go after he was sure Yao Mowan had fallen asleep. He tossed and turned restlessly and only fell asleep when it was near midnight.
"We don't feel regret… and we won't ever regret… Only with you dead… can we feel like we're living… We'll only no longer be a puppet once you're dead…" Yao Mowan slowly opened her eyes when she heard Ye Hongyi's murmurs. Her dark eyes were like large engulfing black holes that captivated everything that glanced into them.
This time, Ye Hongyi didn't leave in the morning and slept with Yao Mowan until very late. However, he still didn't have breakfast in Guan Osprey Palace.
When Yao Mowan slowly to the table, tired, Ye Junqing had already been waiting there for a long time.
"How do you plan to explain what happened with Nurse Sun?" Ye Junqing's expression was calm and his eyes were still, but Yao Mowan still sensed his suppressed fury.
"It's very hard to explain." Back then, she had order Liu Sha to casually find a corpse and bury it near the garden of the cold palace, then told Ye Junqing that Nurse Sun had been killed by An Bingshan. She had never expected that one day Nurse Sun's corpse would be hung in front of Changle Palace. However, since the truth was already brought to light, there was no point in her explaining things.
"So you had lied to this prince before!?" Ye Junqing had already realized this answer when he first saw those three corpses. Yao Mowan shrugged in admission. There was nothing she could say to refute.
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Credits: Translated by Chiyomira
[Chiyomira's Corner]
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Lol, this is pretty late, but when I first finally got this site going, I was going to give a warning to Celestial fans not to use the $1 pledge to read ahead, because it ends on an awful cliffhanger. I… forgot.