Chapter 51: It Had Been Her Wishful Thinking
"Prince, you wrote this? Then Funing would like to ask, why didn't you keep to your word? Funing had waited for so long, why didn't you appear? Why?" When Yu Funing heard Ye Junqing's admission, her tears poured down like a broken string of pearls.
"It was a moment of foolishness…" Ye Junqing really didn't know what to say and looked towards Yu Funing awkwardly.
"A moment of foolishness? Prince, do you realize that your one moment of foolishness has ruined Funing's entire life… As of now, even while living on foreign soil, Funing still must face each day with fear and trepidation in worry that Funing will be recognized. It's like the life of the mice that hide in the darkness, unable to see the light of day… However, these things aren't important. What's important is where has Prince thrown Funing's true heart? Who do you think Funing washes her face with tears every day for?"
Yu Funing stumbled as she backed away until her back hit the wall. She leaned on the wall weakly as tears blurred her vision. Her voice was mournful as the sound of a cuckoo crying blood.
"Sorry…" Ye Junqing was a little touched as he looked at this woman in front of him. He never imagined that in this world, there was actually someone that loved him this strongly without ever wavering.
"What could your apology ever change? What could it exchange for? Ha… Yu Funing will be so bold as to ask, in the end, has Funing ever existed in your heart, Prince?" Yu Funing's tearful eyes flickered with slight hope and her body trembled slightly as she waited for Ye Junqing's answer.
"This prince… This prince doesn't deserve Consort Xian's misplaced love." Ye Junqing refused to lie on this topic. His heart couldn't hold any woman besides Yao Moxin.
"Ha… Misplaced love! Yes, Funing has misplaced her love! Funing has misplaced…" Yu Funing fell weakly against the wall and slid to the ground as tears overflowed. So from start to finish, it had simply been her wishful thinking!
Because of her wishful thinking, she lost her title of noble consort and forced her father to flee with her to foreign lands, and what was the result? All she got in return was Ye Junqing's conclusion of 'misplaced love'!
"Miss!" When Qian Xi who was nearby saw Yu Funing collapse, she immediately rushed over to help her up.
"Qian Xi, help me back…" Yu Funing leaned against Qian Xi weakly in despair. Her eyes were dull as she turned away from Ye Junqing and staggered off.
Ye Junqing felt like there was a stone weighing on his chest as he watched Yu Funing walk off. He hadn't harmed them, but they had been harmed because of him. In the end, he was the one that had dragged Yu Funing down.
"Prince, why did you run over here? You sure made it hard for Ben Lei to find you!" Just as Yu Funing disappeared into the crowd, Ben Lei ran over while gasping for breath.
"Stop acting. Don't tell Yao Mowan about what happened just now, otherwise this prince will make you pay!" Ye Junqing didn't empathize at all and just warned him coldly. When Ben Lei heard, he felt cold sweat. In reality, although he had been led away by Fei Luan, he soon noticed that something was off and had turned back. Although he had missed the more interesting parts, he had seen Yu Funing.
Once Ye Junqing and Ben Lei left, the person in the gorgeous purple attire stepped out of the shadows.
"Junxiu, go investigate that woman." Under the sunlight, that gorgeous purple garment emitted a faint light, making Chu Mobei's handsome face glow as if it was under the light of the moon.
Meanwhile, when Ye Junqing and Ben Lei got back to the residence, it was right in time to hear Yao Mowan yelling inside the room in anger.
"This bullying is intolerable! Isn't it just that they have some stinkin' money!? What's so amazing about that!? They actually dare to smash money in front of this daddy!? They should open their eyes and take a good look at who this daddy is!?" shouted Yao Mowan furiously as she stomped on the account books that the Elements had just gotten from the counties surrounding Mangyuan.
"What's going on?" Ben Lei timidly walked over to Feng Lin and asked this in a small voice.
"All the things that we've bought at a low cost from Thousand Paths are now useless. Thousand Paths actually opened stores in all the nearby counties and their prices only get lower," explained Feng Lin quietly.
"Just because this tiger isn't showing her power, they think this daddy is a sick cat!? Ben Lei, start adjusting the prices over the next few days. Everything much be ten percent cheaper than Thousand Paths's!" Yao Mowan slapped the desk as she gave this instruction sternly.
"Ten percent? Master, even if it's reasonably priced, we'd still lose a lot. Furthermore… If things go on like this, we wouldn't be able to hold out for three months…" Ben Lei didn't dare to get close to Yao Mowan in fear that he'd be sent flying by a slap.
"Isn't it just money!? Just do as this empress says! This empress naturally has a way to deal with the money! They dare to fight against this daddy!? Then this daddy will beat them until not even their parents will be able to recognize them!" Yao Mowan clenched her delicate fists so hard that they cracked audibly.
For the sake of preventing further damage from spreading, Ben Lei immediately withdrew from the room and the Elements quickly followed him. Almost instantly, the only ones left in the room were Yao Mowan and Ye Junqing.
"It seems pretty serious… How about… This prince sells the esteemed prince's residence?" Ye Junqing rarely saw Yao Mowan this angry. It was clear that this incident had already touched her bottom line.
Yao Mowan was breathing deeply to make herself calm down before looking towards Ye Junqing.
"Yes, that's a good idea!" Ye Junqing immediately regretted. He swore that he had only brought it up symbolically in order to make Yao Mowan feel a bit better.
"Ahem… Far off waters cannot quench the current thirst, and this prince's residence won't sell for much anyways. We should try to come up with a different idea." After spending this much time with Yao Mowan, Ye Junqing had honed his skill of contradicting his own words to the point it could even compare to Yao Mowan's skill.
"It is a little too far-fetched to help, but that's fine. Mowan will remember this. Just make sure not to forget about giving the esteemed prince's residence deed to Mowan once we get back." Yao Mowan wasn't someone that could be confused that easily. Ye Junqing was speechless. He had no choice but to accept these consequences since there was no way he'd want to provoke this pestilence demon in this kind of situation.
As of now, Yao Mowan had already walked to the table. She got a brush and paper, then started writing furiously. Ye Junqing walked over curiously and glanced at what she was writing.
"Do you think that King Loulan would help you with this?" asked Ye Junqing. Yao Mowan just smiled confidently. When Ye Junqing saw that Yao Mowan seemed pretty confident, his heart also calmed down.
With King Loulan's support, Yao Mowan naturally had nothing to fear. Every time that Thousand Paths adjusted their prices, she would have her prices adjusted until they were ten percent lower than Thousand Paths's without hesitation. With this, the prices of all the items in Mangyuan were dropping rapidly until the citizens of Mangyuan were now able to buy a year's worth of grains for the normal price of a pair of chopsticks.
This situation persisted for about ten days until finally someone couldn't take it anymore. When Yao Mowan got the news that King Loulan had already arrived at Mangyuan, she was stunned.
"Master, why would King Loulan come here? It couldn't be that he's changed his mind?" Ben Lei looked towards Yao Mowan worriedly. They've already gone this far in competing with Thousand Paths, if they lose now, it would be a devastating defeat.
"Where is King Loulan right now?" Yao Mowan didn't think that this would be the case. The grand King Loulan wouldn't personally make a trip just for this bit of money.
"This subordinate looked into it. King Loulan has purchased the entirety of Melancholic Spring Courtyard," replied Ben Lei.
"Melancholic Spring Courtyard? Did no one tell him that Melancholic Spring Courtyard is a brothel?" Yao Mowan was taken aback.
"King Loulan seemed to have decided to have stayed there because the sunshine princess liked Melancholic Spring Courtyard's decor," replied Ben Lei.
"So it's like that… Who would've thought that Kubu Zheer also came? Prepare the palanquin, we're heading to Melancholic Spring Courtyard!" Yao Mowan had just spoken when Uncle Tian rush in.
"Miss, someone just sent an invitation." Ben Lei accepted the pink invitation letter from Uncle Tian, then passed it to Yao Mowan.
"So it's Kubu Zheer's fourteenth birthday? No wonder King Loulan would make such great fanfare." Yao Mowan pressed her lips together slightly, then sighed. Originally she was worried that King Loulan would be unhappy with the way she was throwing gold like it was dirt, but from the looks of things now, she had been worrying for nothing.
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Credits: Translated by Chiyomira
[Chiyomira's Corner]
Enjoy~