Chapter 89: Qing Lan's Song (Part 2)

  In the blink of an eye, it was already here. Ziyu Yan sat upright in the grand hall, wearing a luxurious peony gold thread imperial robe. Zi Ruoye still wore her purple clothes and wood sorrel official robe, but she had lost her usual laziness and gained a calm and peaceful demeanor. Since Zi Ruoye solved the Ning City case, the officials in the court had somewhat changed their opinion of her. As for that secret letter, the only witness was already dead, and now there was no evidence to prove it, so it wasn't the time to bring it up yet.

  Now that Qing Lan is about to arrive, Hai Yue is right behind her. At this time, it's not suitable to investigate the matter further. Zi Ruoye looked at Zi Yanran who was sitting upright in the grand hall. Yesterday, Zi Yanran had insisted on letting her keep that mysterious letter. Now, the letter has basically become an ineffective piece of evidence. Without more accurate evidence, the letter is basically useless.

  Ministers today are almost all in their best spiritual state, this is a kind of inertia, at the time of victory, there will be an inexplicable sense of superiority emanating from within, although very realistic, but this is something that no one can hide.

  Li Yuzhen occasionally glanced at Zi Ruoye, her eyes flashing with a fierce and murderous intent. She didn't think that Zi Ruoye was so lucky, not only had she perfectly regained the imperial favor, but it seemed like she had also found something very important. Over these eight months, Li Yuzhen had gone to the Wang Fu several times just wanting to see Yun Cong once, and had sent letters to the Chengxiang Fu wanting to see Liu Qingyou, but all she got was rejection. Although Yun Cong did receive her a few times, in the end it came to nothing. Only yesterday did she find out that Liu Qingyou wasn't unwilling to see her, but rather that vile woman had directly followed Zi Ruoye to Ning City.

  It's really shameless, a man actually chasing after a woman, it's simply shameful! Li Yu thought about the past few months of Zi Ruo Ye and Liu Qing You being together day and night, thinking about Zi Ruo Ye's previous behavior, her eyes were filled with anger or jealousy. These past few months she had been turned around by these two men, Li Yu who had nowhere to vent her anger, naturally attributed everything to Zi Ruo Ye.

  Zi Ruoye glanced at Li Yu with a faintly discerning gaze, disapproving of the murderous intent in her eyes. As the palace attendants successively transmitted the report, everyone inside knew that Qing Luan's envoy had arrived.

  Zi Ruoye looked at the three people who came in slowly, among whom the man wearing a veil was probably Qinglan's tenth prince. He had a slender figure and stood quietly beside him like a resilient poplar tree. The one next to him was his servant, and the woman walking in front was probably Qinglan's envoy.

  Qing Lan's envoy, Chen, knelt on one knee, his head slightly lowered, representing that they came as a defeated nation. "I am Qing Lan and Envoy Bi Fan, sent by our Female Emperor to your esteemed country as an envoy. On behalf of our Female Emperor and the people of Qing Lan, I extend our sincere wishes for the prosperity and good fortune of the Imperial Nation of Purple Mystery, and for the peace and security of its people."

  Zi Ruoye looked at Bi Fan, this woman hadn't heard of it before. Zi Ruoye thought that Qing Luan and Haiyue's empresses were older than Zi Yanran, they were from the same generation as their mothers. If it wasn't for Zi Yanran's sudden rebellion, Zi Xuan would have been recovering and rebuilding in recent years, basically without any military power to resist enemies. Presumably, Qing Luan wouldn't make such a risky move either... However... Fortunately, General Li won that battle narrowly, otherwise, according to the current national strength of Zi Xuan, it's likely that those who went out to fight would become his vassals instead.

  After all, the internal strife had just been settled and there were external worries, Zixuan was already in a precarious situation. Zi Ruoye quietly looked at the three people in front of her, she was more interested in Qinglan, the tenth prince who always wore a veil, and even when he arrived at the main hall, he didn't take off his veil, this was probably not good.

  Ziyan laughed loudly after hearing the words, then let Bifen stand up. "It's been a long and arduous journey, I suppose the one standing behind you is Qinglan's tenth prince...". As she spoke, she looked at Ziruye with a thoughtful gaze. Ziruye raised an eyebrow, looking completely unaffected by Ziyan's provocation.

  Bifen took a step forward and said somewhat awkwardly, "Standing behind me are indeed my tenth son Qinglan's ten princes Lang Ge and his servant Zuo Er..."

  Left son entered the grand hall, even if his small body trembled slightly, his heart was also very frightened. However, he didn't want to make Lang Song difficult. He saw the sympathy and disdain in the eyes of those so-called ministers, which was a pity for the defeated country, but it made him feel like a thorn in his back. Why did women fight for the world, but let men pay the bill? Even if the prince had always been quietly standing by, he couldn't change the fact that they were who they were at this moment.

  They were treated as an item, a tribute... to be offered to Zixuan. Not even considered human. This was not what Zixuan had asked for, but rather the coercion of their own country, Qinglan. So today, the prince's clothes were almost transparent, he was like an exhibit, allowing these disgusting people to gaze at him with unscrupulous eyes.

  "Why doesn't the tenth prince take off his veil? This is simply disrespect to me, Zixuan!" Indeed, a minister stood up and said with an angry expression, but his eyes were fixed on the semi-transparent clothes, sizing up the tenth prince. The surrounding ministers also started discussing again, except for the unmoved Liu Chengxiang and Li General, Zi Ruoye was actually very interested in the grandiose reasons given by these ministers.

  It has now risen to the level of national hatred... This excuse is too far-fetched. Zi Ruoye couldn't help but sigh that sometimes these officials not only didn't come up with good ways to govern the country, but were also quite eloquent. And Qing Luan's envoy was in a difficult situation at this moment, she had no idea which minister the Empress of Purple Mystery would send the prince to, and their tenth prince...

  Left child even if growing up in the palace, has been following Lan Ge, life is not necessarily seen by many people, now facing so many women, heart can't help but panic, but still want to argue for their own prince. Just thinking of speaking, everyone saw that the silent prince took a light step forward and said softly, "Your Majesty, Lan Ge didn't mean to be arrogant, it's just that Lan Ge was born different from ordinary people, taking off his hat in the main hall might scare all the adults." The clear and calm man's voice came out, like the sound of a guqin being played lightly, very peaceful.

  It turned out that his name was Lang Ge... But she felt that when he said 'born to be different from ordinary people', it seemed like another person's business, like an old well that couldn't withstand a single ripple.

  "No problem, my ministers of Zixuan have seen nothing, if the prince did not scare us, then don't blame me for not giving face." Ziyan said with a smile, but her words were laced with a determination to make Langge remove his veil, if he didn't even need to remove it when meeting the emperor, then wearing it out like this would really make Zixuan a laughing stock.

  Zuo Er heard this and subconsciously grasped his own clothes tightly, looking at Lang Ge with worry. He didn't dare to think about everyone's reaction if the prince took off his hat.

  Lan Ge said lightly, "Then I'll take it off." As she spoke, her pale but slender hand gently removed the hat. The moment the hat was taken off, a wave of gasps erupted from the crowd in the grand hall.

  Zi Ruoye only saw the silver hair falling down with the removal of the gauze hat, soft and scattered, the silver hair reaching the ground. He was wearing a semi-transparent white brocade robe, on which were embroidered patterns of auspicious clouds in silver silk thread. His eyebrows and eyes had only a faint expression, as if nothing in the world had anything to do with him. The only thing Zi Ruoye thought of was the snow lotus, blooming alone in the icy sky and snowy ground.

  Serene, pure white, not something that should exist in the world, but because of its extreme loneliness, it appears even more... pale. When Zi Ruoye first saw Lang Ge, her initial feeling was not due to his sacred and untouchable aura like a snow lotus, nor was it his peerless beauty, but rather... an ashen color that nothing in the world could dye.

  Lan Ge stood quietly, even with the piercing sound of the air being sucked out in the grand hall, his eyes showed no emotion, and his expression was as calm as clear water. Meanwhile, Zuo Er on the side was lightly biting her lip, her small body trembling slightly. Even at Zi Xuan, the prince still didn't receive a warm welcome?

  Lan Ge, however, quietly glanced at Zi Yanran before continuing, "Lan Ge is a gift from the Empress to Zi Xuan, and his whereabouts will be decided by Your Majesty." Even though he was wearing a semi-transparent garment, presenting himself like an exhibit in front of everyone, he still remained as pure and untainted as a snow lotus, and no one could stain him with even a hint of color.

  Zi Ruoye looked at Lang Ge and couldn't help but think what kind of man he was. Perhaps even if he stood in front of everyone, his demeanor would still be so calm and composed, because he was too pale, to the point where people overlooked his otherworldly figure and face.

  "Since we are treated as mere objects, don't we have the right to check if the object is in good condition?" A certain minister in the grand hall spoke with righteous words, but Ziyue Ye frowned, no matter what, the other party was a man, and making such a request was simply inhumane.

  "Don't be too outrageous!" Zuo Er said indignantly, these people were simply too much, he and the prince should have escaped, they should have escaped, now the prince was standing in front of them like a display, still having to suffer such humiliation.

  "Isn't this going too far? As a defeated nation, don't you have even the slightest sense of shame? And yet, you've even sent a monster... The hushed whispers grew more and more unpleasant to hear, but Zi Ruoye's annoyance only deepened. Was this really the quality of these people? She finally understood why Zi Yanran always looked like she had a headache whenever she mentioned these officials - they were simply a bunch of good-for-nothings who only knew how to wag their tongues. And now, they'd become nothing but gossipy old women."

  "It doesn't matter." Lan Ge lightly pulled on Zuo Er's hand, as if she didn't care about these words at all. She made a gesture to undo her own clothes, and no one in the room spoke up to disturb her. Zi Yan Ran raised an eyebrow but did not stop her, because she knew... A faint smile played on her lips, and her gaze seemed to be looking at Zi Ruo Ye with a hint of something.

  Zi Ruoye didn't want to intervene, but somehow she couldn't bear the thought of this man being humiliated. If he were to be disgraced, his life would probably become even more bleak. She just didn't want Lan Ge's life to continue down a path of despair. Just as Lan Ge's clothes were about to fall off, a piece of clothing wrapped around him like a ribbon and pulled him into the arms of a woman.

  Who is this woman......? Lang Ge looked at the clothes that wrapped him up, almost airtight, the clothes were a bit small compared to his height, but they covered him tightly...

  The various ministers looked at the culprit, their eyes filled with confusion and disappointment. Zi Ruoye sneered in her heart, but smiled sweetly at Lan Ge, saying, "Little Song, if you want to escape, you'll have to wait until our wedding night... no rush, no rush."

  Zuo Er was shocked and didn't care who the person was. Given the current environment, she pretended to want to go up and save Lang Ge, "Who are you? How can you casually hold the prince?"

  Actually, Lang Ge thought it was nothing, just a piece of clothing, if he took it off, could he go play the zither? He just wanted to end this quickly, take it off and be done with it. But suddenly, a piece of clothing wrapped around him, leaving him somewhat perplexed. As he looked at the person holding him, all that was left was his undergarment...

  Zi Ruoye was still smiling as she said, "Who am I? I'm the only king of Zi Xuan, Zi Ruoye." As he hugged Lan Ge, he felt an unusual calmness and quietness in her arms. In his heart, apart from a light sigh, there was also a faint sense of surprise. Even the most indifferent man wouldn't disregard his own chastity... So Lan Ge's reaction at this moment seemed more like indifference than calmness.

  She then looked at Zi Yanran, "Your Majesty, if not, let Qing Luan, the tenth imperial son, be my concubine?" Zi Yanran had already told her eight months ago, and now that she said it out loud, it was better than waiting for the imperial edict...

  Ziyan regained her composure after a brief moment of stunned silence, bursting into laughter. "Imperial sister, you truly can't wait, I had the same intention in mind. Does Minister Qinglan have any objections?"

  Bifen's mouth twitched, no matter what, he was still their tenth prince, but now he could only be a concubine. She felt somewhat resentful in her heart, but at this moment, she was on someone else's turf, so could she still say no? Thinking about it, she lowered her head and said, "I think the King of Ye will certainly treat our tenth prince well, I bring the Empress's thanks for Your Majesty's arrangement."

  Ziyan laughed loudly three times, "Alright alright! Then I'll arrange it like this! Choose a good day and auspicious hour, Imperial Sister, you can bring the Crown Prince back to the manor! As for where the Crown Prince will go, there's no need to make too many arrangements, just let him live in the Wang Manor." After Ziyan said three "alrights", she nailed down the decision. "What do you think, Imperial Sister?" Ziyan asked with a good mood, smiling as she looked at Ziruo Ye.

  What does she think? What can she think? Does she want to let Lang Song take off his clothes again, and it's better for him to be her husband than to be a hostage of the country. At worst, she'll secretly release him later. Zi Ruoye hugged Lang Song, "Thank you, Your Majesty!"

  Lan Ge quietly looked at the person in front of him, but his eyes were drifting as if he had thought of somewhere else. Just now, he accidentally touched the pulse of this prince... his future wife's pulse... it seemed to be not good, but what did this have to do with him? At this moment, he only wanted to go back and play the zither.

  Digression

  O(╯□╰)o Sorry guys, I didn't get back home until very late after finishing the Qingming Festival... Didn't have time to notify you guys...

  This is 4.2's share, today's update will be at 11 pm tonight, because today Yu still needs to go sweep the tomb again...

  It's 3 o'clock now... The fish has gone to sleep... Tomorrow, I still need to go sweep the tomb again... Sorry for making everyone wait in vain today. After Qingming Festival is over, the fish will resume updates... Sorry again... TAT