Chapter 396 – Oh so high Wangyue Building (1)
Zhao Li had remained sitting in Zichen Hall. He summoned the eunuch inside and asked, “What happened outside?”
Trembling with fear, the eunuch knelt down and said, “The general came here without notice. Kangyuan Junzhu had already left with him.”
Zhao Li swept the wine cup off the table and very angrily asked, “Why did no one come here to report that he had entered the palace?
“The general seemed to have only come to the palace to pick up Kangyuan Junzhu and hadn’t requested an audience with Your Majesty.” The eunuch’s legs were wobbling in fear.
Zhao Li felt a headache. Rubbing his temples, he said, “Kangyuan Junzhu drank too much and was just joking around. If anyone dares to tell the empress this matter, they’ll have their heads chopped off!”
The eunuch made a sound of assent and was trembling as he withdrew.
Kangyuan chased after Ning Mingjie, but men could walk faster than women. It didn’t take long for Wen Wan and Kangyuan to fall behind.
“Who brought the general over?” Kangyuan’s gaze was like an arrow that wanted to pierce through Wen Wan.
With an innocent expression, Wen Wan lowered her head and quietly said, “Wan-er was only following the marquis’s order…”
“The marquis’s order?” Kangyuan Junzhu stopped walking. Her eyebrows were twisted as she pulled Wen Wan to a deserted spot by the palace wall. “What kind of joke is that? He gave you an order, so you brought the general there and put me into that predicament? Wen Wan, don’t forget, that man had locked you up. If it wasn’t for me, you would still be trapped there!”
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Wen Wan pursed her lips. With a lowered her head, she said, “Wan-er didn’t do it deliberately. Most likely, the marquis had deliberately planned to expose the junzhu’s…”
Kangyuan Junzhu was her benefactor. Once the first princess consort had found out that she had been put into confinement, there was no more news from her. She had probably given up on her. In contrast, it was Kangyuan Junzhu that gave her the idea of pretending to have amnesia. Marquis Moyu had locked her up because he wanted to cover up Nie Sangyu’s new identity. So, as long as she did a good job with pretending to lose her memories and figuring out a way to get Liu Hanyun to help her, she would be able to turn around her fortune.
In order to not make a mistake, Wen Wan practiced in front of a mirror for a month. She didn’t want to be alone for a lifetime. Ning Yuxuan had turned his back on her, and Nie Sangyu had cheated her and taken unfair advantage of her. She had to find an opportunity and pay them back for every wrong done to her. No matter how much resentment and pain she felt, she would repress all of it. No one could see any flaws in her eyes that would expose her. People really did need to be pushed to a dire state before their strength could burst forth.
Nie Sangyu’s new identity was her last trump card, so she hadn’t told anyone. She was waiting for a suitable opportunity, so that Nie Sangyu would die a miserable death. Ending her confinement in Qiangwei Courtyard was only her first step.
However, she hadn’t expected that Ning Yuxuan would take her to the palace right after letting her out and cause Kangyuan Junzhu to misunderstand her like this.
Wen Wan gritted her teeth and did her best to explain, “Junzhu, Wan-er definitely didn’t have any intention of harming you.”
Kangyuan Junzhu was still in the heat of the moment. While tidying her clothes and hair accessories, she said in a weepy tone, “What should I do? The general definitely won’t forgive me.”
Her heart was devoted to Zhao Li, but she was Ning Mingjie’s wife. If General Ning wanted to pursue today’s matter, she wouldn’t be able to turn things around even if she was a junzhu.
Wen Wan thought it over and said, “Junzhu, why don’t you go plead with His Majesty? Only His Majesty can save you.”
No matter how smart a woman was, she would lose her head when faced with this type of situation. Kangyuan had been helping Zhao Li for a long time and was capable of a few small tricks. But, she didn’t have a clear understanding of the political situation in the imperial court. Thus, she actually thought that Wen Wan’s lousy suggestion was a decent idea.
And so, Kangyuan Junzhu didn’t leave the palace. Instead, she went back to talk to the emperor and missed the best timing to explain herself to Ning Mingjie.
—
Ning Mingjie left the palace. His eyes were red with anger. He hadn’t thought that the emperor would do such a thing. Back when he had first gone to the second prince’s side, Zhao Li was only an unfavored prince. On the surface, he had used the opportunity that Ning Yuxuan had given him to join the third prince’s faction, but he had always been secretly helping Zhao Li。
One of his several childhood lessons was the importance of loyalty. Once you gave your loyalty to someone, you should never betray that person. He had vowed allegiance to Zhao Li and helped him seize the country. But in the end, he had been betrayed by the person that he had sworn allegiance too.
Truly, too ridiculous.
“Mingjie.” Ning Yuxuan seemed to pop out of nowhere and was smiling as he looked at him. “Has it ended? Where’s Kangyuan Junzhu?”
Ning Mingjie stopped walking. His voice was slightly hoarse as he said, “Have you finished seeing your heir? How about going drinking with me?”
“Sure.” Ning Yuxuan was smiling as he agreed. They boarded the same carriage and went to a bar.
—
When Kangyuan Junzhu returned to Zichen Hall, the empress had arrived some time before her and was sitting across from Zhao Li.
Pengyue saw her panicking expression but stayed silent.
“Your Majesty.” Kangyuan knew that this empress had a good temperament. The empress seemed to have been sick for a while previously. After the empress’s illness had past, she was no longer as close to the emperor. Kangyuan thought; why not take the opportunity to explain everything to her? Perhaps, the empress would be soft-hearted and help her?
Pengyue turned her head and lightly glanced at her. “Yu-er, you haven’t left the palace, yet?”
“Yu-er has something to report.” Kangyuan mustered up her courage and didn’t notice Zhao Li’s expression suddenly changing. Focused on herself, she said, “Your Majesty, please give your blessing for Yu-er and His Majesty to be together. Yu-er truly loves His Majesty, and we already have a physically intimate relationship.”
Pengyue’s expression was very calm.
The sky above the palace suddenly drastically darkened. There was a flash of lightning, and an autumn rain started to fall in the capital.