Chapter 106
Even though his features could not be seen clearly, anyone could tell that the person kneeling there was an exceptionally handsome man from his graceful bearing, the slender, fair neck revealed beneath his hair, and his long, elegant fingers.
Cui Lanyin truly could not remember ever knowing this young man called Liansheng.
Zhang Gui had gone pale with fright. Trembling, he went over and tried to pull the man away. “Liansheng, what’s gotten into you? If you don’t know how to serve, then get out.”
Liansheng was forced to raise his head by the tug. His delicate brows, slightly slanted eyes, high nose, and flowerlike lips, along with the tearstains on his luminous face, made him so pitifully beautiful that words could hardly describe it.
He paid no attention to Zhang Gui’s pulling, merely gazing at Cui Lanyin with mournful eyes. “Second Miss, it’s me, Liansheng. Don’t you remember me?”
Cui Lanyin still had no impression of him. Without saying anything, she suppressed the heartbeat that was about to leap into her throat and said to Zhang Gui, “He’s probably deranged. Hurry and drag him out.”
Buyu stepped forward, intending to help Zhang Gui remove the man.
Chiyun and Chiyue remembered as well. Afraid of revealing anything, neither dared come over to help. They stood motionless in the corner, their eyes lowered and their noses pointed toward their hearts.
“Wait,” the Emperor called out.
Zhang Gui hurriedly released Liansheng. Buyu was anxious, but he did not dare make another move either. Instead, he took one step forward and shielded Liansheng behind him.
By now, Liansheng had fallen silent. He merely lowered his head and wept quietly, looking utterly brokenhearted.
The Emperor did not order anyone to approach. He flicked a finger toward Buyan. “Go ask him.”
Buyan and Buyu were familiar with each other, so Buyan could not miss Buyu’s abnormal behavior. He guessed that there had to be something going on—and that it probably involved the Empress.
Still, whatever the Emperor did before him now would be futile. Seeing that the Empress still seemed unable to remember anything, Buyan felt the matter could not be too serious.
Even if it was serious, he believed it would not affect the Empress.
He walked up to Liansheng. “Who are you?”
Liansheng glanced toward Cui Lanyin, then quickly withdrew his gaze. “Since Second Miss doesn’t want me to say anything, I won’t.”
If she still could not tell that this man had come specifically for her, she would have to be a fool.
“Buyan, Buyu, step aside,” Cui Lanyin ordered. “Let him come over and speak.”
Liansheng really did get to his feet and walk toward her with graceful, swaying steps. When he was three or four paces away, he stopped and knelt down. “It doesn’t matter that Second Miss has forgotten me. But poor Zheliu… He still thinks of you with all his heart…” By the time he finished, he was already sobbing too hard to speak.
The affected man before her was practically a male seducer from a legend. An ordinary man could never have such an appearance or bearing.
Liansheng and Zheliu—neither name sounded like something a normal man would have.
Cui Lanyin caught the expressions on Buyu, Chiyun, and Chiyue’s faces. Clearly, all three knew him. The hazy memory came back to her in a flash. Pointing at Liansheng, she asked Buyan, “Was he the one Fang Dai sent?”
Seeing that she had asked directly, without any intention of hiding the matter, Buyan’s heart settled somewhat. He replied quietly, “Yes.”
“You remember now?” the Emperor asked.
She really should not have left the house today. First there had been Tan Shao, then Meng Huaizong, and now this.
But since someone had come to frame her, if she said nothing, would that not make people think she was afraid?
“Previously, I helped Jiutong Trading House deal with Yuan Tao and Lu Zhi’s exploitation, didn’t I? The young master of Jiutong Trading House must have heard the rumors that I kept male lovers. Thinking I was fond of that sort of thing, he went to Yangzhou and bought the two of them, then sent them to the former princely residence. I had Geng Dayou return them on the spot. But the two begged us not to send them back, saying they would be sold elsewhere if we did. I felt sorry for them, so I had Geng Dayou take them to Liu Heipi, thinking he could put them to use somewhere. I never expected…”
Only then did Zhang Gui learn where Liansheng had come from. He wished he could beat himself to death. He rushed forward and said, “It was my carelessness. When I took him to Liu Heipi’s place, I saw that Liansheng was good at talking and had such a handsome appearance. I thought that when I was too busy, he could help me deal with matters, so I asked for him. Liu Heipi even warned me that Liansheng didn’t seem trustworthy enough to be considered one of our own, and told me not to use him for anything important.”
But Liansheng hurriedly defended himself. “I did wrong by the shopkeeper, but Zheliu and I have both longed for Second Miss day and night. When we finally saw you, we simply couldn’t control ourselves…”
He stopped at precisely the right moment, leaving plenty to the imagination. At first hearing, it was difficult to believe that he and Cui Lanyin had met only once.
From beginning to end, he had not spared the Emperor a single glance, yet every word was clearly meant for the Emperor’s ears.
Cui Lanyin felt as though she had truly broadened her horizons. “So you’re saying I’ve let you both down?”
Liansheng lowered his head. “Second Miss has done nothing wrong. We simply failed to win a place in your heart.”
At last, Cui Lanyin understood how Grand Empress Dowager Chen must have felt when facing Grand Empress Dowager Li back then. Presumably, Grand Empress Dowager Li had acted just like Liansheng before Emperor Gaozong.
She pouted at the Emperor. “Uncle, you may ask him. I have nothing more to say.”
The Emperor turned to her. “You’re not afraid I’ll be angry?”
“What you’re angry about isn’t this. You can be angry after we return.” Cui Lanyin stroked her abdomen. “I’m hungry now, and so is your daughter.”
The Emperor covered her small hand with his large one. “Coming right up.”
“Bailin!” the Emperor called.
Bailin crossed the room in two strides. Without saying a word to the man who was desperately maintaining his composure, he picked Liansheng up by the collar like a chick and carried him outside.
Just as they reached the door, Bailin let out a strange “Oh?” Before anyone could look over, he had already shut the door and left.
Even in that brief glimpse, Cui Lanyin saw Liansheng’s body go rigid.
After witnessing Princess Kang’s death and the bloodshed on the day of the palace coup, Cui Lanyin had thought that ordinary events could no longer frighten her.
Yet Liansheng’s decision to take his own life after failing to frame her still sent a chill through her entire body.
She could not help leaning against the Emperor. “Why would he do that?”
The Emperor held her tightly. “Don’t be afraid. Bailin and the others will find out.”
Zhang Gui still had no idea what had happened, but even what he had just witnessed had terrified him. He had never imagined that someone would try to use Yunlai Restaurant to frame the Empress.
He guessed that Bailin had already taken the man away. Buyan pushed Zhang Gui toward the door. “Hurry up and serve the dishes.”
Zhang Gui did not dare call anyone else in. He allowed Buyan and Buyu to help him bring in the food.
Cui Lanyin had lost her appetite. Faced with a table full of delicious dishes, she held her chopsticks for a long while without touching anything.
The Emperor bypassed the meat dishes and placed two light vegetable dishes in her bowl. “You’ll regain your appetite once you start eating. It isn’t worth harming yourself.”
Thinking of the child in her belly, Cui Lanyin picked up the food and began eating in small bites.
The Emperor added, “I knew he had poison hidden beneath his tongue. That’s why I had Bailin take him farther away before letting him die.”
The Emperor was clearly unconcerned about the man’s life or death.
Cui Lanyin’s attention shifted. “Then why not keep him alive and interrogate him to find out who ordered him to do this?”
The Emperor continued eating as he added food to her bowl. “A man like that doesn’t even count as a pawn. He wouldn’t know anything.”
Seeing the Emperor eating heartily as they talked, Cui Lanyin unknowingly finished everything he had placed in her bowl.
Since she could not eat Cui Sheng’s cooking, the dishes at Yunlai Restaurant seemed even more delicious by comparison. She had been hungry to begin with, and after half a bowl of vegetables, her appetite returned.
The Emperor said, “There will be plenty of situations like this in the future. I didn’t stop you just now because I was thinking that, if I shielded you this time, I could shield you from everything that came afterward as well. But if there comes a time when I’m not around, you’ll be putting yourself in danger.”
Cui Lanyin nodded. “I understand. I don’t want you to stand in front of me and shield me from everything, either. That would only turn me into a target and put me at an even greater disadvantage.”
The Emperor was gratified that she had seen through the matter so quickly. He placed a piece of roasted mutton into her bowl. “You need a strong body if you’re going to handle difficult things. Eat more.”
Cui Lanyin picked it up and ate it. It was not as hard to swallow as she had expected. Having gotten past that first bite, she no longer needed the Emperor to serve her. She picked up her chopsticks and helped herself to a piece of sweet-and-sour fish.
Cui Lanyin had Zhang Gui set up another table for Buyan and the others. Just as everyone took their seats, Bailin returned and settled down with a grin. “It really is a blessing to follow Her Highness out. There’s always good food.”
Though the Emperor rarely spoke, he was indulgent toward the people around him. Whenever he was in a good mood, Bailin and the other three dared to exchange a few muttered comments.
With everyone eating and chatting, Cui Lanyin’s spirits gradually recovered as well.
Only then did she remember the purpose of their outing. She instructed Zhang Gui, “Go open the window quickly. I came here to watch the lantern competition.”
Zhang Gui had not expected her to say outright that she had come to watch the lantern competition. He stole a glance at the Emperor, only to see him take the thick cloak draped over the chair and wrap it around the Empress. “The wind is strong by the river. You can watch from here.”
The pleasure boats on the Wu-Yang River must have all come out tonight. One after another, they stretched far into the distance, each boat resembling a tower of lanterns. Within them, beautiful women and talented young men mingled, while the sounds of poetry and song drifted over in varying pitches. Beneath the bright full moon, the scene looked like a celestial pavilion where the river met the sky, making one forget where one truly was.
Cui Lanyin could hardly take it all in. She looked at one boat, then turned to admire another, feeling that her previous outing on a pleasure boat had been nothing compared with this.
She had watched for less than a quarter of an hour when Bailin and the others finished their meal. The Emperor stood and took Cui Lanyin by the hand. “It’s getting late. We should go back.”
“What?” Cui Lanyin pouted, but she could not find anything with which to argue. The Emperor had said they would return after enjoying the lantern competition, and technically, they had enjoyed it.
Chiyun and Chiyue had not even had the chance to start watching yet, and they kept giving Cui Lanyin meaningful looks.
The Emperor, however, pulled her out of the private room without allowing any argument. They soon left the restaurant and were just about to look for their carriage when someone on a pleasure boat moored by the riverbank called out, “Zhang Gui, send us a table of good food!”
They looked over and saw Chilin and Qinglin—the very men who had said they would stand guard by the carriage.
Zhang Gui answered and hurriedly instructed one of the attendants beside him. Unable to contain her delight, Cui Lanyin swung the Emperor’s hand joyfully. “You arranged a pleasure boat?”
“Otherwise, was I supposed to watch you stare at them wistfully?” The Emperor led her toward it. “We’ll spend the night here and return tomorrow.”
Cui Lanyin let out a cheer, rose onto her toes, and planted a kiss on his cheek. “Fourth Young Master Zhao, you’re the best.”
The second update is here. Have a wonderful holiday, everyone! [Kisses]
