Prince Jian saw Lu Jingxing open another jar of wine and quickly tried to stop him.
“It’s just a woman.
Drinking is bad for your health.
Besides, you’ve already issued an imperial decree to select new consorts.
The beauties of Daqi are as numerous as the clouds…”
“As numerous as the clouds?
How could they be my cloud?” Lu Jingxing slurred drunkenly.
“How could those common, painted faces ever compare to my Yunyun?”
As he spoke, Lu Jingxing snatched the wine jar from Prince Jian’s hands.
Prince Jian said, “Common, painted faces?
Setting others aside, Prime Minister Bai’s granddaughter, Bai Jingran, is an outstanding beauty.”
Lu Jingxing downed a cup of wine.
“Compared to Yunyun, all other women are just common, painted faces.”
Prince Jian was truly curious who this “Yunyun” was.
A woman who could drive Lu Jingxing to drown his sorrows in wine must be extraordinarily beautiful.
But in all of Chang’an City, besides Mu Wanruo, who else had the kind of beauty that would make other women seem like common, painted faces?
…
Mu Wan Yun went to Taiji Palace that very night.
When Ye Yu saw Mu Wan Yun, she stepped forward and curtsied.
“Miss Mu, Your Majesty is not in the palace.”
But Mu Wan Yun didn’t believe her.
“He just doesn’t want to see me, does he?
Tell him I accept his proposal.
It was my fault, I…”
Ye Yu said helplessly, “Miss Mu, I’m truly not lying.
His Majesty left the palace earlier this evening with Prince Jian and has not yet returned.
You should go back and rest.”
Mu Wan Yun glanced inside Taiji Palace.
Hearing Ye Yu’s words, she didn’t press the matter further and returned to her small courtyard under the moonlight.
…
When Lu Jingxing awoke, his head was pounding.
Zhang Qiuchi came forward with a bowl of hangover medicine.
“Your Majesty, the hangover medicine.”
Lu Jingxing drank the medicine in one gulp and asked, “What time is it?”
“Your Majesty, it is already the Chen Hour.”
Lu Jingxing pressed his temples.
“Return to the palace.”
Just as he stepped out of the private residence, Prince Jian came up to greet him.
“Your Majesty, you’re awake.
Don’t you think the clouds in the sky look quite beautiful today?”
Lu Jingxing glanced at the sky.
It was completely overcast.
‘What’s so beautiful about clouds like these?’
Prince Jian smiled.
“I was up all last night thinking about who this ‘Yunyun’ of yours is.”
Lu Jingxing’s brow furrowed.
He had no idea what nonsense he’d spouted after getting drunk last night.
“What did I say last night?”
With a grin, Prince Jian replied, “Oh, not much.
I thought about it all night, and if ‘Yunyun’ is Mu Wan Yun, then she’s certainly worthy of your praise.”
Lu Jingxing glared at Prince Jian.
“If you value your life, you’ll forget everything I said last night!”
Prince Jian wasn’t afraid that Lu Jingxing would kill him.
He pressed on, “So it really is Mu Wan Yun?
You and Wei Mingsang are truly cousins.
He was ready to die for the older sister, and here you are, getting drunk all night for the younger one.
That’s a daughter of the Mu Family we’re talking about!
“The Mu Family was responsible for Empress Wei’s death back then, and they forced our uncle to depose you as Crown Prince.
And didn’t Mu Wan Yun write you a letter of separation?
Have you forgotten all that?”
Lu Jingxing said, “Last night was the last time I will be so foolish.
From now on, I will absolutely not have any more thoughts about her!
And I will certainly never again suggest she enter the palace as Empress!”
Hearing the phrase “enter the palace as Empress,” Prince Jian was utterly astonished.
“You actually thought about making her the Empress?!
You said last night that she abandoned you twice.
Besides the separation, don’t tell me the other time was her refusing your offer to be Empress?”
Lu Jingxing shot Prince Jian a sinister glare.
Prince Jian laughed out loud.
“No way, did I actually guess right?
This Mu Wan Yun is really something else.”
Lu Jingxing said coolly, “Beijiang is in need of a Border Guard General.
I think you’d be quite suitable for the post.”
“Don’t do that,” Prince Jian said quickly.
“My mother only has me, her only son.
You can’t be so cruel.
But what on earth is Mu Wan Yun thinking?
All the men in the Mu Family are dead.
If she doesn’t want to be the Empress, does she intend to be a maid for the rest of her life?
“Not to mention, she won’t survive if she can’t produce that ‘iridescent black’ dress Princess Huayang demanded!”
Lu Jingxing snorted.
“Do not mention her again.”
Lu Jingxing returned to the Diligent Governance Hall.
The Chief Palace Maid, Ye Yu, offered him a cup of tea and reported, “Your Majesty, Miss Mu came looking for you last night.
She said she accepts your proposal and admitted she was wrong.”
Lu Jingxing’s hand tightened around the teacup.
“From now on, do not mention her affairs to me.
And she is forbidden from setting foot in Taiji Palace ever again.”
Ye Yu quietly acknowledged the order.
…
Mu Wan Yun’s head was about to explode from thinking about the “iridescent black.” As night fell, she decided she had to find Lu Jingxing.
There was no moon or stars that night.
But as soon as she reached the gates of Taiji Palace, she was stopped by the guards. Read this novel at g.com for the best experience.
Ye Yu saw Mu Wan Yun and said, “Mumu, His Majesty has given an order.
You are forbidden from setting foot in Taiji Palace.”
Hearing this, Mu Wan Yun hung her head dejectedly.
“Is His Majesty very angry?”
Ye Yu said, “Mumu, since you were so heartless as to write that letter of separation, why come and ask about His Majesty now?”
Mu Wan Yun knelt.
“Sister, please, I beg you to report to His Majesty.
Just say that I want to see him one last time.”
Ye Yu didn’t dare to accept Mu Wan Yun’s kneel.
Mu Wan Yun didn’t recognize her, but Ye Yu had known her since she was twelve.
Back then, when her master had fallen from grace—deposed as Crown Prince and demoted to a commoner—he had been gloomy all the time, only showing a hint of a smile after meeting Mu Wan Yun in Yinxing Village.
When her master proposed to marry Mu Wan Yun, he stubbornly claimed it was just to spite the late Emperor, but Ye Yu knew he truly liked her.
“Mumu, please get up first.
Allow me to go in and report.”
Kneeling on the ground, Mu Wan Yun said, “If His Majesty won’t see me, I will not get up.”
Ye Yu sighed.
“Wait here.”
Ye Yu entered the Diligent Governance Hall and reported, “Your Majesty, Mumu requests an audience.”
Lu Jingxing’s face was dark.
“Didn’t I tell you?
Do not mention her in my presence!”
Ye Yu said, “Your Majesty, Mumu said that if you do not see her tonight, she will continue to kneel indefinitely.
It looks like it’s about to rain.
And though it’s already spring, the nights are still bitingly cold, especially with the spring chill.
Besides, Mumu has a weak constitution and is prone to illness…”
Lu Jingxing put down the memorial in his hands.
“Let her in.”
Mu Wan Yun entered without bowing, walked right up to Lu Jingxing, and wrapped her arms around his waist.
“Husband, I accept your proposal from yesterday.
Whether it’s the Lin’an Rong Family or the Jinling Qin Family, I’m willing…”
Lu Jingxing looked down at the woman clinging to his waist.
“What do you take me for?
You were the one who said our love was over yesterday.
Is it fun to go back on your word?”
Mu Wan Yun said softly, “Husband, don’t be angry.
Yesterday, my heart was clouded.
I was just trying to spite the dead members of the Mu Family.
But after thinking it over, I realized I can’t hurt my husband’s heart over people who don’t matter.”
“Husband, please forgive Yunyun, won’t you?
Also, can you please talk to Princess Huayang for me?
The ‘iridescent black’ dress is truly too difficult.”
Lu Jingxing watched Mu Wan Yun with cold eyes.
“No wonder you came begging for my forgiveness.
Are you really here for me, or are you just trying to save your own life?”
Lu Jingxing pried Mu Wan Yun’s hands from his waist.
“I don’t want to see you ever again.”
Mu Wan Yun said, “I really am here for you.
Besides, when you asked me to choose a new identity yesterday, of course I was unwilling at first.
“After all, the Mu Family had just forced me to marry in someone else’s place, and now you want me to take on another identity…
Why can’t Mu Wan Yun just be herself in public?
“But I thought about it all night, and I realized that no matter what my identity is, being with my husband is the most important thing.”
Mu Wan Yun walked up to Lu Jingxing, her fair, boneless-soft hands gripping his wrist.
“Husband, I just want to be with you.”