“All right!” To everyone’s surprise, the Empress Dowager readily agreed to Yun Qianmeng’s request.
“But remember, you mustn’t act so rashly again!” When the Empress Dowager’s gaze fell on the wound on Yun Qianmeng’s forehead, she added this warning, seemingly afraid that seeing Prince Chen again would make Yun Qianmeng lose control.
Recognizing the warning in the Empress Dowager’s words, Yun Qianmeng lowered her head slightly and replied in a calm, steady voice, “Yes.”
“Prime Minister Yun, come with me as well. After all, you’re Meng’er’s father.” The Empress Dowager then turned to Yun Xuanzhi. Her sharp eyes held a trace of reproach, as if accusing him of neglecting his daughter.
Sensing the Empress Dowager’s displeasure, Yun Xuanzhi glanced at Yun Qianmeng’s bowed head, then replied respectfully, “I respectfully obey the Empress Dowager’s decree.”
Led by the Empress Dowager, the group set off at a leisurely pace toward the Golden Throne Hall…
Perhaps the Empress Dowager had slowed her pace out of consideration for Yun Qianmeng’s injury. As it happened, this gave Yun Qianmeng time to sort out the relationships between the various people in her mind…
“This subject pays his respects to the Empress Dowager! Oh, what happened to Miss Yun? Why is she covered in blood?” As Yun Qianmeng pieced together the fragments in her mind, a mocking voice rang out ahead. Its flippant tone brought everyone to a halt.
“Why are you here, Prime Minister Chu?” Seeing someone openly make light of Yun Qianmeng’s appearance, the Empress Dowager’s expression darkened, displeasure clear in her voice.
Yun Xuanzhi’s face had gone ashen, too. His tightly pressed lips betrayed his anger…
Yun Qianmeng lifted her head slightly. Beyond the Empress Dowager, she saw a man standing at the entrance to the Golden Throne Hall, a faint smile on his face. He wore the deep-purple robes of a first-rank official, and his tall frame lent him an air of nobility. His sideburns were sharply trimmed, his brows ink-black, his face peach-blossom fair, and his eyes bright as autumn water. As he watched them with an almost amused smile, he looked exceptionally handsome, even more striking than the cold and aloof Prince Chen!
The Empress Dowager had just called him “Prime Minister Chu.” This must be the renowned Left Prime Minister of Western Chu, Chu Feiyang.
“In reply to the Empress Dowager, I have business to present to His Majesty. It was pure chance that our paths crossed.” Though Chu Feiyang answered the Empress Dowager, his gaze passed through the group and settled directly on Yun Qianmeng…
Yet when his intelligent eyes, still faintly smiling, took in Yun Qianmeng’s calm, confident expression and the way she stared back at him, surprise flickered across them. Then his smile returned, and he personally lifted the curtain, inviting the Empress Dowager inside.
Chu Feiyang’s gesture brought a flash of annoyance to the Empress Dowager’s eyes. But a young eunuch had already gone in to announce her arrival, so she could only enter the hall with Chu Feiyang accompanying her.
“Mother Empress, what brings you here in person?” Emperor Yuqian was deeply respectful toward the Empress Dowager. He rose at once to greet her.
Prince Chen, who had been standing in the hall, saw Yun Qianmeng and immediately fixed her with a look of disgust.
This time, however, Yun Qianmeng didn’t turn red-eyed at the sight of his obvious loathing. She followed the Empress Dowager into the hall at an unhurried pace…
A powerful stench of blood swept toward them the moment they entered. Yun Qianmeng’s gaze fell involuntarily on the red pillar carved with a dragon.
The pillar had been cleaned, but a dark-red stain remained on the carpet nearby. Incense filled the hall, yet it did nothing to mask the sharp smell of blood.
Prince Chen’s face was especially cold. When he saw her, the disgust in his eyes was unmistakable, and a trace of anger stirred in Yun Qianmeng’s heart.
It seemed that in Prince Chen’s eyes, human life was worthless!
Though she didn’t approve of the original owner’s decision to take her own life and scorned her weakness, the girl was dead now. She was nothing more than a pitiful soul.
Yun Qianmeng bowed slightly along with the others to Emperor Yuqian, then stepped aside and faced forward, completely ignoring Prince Chen.
“Naturally, I’m here because of Little Meng. Prince Chen, she is the legitimate daughter of the Prime Minister’s family, and she is my niece. What more do you have to complain about?” Seeing Prince Chen standing in the hall with an icy expression, the Empress Dowager’s eyes flashed with anger as she challenged him.
The Empress Dowager’s words made Yun Qianmeng furrow her brow inwardly. Then she put on a lovestruck expression and gazed at Prince Chen with deep affection once more, murmuring, “Your Highness…”
That lovesick call made Prince Chen’s gaze turn to ice. He replied without mercy, “I’ve already made it clear. I will never marry you. Give up your foolish hopes.”
“Do you really mean that, Your Highness?” Yun Qianmeng let the feigned adoration fade from her eyes and asked with unruffled calm.
“I mean every word.” Prince Chen didn’t understand why Yun Qianmeng’s expression had changed so quickly. But remembering how weak she had been before, he answered without hesitation.
“Then I’ll grant your wish.” The moment Prince Chen finished speaking, Yun Qianmeng replied. Her cool, distant voice rang through the hall, leaving everyone stunned.
No one could understand how Yun Qianmeng, who had begged him desperately before and even risked her life, could suddenly change her mind and agree to let Prince Chen go.
Confused, everyone wondered if Yun Qianmeng had hit her head and lost her senses. Their doubtful gazes turned toward the woman standing in the middle of the hall…
Though the wound on Yun Qianmeng’s forehead marred her beauty, the composure and quiet confidence in her eyes, the way she neither fawned nor cowered, were qualities she had never shown before. More astonishing still, she seemed transformed, as though she had been reborn, radiating confidence. For a moment, everyone stared at her in shock…
“You think I’ll fall for that trick of playing hard to get?” A scoff broke the silence. Prince Chen looked at Yun Qianmeng with undisguised contempt, his words laced with insult.
Under everyone’s bewildered, astonished gaze, Yun Qianmeng smiled calmly, then knelt before Emperor Yuqian. “I beg Your Majesty to issue an edict dissolving the engagement between this subject and Prince Chen. From now on, he may marry whom he chooses and I may marry whom I choose. We will have nothing more to do with each other.”
They had not expected Yun Qianmeng to mean it.
Before, everyone had thought she was merely speaking in anger. But now that she had personally asked the Emperor to issue an edict, the expressions in their eyes varied…
“Meng’er, don’t be absurd! I will decide this matter for you. How can I let you decide your whole future on your own?” The Empress Dowager was the first to speak. She glared at Yun Qianmeng in warning, then pressed a hand to her shoulder, her agitation plain. Her fingers tightened slightly, silently urging Yun Qianmeng to stop.
“Thank you for caring about me, Empress Dowager. But Prince Chen has no feelings for me, so why should I force him? Even if I married him, I doubt I would be happy. You care about me; surely you wouldn’t want to see me live unhappily.” Yet Yun Qianmeng seemed not to understand the Empress Dowager’s good intentions. She spoke with firm conviction, leaving the Empress Dowager unable to find an answer.
Only now did Prince Chen realize that this young woman had outmaneuvered him.
She had pretended to be pitiful, then changed her tune the moment she had gotten him to say what she wanted.
Now Yun Qianmeng looked perfectly calm, her eyes clear and composed, without a trace of her former infatuation. The sight left Prince Chen strangely unsettled. This woman had just been willing to die for him. Why was she acting as if she didn’t care at all now?
“Yun Qianmeng, you…” Prince Chen began, but a man’s voice cut him off abruptly.
“Your Majesty, since Prince Chen and Miss Yun both wish to dissolve their engagement, why not grant their request? That way, the world will have one fewer unhappy couple.” To everyone’s surprise, Chu Feiyang, who had been silent until then, spoke up. His words immediately drew an angry glare from Prince Chen.
How could a mere Left Prime Minister presume to meddle in a prince’s marriage?
But he had been the one to propose breaking the engagement in the first place. If he tried to keep Yun Qianmeng now, wouldn’t he be contradicting himself?
As Prince Chen frowned in thought, Yun Qianmeng spoke again. “I beg Your Majesty and the Empress Dowager to grant my request, for I lost my mother when I was young.”
Seeing Yun Qianmeng’s firm expression, Emperor Yuqian and the Empress Dowager exchanged a glance. After a long pause, the Emperor said with regret, “Since that is your wish, then so be it.”