Chapter 8

d laughing and looked down at the chessboard. He gazed intently but didn’t move for a long time.He hadn’t told her that ten years ago, Master Ling Yin had played the Lónglóng Chess Game with him here....Volumn 1 Chapter 8: Smiling at the Splendor

The moment Ye Tianqiong spoke, dozens of eunuchs from the inner palace emerged, pointing their swords at Li Yun and simultaneously surrounding Ye Qingran and the Fourth Prince who were closest to her. Clearly, these people were all under the command of the Crown Prince.

Li Yun felt a chill in her heart; the guards had been slow to respond when the Empress called for them earlier. Now that the Crown Prince had given his order, they moved swiftly, indicating how accustomed they are to following his every whim without question. Li Yun did not understand why this body's original owner allowed the Crown Prince such leeway. She glanced at Ye Tianqiong and clenched her fists tightly in her sleeves. This person should hope he doesn't end up in her hands; otherwise, she will definitely take revenge for today’s humiliation.

The Empress seemed to have noticed this as well. Her previously silent face, which had been observing the situation carefully, did not look too pleased, but she did not say anything to stop it.

The Fourth Prince looked at Ye Qingran, seemingly asking what he could do about it.

Ye Qingran's expression darkened for a moment before he tilted his thin lips slightly and casually smoothed the already wrinkle-free hem of his robe. This single movement caused all the surrounding guards to take an involuntary step back with changed expressions. He spoke slowly, “I haven’t been in court for seven years; I hadn’t noticed that the sky looks different! Back then, who didn’t run away from me when they saw me What’s going on now Who gave you the audacity to point your swords at me”

Although his last words were soft, the atmosphere in the Scenic Garden instantly turned grim.

The guards immediately stepped back again, trembling slightly with nearly unsteady hands gripping their swords. However, since Ye Qingran was too close to Li Yun and they dared not approach her, they could only circle around both him and the Fourth Prince. Upon hearing his words, everyone’s eyes turned towards Crown Prince Ye Tianqiong.

Some people even opened up their long-forgotten memories. Seven years ago, who didn’t know the infamous playboy Prince Night Qingran of Heavenly Sage He never killed anyone but treated everyone with a smile like spring breeze, yet he was so cruel that it made others wish they were dead. Countless people had been victimized by him; almost no one in the court escaped his pranks. Whenever he appeared somewhere, people would run away from him as if avoiding a plague. Even the emperor found himself helpless. Later on, when Elder Prince Deyao Wang couldn’t bear seeing the entire city turned upside down because of him, he banished Night Qingran for training and disciplining. Only then did the Imperial City regain its peace. After seven years without his presence in the capital, people nearly forgot about him. Now recalling those incidents from before, they felt increasingly uneasy just by looking at his ambiguous smile.

Many women also recalled what happened back then; some daring girls who showed their affection for the young prince were thrown into a lotus pond, which was said to be a lenient punishment. For men who offended him, there were countless ways of punishing them. Thinking of this, those ladies’ admiration in their eyes towards Night Qingran diminished simultaneously. However, they still couldn’t help but be captivated by his striking beauty and flamboyance.

Li Yun secretly praised; she didn’t expect that someone’s aura could be so overwhelming! Without doing anything, he instills such fear into others. She also thought to herself that he must have done something before for people to be so afraid of him.

"Yes, Qingran, you’ve been away from the capital these years, and this Heavenly Sage has indeed changed a lot! These servants are becoming more and more unruly." The Fourth Prince glanced at the swords pointing at Night Qingran and said with a slightly solemn tone, "When you return this time, you must properly punish these servants for His Majesty. Otherwise, they will be unaware of their own weight if someone is backing them up."

After the Fourth Prince finished speaking, he glanced at Ye Tianqiong.

Ye Tianqiong was expressionless but his eyes grew darker and darker; he then angrily glared at the guards. "I ordered you to arrest Yun Qianmo, not to point your swords at my fourth brother and Prince Qingran."

"Please forgive us, Your Highness!" The guards were already afraid of Night Qingran in the first place and now all threw their weapons on the ground and knelt.

"A bunch of useless people, get up and take her to the Ministry of Punishment’s prison!" Prince Ye Tianqiong was clearly enraged. He didn’t expect that his hard-trained men would be so weak in front of Night Qingran.

"... Yes!" Those people immediately stood up and, trembling with fear, tried to bypass Ye Qingran to grab Li Yun.

"Too late. Do you think I would so easily forgive you after just being offended by you" Ye Qingran smiled indifferently and suddenly waved his hand lightly; a red light flashed from his hand as a small crimson snake flew out of his sleeve. Instantly, there were continuous cries of pain heard, and dozens of people dropped their swords and lay on the ground clutching their arms.

Cinnabar coral snake Li Yun was taken aback, not expecting to see such a rare thing here.

Ye Tianqiong's expression changed, his voice suddenly lowering, "Ye Qingran, you openly injure people inside the palace and defy this Crown Prince’s orders. What do you intend to do"

The Empress' face also changed, but she still sat calmly with a pale complexion. She had never seen such a powerful snake.

Several women around didn’t see Ye Qingran's move and only saw the people lying on the ground, so there were no cries of shock. Some even looked at Ye Qingran in admiration, thinking that whoever could earn this young Nobleman’s genuine favor would be incredibly fortunate. Now seeing Li Yun staring at Ye Qingran with gleaming eyes, they felt even more envious and jealous. Why could such an unworthy woman receive such protection from the young Nobleman Truly hateful!

"Looks like you’ve gotten something good again!" The Fourth Prince ignored Crown Prince’s dark expression and smiled, looking at the snake that obediently returned to Ye Qingran's sleeve.

"This little Nobleman always has plenty of good things. Do you want to see one" In response to the Fourth Prince’s words, Ye Qingran raised an eyebrow and looked back at him.

The Fourth Prince Hanxiao's expression immediately stiffened, and he shook his head. "It's more meaningful to give valuable things to those who need them."

Yè Qīngrǎn snorted in disdain. "Look at your courage; it's still as small as before. You really have no backbone."

The Fourth Prince immediately became angry and glared at Yè Qīngrǎn. "You think you're brave You can only deal with things that aren't on the political stage. If you could handle matters on the political stage, how would you have been chased out of the capital by Uncle Duke"

"That's because this little prince found it boring to play in the capital and wanted to go out for a stroll." Yè Qīngrǎn said.

"If you found the capital boring, why have you returned now" The Fourth Prince pressed relentlessly.

"Of course, because I found everything outside boring as well. Now that the capital is interesting again, so naturally, I've come back." Yè Qīngrǎn said matter-of-factly.

The Fourth Prince immediately became infuriated and swept his sleeve angrily. "No matter how you look at it, he's right." After saying this, as if unwilling to be shut down like that, he muttered in a resentful voice: "You have the ability to save Yún Qiǎnmiù from him today; then that would truly show your capability."

"Don't you think I want to save her Is it because of love or usefulness" Yè Qīngrǎn's lips moved slightly, his voice avoiding everyone else and reaching the Fourth Prince's ears alone.

"No matter what, it's none of your business. Do you think I want to save him without a reason" The Fourth Prince blinked and replied in the same low voice that only they could hear.

"Well...," Ye Qingran looked at Li Yun; seeing her staring intently at his sleeve, he slightly twitched the corner of his mouth. Meeting the Fourth Prince's probing gaze, he chuckled before turning serious and coldly said: "Mind your own business!"

"You..." The Fourth Prince was furious but couldn’t find words to retort. He cursed inwardly; no matter how long they were apart—whether seven years or even twenty—he knew this little demon wouldn’t change his ways.

The two of them bickered back and forth, completely forgetting about the enraged Crown Prince and the wailing guards around them.

"Ye Qingran, you openly attacked someone inside the palace and defied orders from the Empress and me. What is your intention" Night Tianqiong only saw their mouths moving but couldn’t hear anything they said. Seeing that no one was paying attention to his words, he frowned even more deeply. No one had dared to defy him in years; this Ye Qingran started opposing him right after returning. How infuriating.

"I heard you loud and clear. Your voice was so loud that the flowers around us trembled with fear! I’m truly scared, Crown Prince Brother. However, you are too unsympathetic towards beauties. Even though Moon Sister is a peerlessly beautiful lady, you can’t just lock her up in prison if you don’t like her. You can be heartless, but I simply cannot bear to see such beauty wasted." Ye Qingran ignored the Crown Prince’s words and with light remarks dispelled the tense atmosphere.

The Fourth Prince cursed inwardly; did Ye Qingran not feel ashamed saying that As if he were actually a tenderhearted person! What an absurdity!

Enraged, beads of blue veins popped out on the Crown Prince’s forehead. He stared intently at Ye Qingran who remained indifferent and nonchalant as usual; slowly restraining his anger, he ignored him and said slowly: "I will not pursue this matter today since you just returned." After a pause, he looked at Li Yun, voice heavy with suppressed fury: "They say beautiful women are disasters. Today because of you we nearly quarreled amongst ourselves. Even if I wanted to be lenient on your punishment, it seems that won’t do."

Lǐ Yún had no expression left for this person and coldly looked at him.

"Guards, arrest Yún Qiǎn Yuè from the Cloud王府and take her to the Imperial Prison. If there is any resistance, regardless of death or injury. Anyone who assists will be treated as an accomplice with no consequences spared, all will be apprehended." This time, Emperor Nigth Tianqin's voice wasn't loud, but it was extremely powerful. His eyes clearly showed malicious intent. At this moment, he fully displayed the advantages and dignity of a crown prince.

The moment his words ended, over a hundred people dressed in tight black clothes appeared simultaneously, circling around Ye Qingran and the Fourth Prince, surrounding Lǐ Yún instantly.

Lǐ Yún didn't move an inch. She knew that if she moved even slightly, it was likely that she wouldn't die but would be injured. Ye Qingran looked at the guards who appeared, his thin lips tightly pursed and his eyes darkly gloomy. He hadn't expected that Nigth Tianqin had truly reached a point where he couldn't tolerate Yún Qiǎn Yuè for even a moment. Even though he was protecting her so forcefully, it still wasn't enough to make him give in. His hand tightened inside his sleeve as he thought about whether or not to act. Although he could easily save Yún Qiǎn Yuè by acting, the consequences would probably be severe. Nigth Tianqin would surely use this incident to frame Yún Qiǎn Yuè with bringing misfortune and causing brothers to turn against each other, which was much worse than burning down a small Spring View Pavilion. The Emperor wouldn't tolerate such an act. He couldn't act too recklessly like he did when he was young now. If he openly went against the crown prince in the palace or even caused bloodshed within the imperial city, it would be difficult to pass through the Emperor's scrutiny.

With this thought, Ye Qingran angrily lowered his head and began thinking of a strategy.

The Fourth Prince looked at the guards with a slight curl on his lips. Even if he couldn't save Yún Qiǎn Yuè today, being able to lure out Nigth Tianqin's guards was half successful already. As for Yún Qiǎn Yuè... He wanted to see how this little devil could still manage to save someone.

—— Interlude ——

Likes: [Add to Bookshelf] Collect, convenient for reading! Group meow~ (O∩_∩)O~mperor and hated him to death. She had originally believed that she had escaped her family’s traditions and the constraints of the royal family. Although Ye Tianyi was persistent towards her, making h...