The Cry of the Phoenix Which Reached the Ninth Heaven-Volume 2 Chapter 98
Chapter 98: Huo Feng's Sorrow
"Huo Feng, this consort knows that you're just worrying for this consort, but you're being overcautious. Why would His Majesty ever harm this consort? You wanted to swap out the wine His Majesty poured for this consort last time, but reality has proven that there's nothing wrong with the wine at all. This consort is sure that things will be fine even if Xiao Shunzi doesn't turn out to be the one we're looking for. If it comes to it, this consort can just come up with another plan to help His Majesty ferret out that person." Wang Qinruo was slightly angry with Huo Feng and berated her.
"This servant has overstepped…" Huo Feng had originally wanted to bring up planning an escape, but when she saw how certain her master was in her beliefs, she stopped herself from bringing it up.
This night, Wang Qinruo sat by the bed and waited an entire night, but Ye Hongyi never showed up.
The next day, Huo Feng knocked on the door, then hurriedly entered. Wang Qinruo was sitting by the bed quietly, her eyes filled with faint fatigue and apprehension.
"Your Highness, it's bad! Someone started spreading rumors last night that before the empress Yao Moxin died, she had been holding a battered infant that someone had smashed to death! As of now, the entire palace is discussing who exactly had smashed Yao Moxin's child to death!" Huo Feng walked quickly to Wang Qinruo with a worried expression
"Xiao Shunzi really was a fake… No wonder His Majesty didn't come to Splendid Veneer Palace. His Majesty must be angry… This won't do! This consort must come up with a plan to lure that person out! Huo Feng, help this consort out, what do we do next?" Wang Qinruo got up in a fluster and grabbed Huo Feng's hand with both hands.
"Your Highness, after this incident, there's no way that Yao Suluan would be tricked into contacting that person again… Why don't we leave? You know as much as Yao Suluan does. As of now, His Majesty is doing all he can to get rid of Yao Suluan. Who knows if tomorrow, he'll be changing targets and trying to get rid of you?"
Slap!
Huo Feng was stunned and her eyes widened as she looked towards her master disbelievingly.
"How is this consort the same as Yao Suluan!? His Majesty cares about this consort, he loves this consort! Does Yao Suluan even have the right to possess His Majesty's favor!?" shouted Wang Qinruo as she glowered at Huo Feng.
"Sorry… This servant was wrong…" Huo Feng suppressed how wronged she felt and her anxiety as she lowered her eyes. She had been expecting this outcome. Her master would never see the truth until she was on the receiving end of His Majesty's heartlessness.
"Withdraw! Don't bring this up again!" Wang Qinruo dismissed Huo Feng with a wave, then sat back down on the bed in a daze. Hongyi… You wouldn't treat me that way, you wouldn't…
Inside Pure Flowers Palace, when Yao Suluan saw Ye Hongyi storm in with a dark expression, she knew that she was safe.
"Your Maj…" Just as Yao Suluan was about to get up, she felt a gust of wind that was soon accompanied by a large, harsh slap. Blood started dripping from her lips.
"You wretch! Who exactly is that person? Where is he!?" Ye Hongyi spat out these words between gritted teeth as he clenched his hands into fists. However, the more frantic Ye Hongyi acted, the more Yao Suluan became assured of her own safety.
"Suluan has said before that Your Majesty wouldn't regret this. See? The outcome would've been terrible if you had actually killed Suluan!" Yao Suluan wiped the blood from the corner of her lip as she smiled coldly. Even though she had been completely isolated from the outside world, it wasn't hard to figure out based on Ye Hongyi's reaction that some of the information has already been spread.
"What's the way to stop the rumors!?" Ye Hongyi hauled Yao Suluan up to question her, but Yao Suluan just coldly shoved him aside. She walked to the table with an unbridled smug smile.
"What are you smiling about?" Ye Hongyi was enraged and his knuckles cracked due to how hard he was clenching his fists.
"Suluan is smiling since Your Majesty asked such a dumb question. How could rumors that have already spread be stopped?" Yao Suluan lifted the tea pot. She could finally enjoy tea without worry again. These past three days had been a hell-like wait, but she was finally free from that fearful and hopeful anticipation.
Bang!
The teacup was smacked to the ground by Ye Hongyi so hard that a fragment of the shattered cup flew up and stabbed into his palm. Scarlet blood started flowing out.
"Yao Suluan! You dare to mess with us!?" Ye Hongyi paid no attention to the sharp pain coming from his palm and stormed to Yao Suluan. His dark eyes were like those of a beast's as he glowered at Yao Suluan like he wanted to rip her apart.
"Your Majesty should trust Suluan when Suluan says that there exists no one in the world who hopes for the rumors to stop more. This is Suluan's last bargaining chip and Suluan would like to keep it. In addition, the current situation wasn't Suluan's doing. Your Majesty should be looking for the person who's actually behind this. As for the rumors… Suluan guarantees that as soon as Suluan's freedom to enter and exit the imperial palace is restored, those rumors will stop gaining new content." Yao Suluan inspected her nails as she replied offhandedly.
"You!" Ye Hongyi glared at Yao Suluan. At this moment, the one thing he regretted the most was allowing Yao Suluan to witness that event.
"Your Majesty, take care. This subject wife won't be seeing you off." Yao Suluan glanced over at Ye Hongyi disinterestedly. As of now, there was truly no point for them to pretend to be polite towards each other. The fact that she was alive wasn't due to Ye Hongyi's benevolence but her own tenaciousness.
Ye Hongyi ground his teeth in frustration, but he couldn't do anything and could only storm off.
"In reality, Your Majesty, rather than trying to get rid of Suluan, why don't you spend some time thinking about how to keep Consort Shu's mouth shut? If Consort Shu also learns to make use of this method to control Your Majesty, it'd truly be too late for regret," said Yao Suluan as a cold glint flitted through her narrowed eyes.
Ye Hongyi froze at the sound of these words, then a cold light flashed through his dark eyes. Yao Suluan noticed Ye Hongyi's brief pause and her lips curved smugly. Wang Qinruo, not everyone in this imperial palace had enough ability to afford to try and frame this consort…
When Ye Hongyi once again appeared in Splendid Veneer Palace, Wang Qinruo hastily went over to greet him.
"Your Majesty, it was this subject wife's reflectance in handing Xiao Shunzi over without careful investigation… However, don't worry, Your Majesty, this subject wife has already come up with a way to deal with Yao Suluan. Just give this subject wife ten days. This subject wife guarantees…" Wang Qinruo looked towards Ye Hongyi nervously, but before she could finish her words, she felt a warm moist breath approach her.
Ye Hongyi's light kiss flitted across Wang Qinruo's lips.
"We don't blame you at all. We'll handle this matter. We can't bear to have you deal with those headaches anymore. We've truly let you down in the past to have had you stay alone in the hunting park for so long. From now on, we'll definitely make things up to you…" Ye Hongyi pulled Wang Qinruo gently into his arms as he whispered sweet nothings into her ear.
"Your Majesty… You don't trust Qinruo anymore?" asked Wang Qinruo as Ye Hongyi pulled her to the table.
"No, we can't bear to see you work so hard anymore. From now on, my dear consort, your job is to take good care of your health and give birth to a little prince for us. We hope that our child can be as beautiful as you and emit a natural fragrance." Ye Hongyi gently brushed some of Wang Qinruo's hair back from her forehead and tucked it behind her ear, then he instructed for An Bingshan to prepare dinner. During this entire time, there was no trace of anger on his face.
At the side, Huo Feng was taking all of this in uneasily. This wasn't the way His Majesty should've reacted after this incident. Even if His Majesty didn't punish her master, at the very least he should be discussing the next step in the plan. However, His Majesty hadn't mentioned this matter at all. This was very unnatural.
The plates of delicacies were brought one by one to the rectangular table. During this entire time, Ye Hongyi continued to hug Wang Qinruo with a gentle smile, but his heart was cold with resolve.
When An Bingshan personally carried the wine in, Huo Feng quickly moved forward to take the tray from him.
"Eunuch An, you've worked hard. It's fine to leave these duties to this servant." As Huo Feng was reaching out, An Bingshan took a step back and reflexively glanced towards Ye Hongyi.
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Credits: Translated by Chiyomira
[Chiyomira's Corner]
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