HLnovel Chapter 92 092 Farewell
Chapter 92 092 Farewell
Chapter 92 092 Farewell
When Chunyu Yang returned to Lanxin Courtyard after arranging everything, Ye Pianran had already come out of Gongsun Yuan's room. She was wearing a cloak and sitting on the stone steps behind the house, carefully protecting the lantern at her feet with her head down. The warm yellow candlelight illuminated her beautiful profile, and her delicate eyebrows and eyes were as gentle as a painting.
The stench of blood on him was somewhat diluted by this scene. Chunyu Yang slowly walked up to her, lowered his eyes, and asked, "Why are you sitting here instead of going inside?"
She paused for a moment, then stood up, holding the lantern, and smiled slightly at him: "Third Prince, how did it go?"
"Don't worry," Chunyu Yang said, glancing into Gongsun Yuan's room. Ye Pianran replied knowingly, "My mother knows everything is alright and has gone back to sleep."
“I’ve been bothering her here for several days, I should have greeted her long ago, but I’ve missed the chance again,” Chunyu Yang said.
“It’s alright, Mother won’t hold it against us,” Ye Pianran said, then looked up at the unconscious man in black tied to the tree trunk. “Third Prince, this assassin…”
“I will send him to Shuntian Prefecture at daybreak tomorrow,” Chunyu Yang said.
Hearing this, Ye Pianran knew that he would probably really be leaving the Marquis's residence after dawn. Unable to explain the emotions swirling in her heart at that moment, she lowered her eyelashes and said softly, "In that case, thank you very much, Third Prince."
Chunyu Yang's fingertips twitched slightly, and before he knew it, he had already pulled her cloak tighter around her. His movements were so natural that even Ye Pianran didn't sense anything amiss.
"It's getting late and chilly outside, you should go back inside and rest." His voice was inexplicably hoarse.
"Then you..." Ye Pianran's eyes flickered, and she hesitated to speak.
"There are still two hours until sunrise. To avoid any further complications, I will keep watch outside," Chunyu Yang said. "Don't worry, now that I'm here, I won't let you suffer in vain."
Moved, Ye Pianran handed him the lantern at her feet, bowed deeply, and turned to go back to her room.
Only Chunyu Yang remained in the vast courtyard. He stood in the night, lantern in hand, gazing at the candlelight that had never gone out since Ye Pianran entered the house. His gaze grew increasingly profound. A gentle breeze swept by, swaying the lush flower branches, and petals drifted down like rain, settling upon him with a subtle fragrance.
Perhaps because Chunyu Yang was guarding the place, after that night, there were no more disturbances in Lanxin Courtyard, and the last two hours passed peacefully.
As he watched the sky gradually change from thick black to pale white, and as the faint morning light fell on the leaves covered with autumn dew, the silent mansion began to stir with voices. Chunyu Yang knew that his time to leave had finally come.
He glanced back at the closed door once more, a hint of hesitation crossing his cold, handsome face. In the end, he couldn't help but raise his hand and gently push it open, then quietly went inside.
The room was filled with the usual cool floral fragrance. The wick of the oil lamp had burned down to the very end. Ye Pianran, wearing a cloak, was asleep on a pile of messy Xuan paper. She was holding a brush with ink still wet in her hand, and her cheeks were stained with ink without her noticing.
Chunyu Yang pulled out a sheet of Xuan paper and found that it was covered with prescriptions written in delicate small regular script. He realized that she hadn't slept all night, but had stayed in the room with him to spend this unknown night.
His usually cold and hard heart softened instantly. He bent down, wrapped her in his cloak, and picked her up. He quietly moved her to the large bed in the inner room, sat on the edge of the bed, and gazed deeply at her peaceful sleeping face.
He knew how patient and self-controlled he was, yet in these short ten days, he had tasted the bitterness of losing control over her more than once. Even after his injuries had fully healed, he still chose to stay and remain by her side. If it weren't for the accident last night, he truly didn't know when he would have been able to bear leaving.
He raised his hand and gently stroked her porcelain-white face, tenderly wiping away the ink stains on her skin, his fingertips entwined with a captivating tenderness.
He could guess what kind of turmoil would unfold in the Marquis's mansion, and he knew she was exceptionally intelligent and would surely be able to turn the situation around. But he couldn't help feeling worried—worried about her predicament, worried about whether she would suffer any more injustice. However, he also knew that if he continued to stay, he would truly put her and the entire Lanxin Courtyard in a difficult position. Even though he was reluctant, he had no choice but to leave.
Withdrawing his hand, Chunyu Yang stood up and silently retreated as he had come. Little did he know that the moment the door closed, the sleeping Ye Pianran opened her eyes, her misty eyes brimming with tears, as if she had crushed a piece of dazzling starlight.
——※※※——
Inside the Shuntian Prefecture, Prefect Feng Ling, dressed in his official robes and hat, was about to head out to the front courtyard to conduct his business when, upon opening the door, he looked up and saw an unexpected guest standing in the courtyard. Startled, he quickly stepped forward and bowed, saying:
"Your humble servant Feng Ling greets the Third Prince. May I ask what brings Your Highness to my humble abode this morning?"
Chunyu Yang pushed the tightly bound man in black forward and said in a cold voice, "Last night, I caught an assassin at the Marquis of Anshi's residence who attempted to drug the Marquis's wife and daughter and commit indecent acts. Lord Feng, what crime do you think this person should be punished for?"
Prefect Feng, a former protégé of Prime Minister Gongsun, held the prime minister in high esteem. Upon hearing of the man in black's actions, his expression immediately changed, and he roared, "You audacious madman! How dare you plot against the royal family and relatives! Such a grave crime deserves to be torn apart by five horses and left to rot for three days to be spat upon by the people, as a warning to others!"
The man in black shuddered, his eyes widening in terror. He knew he was doomed, but he never expected the Shuntian Prefecture to sentence him to such a severe punishment. With his hands bound and his acupoints sealed, he couldn't beg for mercy and could only utter muffled "uh-uh-uh" sounds, repeatedly kowtowing to Chunyu Yang and Prefect Feng.
Chunyu Yang looked at him coldly and said, "Lord Feng, this man seems to have something to say. Would you like to hear his heartfelt words?"
"I've heard too many pleas for mercy; I'm afraid they'll irritate my ears. Let's skip it," Prefect Feng said calmly.
The man in black shook his head vigorously, his eyes wide and round.
"Oh? You don't want to beg for mercy, do you want to confess?" Chunyu Yang asked.
The man in black nodded vigorously. Chunyu Yang said in a deep voice, "In that case, I and Lord Feng will give you a chance to confess and receive leniency. Remember, don't try anything funny." After he finished speaking, he raised his hand and released the pressure point on the man in black that had silenced him.
With his throat freed, the man in black immediately denied the allegations, saying, "It wasn't me! It wasn't me! I was acting under orders from someone called Aunt Song. I know nothing!"
Chunyu Yang did not kill the man in black; instead, he brought him to Shuntian Prefecture so that he could say those words himself.
Ye Pianran nearly got into trouble on the desolate mountain, and Aunt Song, as the instigator, did not receive the punishment she deserved. Instead, she went unpunished and attempted to frame Ye Pianran and her daughter again, which made Chunyu Yang particularly angry. Although he could not interfere in the affairs of the Marquis's mansion, it did not stop him from seeking justice for her in his own way.
"So, all of this was planned by 'Aunt Song'?" Chunyu Yang asked.
"That's right! The sleeping potion and the dead cat were all prepared by her! She spread the news in teahouses and taverns to bribe assassins, all to set up this kind of conspiracy. I was just doing my job for the money! If I had known that they were the lady and young lady of the Marquis's mansion, I would never have accepted this mission!" The man in black looked like he regretted his actions.
When Prefect Feng heard that this matter involved a power struggle within the Marquis's household, he hesitated for a moment. However, he then thought that Chunyu Yangtian had arrived at Shuntian Prefecture with his men at the crack of dawn, indicating that he took this matter very seriously. He also knew that Prime Minister Gongsun would not let it go if he found out. So he shouted sternly:
"No matter who instigated this, or whether it was your own intention, you will ultimately not escape death!"
The man in black turned pale, and just as he was about to despair, he heard Prefect Feng's words take a turn for the better: "However, if you are willing to personally lead me to the Marquis's residence to identify who paid you to be bribed, I may consider sparing your life."
The man in black nodded vigorously, "Very well, I'll take you there, sir!"
"With Lord Feng in charge of this case, I am relieved." Having obtained the desired result, Chunyu Yang did not linger any longer. "I have other important matters to attend to, so I will not disturb you any longer. Farewell."
Prefect Feng cupped his hands and said, "Feng Ling respectfully sees off the Third Prince."
At this very moment, in a side room of Ciyuan Hall in the Anshi Marquis's mansion, Granny Wen, who served Old Madam Song, and several maids awoke from their deep sleep. Unaware that she had been drugged with a sleeping potion, Granny Wen rubbed her groggy head and, as usual, intended to go to the outer room to help Old Madam Song get up. However, she was surprised to find no familiar figure on the bed.
She walked a little further out, lifted the curtain, and peeked into the Buddhist hall. To her horror, she saw Old Madam Song lying sprawled on the prayer mat. Terrified, she rushed forward to check Old Madam Song's breathing and, finding her still alive, immediately screamed:
"Help! Help! The old lady has fainted!"