The First Jasmine - Chapter 121
Chapter 121 - Full Moon
When they left the Zhangde Palace, the expressions of the noble ladies looking at Ye Li had all become somewhat peculiar. The underlying meaning was a mixture of envy, jealousy, and a hint of fear mixed with schadenfreude. Not to mention the century-old history of the Great Chu dynasty, even looking back a thousand years, no woman had ever dared to draw a sword in the palace in front of the Empress Dowager and the Empress, declaring that she would kill any woman who wanted to become a concubine to her husband. This audacity and courage naturally made these noble ladies—who had long endured households filled with wives and concubines—feel deeply envious and jealous. At the same time, everyone knew that the Princess of Dingnan was bound to bear the notorious reputation of a jealous shrew.
"Li'er." Just as Ye Li stepped out of the hall, Madam Xu was already waiting outside.
Ye Li greeted her with a gentle smile and softly called out, "Aunt." Madam Xu looked at her, let out a soft sigh, and shook her head, saying, "You girl..." Ye Li lowered her head and smiled, "Li'er has made Aunt lose face."
Madam Xu took her hand and walked outward while smiling softly, "How could our Xu family truly care about these superficial reputations? Since Aunt is also a woman, how could I not understand a woman's heart? It's just that regarding the Prince of Ding... Today, Li'er's actions in the hall were truly reckless, but given your status as the Princess of Dingnan, you won't be charged with any serious crimes. The so-called taking of wives and concubines is, to put it bluntly, a family matter; as long as the Prince of Ding is willing to protect you, nothing will happen. However, if the Prince of Ding is dissatisfied with your behavior today, Li'er, your days ahead might not be easy." Ye Li blinked, looking into Madam Xu's worried eyes. She hugged Madam Xu's arm, leaned against her affectionately, and smiled, "Aunt can rest assured, I will be fine. When Aunt goes back, please put in a good word for Li'er in front of Second Uncle, so Second Uncle won't scold Li'er again." Madam Xu raised her hand to pat her, smiling softly, "You girl are far too bold, no wonder your uncle wants to discipline you. You gave me quite a fright in the hall just now." Madam Xu came from a scholarly family and had never seen anyone brandishing swords and daggers in front of her. Earlier in the hall, seeing Helian Huimin swing her saber at Ye Li, she would have cried out on the spot if not for her usual composure and extreme self-control.
"Li'er knows her wrong, I won't do it again." Ye Li hugged Madam Xu's arm and acted coquettishly.
Just as she accompanied Madam Xu out of the palace gates, she saw the curtain of the Prince of Ding's carriage being lifted from the inside. A handsome man in a moon-white robe lowered his head as he stepped out of the carriage, looking smilingly at Ye Li at the palace gates. "A'Li."
Although the passing noble ladies found it inconvenient to stop and watch, they still saw the Prince of Ding smilingly holding out his hand to the Princess. They refused to believe that the Prince of Ding was still unaware of what had happened in the palace. It seemed the Prince of Ding truly had eyes only for his Princess. Even after the Princess of Dingnan uttered such an overbearing and willful declaration in the palace—which practically caused the Prince of Ding to lose face—the Prince of Ding still doted on her just as before. Madam Xu pulled Ye Li forward to pay her respects. Mo Xiunyao slightly stepped aside to avoid it and smiled, "Madam is A'Li's aunt, we are all family, why bother with formalities?" Madam Xu smiled, "Protocol cannot be discarded. Li'er is young and ignorant, and this Prince will hopefully forgive her." Mo Xiunyao looked at Ye Li with a smile and said, "Madam worries too much, A'Li is doing very well."
"Why are you here?" Ye Li asked with a puzzled expression.
Mo Xiunyao smiled in a low voice, "I heard that my wife drew a saber in the Zhangde Palace and intimidated everyone with her anger. Wasn't your husband worried about my wife's safety?"
Ye Li couldn't help rolling her eyes at him. If he was worried about her safety, why didn't he enter the palace to look for her instead of waiting specifically at the palace gates just to put on a show for who knows whom?
Watching their words and actions, Madam Xu felt a bit more at ease in her heart. A single glance was enough to tell that the Prince of Ding truly didn't mind Li'er's actions in the palace, and could even be said to be quite pleased with them. Smilingly bidding farewell to the two of them, Madam Xu walked securely toward her family's carriage.
When the Prince of Ding's carriage also departed, the palace gates gradually returned to peace. Under the city wall not far away, Yelu Ye stood with Helian Huimin, silently watching the Prince of Ding's carriage drive away. After a long while, she heard Helian Huimin ask with some unwillingness, "First Cousin, are we just going to let it go like this?" Yelu Ye glanced at her with a half-smile and said, "If we don't let it go, what else can you do? You couldn't hook up with the Prince of Ding, and you can't deal with the Prince of Ding's Mansion. Or do you really want to go to the Prince of Ding's Mansion to be a maid who sweeps the floors? Don't forget what Mo Xiunyao turned the Eleventh Prince into. Do you think he is a kind-hearted and soft-handed person?" Thinking of the still foolish and dazed Eleventh Prince, Yelu Ping, Helian Huimin couldn't help but shiver. She didn't dare to imagine how someone could turn from a normal person into a foolish, crippled person without suffering any physical injuries or being poisoned, and just how much inhuman torture Yelu Ping must have endured in the process—all because Yelu Ping had said the wrong thing at Mo Xiunyao's wedding.
"Then... what should we do now?" Helian Huimin asked with some worry.
Yelu Ye said indifferently, "Naturally, we wait to welcome the peace-marriage princess and return to Northern Rong together."
"But me..." Helian Huimin frowned and said. Yelu Ye said calmly, "Allowing you to marry into the Prince of Ding's Mansion was just a whim to begin with, and the possibility of success was less than thirty percent—that thirty percent still depended on the Princess of Dingnan. Now it seems there isn't even half a percent chance left. You had better return to Northern Rong and obediently serve as the Crown Prince's secondary consort."
Helian Huimin's expression changed drastically, and she panic-strickenly said, "No... First Cousin, the Crown Prince will kill me! And... what happened in Great Chu will definitely spread back to Northern Rong, the Crown Prince won't want me..." Crown Prince's secondary consort... The rules and etiquette of Northern Rong and Great Chu were completely different. All concubines below the Crown Prince's primary wife became Crown Prince secondary consorts, but they were all entirely slaves to the Crown Prince's primary wife. It would be better if one's own background was noble and prestigious, but for a woman of slave origin like her, even after becoming a secondary consort, she was not allowed to bear offspring, nor was she permitted to have her own property or freedom. Aside from when the Crown Prince favored her, she was usually no different from a regular female slave. Even if she were beaten to death, even Helian Zhen—who was her foster father—could say nothing. Furthermore, the Crown Prince and Yelu Ye's faction harbored deep grievances; the women Yelu Ye sent into the Crown Prince's mansion were usually sent back out in less than half a month, and the tragic state they were in made Helian Huimin tremble even in her midnight dreams. That was why she had gone to great lengths to follow him this time when Yelu Ye came to Great Chu to welcome the bride, and she had agreed without hesitation when Yelu Ye mentioned planning to send her into the Prince of Ding's Mansion. Sometimes she even thought that as long as she didn't have to return to Northern Rong, even if she stayed in Great Chu as a maid, with her skills she wouldn't have to worry about not having a day to make something of herself. But returning to Northern Rong meant that the only thing waiting for her was likely death.
"Don't harbor any bad ideas. The Helian family has raised you for so many years, it can't all go to waste, right?" Glancing at the head-lowering, silent Helian Huimin, Yelu Ye said indifferently, "Rest assured, there are very few people who have seen you. Princess Ronghua has never seen you either. As for your name, you can just change it; anyway, Uncle's adopted daughters are not limited to just you. Since you can't deal with the Prince of Ding, then obediently resign yourself to your fate and go to the Crown Prince's mansion. This Prince has already given you a chance." Helian Huimin felt a chill in her heart, knowing full well what kind of methods Yelu Ye possessed. She quickly said with a trembling voice, "I understand."
Yelu Ye looked her over, nodded in satisfaction, and turned away. If Helian Huimin hadn't been the one with the best aptitude among the women in Uncle's mansion, she wouldn't have needed to stay alive to return after this plan failed. However, smart as Helian Huimin was, compared to the Princess of Dingnan, she was still far from enough. Recalling the intelligence collected in the Chu capital over these days, this Princess of Dingnan was not only from a pure and noble background and excelled in both literature and martial arts, but it was even said that she had led the Black Cloud Cavalry to hold the city in Yongzhou until the Prince of Ding's reinforcements arrived, which could be described as making contributions of immense magnitude. A woman who could be betrothed to command the Black Cloud Cavalry...
The marriage alliance between Northern Rong and the Prince of Ding's Mansion came to nothing, but the reputation of the Princess of Dingnan as a fierce shrew spread across the capital overnight. As for a woman who dared to hold a dagger in front of the Empress Dowager and declare that if anyone dared to try and enter the Prince of Ding's Mansion, she would kill one if one came and kill a pair if two came, the noble ladies and daughters of the capital declared that no one dared to provoke her. Even more frighteningly, not only did the Prince of Ding show no sign of anger whatsoever regarding the Princess's declaration, but in his spare time from official duties, he also frequently accompanied his beloved wife to stroll hand in hand through the capital city. That deeply affectionate appearance clearly told people that if any woman insisted on entering the Prince of Ding's Mansion as a concubine and was truly killed off by the Princess of Dingnan, His Highness the Prince of Ding would absolutely, unequivocally never seek justice for them. For a time, some people said the Prince of Ding loved his wife like his life, while others said he was henpecked. However, no matter how the outside world rumored it, it still couldn't affect the two principals of the incident in the slightest. At this moment, Ye Li also had no time to bother with these idle rumors. When the full moon rose into the night sky, the heart that Ye Li had kept hanging became even more tightly wound.
Not long after they finished dinner, Mo Xiunyao's complexion gradually turned unsightly. Ye Li quickly invited Shen Yang over. Shen Yang remained silent for a long time before giving just one word: "Endure!" The sequela of using phoenix-tail grass had flared up; there was no medicine to cure it, and he could only rely on himself to tough it through.
"A'Li, go to the side hall to rest." Looking at Ye Li's rigid and delicate face, Mo Xiunyao said softly. The flare-up wasn't a pretty sight; he didn't want to look too wretched in front of her, nor did he want to frighten her. Ye Li sat quietly beside him and said with firm determination, "I'll stay with you. Don't be afraid."
Don't be afraid... Mo Xiunyao couldn't help wanting to smile, yet in his heart, he felt even more like crying. For over ten years, he had wandered on the brink of ghosts' doors countless times, suffering pains so intense that he almost couldn't find a reason to keep living. Never once had anyone asked him whether he was afraid or not? No matter how formidable the Prince of Ding was, he was still just a human being, and moreover, when he was first injured, he was merely an eighteen-year-old youth. Of course he had been afraid. Every time the cold poison flared up, he was afraid he would never wake up again, afraid the Prince of Ding's Mansion would be obliterated from then on, and afraid that his elder brother's revenge, his own revenge, and the revenge of tens of thousands of loyal soldiers of the Mo family army would forever go unavenged. But he couldn't show his fear in front of anyone; he could only endure. Yet now, his A'Li, his wife, was sitting beside him and telling him not to be afraid...
"Alright, not afraid." Holding Ye Li's hand, Mo Xiunyao smiled faintly.
Ye Li could hardly bear to recall how this day and night had passed. At the beginning, the pain in Mo Xiunyao's body was still bearable, so she sat beside him and talked with him to distract his attention. But after midnight, the pain suddenly intensified. Even someone as resilient as Mo Xiunyao was shaking all over from the agony and couldn't speak a single complete sentence. Any pain-relieving medication, acupoint-sealing, or silver needles were completely ineffective. Ye Li could only watch helplessly as he tore the brocade quilt on the bed and ripped down the brocade bed curtains in the grip of excruciating pain.
The painful and fragile state of a man who was ordinarily poised and elegant finally made Ye Li unable to hold back her tears. She had never hated her own powerlessness so much. With solemn oaths, she had said she would accompany him through this pain, but in reality, other than watching him and preventing him from inflicting heavy injuries on himself, there was nothing else she could do.
In just one brief night, Ye Li finally understood what it meant to have days feel like years. When Mo Xiunyao passed out from exhaustion due to the prolonged pain, she could only carefully let him lean against her, not even daring to touch him too much, hoping only that he could have a brief respite before the next wave of pain struck.
Sure enough, less than half an hour later, Mo Xiunyao woke up again, followed by an agony even more intense than the previous time. Such repeated bouts of fainting, waking in pain, and fainting again continued until nearly noon the next day before gradually subsiding.
When Steward Mo and Shen Yang pushed open the door after noon, what met their eyes was utter disorder in the room. The Princess was sitting on the floor by the side of the bed, leaning her back against the bed frame and deeply asleep with an expression of utter exhaustion. Right in front of the Princess, the Prince's head rested on the Princess's lap; although he slept somewhat restlessly, it was clear that he had also fallen asleep. The wounds on his body and hands had already been treated by someone. Looking at this scene, the two men whose combined ages were nearly a hundred years old couldn't help but let out gloomy sighs. Shen Yang waved his hand and retreated from the room together with Steward Mo.
Having just experienced a full moon night, Mo Xiunyao was once again lying in bed. This caused Ye Li—who was already worried about Mo Xiunyao's health—to feel an even heavier weight in her heart.
"A'Li, what are you thinking about?" Mo Xiunyao lay in bed, smilingly looking at Ye Li, who was sitting to the side holding a book and lost in thought.
Ye Li raised her head to look at him, frowned, and asked, "With your health, is it alright to travel all the way to Northern Rong?"
Mo Xiunyao smiled and said, "Having only one night like this per month is still much better than before. If it were like last year, I'm afraid it truly wouldn't be possible. Now that my health is no different from an ordinary person's, why wouldn't it be possible?"
Ye Li shook her head. This time, she had accompanied Mo Xiunyao through the entire process, and the experience was simply too startling for her. That kind of heart-rending, gut-wrenching pain was likely something even someone like her, who had undergone professional interrogation training, couldn't endure—let alone Mo Xiunyao, whose health was already poor to begin with. What was even more frightening was that such torment had to be endured once every month; just this psychological shadow alone was enough to drive a person mad. Seeing Ye Li's worried and heartache-filled expression, Mo Xiunyao smiled faintly, reached out to pull Ye Li to his side, and lowered his voice to smile, "There was a time when I thought I would never be able to get up again. But look at me now, aren't I doing well? So what if it hurts once a month? I think it's entirely worth it. A'Li, I hope your husband is flawless, because only then will he be worthy of my A'Li..." His slender fingers lightly touched Ye Li's well-defined, beautiful lips as Mo Xiunyao murmured softly.
Ye Li turned her head away, not letting herself look at the unhealed scars still staining his hands. Repressing the tears welling in her eyes, she said, "Even if your legs can never recover, I won't despise you." Compared to those so-called able-bodied young talents and peerless overlords, Ye Li could say with absolute confidence that Mo Xiunyao was far superior to any of them. She had never believed that Mo Xiunyao needed to be a certain way to be worthy of her.
"I know, but I hope everything A'Li possesses is the best," Mo Xiunyao said softly with a smile.
Ye Li was startled, and ultimately couldn't hold back the moisture in her eyes. "What will you do if you end up spoiling me rotten?"
Mo Xiunyao pulled her into his embrace. "As long as A'Li wants it, everything Xiunyao has can be given to you. Even if I don't have it, I will seize it and hand it over to you."