binnovel Chapter 118 World 270
Chapter 118 World 270
Since the palace banquet that day, Li Yinyin has put all the hostages out of her mind and gone off to attend to her own business.
But also for the sake of the future, whenever Li Yinyin returned from outside the city or went shopping, she would always run into one or two hostages from other countries.
Some knew how to maintain their proper status, claiming it was a chance encounter and offering a sincere invitation. Others, however, naturally carried a sense of disdain for women, acting as if they were being disrespectful by refusing to come along, which annoyed Li Yinyin greatly.
As for those who never appeared from beginning to end, there were indeed some, but since they never even showed their faces, Li Yinyin naturally had no impression of them.
Back in Weiyang Palace, Li Yinyin couldn't help but complain to her sister-in-law: "If this continues, I'll have to use the charge of spying on Ming Dynasty secrets to lock them all up in the hostage residence and forbid them from leaving."
Seeing her troubled look, Yu Qiaoyun said, "Why don't you ask your brother to find them some work?"
"Let's just put them under surveillance. Anyone who tries to spy on me again will be banned from leaving the house for a month. If this happens repeatedly, the ban will be increased until they never appear in front of me again."
Upon hearing this, Yu Qiaoyun, who had originally intended to echo him, suppressed the words that were about to come out.
"Yinyin," Yu Qiaoyun asked tentatively, "these hostages are all different in appearance and temperament, haven't you taken a liking to any of them?"
“What’s so interesting about them?” Li Yinyin shrugged. “There are so many people, but not many of them are memorable.”
"Then who do you remember?" Yu Qiaoyun thought for a moment, "Chu Ziran from Shu?"
Upon hearing the name, a stunningly beautiful face immediately appeared in Li Yinyin's mind. She answered honestly, "That's all I remember about him. But he's quite sensible; he never comes looking for me when I'm out of town. He always asks to see me properly."
“This is somewhat unlike how he acts,” Yu Qiaoyun said, somewhat surprised. “I thought he was the one who would ambush you the most.”
"I don't know," Li Yinyin said, resting her chin on her hand. "Perhaps he was just saying that at the palace banquet?"
Yu Qiaoyun didn't think so, but she didn't bring it up again. Instead, she waited until evening to talk to Li Chengming about it: "I remember we still have people in Shu. Why don't we ask them to investigate what kind of character this young master from Shu is?"
"Why did you suddenly think of investigating this?" Li Chengming asked. "Could it be that Yinyin is interested in him?"
“If only Yin Yin were interested in him,” Yu Qiaoyun sighed. “Yin Yin is almost of marriageable age, but she still lacks a romantic interest. I think this young master from Shu is quite shameless, so I’m checking to see if he’s suitable to get to know Yin Yin better.”
“It’s fine to have more contact,” Li Chengming said. “I checked everything when it was first brought here.”
Yu Qiaoyun looked at him with great interest and urged him to tell her quickly.
Li Chengming then spoke up: "Chu Ziran is not actually the son of the King of Shu, but the youngest son of the eldest princess of Shu. Back then, when there was a civil war in Shu, the King of Shu killed the then crown prince and became the new heir. He then directly ordered the death of the eldest princess's husband and made the eldest princess live in the Yeting Palace."
"You mean," Yu Qiaoyun's eyes widened, "that the King of Shu wants to marry the Princess!"
Seeing Li Chengming nod, Yu Qiaoyun frowned again: "Then Chu Ziran..."
"Chu Ziran wasn't very old at the time. He was brought into the Yeting Palace by the Eldest Princess and was protected very closely. But as he grew older, his appearance became more and more outstanding, and the Prince of Shu increasingly liked to have him accompany him on his travels. Fortunately, the Eldest Princess accompanied him every time, so nothing bad happened," Li Chengming said, his face full of disgust for the Prince of Shu. "This time, it was supposed to be the son of Consort Li of Shu who came. The Eldest Princess made a deal with Consort Li, replacing Consort Li's son with Chu Ziran."
Yu Qiaoyun remained silent for a while before saying, "The Princess is a good mother."
"But with Chu Ziran's complicated background, can he really be sincere towards Yin Yin?"
“As long as we bring the Princess of Shu and Chu Ziran’s brother, who was raised outside the palace, out of Shu, we won’t have to worry about Chu Ziran having any attachment to Shu. As for whether they can be together,” Li Chengming didn’t care much, “it depends on whether they are destined to be together.”
"However, if he can't win Yin Yin's favor, then naturally there's no need for us to make any effort for him."
These words sounded rather cold, but Yu Qiaoyun didn't see anything wrong with them and even agreed: "If that's the case, I hope he can work harder, after all, he is indeed very handsome."
After the couple had this conversation, Yu Qiaoyun secretly gave Chu Ziran more conveniences. This was reflected in the fact that, compared to other hostages, Chu Ziran had more opportunities to enter the palace. She could bump into Li Yinyin in the Imperial Garden and even have her request for an audience delivered directly to Chang Le Palace.
At first, Li Yinyin didn't notice the changes, but one day, when Chu Ziran asked to see her again, Li Yinyin keenly sensed Russell's displeasure and hostility, which made her feel a little strange.
Why are you getting angry with Young Master Chu?
Russell's face showed a hint of tears: "This servant... this servant is just a little jealous. I'm jealous that Young Master Chu can openly come to see His Highness, talk to His Highness, drink tea, and admire flowers. He can show his feelings for His Highness without any scruples."
“Your Highness,” Russell knelt before her, gently lifting the hem of her skirt with one hand, then stopped moving, “could you perhaps show some mercy to me?”
Russell used to be a delicate daffodil, and such a pose was naturally beautiful. But as he grew older, and with the better living conditions he enjoyed with Li Yinyin, he grew taller and more muscular. However, his face inevitably appeared older than his age due to his obvious Western Region ancestry. Even his deeper and more affectionate eyes couldn't change this.
Li Yinyin sighed. She wasn't stupid; she naturally sensed the affection Russell had for her. But he was too young back then, and Li Yinyin was always too busy to think about these things. Now, in the blink of an eye, she was old enough to consider them, but Russell's infatuation was clearly fading.
This sigh shattered Russell's already meager confidence, and his face turned pale: "Your Highness, I have overstepped my bounds. I beg for forgiveness. You may punish me however you wish, but please do not send me away, Your Highness."
“Russell,” Li Yinyin reached out to wipe away the tears on his face, but was unwilling to respond to even the slightest hope in him, “You are skilled in incense making. I have prepared an incense workshop and would like you to be the manager. Would you be willing?”
"Your Highness..."
Li Yinyin placed her hand on his head and stroked his hair, stopping him from pleading: "You're not a eunuch, so you shouldn't stay in the palace for long. If you don't leave now, you won't be able to be a man in the future!"