Chapter 32 - Heartless

 Ye Chuyan didn't know what Yan Xue meant. She thought he must have something urgent to report to Pei Xiuyan. She simply took Bai Zhi to find a nearby pavilion and sat down leisurely.

Bai Zhi said, "Princess, this pavilion is windy on all sides. I'll find you a hot water bottle."

"No, I'm healed. The cold can't hurt me."

Bai Zhi was unwilling. "Princess, the dress you're wearing today is a little thin. I'm really worried."

Ye Chuyan couldn't refuse Bai Zhi's kindness and nodded in agreement. After Bai Zhi left, Ye Chuyan looked around. Most of the eunuchs and maids in the palace were in Hanyuan Hall today. The path leading to the Imperial Garden was sparsely populated. The pavilion was surrounded by pine trees and was extremely quiet. It is really a quiet and good place.

"Master Wu, wait for me." A woman's panting voice came from a distance, as if she were out of breath.

"How many times have I told you not to follow me anymore?" Wu Mu's voice was full of impatience.

"But...but...Sister Yue Lin told me to follow you closely in the palace." The woman felt a little wronged.

"Who said you go find someone! Zhang Xiuyu, why are you as annoying as a dog-skin plaster? It's shameless to follow me like this!"

Wu Mu's ridicule made the woman cry out. With a flustered sound of footsteps, it was obvious that the woman ran away crying.

Since that day, Wu Mu's injured eyes have appeared in Ye Chuyan's dream every day. Today, Ye Chuyan, who was sitting in the pavilion, heard his voice again, and felt mixed emotions. Fortunately, it was getting dark, and Wu Mu should not be able to see her standing on the path. After a long time, Wu Mu's footsteps gradually went away. Ye Chuyan just breathed a sigh of relief when a blue figure suddenly jumped down from the pavilion.

Ye Chuyan subconsciously shouted, "Little Wood, this is the palace; you can't be so reckless."

"Ah Yan, are you worried about me? I know you have me in your heart."

Wu Mu wore a royal blue brocade inlaid robe today, a white jade belt around his waist, a green gilded jade crown on his head, and fine hair on both sides. The whole body was lingering with the unique, unruly, and unrestrained nature of a young man. His eyes looked at Ye Chuyan with sparkling eyes, as if there were endless stars in the sky. Ye Chuyan didn't dare to look directly at Wu Mu and stood up to leave.

Wu Mu went up and grabbed Ye Chuyan's sleeve.

 "Ah Yan, I have been thinking for some time that you are not a little girl. You must hate Pei Xiuyan now."

"I heard that Pei Xiuyan was in charge of the exile of the Ye family's women. I think about it; you must stay with him because of this, right?"

Ye Chuyan was shocked.

She secretly tried to get rid of Wu Mu's hand, but Wu Mu held it tightly.

Ye Chuyan said sternly, "Young Master Wu, you think too much. I stayed in the Qing Palace because I love the prince, that's all. The Ye family colluded with the enemy and sold out the country. The Qing prince spared the lives of the Ye family's women, which was a mercy outside the law. I have always been grateful, so how can I hate it?"

Wu Mu was like a wounded little animal, aggrieved: "Ah yan, you must have said that because you don't want me to get involved. The emperor hates collusion between officials and businessmen. You don't want me to get involved in the affairs of the Ye family. You said that because you are afraid of implicating me, right?"

"But, Ah Yan, have you ever thought about how I can let you bear all this pain alone?"

Ye Chuyan always thought that Wu Mu was an innocent boy. She only realised now that she was wrong from the beginning. This boy has an exquisite heart. He is not innocent, but he has always been unwilling to get involved in the dirty things in the world.

Ye Chuyan tried to hide the emotion in her eyes and said with disdain and sarcasm, "Master Wu, you are really self-indulgent. If I had any interest in you, I would not have married the King of Qing by any means a few years ago."

"I say again, I have a deep love for the King of Qing. I hope you don't think you are right and bother me with this."

"If you continue to entangle with me, our friendship in our youth will be cut off from now on."

Wu Mu staggered, let go of Ye Chuyan's sleeve, his eyes were red, and roared: "Ayan, you lied to me! You lied to me!"

"Master Wu, please respect yourself. My princess has made it very clear. Please don't entangle!" Pei Xiuyan came with Yan Ke at some point.

Ye Chuyan's ridicule of Wu Mu just now made him feel very useful, and the corners of his mouth curled up inexplicably. Ye Chuyan pinched her nails into her palms, controlled her trembling heart, leaned into Pei Xiuyan's arms, and said coquettishly, like a little girl, "Prince, why are you here?"

Pei Xiuyan's heart seemed to skip a beat. He admitted that he was fascinated by Ye Chuyan's coquettish state. Whether it was true or false, he wanted to accept it all. He put Ye Chuyan's hand in his own hand and said softly, "I came to see you for something; let's talk while walking."

Ye Chuyan nodded slightly and followed him obediently.

Bai Zhi, who came with a hot water bottle, happened to meet Pei Xiuyan holding Ye Chuyan's hand and coming down from the pavilion. Pei Xiuyan naturally took the hot water bottle from Bai Zhi's hand and stuffed it into Ye Chuyan's palm. The two walked further and further away, holding hands. From their backs, they were truly in love and a perfect couple.

Standing in the pavilion, Wu Mu slowly squatted on the ground, covered his head, and said in pain, "Ayan lied to me... Ayan lied to me... Ayan did this to protect me... Ayan lied to me..."

Ye Chuyan accompanied Pei Xiuyan back on the way. Fearing that Pei Xiuyan would ask about Wu Mu, she asked in advance, "Why did the prince look for me?"

Pei Xiuyan thought for a moment and said lightly, "Nothing..."

Just now, Yan Xue saw a person in the palace who looked exactly like the one who spied on Jianjia Garden that day. He was mixed in with the imperial guards patrolling the palace. After he learned the news, he thought that the person was coming for Ye Chuyan today. The more he thought about it, the more uneasy he became, so he followed Yan Xue out to look for Ye Chuyan. However, the person only had the same figure. He had not yet found out the other party's background, so he could not alert the enemy.

Ye Chuyan bowed his head and said nothing after hearing this. It is speculated that Yan Xue saw Wu Mu from a distance, and Pei Xiuyan was afraid that she and Wu Mu would have a secret meeting, so he hurried to catch them. Fortunately, she did not implicate Wu Mu. However, she said this today in the hope that Wu Mu would give up completely. The two returned to Hanyuan Hall with their own thoughts.

As soon as they walked out of the hall, the eunuch of the Imperial Household Department was saying, "The hour of You (5 p.m.–7 p.m.) is coming; please take your seats."

Today, the main seats on the high platform in the middle of Hanyuan Hall are the seats of the emperor and the queen, and on both sides are long tables connected in sequence.

According to etiquette, the Beirong envoys were arranged on the right side close to the high platform, and next to the envoys were the royal descendants without official positions.

On the left were the officials of Dafeng, and Pei Xiuyan was at the front, facing the seat of the new emperor of Beirong.

After Pei Xiuyan and Ye Chuyan sat down, Ye Chuyan found that Nan Gongli was sitting below him.