Chapter 54: Get Rid of Yao Mowan?

“That’s right, she has passed away… But now a Yao Mowan has appeared in great Chu. After learning that past lesson, how could this crown prince allow Yao Mowan to grow stronger?” As of now, it felt like sharp knives were cutting through his chest. He regretted. From the start, he shouldn’t have allowed Yao Moxin to return to great Chu!

He hated Ye Hongyi. That man was loved by such a brilliant woman, yet he didn’t even know to treasure her! He was also vexed with Yao Moxin. Wasn’t she supposed to be very smart? How did she end up dying just like that? Get back up to continue fighting with him!

“What Your Highness means is… to get rid of Yao Mowan?” asked Baili Haoran in sudden realization.

“That’s right, Yao Mowan can’t be allowed to live.” Chu Mobei sighed, then coldness flashed through his sharp eyes. Sorry, Moxin, but this crown prince doesn’t wish to take the risk.

“But this subject still doesn’t understand. What does this have to do with having Thousand Paths withdraw?” Baili Haoran scratched at his head.

“After Thousand Paths withdraws, this crown prince no longer has any reasons to stay in Mangyuan. That way, when something happens to Yao Mowan, no one can blame it on great Shu,” explained Chu Mobei in a rare show of patience.

“Other than King Loulan, there’s no one else that knows that you’re the proprietor of Thousand Paths?” Baili Haoran furrowed his brows with a confused expression.

“That’s why the person this crown prince is on guard against is King Loulan!” Chu Mobei endured the impulse to just rush up and beat Baili Haoran up as he said this sternly. Even Chu Mobei who has always had a calm personality couldn’t stay calm upon facing such consecutive stupid questions.

“This subject understands…” Life was more important, so Baili Haoran didn’t dare to make any more objections.

“Aside from this, the reason this crown prince is doing this is also to make Yao Mowan confused just like you are right now! At that time, when she receives this crown prince’s invitation, do you think she’d reject it? As for money, once Moxin married Kubu Zheer, would great Shu have need to worry about money?” Chu Mobei finally revealed the truth.

“But this subject feels that the little prince might not marry the sunshine princess…” replied Baili Haoran without fear of dying.

“Things like feelings can be nurtured.” Chu Mobei was also quite annoyed by this. He felt that Kubu Zheer was a captivating beauty, to the point that she could be said to be peerless in her generation, so why did his younger brother not feel anything for her?

Just as Chu Mobei had predicted, when Yao Mowan got Chu Mobei’s invitation, she only hesitated for a brief moment before deciding to head to the banquet.

“Master, this Luminous Moon Ravine is a gap in the defenses of Mangyuan and bandits often appear there. Ben Lei believes that Chu Mobei definitely harbors sinister motives in setting the location here. No matter what, you can’t go there alone!” After reading the invitation Yao Mowan passed over, Ben Lei hastily tried to dissuade her.

“This empress believes that he won’t attack this quickly, and this empress is also very curious why he suddenly had all of Thousand Paths’ stores withdraw. Perhaps… Perhaps he’s deliberately expressing goodwill. If that’s the case, this empress would like to talk to him about a deal. “A hard to read light flashed through Yao Mowan’s eyes.

Based on her past understanding of Chu Mobei, she really shouldn’t make this trip. However, she didn’t want to lose this change to meet with Chu Mobei. As of now, the time was right for Ye Junqing to overthrow the current dynasty. If they had the support of great Shu, it’d be half the work and twice the effect!

“But…” Ben Lei still wanted to dissuade her, but Yao Mowan cut him off.

“Listen up, you’re not to let anyone know about this, especially Ye Junqing! If this empress sees anyone in Luminous Moon Gorge that shouldn’t be there, this empress will definitely personally rip your mouth off!” As Yao Mowan spoke, she leisurely got up and walked out of the main hall with Ting Yue.

It was a very mentally exhausting matter to negotiate with Chu Mobei. There was still six hours until six, so she needed to think about things carefully.

Tears whirled in Ben Lei’s eyes as he watched Yao Mowan’s figure fade from his sight. Even if Yao Mowan didn’t say it, he could still guess what kind of deal she wanted to talk about with Chu Mobei. For the prince, Yao Mowan was already doing everything she could. This favor that he owed was deeply engraved in his heart.

“Don’t worry, with Yin Xue present, there’s no way anything would happen to Master,” said Yu Er as she walked in.

“You heard?” Ben Lei wiped at his tears, then cleared his throat awkwardly.

“Don’t forget, Yu Er’s also a hidden guard. There was a lady at the door just now that wanted to see the esteemed prince and she said to hand this item along with this letter to the prince.” As Yu Er spoke, she handed the hairpin and the letter over.

“A woman’s hairpin?” Ben Lei’s face was filled with questions as he took the hairpin.

“Actually, there’s one thing that Yu Er doesn’t know if she should say, but both of us have seen all that Master had done for the esteemed prince. If the esteemed prince lets down Master… You used to be the prince’s trusted aid. There are some things that it’s better for you to say.” Yu Er glanced meaningfully at the hairpin, then turned and left.

Ben Lei naturally understood what Yu Er meant, but he also knew that the prince wouldn’t have any other women, because the only one in the prince’s heart was Yao Moxin. However, as he looked at the hairpin, he still hesitated. It was only when it was almost six that Ben Lei handed the hairpin and letter to Ye Junqing. At this time, Yao Mowan had already left the Yao residence to head towards Luminous Moon Ravine.

Even in the depths of night, Mangyuan’s main street was still bustling. Vendor stands were lit with lanterns on both sides of the street so from a distance away, it looked as if there were two resting dragons, it was a spectacular sight. Inside the palanquin, Yao Mowan seemed to suddenly have thought of something and she lifted the carriage curtain.

“Ting Yue, make a trip to Melancholic Spring Courtyard and see if Chu Moxin’s there? If… If he is… Tell him that this empress has gone to Luminous Moon Ravine.” It had been very hard for Yao Mowan to make this decision, so the moment Ting Yue left, she immediately regretted it.

“Yin Xue!” Yao Mowan quickly summoned Yin Xue.

“Yes!”

“Call Ting Yue back!” said Yao Mowan without hesitation. Regardless of whether what came next was a blessing or a calamity, she still shouldn’t have considered using Chu Moxin. That child loved her like she was his mother.

Even in the bustling street, not a single person noticed Yin Xue’s presence when she arrived, nor when she left.

Just as Yin Xue found traces of Ting Yue, she was suddenly stopped by someone.

“Move aside!” Yin Xue’s voice was cold as ice as she looked at the person in front of her.

“You probably recognize this item. He’s at Phoenix Mountain. Whether you go or not is your decision.” The person didn’t attack and simply threw a whip in front of Yin Xue. Yin Xue’s eyes dilated when she saw this whip. It only took a glance for her to realize that this dragon beard whip was the one that Father had passed on to Yin Xiong before he died. Yin Xiong never went anywhere without it.

“Did something happen to my brother?” Yin Xue picked up the whip as worry flooded her heart. However, when she lifted her eyes again, the person was already gone. At this moment, Yin Xue hesitated. Go? But she still had a task to carry out. Don’t go? If he hadn’t encountered extreme danger, there was no way this whip would appear here! Yin Xue struggled for a brief moment, then turned to run towards Phoenix Mountain. This was the first time she had every neglected her duties since she had become a hidden guard.

Yao Mowan hadn’t shown up during the entire course of dinner. Just as Ye Junqing was about to ask about her, he saw Ben Lei walk in.

“Have you seen Yao Mowan? No matter how busy she is, she still shouldn’t skip meals!” grumbled Ye Junqing.

“Actually…” Ben Lei hesitated. Perhaps he should tell the prince about where Yao Mowan had gone. After all, Luminous Moon Ravine was too dangerous. If Chu Mobei was planning to use some dirty trick, the consequences would be too terrible to imagine. Just as Ben Lei had resolved himself, Ye Junqing abruptly got up and seized the hairpin from his hand.

“Where did you get this?” Ye Junqing’s gaze was extremely cold and his voice was trembling.

“Replying Prince, a woman came to the residence this afternoon to look for you and said to hand these two items to you. At that time you weren’t here, so Ben Lei accepted them instead.” As Ben Lei spoke, he handed the letter he was holding to Ye Junqing.

‘If you wish to know how Yao Moxin died, come to Jade Heart Pavilion at seven. Being late is not acceptable－Yu Funing.’ As Ye Junqing looked at this letter, he felt like his heart was being gnawed on by a poisonous snake, waves of piercing pain came crashing into his heart. Although he did believe that Yao Suluan was the one that caused Yao Moxin’s death, he still wanted to get confirmation from another person’s mouth.

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Credits: Translated by Chiyomira

[Chiyomira’s Corner]

Enjoy~