Chapter 62: Young Master Ye, Are You Alright?

The silver moon hung faint and remote.

Deep within the imperial city's covered corridors, a woman in red holding a palace lantern stood quietly and upright.

Tap—

Pitter-patter…

A light sound came from the end of the corridor, and a handsome guard dressed in black robes revealed his figure. His robes were already soaked, with water droplets dripping from his sleeves and hair as he walked, looking back every few steps with a heavy heart.

The Empress retrieved a handkerchief from her sleeve and stepped forward:

"Master Ye, are you alright?"

Ye Jingtang's mind was currently filled with images of 'so grand, so vast, so full', accompanied by the terrifying prospect of whether heroine Luo would kill him if she ever found out. He was truly somewhat absent-minded. Catching sight of Yuhu, he reined in the stray thoughts in his mind, took the handkerchief to wipe the water stains off his face, and pulled the jade pendant out of his sleeve:

"I'm fine, the pendant was found."

The Empress genuinely had not expected that, even in such an embarrassing and awkward plight, Ye Jingtang would not forget to retrieve the jade pendant for her. She raised her hand to take the double-fish pendant, blinking her eyes:

"I just saw someone heading toward the Brilliant Sun Pond. You weren't spotted, were you?"

"I am a guard; it's normal to be seen patrolling everywhere. Don't worry, I didn't sell you out. Be more careful in the future. Today it happened to be me; if it had been anyone else, this jade pendant definitely wouldn't have been recovered."

*Didn't sell Us out…*

The Empress didn't know whether to say Ye Jingtang possessed an excessive sense of chivalry or was just a foolish boy, but she felt somewhat like an unscrupulous elder sister-in-law who was deceiving a naive prospective brother-in-law. She fell slightly silent and put the jade pendant away:

"Many thanks, Master Ye. This humble maiden truly doesn't know how to repay you."

If he hadn't just encountered Prince Jing, upon hearing about a reward, Ye Jingtang might have thought of Prince Jing and asked her to find a pretty palace maid in the palace for him to take home to pour tea and water.

But right now, Ye Jingtang truly had no mind to chat and laugh with a young lady:

"It was merely a matter of a raised hand, no repayment needed. It's so late, Lady Yuhu should head back quickly. I must continue my patrols."

The corner of the Empress's lips curved into a smile, and she bowed gracefully like flowing water:

"I have truly troubled you, Master Ye. Such great kindness, this humble maiden will repay it another day."

Ye Jingtang didn't think this beautiful palace maid could offer him any real repayment, merely treating it as polite pleasantry. He nodded slightly in return, turned, and left the corridor. Yet after walking a short distance, he suddenly remembered the red handkerchief clutched in his hand.

"Huh?"

Ye Jingtang turned back, intending to call out to Yuhu, but saw that the palace lantern had already rounded the corner of the corridor, leaving only a lingering glow. After a brief hesitation, he decided to let it be.

The moon had climbed overhead, and the palace pavilions were largely deserted. This unforgettable night finally grew completely quiet at last.

Ye Jingtang felt the palace was terribly eccentric and didn't dare wander around blindly anymore. Instead, he simply paced back and forth beneath the palace walls, waiting for the night breeze to dry his clothes.

Though he tried his best to suppress his surging emotions, his mind kept replaying the overwhelming pressure that washed over him when Prince Jing jumped into the water, along with the lingering tactile sensation of her hair…

This wasn't because he was a lecher, but rather because the sensory impact was simply too massive. Any man encountering such an incident would toss and turn for a few nights before calming down; the kind who could instantly achieve inner peace as if nothing had happened would be a saint, and he was clearly no saint.

If such a romantic encounter blew up like this, and Prince Jing insisted on him taking responsibility, he certainly wouldn't be able to escape.

Once heroine Luo returned, if she discovered he had become a Prince Consort, who knew how heartbroken she would be…

What on earth should he do…

Ye Jingtang was in a state of utter chaos, unable to even spare a thought for the Diagram of Dragon Roaring. Fearing that Prince Jing might come looking for him, he even hurried over to the Jingfu Palace to take a look, only to find that aside from a silly palace maid obediently clutching a little bird while waiting, there was no trace of Prince Jing whatsoever.

Though he knew it was unlikely Prince Jing would come over again, he still followed the maid's relayed instructions, waiting in the courtyard while pondering various martial arts techniques to himself……

-----

On the other side, within the Emperor's bedchamber in the Yongle Palace.

Following a string of chaotic and messy experiences, the atmosphere among the Empress Dowager, the Empress, and Prince Jing had grown exceedingly bizarre.

In the dead of night, the hall was exceptionally quiet, with only the moonlight outside and the palace lamps casting a faint, dim glow.

Upon the expansive dragon bed, three women with distinctly different figures yet all radiantly alluring lay side-by-side on the pillows, seemingly all fast asleep.

After Dongfang Liren arrived at the Yongle Palace, she had brewed countless retortions in her mind, eager to unleash her fury upon the Empress.

Yet upon returning to her bedchamber, the Empress had put on an expression of *'This Emperor knows nothing whatsoever'*. On one hand, Dongfang Liren was too mortified and speechless to press the matter, and on the other hand, she harbored a lingering dread of her older sister. In the end, she could only act as though nothing had ever happened.

At this moment, Dongfang Liren was wearing a silver-white nightgown, wrapped up tightly and securely. Lying on the outermost edge of the bed with her back turned to the other two, her face was slightly chilling, wearing the expression of *'This Prince is furious'*, while a myriad of thoughts churned within her:

How truly… how could she run into such a foolish older sister…

Just now, Ye Jingtang was actually quite the gentleman. Under those circumstances, he still knew to avert his gaze, close his eyes, and refuse to peek around blindly…

Yet even if he didn't look around blindly, wasn't he still seen anyway…

If Ye Jingtang's beloved knew that this Prince had experienced such an affair with him, wouldn't she be furious…

She would definitely be furious. How could an ordinary woman outside understand reason the way this Prince does? As long as the fault didn't lie with Ye Jingtang, she wouldn't blame Ye Jingtang…

If Ye Jingtang harbored deep affections, only to be resented and abandoned by his beloved because of this incident, wouldn't he blame this Prince…

This Prince didn't want you to look either!

Who told you to be so foolish and let yourself be tricked here by Sister…

It's all Sister's fault. How could she pull off such a foolish stunt…

The more Dongfang Liren thought about it, the angrier she grew. Unable to hold back, she used her elbow beneath the thin quilt to secretly jab the Empress in retaliation to vent her spleen.

As for the Empress, she had changed back into her translucent, gossamer-thin red dress. No longer lazily relaxed like an imperial concubine, she lay dead-center in a perfectly composed, rigid posture, her hands folded over her abdomen, eyes closed in intense concentration as she feigned complete ignorance of her younger sister's temper tantrum.

Meanwhile, on the other side, the Empress Dowager lay at the very inner edge clad in a deep red nightgown. Tossing and turning from time to time, she was likewise letting her imagination run wild:

If Ye Jingtang discovered that this Dowager had drawn portraits of him, wouldn't he let his imagination run wild…

Even if his imagination didn't run wild, for a dignified Empress Dowager to be drawing pictures of a man in her room, and to be caught red-handed by the subject himself, was simply mortifying beyond belief…

Just what on earth was going on with these two sisters?

After an unknown stretch of quiet, the Empress Dowager rolled over, casting a sidelong glance at the as-good-as-steady Empress and the side-lying Prince Jing:

"Why have the sleeping postures of the two of you reversed? Didn't Liren always sleep lying down properly in the past?"

Dongfang Liren glanced back and, seeing that the Empress had not yet fallen asleep, turned her face away again with a cold, aloof expression:

"There are state affairs to handle tomorrow. Why is Your Majesty still not resting?"

"Neither of the two of you are sleeping, how could this Emperor possibly fall asleep?"

Seeing that none of them could sleep, the Empress Dowager propped herself up and asked with avid curiosity:

"Your Majesty, that poem you obtained today—who wrote it?"

Dongfang Liren's ears twitched slightly; she was also eavesdropping, though her purpose wasn't out of interest in some talented scholar, but rather:

To hunt down her sister's partner, set a trap, and plot against him to avenge today's grievance!

Without opening her eyes, the Empress knew what scheme her younger sister was hatching and replied indifferently:

"Surname Ye, given name Jingtang. He is a young master from a household near Tianshui Bridge. His character is pure and kind, and his abilities are extraordinary. He is worthy of heavy responsibilities."

"…"

As soon as these words fell, a dead silence descended upon the bedchamber.

The Empress Dowager's curious expression froze stiff, her gaze turning peculiar as she flicked her eyes back and forth between the Empress and Prince Jing, presumably pondering to herself—*Oh my~ could these two sisters have taken a fancy to the same man!*

In that case, Liren wouldn't stand a chance anymore…

Dongfang Liren likewise turned her head back in disbelief, staring at the Empress with eyes that seemed to convey—*How could he possibly write poetry? Are you trying to deliberately provoke me and make me jealous?*

The Empress offered no explanation, simply rolling over to present Dongfang Liren with her back.

Gritting her teeth in secret, Dongfang Liren turned away as well, leaving the Empress with nothing but the back of her head.

Seeing the sisters locked in a cold war, the Empress Dowager felt the situation was amiss and stepped in to mediate like a gentle, considerate single mother:

"Sigh, you two are sisters, how can you end up bickering like this? If you have something to say, talk it out properly…"

Though her words were gentle, her sparkling eyes were completely ablaze with the raging fire of chaotic gossip…