xymnovel Chapter 475 - 460: Divergent Paths—Original Novel Extra (Part 2)
Chapter 475 - 460: Divergent Paths—Original Novel Extra (Part 2)
The mountain wind roared, covering the sounds of distress and sobbing.The old tree hangs precariously on the cliff, overlooking life and death.
When Ye Qingrong arrived, the little girl in ragged clothes was biting the hand of a soldier ferociously.
She bit fiercely, and despite Ye Qingrong calling out several times, she wouldn’t let go.
In the end, she could only knock her out and take her away.
...
The low candlelight revealed the fine sweat on the girl’s forehead.
In her sleep, something unknown frightened her, making her pale lips tremble incessantly.
Ye Qingrong watched in silence.
Duke Yan was renowned for his military achievements but had long been suspected by the king.
With such accumulated force and timing, how could they not eradicate him completely?
She was still too late, only barely saving Duke Yan’s youngest daughter.
She had seen Duke Yan’s youngest daughter before.
A little girl raised in luxury; even the most arrogant Tang Jiaojiao would bend to adjust her hair and whisper gently to her.
This girl had innocent and bright eyes, her looks inheriting the magnificence of the Tang Family and the grace of the Gu Family.
She should have been a favored daughter of the heavens.
Now, she was a child whose family was destroyed.
Like her own past.
Ye Qingrong lowered her gaze, suppressing her rising emotions, and stepped forward, patting the girl’s frail shoulder.
As soon as she touched her, the girl awoke with a start, and leapt up from the bed, biting Ye Qingrong’s hand.
Bitten on the hand, Ye Qingrong felt a pang in her heart.
Duke Yan Mansion’s pampered youngest daughter was reduced to a state like a wild beast in the forest, fierce on the outside, timid inside.
"I am Ye Qingrong." She said softly.
The girl’s eyes slowly focused, staring at her for a long time before gradually releasing her bite.
"Miss Ye..." The tender girl’s voice carried an unwarranted hoarseness.
"Drink the medicine." Ye Qingrong lifted her other hand holding a bowl of medicine.
The girl, cautious, retreated a bit, her eyes sweeping the room. With a pale face, she asked, "Where’s my mother?" Her voice trembled.
"Gone."
The girl’s pupils scattered for a moment, then her cheeks tightened, trembling, as if biting her teeth hard, large tears welled in her eyes, shimmering with moving radiance.
Ye Qingrong extended her finger, prying open her clenched teeth.
She bit Ye Qingrong’s finger in anger, just as fiercely as she bit the soldier’s hand, drawing blood instantly.
Ye Qingrong stayed calm, presenting the medicine bowl to her.
"Drink the medicine, I’ll take you for revenge—"
...
Duke Yan Mansion’s enemy is the current emperor.
With accomplishments overshadowing the ruler, disposing of such a hero is inevitable.
Ye Qingrong initially thought she needed to explain the underlying reasons, but unexpectedly Tang Jiaojiao accepted it swiftly.
Duke Yan’s youngest daughter, named Tang Jiaojiao.
"Where is my sister?" Tang Jiaojiao asked.
The calmness in her tone made Ye Qingrong momentarily dazed.
In the past, when she saw her, she was naive and innocent.
Now, it seemed she matured overnight.
"Her whereabouts are unknown." Ye Qingrong answered.
"Why are they unknown?" Tang Jiaojiao scrutinized her eyes closely, as if wondering if she was lying, "Before my mother and I left the Capital City, my sister entered the Eastern Palace."
"Li Shu betrayed her."
"Do you have anything to do with it?"
"What do you think?" Ye Qingrong responded with a question instead.
The girl fell silent, even hiding her gaze.
Ye Qingrong suddenly felt that this girl would surely succeed in her revenge, no matter whom she considered her enemy.
"How do I avenge them?" She asked, her tone suddenly sinking.
"I’ll teach you," Ye Qingrong handed her a dagger, "When the army breaks through the Capital City, use this to pierce the enemy’s heart—"
...
While Prince Changshan Li Mingyi was alive, he had already raised troops in the name of former Crown Prince Li Mu.
When Li Xingyuan took over military power in Zhenzhou, the Zhenzhou Army had long crossed the Taihang Mountain, retreating was certain death.
At this moment, Ye Qingrong was forced to enter the Capital City, and Li Xingyuan simply led the troops and advanced into three more state mansions.
Ye Qingrong’s goal was also subversion.
In the spring of Taixing’s fourteenth year, Li Xingyuan’s army broke the Capital City.
However, both the emperor and the Crown Prince had fled west, abandoning the city.
...
"Teach me martial arts, I’ll go to Yizhou to assassinate, to eliminate the Commandery Prince’s future woes!"
When Tang Jiaojiao stopped her, Ye Qingrong was heading to see Li Xingyuan; upon hearing, she smiled: "The Commandery Prince doesn’t need a little girl to risk her life for him."
Although Li Xingyuan was still a Commandery Prince, he had already occupied the Imperial Palace.
He stood on the high terrace of the palace, observing the entanglement of the two young girls.
As Ye Qingrong approached, he asked: "I remember you have never been amicable with Tang Jiaojiao, why have you kept her sister by your side all this time?"
Ye Qingrong laughed: "If I don’t keep her with me, where would she go?"
A child from a destroyed family, if not given hope, how can she survive?
"After all, she’s a girl." Li Xingyuan frowned.
Ye Qingrong laughed: "She’s still a child, what can I possibly do to her?"
Li Xingyuan frowned and scrutinized her thrice, asking: "When do you plan to recognize your ancestry and return to the family?"
Ye Qingrong was not originally surnamed Ye, but Qin.
Not the Assistant Minister of Rites’ daughter, but the legitimate granddaughter of Emperor Hui Zhao’s mentor, former Crown Prince’s Tutor.
Qin Xiao.
After Emperor Hui Zhao’s passing, Grand Tutor Qin was discovered communicating with enemies, the Qin Family was obliterated overnight.
Much like Duke Yan Mansion today, eradicated thoroughly.
Only he survived.
Survived, solely for revenge.
As of now, it seems his great revenge has been exacted.
What comes next?
Recognize ancestry and return to the family?
Ye Qingrong replied with a question instead: "Have they agreed over there?"
Li Xingyuan’s expression changed: "Still refusing!"
Initially, when Li Mingyi rose in rebellion, he proclaimed that Crown Prince Li Mu was not deceased, but persecuted by the current emperor and fled to Zhenzhou.
The Zhenzhou Army claimed to uphold Emperor Hui Zhao’s bloodline, restoring the rightful power.
But under Li Xingyuan, they no longer mentioned Crown Prince Li Mu.
Because on the day of Li Xingyuan’s coup, Li Mu, that scoundrel, renounced his hair and became a monk!
Recalling this, Ye Qingrong found it amusing.
If Li Mu had been compliant like under Li Mingyi, when Li Xingyuan captured Capital City, surely he would have been supported to ascend.
Unlike his father, Li Xingyuan was not power-mad; eventually, Li Mu would truly reign one day.
If he didn’t want to rule, he could abdicate to Li Xingyuan, living as a wealthy idle prince.
Yet the youth, without a word, renounced his hair, leaving everyone in a predicament.
Ye Qingrong laughed: "If I were to assist Emperor Hui Zhao’s son to ascend the throne, it would be rectifying chaos, glorifying ancestors, what would following you be? A traitor?"
"Forget it, I fear my grandfather would climb out from below to spank me!"
Li Xingyuan sighed: "But that scoundrel won’t respond to soft or hard tactics, what’s he seeking?"
"Let him go," Ye Qingrong said, "If he doesn’t want to be emperor, let him go."
"Then you’ll continue to be a traitor?"
"How about I continue being Ye Qingrong?" He smiled charmingly, overwhelmingly beautiful.
Li Xingyuan frowned: "You plan to spend your life as a woman?"
Ye Qingrong adjusted his luxurious cloak, lazily: "Just for now."
Returning to his male identity now, fearing the little girl from the Tang Family can’t handle the shock.
Li Xingyuan was indifferent to what he did, glancing in a certain direction: "I always feel he’s going to stir trouble again."
Ye Qingrong wanted to argue it wouldn’t happen, but images of Li Mu’s bleak eyes emerged in her mind, rendering her silent.
"Li Mingyi attacking me suddenly, also had his instigation," Li Xingyuan spoke mildly, "Someone saw him say something when meeting Li Xingda, Li Mingyi’s face changed immediately."
Li Xingda was the youngest son born of a concubine, cherished like a treasure by Li Mingyi.
"What did he say?" Ye Qingrong asked.
"Don’t know." Li Xingyuan shook his head.
It must have been words of provocation.
But one sentence, severed the bond between father and son, showing that bond wasn’t deep anyway.
That’s why Li Xingyuan bore no resentment toward Li Mu.
Except when he saw the youth’s eyes, he couldn’t help but feel cold.
Those eyes, pitch-black and still, without desires, without a glimmer of light.