Phoniex Requiem
Chapter 68: Fear

Chapter 68: Fear

Yun Ruoyu and the girls waited for the big reveal with bated breaths.

Yun Ruoyan looked at Li Qianxiao gently as she slowly removed the gauze on her right cheek.

"NO!"

Right at this moment, Li Qianxiao grabbed Yun Ruoyan's hand. He stared deeply into Yun Ruoyan's eyes as he promised, “Ruoyan, don't. I'm in no hurry, and I'm willing to wait to see your perfect, flawless face. Let me send you back to your room now. ”

He went to support Yun Ruoyan, not turning around no matter how hard Yun Ruoyu yelled behind him.

On the other hand, Yun Ruoyan tilted her face towards Yun Ruoyu, her lips curving into a gentle smile. Like needles, that smile penetrated deep into Yun Ruoyu's heart.

"Why? He was so ugly that no one wanted to see him. Why?" Yun Ruoyu gripped one of the supporting pavilion pillars, her five fingers tightly gripping the cold stone. "Why does the crown prince trust him more than me?"

"Sister, don't be angry." Yun Ruoyao helped wipe away Yun Ruoyu's tears with a handkerchief. “You know how protective Grandma was towards him, and even Dad looked at her differently since he passed the exam to get into Kongming Academy. Even Mother doesn't dare to push it too far now, so don't think of anything in your head!”

"Why?" Yun Ruoyu shifted her teary-eyed expression towards Yun Ruoyao. "How can the girl climb over all our heads in just a few short months?"

It was truly a riddle, one that not only infected Yun Ruoyu, but also Madam An, Yun Ruoyao, and Yi Qianying. Every day, Madam An would ask Ling Lan for a report on Yun Ruoyan's situation, and each time, she would reply that Yun Ruoyan's appearance was no different than usual.

Not different than usual? Surely not. Something must have happened, something that none of them were aware of!

“I also feel she changed too much from before,” Yi Qianying started. “See how he made the crown prince dance to his rhythm! Does she look like an innocent young girl who hasn't even turned fifteen for you?”

Even Yi Qianying, who had long practiced luring the opposite sex, could not claim that she would charm the crown prince more perfectly.

"I refuse to let this ugly girl do whatever she wants!" Yun Ruoyu shouted hatefully, as if she wanted to tear Yun Ruoyan apart. The crown prince might not belong to her, but he would definitely not let her belong to Yun Ruoyan either!

“Do not worry, Ruoyu.” Yun Ruoyao helped wipe away the tears that stained Yun Ruoyu's hair. "I'll help you."

A dark ray passed through Yun Ruoyan's eyes.

As they left the garden, Yun Ruoyan broke free from the crown prince's embrace. Li Qianxiao's arm loosened, and his heart fell.

"Ruoyan, are you feeling better?"

"I'm fine, Crown Prince, thank you." Yun Ruoyan's tone was as polite and polite as before.

“Not anyone around here, so don't bother with the formalities! Why don't you call me by my first name, Li Qianxiao?”

“Ruoyan dare not, crown prince.” Yun Ruoyan lowered her head, keeping a respectful distance from him. Despite his seemingly polite nature, he really hated Li Qianxiao.

In his past life, Pei Ziao had told him that, despite his polite appearance, he was very depraved. Every year, Pei would curry favor with the beautiful women gathered from all over the kingdom, and he would never reject them.

“You just mentioned that the Slaughterer King caused some trouble in the Yue kingdom. What problem is so big that you have to face it yourself, Crown Prince?” Yun Ruoyan asked casually.

"Aah!" Li Qianxiao's tone of voice turned irritated. “My uncle killed emperor Yue's own niece for a slave woman. The emperor couldn't do anything to him, of course, so he came crying to my father, and my father sent me to the Yue kingdom as a sign of goodwill."

That man had killed Emperor Yue's own niece for a female slave?! Yun Ruoyan's brows could not help but lift.

Suddenly, a strong wind blew in the middle of the cool summer night, ruffling Yun Ruoyan's hair and making her dress expand. For a moment, all he could hear was the rustling of leaves.

Li Qianxiao immediately protected Yun Ruoyan with his arm.

The gust of wind spread suddenly as it seemed.

"Where did such a big wind come from?" Li Qianxiao dropped his arm as he turned towards Yun Ruoyan once again. "Ruoyan, are you—"

In the middle of the road, his voice suddenly choked, his eyes and mouth widened in shock. He had never seen such a disgusting face! Half of her face was as beautiful as a fairy, and the other half, as red and swollen as the face of a demon!

The crown prince took a quick breath in and out. A strong wind had passed through them, and then this face appeared in front of him out of nowhere. His mind became empty, and the fur of his nape began to stand. When he finally reacted, he shouted. "Please, ghost!"

Li Qianxiao took a few steps back while shouting. In a hurry, something tripped him, and he landed hard on his butt.

“Crown Prince..” As soon as Yun Ruoyan started stepping towards him, Li Qianxiao screamed once more. "Don't come any closer, don't come any closer!"

Yun Ruoyan stopped moving.

"Yo-yo your face!" Li Qianxiao even closed his eyes as he spoke, not wanting to see Yun Ruoyan for even a moment longer.

Yun Ruoyan raised her hand and touched her right cheek, discovering that the phoenix orchid gauze had long since disappeared.

“Crown Prince, my face has not fully recovered yet.” Yun Ruoyan whispered softly as she started walking towards Li Qianxiao once again. “This is already much better than before, and will be even better in the future.”

"Shut up!" Li Qianxiao opened his eyes a small gap, but he only dared to look at her dress and the lower half of her body. “A-I will return to the palace, you can return to your own residence!"

Li Qianxiao turned around and hurriedly left, not even stopping to check if there were any injuries after his severe fall.

Yun Ruoyan looked towards him expressionlessly as her back became increasingly smaller, before disappearing completely.

He turned to his residence, calling out to Qiuqiu mentally.

Qiuqiu would usually answer after just one or two calls, but this time, it was quite a while before Qiuqiu finally replied.

"Yes madam?" Qiuqiu finally responded.

“Who was that? Can you feel it?"

“Qiu... Mistress... I was sleeping and not paying attention, qiu.”.

When he returned to his room, Yun Ruoyan told the servants to go and sit cross-legged on his bed. Despite having tried many times, he was unable to achieve the proper mental state for meditation.

That wind must be unnatural. What kind of person can create it, and what is the purpose of that person? Yun Ruoyan tried to think of this in her head.

However, when he recalled the crown prince's terrified expression, he couldn't help but smile.

"Haha" he murmured to himself. "Qingchen is right, my face is scary enough to make the crown prince himself retreat in a hurry!"

Unable to gather energy to cultivate, Yun Ruoyan slumped down and lay down on her bed. He would deliver this meeting to Qingchen immediately, and even if he was not a person who smiled a lot, Yun Ruoyan was sure that this story would make him laugh out loud.

"Mahaha ..." Yun Ruoyan's clattering laughter reached the dark shadow resting under her window. A large hood covered his face, revealing only a clear jaw and red lips.

In the northwest corner of Yun's house, in a secluded cottage, Qin Jianmei knelt on his sajad, a Buddha statue on a table in front of him.

The cottage was not very big, but it was filled with the smell of incense.

Yun Ruoyu suddenly broke through the front door. Qin Jianmei turned her head towards the princess whom she had not seen for days and could not help but smile. However, her expression turned to worry as she observed her swollen eyes and swollen nose.

"Yu'er, why are you crying?" Qin Jianmei asked.

"Mother!" Yun Ruoyu leaned into Qin Jianmei's embrace. "Mother, I've been bullied!"

Qin Jianmei patted Yun Ruoyu's back gently. “Ruoyu, you know we don't have much support in this household. Don't draw attention to yourself, and try to do your job as best you can, okay.?”.

"Mother!" Yun Ruoyu suddenly lifted her head, her gaze equally disappointed and angry. “Someone bullied me, but you won't defend me?!”

His gaze was fixed on the Buddha statue in front of his mother's desk, and he snorted. “Since I can think, Mother, all I see is mother eating and praying. When have you ever fought so hard for me? If it wasn't for Madame An, I would probably be worse off than Yun Ruoyan.”

But as soon as she raised Yun Ruoyan, she was reminded of how infatuated the crown prince was with her, and she grew even more seething.

"Ruoyu, what's wrong with Ruoyan?" Qin Jianmei asked curiously.

Yun Ruoyu ignored her mother's question and stood back up. “Mother, stay in this cottage and keep praying for the rest of your life.”

"Yu'er, Yu'er!" Qin Jianmei called her daughter from behind, but she ran away without turning around.

Yun Ruoyu next headed to Madam An's residence. In his mother's room, Yun Ruoyao told what happened in the pavilion to Madam An.

“I think he is only talented in cultivation, but it seems he is harder to deal with than his mother.” Madam An slammed the palm on her desk.

“Mother,” Yun Ruoyao spoke from behind, “Today she even claimed that her grandfather had prepared an antidote for her that would remove her birthmark. If that was true, wouldn't the entire Yun family be in his grasp?!”

“No, it is impossible,” replied Madam An briefly. “The birthmark was due to placental toxins, it is impossible to treat! He must have lied to you.”

“Pasthentic poison…? Mom, what do you mean?” Yun Ruoyao asked curiously. "Isn't his birthmark natural?"

"We—" Realizing that she had said more than she should, Madam An stopped halfway and tried to change the subject. Right at this moment, one of the maidservants who was guarding whispered through the door, "Miss, Miss, miss third is coming."

And then Yun Ruoyu stepped into Madam An's room with a huff. "Mother!" Tears fell on his face once more.

“Do not cry, Ruoyu.” Madam An walked over and wiped her tears with a handkerchief. “Your brother told me everything. This Yun Ruoyan must definitely be dealt with, how dare she try to seduce the crown prince!”

“Mother,” Yun Ruoyu grabbed Madam An's sleeve and growled, “Mother, you must help me take revenge on the girl!”

“This is not as easy as before.” Madam An patted her head as she sighed. “In the past, despite being the only daughter born to a wife, neither your father nor grandmother thought too much about it, so we can handle it in our spare time. But now, both of them had changed their minds. Even if she seduces the crown prince, I'm sure they'll be happy to have a closer relationship with the royal family.”

"No no!" yun Ruoyu shouted. “I don't care who the crown prince married, as long as it wasn't Yun Ruoyan! Whatever happens, I won't let him take my place! Mom, you have to help me! I'll do anything!”

Madam An frowned as she looked at Yun Ruoyu. "As long as it will destroy Yun Ruoyan, you are truly willing to do anything?"

"Yes!" Yun Ruoyu pursed her lips and nodded solemnly.

Madam An turned to look towards Yun Ruoyao, and her mother and daughter exchanged glances.

After two quiet summer days, the weather suddenly turned violent.

Yun Ruoyan had just finished cultivating and was about to take a cold shower when one of Madam An's servants came looking for her. Allegedly, Madam An was having a small tea party in the lakeside pavilion, and Yun Ruoyan was invited to have afternoon tea with them.

Yun Ruoyan would immediately refuse when she added that matriarch Yun would also be present. Not going to his grandmother's residence for a few days, Yun Ruoyan reluctantly agreed.

After tidying up a bit, Yun Ruoyan walked over in a jade green dress, bamboo leaves green gauze on her cheeks.

As he walked into the garden, Yun Ruoyan saw Mistress An, Yun Ruoyao, and Yun Ruoyao inside the pavilion from afar. Yi Qianying had been summoned back home, and Yun Ruoyan had not seen her for several days.

Yun Ruoyan did not see her grandmother. He scoffed coldly, but still walked towards the pavilion.