Phoniex Requiem
Chapter 83: The Time Is Matangq
Chapter 83: The Time is Ripe
Pei Ziao's refusal made Yi Qianying panic. “Sister Ziao, what are you saying? I've become yours, and if you don't want to take responsibility for me, then only death will clear my name!” He tried to bang his head into a half-height flower pot, but Yun Ruoyan caught it just in time.
Yi Qianying turned around with a hateful look. "Let me die! Why don't you let me die?!”
If you die, how can I continue to display this show? He tried to calm Yi Qianying down. “Saudaries, don't be impulsive. I'm sure Your Majesty will support you.”
Yun Ruoyao hurriedly rushed over as well, hissing, “Basic idiot! If you die, it will make things worse!
Only then did Yi Qianying give up on pursuing death. He let Yun Ruoyao drag him to the emperor, and the two of them knelt down together.
"Your Majesty, the Slaughterer King," Yun Ruoyao lifted her head and pleaded to the three high officials, her face filled with the grief of an elder sister. “Please, I beg you, give justice to my poor little sister and regain my Yun family reputation.”
Li Xiu and the empress looked at each other and sighed.
"Miss Yun, please wake up." The empress' severe traits revealed a rare expression of pity. “Given this happened in the palace, and during the party saw the flowers, I will personally make amends to your sister.”
After he finished speaking, he glared at Pei Ziao. “Young Master Pei, will you admit what you have done?!”
“Your Highness, I don't do that kind of thing! Please, I swear I'm innocent!” Pei Ziao replied anxiously.
“You still deny the accusation? Pei Ziao, I never thought I'd think of you!”
Finding the right time to interrupt, Li Qianxiao added, “Young Master Pei and Miss Yi are always close. Now that something like this has happened, Young Master Pei, if you are not responsible, do you intend to force Miss Yi's death?!”
Li Qianxiao would be happy if all this subsided with Pei Ziao as his scapegoat.
Pei Ziao glanced at Yi Qianying, still sobbing in Yun Ruoyao's arms. His pitiful appearance touched the hearts of many, but Pei Ziao started to find it even more annoying.
“Your Majesty, the Slaughterer King, if I really did that, I would definitely be in charge. I swear this is not what I did!”
Seeing that Pei Ziao did not look at all guilty, Li Xiu began to think more critically about the entire showdown. The empress, however, almost boiled with anger. “Pei Ziao, do you think a woman would accuse you of doing something like this unfairly?!”
The empress turned towards Yi Qianying. Gently, she asked, “Miss Yi, I understand the importance of your reputation as a woman. Can you tell me clearly whether Young Master Pei is the one who attacked you?”
Yi Qianying looked annoyedly as Pei Ziao, but she refused to look him in the eye. His heart will be broken into pieces. Wh why? He was obviously the one who did it, so why didn't he admit it?! Is all his affection a lie?!
After all, Yi Qianying knew that Pei Ziao was her only hope of safety. If he could not bind her to her, then her life would be tarnished forever.
"Empress!" Yi Qianying knelt down and bowed deeply at his feet. “No matter how messed up I am, how could I mistake something like this? During the expedition to the imperial territory, Brother Ziao and I had made plans to be together for life, and he had promised that he would find an opportunity to propose to me. But now...but now, I don't know why he won't admit it!”
When Yi Qianying finished speaking, she suddenly turned her head towards Yun Ruoyan. “Sister, Sister Ruoyan, did you forbid her from taking responsibility? I know Brother Ziao likes you, sister, and I know your status is higher than mine. But if you are willing to allow our relationship, Sister, I am even willing to be a concubine for you and Brother Ziao!"
Yun Ruoyan laughed coldly in her heart. He was just about to speak when Li Mo's ice-cold voice sounded. “Miss Yi, strange words what are you saying. Why would my consort share a husband with you?"
Yi Qianying hesitated before replying in disbelief, "You .. your empress?"
"That's right." Li Mo grabbed Yun Ruoyan with his long arms, his dark and shining eyes looking at her with tender affection. “During the flower viewing party, I have announced my intention to propose to Yun Ruoyan as my empress after she is old enough. So, Miss Yi, you don't have to worry about anyone snatching your husband"
Yi Qianying knelt on the floor, unable to accept this reality.
But the Slaying King had no reason to lie, and his sharp gaze towards Yun Ruoyan could not be faked.
Yi Qianying's hands trembled as she gripped the end of her dress. At that moment, he had completely forgotten his suffering, his entire heart was filled with jealousy, envy, and hatred.
Why?! How did Yun Ruoyan obtain the good graces of the Slaughterer King with that face ?!
None of them grew up with motherly love. Without any support, the two struggled to stay afloat in a cruel environment like the Yun noble house. They were both daughters born to wives from their respective families, but none were given the status of one. Both have been thrown out.
Given how similar their circumstances were, they were supposed to be good sisters, but Yi Qianying could not help feeling disgusted every time she saw Yun Ruoyan's face.
Whenever he saw her pitiful appearance, her resignation to her destiny, Yi Qianying was reminded of her in the past. He hated Yun Ruoyan just as much as he hated his past, so he would always bully Yun Ruoyan with others. It was only in this perverted way that he could feel a slight edge, a balance.
Not only had he regained the trust and appreciation of his grandmother and father, but he had even lured the crown prince and his own brother Ziao with his fake looks! Now, he had even made a plan and deceived to obtain the favor of the Slaying King!
Is he really inhumane?! Yi Qianying could not help but be reminded of Wang Kuang's last words within the imperial territory. "You're not human, you're a demon, a demon!"
He subconsciously looked towards Yun Ruoyan, only to find his gaze already fixated on her. His bright eyes seemed as if they could pierce through his body and soul.
She looked at Yi Qianying like she looked like an ant.
It was so shocking to Yi Qianying that she was almost out of balance and fell. She's not the same ugly girl she used to be!
Yi Qianying forced herself to remain calm, but she did not dare to look at Yun Ruoyan anymore.
Although Yun Ruoyan's appearance still looked the same as before, her gaze looked like a completely different person. Has someone else taken over her body? Or has he been consumed by a parasitic demon?
He could not believe that he only realized this now! This new development completed quite a lot of Yi Qianying's thoughts about the sudden change in Yun Ruoyan's personality, but it did not help her current dilemma.
"Your Majesty, the Slaughterer King, the Crown Prince," Pei Ziao called out to everyone one by one. "Miss Yi will definitely not be able to identify me as her attacker."
He took a deep breath and continued. As he exhaled, he imagined that his remaining feelings for Yi Qianying were also being expelled from his body. “Because Miss Yi was drugged with an aphrodisiac, which confused her mind! Under these circumstances, he would not be able to identify with whom he was with!”
"What!" Everyone gasped, and the empress even raised her voice. “Pei Ziao, don't you dare talk nonsense! Why is there such a medicine in the palace?!”
“Your Majesty, I will not dare. Miss Yi suddenly told me that she had an urgent matter to discuss with me, which was why I followed her to a small courtyard in the outer garden. It was there that she began to perform a series of strange actions, and I naturally rejected her seduction. Under my question, she revealed that she had been sedated with an aphrodisiac, and wanted me to help ease her symptoms. I prepared to take him to His Majesty to seek help from the imperial physician when I was attacked from behind!"
Pei Ziao raised his hand and swore to the high heavens, "I swear to my ancestors that I, Pei Ziao, did not attack Yi Qianying tonight!"
As soon as Pei Ziao finished speaking, Yi Qianying fell to the ground. “No, no.. It's impossible. If not Brother Ziao, who is...who is it?”
He had lost his innocence, and he didn't even know who did it! Yi Qianying buried her head in her arms and began to cry even louder than before.
“The palace guards, the descendants of nobles, and all the princes of the kingdom,” Pei Ziao bowed and continued, “Anyone around him is a suspect, not just me.”
“You dare accuse the prince of the kingdom ?!” empress rumbles.
Pei Ziao bowed once more. "Your Majesty, I just want to prove my innocence."
Right now, Li Qianxiao was hiding behind the empress, not even daring to breathe out loud.
But Li Xiu seemed to be thinking of something, as his eyes were directed towards his eldest son.
The time was finally ripe for Yun Ruoyan to speak up. He stepped forward and walked to Yi Qianying's side. As he made a move to help her stand up, he suddenly seemed to realize something. Pointing at the crack on the floor in shock, he exclaimed, "What is that?"
The gazes of the crowd followed his finger to the purple-gold gem that was illuminated by the light of the lights and the moonlight.
Pei Ziao immediately walked over and took the jewel. "This must be something that the man left behind!" He immediately handed the jewel to Li Xiu. “Your Majesty, this looks like a jewel falling from the crown. The one who has this jeweled crown must be the attacker!” [1]
Li Xiu grabbed the jewel. Restlessly, his slender fingers squeezed him tighter and tighter, making his nails whiten.
The empress widened her eyes, her face full of shock, as she turned to Li Qianxiao's purple-gold crown.
It lost the jewel!
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In this context, the crown refers to a formal male headdress used in classical Chinese society. Men often let their hair be long and tie it into a crest, the crown passes over the crest and is secured with hairpins.