Chapter 32: Ancient Palace BL (V)

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Chapter 32: Ancient Palace BL (V)

Miao Lichen returned to his courtyard, which was still illuminated, with the faint outline of a figure visible inside. He casually tossed the blood-red porcelain bottle he was holding into his inventory, his fair hands looking almost translucent in the lamplight. The constant clattering coming from inside couldn’t be ignored, even if he had wanted to.

“I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to…” Nangong Qingyue apologized, his rosy lips pursed and his bright eyes making him look more pitiful. He didn’t dare to meet Miao Lichen’s gaze as he looked around helplessly at the stuff he knocked over.

An extremely valuable guqin stood out among the cheap tables and chairs. The strings were broken and disheveled. Lying among the wreckage, no one could see the care its master usually had for it.

“May I ask what brings Your Highness to my humble abode?” Miao Lichen walked over and picked up the guqin, organizing the strings. Nothing could be done about the broken strings, they could only be replaced, or he wouldn’t be able to play it. This guqin was bestowed by the Emperor, so naturally its strings were no ordinary materials. An ordinary musician clearly would not be able to restore this guqin to its original condition.

“I just… came by to see you.” Nangong Qingyue stared at his toes, his fingers fiddling with his clothes as he stammered a reply. He had secretly followed Xuanyuan Zihao here. Although he looked delicate, his light-body skill was no worse than Xuanyuan Zihao’s, allowing him to follow without being discovered. But… he didn’t know why he lingered around here instead of going back either.

Summoning his courage, he looked up at Miao Lichen, who was carefully adjusting the strings of his guqin. Only a few strings remained on the guqin, making it easy to straighten them. His fingers gently tugged the strings, the careful actions highlighting its preciousness. Although Miao Lichen didn’t say anything, a melancholy feeling wrapped around him. For a musician, the instrument must be very important. And he had touched such an important thing out of curiosity.

“Came to see me? Why would Your Highness bother visiting a loser like me? It is common knowledge in the empire that His Highness is already married.” Miao Lichen placed down the guqin and met Nangong Qingyue’s gaze. Nangong Qingyue carried a delicate air that seemed almost unsuitable for a man, and looked no different from a woman at first glance. No one would doubt it if someone said he was a woman disguised as a man.

“It’s not because of that. I don’t like Xuanyuan… His Highness. I just wanted to see you…” Nangong Qingyue’s fingers twitched. He would never fall for a brute who solved everything with violence. He just wanted to see what kind of person was willing to risk their life for the prince. Why did Xuanyuan Zihao choose him as Consort? He was not saying this out of humility; aside from his family background, he did not think there was any aspect in which he could surpass him.

“Now that you’ve seen me, Your Highness should leave. This is the imperial palace, it is rare for Your Highness to stay here overnight. If something were to happen, it would be difficult to explain.” Miao Lichen’s intention of sending him away was very clear.

Nangong Qingyue observed the pale face of Miao Lichen and chewed on his lips. “You don’t look well, but please don’t worry too much. His Highness hasn’t truly touched me. That means he still can’t let go of you. Perhaps he only married me for some ulterior motive, and he will eventually come back to you.”

Miao Lichen watched as Nangong Qingyue left, a faint smile on his face. He had to admit that while Nangong Qingyue wasn’t exceptionally intelligent, he was perceptive. If there had been no ulterior motive, why would Xuanyuan Zihao suddenly marry Nangong Qingyue? In the end, it was all for the throne. Between the throne and beauty, men truly valued the throne more.

He opened the lamp’s lid and extinguished the flame of the candlestick within. Miao Lichen placed his hand on his heart, a blood-red sword seemed to gleam within his chest. He glanced up at the bright moonlight. Tonight was the night of the full moon, when Moonlit Heartbreak took effect. Perhaps because he was merely an outsider occupying this body, he felt no excruciating pain. But if he failed the mission…

A faintly haughty smile curved his lips, yet it looked perfectly natural on him. While he smiled brightly, his eyes held unmistakable arrogance. He had never failed to obtain anything he wanted. Whether it was material possession or the most fickle human heart.

“Mr. Miao, it’s time to get up. Are you going to practice today?” Qin Yue stood outside Miao Lichen’s room for a long time before finally knocking on the door. The sun had already been up for quite some time. Aside from the past few days when he had refused to see anyone, he would already be practicing his guqin at this time. Maybe last night was all just a pretense, after all, how could someone give up their love so easily?

A sudden worry flashed through her mind and she became more unsettled. Her fingers clenched her clothes as her face gradually became paler. She suddenly pushed open the door, bumping right into Miao Lichen who was opening it.

Miao Lichen supported Qin Yue with one hand and pushed her away. He subtly took a step back to create distance between them. “What’s all the fuss about so early in the morning? Don’t you have things to do today?”

“No… it’s nothing. It’s just quite late and I didn’t see you come out to practice. So… I thought you…”

“What could happen to me? It’s just that the strings broke, so I couldn’t practice.” Miao Lichen smiled warmly like the sun rising outside the door.

“The strings broke? Why would the strings break? That’s a guqin bestowed by His Majesty! What are we going to do? I wonder if Eunuch Lin can repair it. If he can’t, I’m afraid things will get messy when His Majesty asks you to perform again…” Qin Yue was not reassured at all, becoming more anxious at the new information. Even something as insignificant as a handful of dust from His Majesty had to be treated with reverence, let alone a guqin bestowed by His Majesty. Now that the strings were broken and they had no clear way to repair it, she couldn’t even imagine the consequences.

“Don’t worry, leave everything to me. It will be fine, trust me.” Miao Lichen placed a comforting hand on Qin Yue’s shoulder. “It’s just strings, what musician hasn’t broken a string before?”

“Mr. Miao…” Qin Yue looked up. Although she didn’t think Miao Lichen had any good solutions, she miraculously calmed down. Staring at Miao Lichen’s smiling face, her resolve grew stronger. She had to protect him. In this palace, only he remained unblinded by worldly vanities. Now that he no longer held love for His Highness, his life would become increasingly difficult in this palace.

“Take the guqin to Eunuch Lin. I believe he will give us an answer.” Miao Lichen walked out the door, leaving Qin Yue to stare at the guqin in the room, then at his back. Finally, she stamped her foot and left with the guqin.

Miao Lichen glanced at a corner of the house where a piece of paper appeared out of thin air. The writing on it was remarkably clear. He rubbed it between his fingers and the paper crumbled into dust, until no trace of it remained. He continued walking forward as if nothing happened, but shifted his focus to admiring the scenery after a certain distance.

The peaceful Imperial Garden was always filled with laughter and lively conversation. For even the slightest chance of gaining His Majesty’s favor, the women of the harem could spend most of their time pointlessly waiting. Of course, not everyone was waiting for the Emperor. Some had their sights set on others—such as the two men currently seated in the pavilion.

“Zihao truly has endless romantic fortune. Not only is there a considerate Consort by your side, there is also a devoted lover waiting for you in the palace.” Luo Qinglan closed his fan with a crisp clap and took a sip of tea as his gaze wandered over to a red figure. For a moment, his grip on his fan tightened.

“Is that so?” Xuanyuan Zihao turned his head, as if he couldn’t see Miao Lichen. But his mind replayed the research he had done on the medicine yesterday. It was absolutely top-tier wound medicine, capable of healing both internal and external injuries extremely quickly. However, due to its complex composition, his subordinates hadn’t been able to replicate it in a short time. The person capable of creating such medicine must possess skills far beyond the medical standards of the Xuanyuan Empire. He seemed to have never really known anything about Miao Lichen.

He faintly frowned. He had never paid attention to Miao Lichen as their relationship had been nothing more than an act—a game to him. Yet now, he felt as though he had become the one being manipulated. It was said that after reaching a certain bottleneck in martial arts, one would face a so-called “love tribulation.” He picked up his cup and drank the tea to suppress the faint unease in his chest. “Many things are not what they appear.”

“Is that so? But Mr. Miao’s hair turning white overnight was witnessed by the entire Xuanyuan Empire. Could that be an illusion?” Luo Qinglan raised an eyebrow, looking rather dashing and unrestrained. “If that is true, does that mean I can make a move on Mr. Miao? You know, such a handsome man is hard to find, I’ve been eyeing him for a long time.”

“Then please continue to remember, Prince Lan, that Miao Lichen is mine.” Xuanyuan Zihao placed the teacup heavily onto the table, a menacing look in his eyes. “Even if I don’t need him, he has to stay by my side.”

“Oh my, I didn’t expect my identity to be exposed so quickly.”

‘But that’s what makes it all more interesting. Xuanyuan Ziying, Xuanyuan Zihao, Nangong Qingyue and Miao Lichen… this diplomatic mission is far more interesting than I imagined.’ Luo Qinglan flicked open his fan and leaned against a pillar in the pavilion to watch Xuanyuan Zihao walk to Miao Lichen. It seemed something even more interesting was about to unfold. He smiled provocatively behind his fan, showing only his usual elegant and refined demeanor.

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