Yu Yi had washed and dressed early, then lay on the bed, lowering the bed curtains. She opened her terminal and saw Meng Qing’s message: Wife, are you asleep?
The message was sent just ten minutes ago, so Yu Yi replied: Not yet, lying in bed pretending to sleep. I’ll install monitoring devices once the maids fall asleep.
Meng Qing quickly replied: Luo Ye hasn’t completely trusted you yet. Be careful, don’t install monitoring devices for now. If you’re discovered, all previous efforts will be wasted.
Hehe, this won’t stump your husband.
Meng Qing said, finding the fleeting video frame of Yu Yi, playing it frame by frame, capturing the clearest frame, and opening an image processing software to remove lens blur, image noise, and increase clarity. Although the light was dim and the lens was shaking, he managed to obtain a photo where facial features could be discerned.
Meng Qing looked and clicked his tongue: “My dear, your disguise technique is indeed becoming more and more sophisticated. Now I can be at ease; Luo Ye definitely won’t take a liking to you in this appearance.”
Yu Yi was puzzled by his words, wondering if her current appearance was really that ugly. She was a young girl, passionate about beauty, which was why she had insisted on not letting Meng Qing see her disguised appearance. Hearing Meng Qing talk about a disfigurement technique, she curiously asked: “What exactly did you see in the video? Let me see too.”
Meng Qing responded: “Okay, I’ll send it to you.” He sent over a picture.
Yu Yi opened the picture and saw that it was actually a monkey. Shocked and both angry and amused, she spat out: “You’re the monkey!”
Meng Qing replied: “Don’t worry. Husband knows you’re a girl with a beautiful soul. Even if you look like a monkey, I’ll still treat you well.”
Yu Yi said: “You’re just teasing me.”
I won’t talk to you anymore, go to sleep. I’m going to install surveillance.”
Meng Qing: “Keep the walkie-talkie and headset on. I’ll wait for you to finish installing surveillance before sleeping.”
“Then you’re not allowed to talk nonsense and make me laugh while I’m installing surveillance. You know how painful it is to hold back laughter when you’re not supposed to laugh.”
“Husband promises to be a good listener.”
“Really?”
“Really.” He said softly: “I’m just worried about your safety. With you on the walkie-talkie, I’ll feel more at ease.”
—
Early morning, Yu Yi was awakened by a slight vibration on her arm.
After washing up, she felt much more alert. Not long after eating breakfast, she heard the guard outside say: “Subordinate greets the Second Prince.”
Yu Yi hurriedly stood up to welcome him.
Luo Ye did not enter the room, just standing in the courtyard. Yu Yi came out, walked a few steps closer, and knelt half-way in greeting: “This commoner greets the Second Prince.”
“Rise.”
Luo Ye slightly raised his right hand, and after Yu Yi stood up, he took out a letter from his chest and handed it to her.
Yu Yi looked at the envelope, which was the secret report she had taken from the general’s chest, still stained with some dried blood. She looked up at Luo Ye with slight surprise, saw him nod slightly, and then took out the report to read. Now, she read while showing an expression of surprise, murmuring: “The Fourth Prince wants to poison someone, and the Third Prince?”
Luo Ye said in a low voice: “But last night, this prince did not inform the Third Brother about this secret report.”
Yu Yi slightly raised an eyebrow, then said: “The Third Prince is the prince’s great enemy. Using borrowed knives is indeed a good strategy.”
Luo Ye said: “However, man proposes, but God disposes. The borrowed ‘knife’ was not sharp enough, and the Third Brother is safe and sound.”
Yu Yi pondered silently, and after a while, said: “Your Highness could have used this letter as evidence to publicly expose the Fourth Prince’s conspiracy. But because you did not warn the Third Prince last night, you can no longer use this letter as evidence.”
Luo Ye saw that she had pinpointed the key issue and secretly admired her keen mind. He nodded: “What does Miss Yi think this prince should do next?
Yu Yi thought for a moment and said: “The secret letter was delivered to the residence by this commoner. Besides me, no one knows when Your Highness learned the contents. Your Highness can tell others that the report was found in the chest of his martial brother’s body after finding the body, at a time when the Third Prince had already been poisoned and could not be warned.”
Luo Ye clapped and praised: “Excellent. Is Miss Yi willing to accompany this prince out of the residence to visit the Third Brother?”
Yu Yi was secretly delighted and agreed: “This commoner is willing.” Luo Ye was now formally treating her as a close attendant, not only taking her out of the residence but also to a private meeting with Luo Han. How could she not be willing?
Since the news of the Third Prince being “poisoned” spread, people have been coming to the residence to visit. While many civil and military officials who support the Third Prince came out of genuine concern, many others came to probe and investigate.
Meng Qing was too lazy to pretend to be sick in front of various people, so he used the excuse of being unable to see light after being poisoned, letting visitors leave their gifts and go. To complete the mission, he wanted more civil and military officials to turn to Luo Ye.
On the morning of the third day after Luo Han was “poisoned,” the Fourth Prince Luo Sui visited him. With his brother coming, Meng Qing could not avoid seeing him.
When Luo Sui entered the room, he saw the doors and windows tightly closed, with cloth nailed over the windows, making the room extremely dark. The bed curtains were also drawn, obscuring the view of Luo Han.
Although Luo Zhan’s voice behind the bed curtains sounded thin, intermittent, and faint, Luo Sui was still uneasy. The poison should have been fatal, but since Luo Ye knew someone had poisoned him, he might have warned Luo Zhan to be on guard. Perhaps Luo Zhan’s poisoning was just a ruse to deceive him.
As Luo Sui spoke, he slowly approached Luo Zhan’s bed. When he was close enough, he suddenly pulled open the bed curtains. Although the light was dim, he could still see that the person on the bed had a bluish complexion, with dark circles around the eyes and black lips. The person showed no normal startled reaction to his sudden action, only squinting and weakly saying: “Too… bright…”
Yu Wen Xin was startled and hurriedly stepped forward to block the opened bed curtains, saying: “Fourth Prince, Third Prince cannot be exposed to light. If he sees light, he will be in unbearable pain.”
Luo Sui then lowered the bed curtains, said a few words of comfort, and then took his leave.
“Let us first discuss how to persuade them,” Luo Ye replied. “If we present a united front, the two will see the benefit of joining us.”
Meng Qing nodded, still feeling weak but thankful for her brother’s support. The conversation shifted to strategies and roles, and for a fleeting moment, a sense of hope filled the room despite the gloom of sickness surrounding them.
Meanwhile, Yu Yi stood by, quietly observing, contemplating her own role in this unfolding drama. She felt the pull of the politics at play and considered how her involvement might impact the future.
The dialogue continued with ideas flowing back and forth, plans taking shape, each character revealing their ambitions and fears, until the atmosphere grew tense—a reminder of the precarious nature of their situation.
Luo Ye eventually excused himself, promising to return with updates. As he opened the door to leave, a gust of wind blew through the room, and Meng Qing shivered, sensing the weight of all the decisions to come.
