met free Chapter 76 Giving Birth to a Savage
Chapter 76 Giving Birth to a Savage
The fire was not extinguished until dawn.
Yu Chisheng stood stiffly for the entire night.
The two Ye brothers knelt behind him, one wailing all night, the other in a daze all night.
Seeing the guards about to enter the ruins to search for the remains of Prince Cheng and Princess Cheng, Qi Sui worried that Yu Chisheng would not be able to bear the scene, so he whispered to coax him, "Your Majesty, Prince Cheng is gone. You kept vigil for him all night. His spirit in heaven will be comforted. This old servant knows you are sad, but your health is important. You must take care of yourself, otherwise Prince Cheng will not be at peace in the afterlife."
Yu Chisheng tilted his head back and closed his eyes, trying to compose himself, when Wu Yue, the Imperial Guard Commander, suddenly ran over to report, "Your Majesty, a large number of charred remains have been found in the bridal chamber, roughly twenty people. I found waist tags from the Eastern Palace and Lanxia Palace among the remains, and it has been preliminarily determined that those people should be from the Eastern Palace and Lanxia Palace."
Yu Chisheng was startled and stared wide-eyed at the several blackened waist tokens he was holding up.
Upon hearing Wu Yue's words and seeing the plaque Wu Yue was holding, Yu Chi Rui's expression instantly changed.
Weren't their people silenced? How come they're in the bridal chamber?
Yu Chi Sheng roared, "Crown Prince, why are your men in the bridal chamber?"
Yu Chi Rui quickly replied, "Father, yesterday I sent people to Prince Cheng's residence to assist the Ministry of Rites in entertaining guests. There were a lot of guests yesterday, so when I returned to the palace, I left the people at Prince Cheng's residence to continue their work."
No sooner had he finished speaking than Wu Yue reported, "Your Majesty, the skeletons in the bridal chamber all bear marks of being wounded by sharp weapons, suggesting they were fighting before they died."
Upon hearing this, Ye Shijun, who had been kneeling and wailing on the ground all night, jumped up excitedly, "How is this possible? That's the bridal chamber! More than twenty people died in the bridal chamber, and there was even a fight... What were they trying to do, to entertain the newlyweds with a sword dance?"
His shout was like a thunderclap, shocking Yu Chi Rui so much that his expression changed drastically.
Yu Chi Sheng snatched a waist token from Wu Yue's hand and threw it at Yu Chi Rui, his face ashen as he angrily asked, "Your Highness, what are your men doing in the newlyweds' room?"
Yu Chi Rui knelt down with a thud, his face pale, and said, "Father, please calm your anger. Your son has no idea what happened. I beg you to investigate thoroughly!"
Yu Chisheng turned his head and roared at Qi Sui, "Bring the Minister of Rites here to me!"
"Yes!" Qi Sui didn't dare to hesitate and quickly ran into the crowd of people fighting the fire to find someone.
Before long, Fu Youming, the Minister of Rites, stumbled to the Emperor's side, his face ashen, and knelt down, pleading, "Your Majesty, spare my life... I never expected such a thing to happen... I deserve to die..."
Before he could finish crying, Yuchi Sheng kicked him to the ground and roared, "You deserve to die! I put you in charge of Prince Cheng's wedding, and you ended up causing Prince Cheng's death! I ask you, where did the remains in the bridal chamber come from? Prince Cheng had difficulty walking, so why did so many people rush into Prince Cheng's bridal chamber? What were they trying to do?"
Fu Youming stammered, "Your Majesty... Your Majesty... I... I don't know... I drank... I got drunk last night..."
"Drunk? You're here to arrange Prince Cheng's wedding, not to serve drinks at Prince Cheng's residence!" Yu Chi Sheng pointed angrily at his nose, then ordered, "Guards, seize him! Remove him from his post as Minister of Rites and exile him to the Northwest!"
“Your Majesty…” Fu Youming was filled with panic.
But before he could say anything more, the imperial guards had already stepped forward, covered his mouth and nose, and dragged him away.
Fu Youming struggled to turn around, his eyes filled with despair as he looked at Yu Chi Rui.
Yu Chi Rui kept his eyes down, as if he hadn't seen him being taken away.
In a fit of rage, Yu Chisheng closed his eyes and tried to regulate his breathing. He didn't see the look Fu Youming cast as he left, but the two Ye brothers saw this brief moment clearly.
The two brothers exchanged glances, and when they looked at Crown Prince Yuchi Rui, they both clenched their fists secretly.
Consort Lan, who had been unconscious all night, reappeared with the help of Zhu Huaning.
Looking at the ruins of the new house, Consort Lan cried so hard she couldn't stand. If Zhu Huaning hadn't been holding her, she probably would have fainted again.
"My Ling'er... how could you leave your mother like this... Ling'er..."
Just as those around her were also moved to tears by her grief, a royal guard came to report, "Your Majesty, the bridal chamber has been searched, but the remains of Prince Cheng and Princess Cheng have not been found."
This news instantly silenced Consort Lan's weeping.
Yu Chisheng's eyes widened again with excitement, but this time it wasn't out of grief or anger, but rather surprise and delight. "Are you sure?"
The imperial guard nodded firmly, "Your Majesty, it is confirmed that Prince Cheng and Princess Cheng are not in the bridal chamber."
Yu Chisheng tilted his head back and took a deep breath, his eyes, which were filled with tears, were tinged with a smile. But the next moment, as if he had thought of something, his face instantly turned stern, and he ordered Wu Yue, "The newlyweds are not in their bridal chamber on their wedding night. Something must have happened. Immediately summon all the imperial guards and the guards of the Prince's residence. You must find Prince Cheng and Princess Cheng!"
"Yes!" Wu Yue accepted the order and quickly went to gather manpower.
Yu Chi Sheng then looked at the Ye brothers and said, "You two should return to the General's Mansion immediately and have your father lead men to search for them as well!"
After receiving their orders, Ye Shiting and Ye Shijun also left quickly.
"Father, I will also lead men to search," Yuchi Rui volunteered.
Yu Chi Sheng glanced at him sideways and said coldly, "You shouldn't go! There are still many officials and their families staying overnight in the manor. Take them all away and question them carefully about last night's fire. See how much they know!"
"Yes!" As Yu Chi Rui lowered his head to accept the order, a dark light surged in his eyes.
Their people are all dead...
If Yuchi Ling and Ye Shishu could die in this fire, then their deaths would have been worthwhile.
But now they're telling him that Yuchi Ling and Ye Shishu aren't in the bridal chamber!
Then all their planning these past few days has been for nothing?
Most importantly, Yuchi Ling and Ye Shishu did not die in the bridal chamber, but their people died in the bridal chamber. How can the Emperor think of this?
Watching Yuchi Rui leave, Consort Lan walked up to Yuchi Sheng, her tears breaking into a smile, and said, "Your Majesty, our Ling'er is blessed with good fortune; she will surely be alright!" Then she clasped her hands together, looked up to the sky, and said, "Heaven must protect our Ling'er and keep her safe! As long as my son is alright, I am willing to become a vegetarian and chant Buddhist prayers to accumulate merit for him!"
With a stern face, Yu Chisheng asked her, "Just now Wu Yue said there were more than twenty skeletons in the bridal chamber, including people from Lanxia Palace. Why did you send people to Prince Cheng's residence for no reason? Ever since Ling'er injured his legs and his face was disfigured, he has disliked being spied on. Others may not understand him, but do you, as his mother, not understand him either? And you still let so many people stay in Prince Cheng's residence. What, are you afraid that he doesn't know anything about bedroom matters and want someone to instruct him?"
Consort Lan immediately looked aggrieved, "Your Majesty, you have misunderstood me..."
Before she could finish explaining, Yu Chisheng gritted his teeth and said, "The imperial physician said that Prince Cheng's manhood is damaged, and he may never be able to have children in this lifetime. Don't you understand what that means?"
Faced with his stern questioning, Consort Lan knelt down, sobbing, "Your Majesty, you have truly misunderstood me! I kept the people at the Prince's residence only because I was worried that someone would cause trouble in the bridal chamber and embarrass Ling'er. Those who died in the bridal chamber, Ling'er probably also misunderstood, thinking they were left to laugh at him, so in a fit of anger she killed them all! Your Majesty, I truly meant well for Ling'er!"
What she said made some sense, leaving Yu Chisheng speechless for a moment. He could only glare at her, panting heavily.
Consort Lan wiped away her tears with a handkerchief, choking back sobs, "Your Majesty, Ling'er is my own son. People always say that I have neglected Ling'er. Yesterday was Ling'er's wedding. As his mother, was it wrong of me to leave people to protect him?"
Yu Chisheng took two deep breaths and calmed his tone, "Ling'er is already very self-conscious and in pain because of his physical disability and disfigurement. From now on, no one should interfere with what he does. We must give him face and dignity."
Consort Lan nodded, "Your Majesty, I will!"
……
Bamboo forest on the back hill.
'Well!'
Ye Shishu let out a burp, looked at the man beside her, and asked, "Your Highness, when shall we return?"
Yu Chi Ling took the unfinished rabbit meat from her hand, put it aside, and handed her a handkerchief, gesturing for her to wipe her mouth.
When do you want to go back?
"How would I know?" Ye Shishu took the handkerchief, wiping her mouth and hands while pouting. "You didn't tell me about last night beforehand, and you arranged the escape room incident. Who knows what you're planning to do next?"
The newlyweds ran away to the wilderness on their wedding night to escape danger; it's a story that would make anyone laugh.
She thought she could finally live a peaceful life after escaping the Wei family's den of iniquity, but marrying someone else turned out to be even more exciting than her previous life.
Sensing her resentment, Yu Chi Ling leaned closer to her, a slight smile playing on his lips. "Regretting marrying me? Too late! As the saying goes, a woman follows her husband wherever he goes. Since you've married me, you must stand with me through thick and thin. I won't allow you to go back on your word."
Ye Shishu stared at him with a black line on her face, feeling an itch to beat him up right there!
"Then let's not go back, let's just stay in these mountains and live like wild people!"
"Let's have a bunch of little savages."
"..."
"Your Highness!" Wen Yan's voice came from afar.
As he approached, Yu Chi Ling stared at him coldly, "How is the situation in the manor?"