Exile with Storage Space: Family Fortunes in the Barren Lands-Chapter 839: Li Xingsheng & Ling Yuezi Side Story (09): Tonight, I’m Not Leaving!
Ah Qing and Ah Lan exchanged a glance, then opened the door together.
Li Xingsheng immediately walked in.
The two maids stood there, staring blankly at Li Xingsheng, unsure of what to say.
"Where is your Princess?" Li Xingsheng flicked his sleeve, hands behind his back, and stepped inside.
"In... the inner bedroom." Ah Qing replied without hesitation.
"The room on the right is her bedroom, the left is the practice room." Ah Lan added.
Li Xingsheng had already entered the main hall and proceeded toward the room on the right.
Ah Qing let out a breath, patting her chest, "I was scared to death, I thought it was the Regent King."
Ah Lan’s voice trembled, "But how did Mr. Li know... about this place? From the way he talks and looks at us, it seems like he’s not surprised to see us and the Princess here."
The two looked at each other, surprised, puzzled.
"I didn’t tell him!" Ah Qing shook her head.
"I didn’t say anything either." Ah Lan shook her head too.
"Then what’s going on? How did he find this place?" The two maids looked at each other, completely baffled.
They stared at each other with wide eyes.
After staring for a while, they both gasped in a low voice.
"He spoke in Nanyue dialect!"
"He’s from Zhao Country? How does he speak such fluent Nanyue dialect?"
"How would I know?"
The two glanced back toward the main hall, where there was no sound, unsure what was happening inside.
.
Ling Yuezi lay on the bed, resting with her eyes closed.
With keen hearing, she heard some voices coming from the direction of the main door.
She vaguely heard a man talking to Ah Qing and Ah Lan.
Moreover, they seemed to be speaking for quite a while.
Those two maids actually had something to say to the Regent King?
Or, was the Regent King playing some trick again?
The two maids did not return, and Ling Yuezi did not feel at ease sleeping, unsure if the Regent King had been driven away.
She turned over, intending to get up and listen for any commotion outside, when the bedroom door suddenly opened and quickly closed again.
Someone had entered.
But the footsteps did not belong to either of the two maids.
Nor any other maid.
Ling Yuezi opened her eyes in shock, "Who?"
The person didn’t speak.
Instead, they continued to approach the bed.
The footsteps were neither hurried nor slow.
Ling Yuezi’s breath suddenly stopped.
She sat up, this was...
The curtain was lifted, and Li Xingsheng, dressed in night attire, suddenly appeared at the bedside.
Ling Yuezi was shocked, staring wide-eyed and mouth agape.
"You... how... how are you here?"
The room was lit with candlelight, clearly illuminating Li Xingsheng’s features.
When he looked at her, a hint of delight flickered in his eyes, but it quickly vanished, turning into ridicule.
Ling Yuezi didn’t dare to meet his eyes for long and quickly averted her gaze.
Li Xingsheng looked at her for a moment, then glanced at the bed, "The bed is quite large."
Ling Yuezi, "..." What did he mean?
She was momentarily stunned, and Li Xingsheng had already kicked off his shoes and climbed onto the bed.
Ling Yuezi jumped in fright, "You... why are you on my bed?"
She wanted to grab his arm but was too timid and withdrew her hand.
"Climbing into one’s own wife’s bed, what’s wrong with that?" Li Xingsheng said matter-of-factly, "Just like before? I sleep inside, you sleep outside?"
He lay there casually, stretching out his long legs, crossing one over the other, resting his hands behind his head as he always did, and said hoarsely, "It’s late, sleep."
He closed his eyes for a while, then remembered something and pulled half of the quilt over himself.
Ling Yuezi, "..."
She didn’t know what to say.
The sudden appearance of the person left her utterly astonished, unable to recover for a long moment.
And now he’d even climbed directly onto the bed!
"You can’t sleep here, it wouldn’t be good if someone saw." Ling Yuezi knew he was angry, blaming her for deceiving him. She didn’t dare provoke him and spoke cautiously.
"What’s wrong with it? We’re not adulterers; we’re a couple married with due ceremony! Princess Yue." Li Xingsheng opened his eyes, curled his lips, and grinned teasingly at Ling Yuezi.
He had indeed found out her identity!
Ling Yuezi bit her lip, drew the curtain shut, and moved to lie down next to Li Xingsheng.
"I know you’ve been angry all along, but I’ve said I want to make it up to you. Whatever you want, I’ll give it to you, just please don’t stay here, alright? It’s not safe here." She leaned against Li Xingsheng’s shoulder and sighed softly.
"Dying in your bed wouldn’t be a loss." Li Xingsheng gazed at her hair, his voice hoarse.
Ling Yuezi sat up, her voice steady, "Sheng Lang, stop fooling around. I’m not joking! This Imperial Palace is not safe; you’ll lose your life staying here. It’s not me who wants you dead, but... others. I can hardly protect myself, let alone you. Leave the way you came."
After thinking for a moment, Ling Yuezi got off the bed, took a token, and stuffed it into Li Xingsheng’s hand, "This is my token, if anyone questions you, just say you’re with me, from the Moonlight Palace. Although I don’t have power, I am still a princess, and the people in this city won’t easily harm you."
Li Xingsheng glanced at the crimson gold lettered token and tucked it into his chest.
Yet he didn’t leave, remaining in the same position as before, lying there with his eyes casting a sidelong glance at Ling Yuezi, "Aren’t you going to tell me? How did you become a princess? Ha, no wonder you wanted to drive me away; now that you’re a princess, do you think I’m not good enough for you anymore? You want to find a better Prince Consort? Hmm?"
"Li Xingsheng, what nonsense are you spouting? I...I never thought you weren’t good enough for me. I am..."
"What are you?" Li Xingsheng’s eyes, dark and deep, stared intently at Ling Yuezi.
After not seeing her for many days, her cheeks had become more gaunt, and her collar was half open, revealing her prominent collarbone.
He remembered, the last time they parted, her collarbone wasn’t this pronounced.
These hard bones must hurt to touch.
It seemed the Nanyue climate wasn’t as nurturing as his Zhao Country.
"With your wit, you’ll sooner or later figure out my background. I’ll tell you, then, and after you hear it, you won’t need me to drive you away; you’ll leave on your own. My family history will frighten you." Ling Yuezi sighed softly.
"Then go ahead and say it, what kind of frightening family history it is." Li Xingsheng said calmly.
Ling Yuezi looked at him and relayed her family history to him.
"My grandfather couldn’t manage people, treasonous officials held sway in the court, loyal ministers were forced out, leaving a mess behind. My father ascended the throne right after his marriage, but he was sickly from a young age, powerless, and after a few years, when he was bedridden with illness, a coup happened in the palace."
"..."
"Treasonous ministers led the Imperial Guard into the Imperial Palace, and my father was killed amidst the chaos. My mother fled with me and my brother; to save us, she was killed by the pursuing soldiers. My brother was separated and went missing, while a guard took me to Zhen An Prefecture in Zhao Country to hide, where I called the guard foster father to avoid suspicion."
"..."
"Not long ago, the Regent King’s people found Feihu Village, saying my brother had ascended the throne seven years ago and wanted to bring me back to Nanyue. The Regent King was the one who killed my parents; he cannot truly intend to support my brother and must have ulterior motives. My brother is my only family; I can’t ignore him, I had to return."
"..."
"Li Xingsheng, when I found out my brother was alive, and that the Regent King had sent his men to monitor me and leak my whereabouts, I realized there couldn’t be an outcome with you, so..."
Li Xingsheng watched her without blinking. In his memory, the icy woman in front of him had never been so flustered and at a loss.
When faced with the Second Boss’s harassment, she could banter with no fear, but now, she was as frightened as a little rabbit.
"So you’re saying we have no future?" Li Xingsheng smiled, "But why do I feel like it’s because you’ve become a princess and want to find a better man? Like the Regent King? He is quite fond of you, planning to drug you at the Mingyu Pavilion tomorrow."
Ling Yuezi’s face changed drastically, "How do you know he plans to drug me?"
"I eavesdropped on it just now." Li Xingsheng smiled, "Want me to help you get rid of him? Bullying my woman? It seems he’s tired of living."
"Don’t interfere with my affairs, the matters of Nanyue are complicated; getting involved could cost you your life." Ling Yuezi grabbed his shoulder, "Leave quickly, Sheng Lang. If fate wills it... we’ll meet again."
"I don’t want to leave. Tonight I’ll sleep right here."
"Stop fooling around! Li Xingsheng!"
Li Xingsheng closed his eyes, stretched out his hand to pull Ling Yuezi over, and held her as they lay down, "Noisy! Sleep."
Ling Yuezi, "..."
She bit her lip and whispered in his ear, "Li Xingsheng, after we consummate tonight, you should leave."
Li Xingsheng suddenly opened his eyes wide and looked at her.
"Is your expression saying you’ve agreed?"
...
After Li Xingsheng entered Ling Yuezi’s bedchamber, he never came out again.
Ah Qing and Ah Lan glanced over there, neither of them approached to disturb, instead they sat on the stairs keeping watch.
Inside, there were some unusual sounds, and the quiet voices of two people speaking.
The two maids sighed, feeling heartache for their princess’s fate.
If there were no autocratic rule from the Regent King, and no chaos from his followers and crooks in Nanyue court, how wonderful would it be for the princess and Mr. Li to be together every day like this.
But they couldn’t.
If the Regent King saw Mr. Li with the princess, Mr. Li would lose his life.
The two maids listened to the water-clock, planning to remind Li Xingsheng when the time was about right for him to leave.
