Chapter 146 Inviting Humiliation Upon Oneself

Regarding Yunming's doubts, Huangfu Chen could not explain it clearly either...
He only felt that whenever Feng Jinye's life was threatened, he seemed to be able to sense it, and Huangfu Chen even had the illusion that Feng Jinye felt the exact same way about him...
During those perilous moments on the battlefield when life hung by a thread, the moment he sensed danger, Feng Jinye would already be by his side, shielding him from harm...
This feeling, to put it simply, was as if their minds were spiritually linked.
Could it be that members of the ancient Xuanyuan bloodline possessed the ability to sense one another?
Today, upon hearing that Feng Ruichen was Huangfu Chen's son, Yunming increasingly felt that Huangfu Chen and Feng Jinye shared many striking similarities...
Even though their appearances only bore a two or three-part resemblance...
Back in their youth, before the tragic upheaval befell the Prince of Yuan and the Princess of Yuan, and before Feng Jinye became taciturn and cold, the two youths smiled in almost the exact same way.

Weishao Qianyu took a stroll with Lu Yanran and returned to the Palace of Eternal Joy, just as Ye Eleven led his people back into the imperial palace. They crossed paths outside the Palace of Eternal Joy, and Ye Eleven seemingly inadvertently nodded slightly toward Weishao Qianyu...
Weishao Qianyu felt immensely gratified. Two years ago, when she left Yue Capital for the borderlands, even though she had vanished for two full years, neither Wanyin Snow nor Winter Moon Pavilion had collapsed; they remained just as they were!
The moment Weishao Qianyu departed, the brothers of Winter Moon Pavilion scattered in all directions, practically vanishing into the shadows. They concealed themselves in secret, and rain or shine, every single day, they would compile the intelligence they gathered into two copies, delivering them separately to Wanyin Snow and Tea Guest House...
Because their masters were absent, Wanyin Snow and Tea Guest House had similarly kept a low profile, scraping by in the cracks to ensure their own survival, which was why they had not fallen...
These arrangements had been ordered by Weishao Qianyu, and only Dongnuan, Xuechun, and the two messengers knew of them.

Stepping into the Palace of Eternal Joy, Weishao Qianyu saw that Huangfu Chen was also there. She paused slightly, let out a soft sigh, and cut straight to the point: "Do you know how Xuanyuan Ran plans to deal with me?"
"She will likely have you remarried to Huangfu Xi," Huangfu Chen guessed.
What Weishao Qianyu had in mind was presumably the same. Recalling the strange cries of the Yue Capital commoners outside the eastern city gates today—"When the Heavenly Maiden appears, the twin worlds shall align"—she found it all rather bizarre...
"You also sense that something is amiss?" Huangfu Chen had always felt that this person named Xuanyuan Ran was extremely eccentric; what Weishao Qianyu could think of, he naturally could see as well.
Weishao Qianyu nodded: "Before the Xuanyuan family surfaced, we knew very little about the Xuanyuan twins. If Xuanyuan Ran wants Huangfu Xi to ascend the throne, why spread the phrase 'Twin worlds shall align' throughout Liyue?"
"Don't you think this is superfluous? Why not simply announce, 'When the Heavenly Maiden appears, the Xuanyuan realm shall reign'?" Weishao Qianyu felt something was deeply wrong, her gaze fixed thoughtfully on Huangfu Chen...
"Perhaps she believes that heaven's will cannot be defied," Huangfu Chen remarked dismissively.
Weishao Qianyu did not think so.
Logically speaking, Xuanyuan Ran regarded the twins she had birthed, Huangfu Chen and Huangfu Xi, as the heavenly twins, but because Huangfu Chen was difficult to control—
And because Huangfu Chen's relationship with Feng Jinye was far too close, appearing neutral yet practically leaning toward Feng Jinye (as evidenced by Huangfu Chen risking his life to save Feng Jinye on multiple occasions)—Xuanyuan Ran must have harbored a bone-deep hatred for Huangfu Chen. Therefore, if one of the twins were to take the throne, Xuanyuan Ran would only ever choose Huangfu Xi.
Yet, could it truly be just because of this?
Weishao Qianyu suddenly recalled being escorted all the way from Yue Capital to Guanlin City by Huangfu Xi. Aside from looking identical, Huangfu Xi and Huangfu Chen bore no resemblance to each other in any other aspect, let alone acting like twin brothers.

They had truly had minimal contact with Huangfu Xi. Weishao Qianyu remembered when she had first become the Princess of Zhan, because Luo Yanqing had sought out Huangfu Xi once, Huangfu Xi's presence had been so negligible that one could almost overlook his existence entirely...
Indeed, precisely because of this, they knew very little about Huangfu Xi. That was why, when Huangfu Xi had disguised himself as Huangfu Chen to mislead them, they failed to notice at first—partly because there was no prototype for comparison, and partly because Huangfu Xi had deliberately imitated Huangfu Chen.
Yet Huangfu Xi did not seem particularly difficult to deal with. Perhaps she could strike at Huangfu Xi, and pretending to remarry him might not be entirely unfeasible.
Weishao Qianyu shook her head, temporarily putting the matter aside, and suddenly said to Yunming: "I have no sense of direction; draw me a map of the imperial palace!"
Everyone knew that Weishao Qianyu was directionally challenged, but could a person with no sense of direction actually read a map?
Resigned, Yunming walked over to the desk to draw the map. Weishao Qianyu actually got up and walked over as well, seizing the opportunity while her back was turned to the main entrance to take out the handkerchief Ye Eleven had brought back and wipe—
Chatting casually with Yunming: "Are these supposed to be trees?"
Though she appeared to be watching Yunming draw, she was actually reading the handkerchief, entirely open and flagrant. Even Huangfu Chen and Lu Yanran behind her failed to notice what Weishao Qianyu was actually doing...
Being this cautious was solely because Weishao Qianyu did not want to implicate Tea Guest House and Wanyin Snow.
On the handkerchief, densely packed characters as tiny as ants flashed past Weishao Qianyu's eyes, allowing her to quickly grasp the general situation in Yue Capital...
The majority of the citizens in Yue Capital had been controlled by Xuanyuan Ran using Gu poison and soul-capturing ocular techniques, while a small remaining minority exercised extreme caution and guarded against everything, not daring to utter a single extra word as they blindly conformed to the others in following and worshiping the Xuanyuan State Preceptor and the mandate of the Heavenly Maiden...
No wonder the main streets, apart from the crowds blindly adoring the Heavenly Maiden and the Xuanyuan State Preceptor, were dead silent in an unnatural way. If Weishao Qianyu had not made these preparations beforehand, even Ye Eleven might not have been able to uncover anything, right?
"How is it?" Yunming finished drawing the map, asking as if inquiring about the map's quality, but his eyes were fixed on the handkerchief in Weishao Qianyu's hand.
"Not very good."
Weishao Qianyu furrowed her brows slightly. She feared that if Feng Jinye led his troops to attack Yue Capital, these citizens controlled by Xuanyuan Ran would fight them to the death...
It seemed that today, when Xuanyuan Ran brought the citizens of Yue Capital to welcome them outside the eastern city gates, it was not merely for show; she was using the lives of these commoners as a deterrent...
If innocent civilians were placed as shields before the army of Guanlin City, could they truly bring themselves to strike?
They had severely underestimated Xuanyuan Ran's ruthlessness.
Just as Weishao Qianyu was pondering this, a file of palace maids walked in, bowing respectfully. The leading maid said to Weishao Qianyu: "Your Majesty the Heavenly Maiden, His Imperial Majesty is gravely ill and has summoned the Heavenly Maiden to attend to his bedside."
"Attend to his bedside?" Weishao Qianyu suspected she had misheard, then asked: "Which emperor? Yunshuo?"
Before Weishao Qianyu last left Yue Capital, the emperor had been Yunshuo.
The palace maid looked at Weishao Qianyu in utter dismay, too shocked to speak.
Weishao Qianyu smiled faintly, and seeing the maid did not reply, asked again: "Could it be my Prince's own cousin? The former Second Imperial Highness?"
Terrified by Weishao Qianyu's overwhelming aura, the maid blankly nodded.
"Lead the way!" Dropping these few cold words, Weishao Qianyu strode out of the Palace of Eternal Joy.

Lu Yanran watched Weishao Qianyu's receding figure, a hint of worry surfacing in her eyes, only to hear Huangfu Chen say in a chillingly detached tone: "Rest assured, even if all of us die, Weishao Qianyu will not perish!"
Among them all, the one person Xuanyuan Ran would never kill was Weishao Qianyu.
Yet this duty of attending to the bedside was certainly not simple.
Huangfu Chen sighed silently. They had been in Yue Capital for less than half a day, and Xuanyuan Ran was already laying out her schemes? He wondered how things were going on Feng Jinye's end.
Weishao Qianyu was escorted to the Palace of Everlasting Brightness. The emperor was sitting spiritedly before the dragon-carved desk, showing not a single trace of grave illness...
Weishao Qianyu knew that attending to the bedchamber wouldn't be simple; it was obvious that Xuanyuan Ran hadn't been the one who summoned her—this person was clearly Huangfu Xi in disguise.
Huangfu Xi simply couldn't wait to wash away the humiliation he suffered outside the gates of Guanlin City.
Weishao Qianyu stood quietly, refusing to bow and refusing to speak.
Ever since disguising himself as the emperor, apart from Xuanyuan Ran, no one had ever dared to treat him with such utter disregard. A sudden blaze of fury ignited within Huangfu Xi, and with a flick of his hand, he hurled the imperial edict he had prepared beforehand straight at Weishao Qianyu.
Weishao Qianyu sidestepped slightly, dodging the imperial edict that came hurtling toward her face.
Looking at Huangfu Xi, Weishao Qianyu found it all utterly ridiculous. She turned to leave, but four guards blocked her path. In the shadows, Ye Eleven prepared to reveal himself, but Weishao Qianyu signaled with her eyes for him to stay back...
Within the imperial palace, apart from Weishao Qianyu herself, any of them could easily lose their lives if they were even the slightest bit careless.
Weishao Qianyu had already endured quite enough frustration today and was brimming with suppressed anger. Seeing the guards closing in, she didn't hesitate for a second: she raised her leg and kicked one of them squarely in the stomach, then spun around to draw the ceremonial sword from another guard's waist.
Guided by her wrist, the long sword swept out in a complete circle, neatly knocking the weapon out of a third guard's hand. Looking down at the dropped sword, Weishao Qianyu smiled disdainfully, flicked it up with a deft motion of her foot, and sent the blade hurtling straight toward the spot where the emperor sat...
Curving her lips, Weishao Qianyu spun behind a guard and gave him a hard kick, sending his entire body crashing straight into Huangfu Xi...
Seeing this, Weishao Qianyu feigned astonishment and asked, "Are you men trying to assassinate the emperor?"
The moment those words left her mouth, the remaining two guards turned ashen with terror and dropped to their knees with a resounding thud...
Ignoring them entirely, Weishao Qianyu walked straight toward the exit of the Palace of Everlasting Brightness. Coincidentally, she spotted the imperial edict Huangfu Xi had thrown at her earlier lying on the floor; glancing down at it, she stepped directly on top of it...
A single sword strike executed in one swift motion, even with a guard crashing into him, wouldn't have harmed a hair on Huangfu Xi's head. Weishao Qianyu knew Huangfu Xi's strength was not negligible; she had simply been venting her anger, and Huangfu Xi had conveniently stumbled right into it to be a punching bag.
Gazing at the utter mess before his dragon desk and the chaotic state of the Palace of Everlasting Brightness—especially glaring at the imperial edict trampled underfoot by Weishao Qianyu—Huangfu Xi burned with rage, his eyes turning bloodshot as he stared murderously at Weishao Qianyu's retreating back. He snatched up the sword Weishao Qianyu had kicked away earlier from the floor, swung it, and ended the lives of the four guards on the spot...
Fiercely grabbing another imperial edict that was supposed to be archived in the Ministry of Rites, he hurled it at a palace attendant and roared with fury: "Go to the Palace of Eternal Joy! Proclaim the decree!"
Trembling with fear, the attendant caught the edict, immediately turned tail, and fled the Palace of Everlasting Brightness toward the Palace of Eternal Joy, all the while unable to comprehend why the emperor was courting his own humiliation—summoning the Heavenly Maiden to the Palace of Everlasting Brightness only to suffer such a loss of face, when he could have simply sent a servant to proclaim the decree at the Palace of Eternal Joy from the very beginning?