The Princess Cannot Escape: The Cunning Prince Is Not to Be Messed With

Chapter 85 The Bloody Wedding

Suddenly, before Yin Quan could finish speaking, Xiahou Ying suddenly scooped her up in his arms.

She was shocked to hear a pleasant clinking sound of gold and jade.

"I will take you up." He lowered his gaze to her small face, which was hidden behind the heavy beaded curtain, and casually moved his lips. Then, with a push of his toes, the two of them were standing on the ten-zhang-high platform again in an instant.

On Phoenix Terrace, Crown Prince Xiahou Jue was being held down in front of the Heavenly Seal Emperor's throne by nine guards clad in black and gold armor, wielding long halberds.

Passing through the heavy guards, Yin Quan saw the old man sitting on the golden dragon throne and couldn't help but purse her red lips.

At this moment, Emperor Tianxi was no longer the weak man he had been moments before; he was like a completely different person, his dragon eyes blazing and his aura fierce.

Xiahou Jue, on the other hand, had disheveled hair and clothes, with blood trickling down his lips. His usually proud and handsome face was also stained with dirt, suggesting that he had just gone through a period of resistance.

Staring intently at Xiahou Jue, Yin Quan's brows furrowed slightly, a faint sense of helplessness rising in her heart.

This is... the art of rulership...

All that the Crown Prince did... perhaps Emperor Tianxi had seen it all along, but kept it a secret only because of familial ties.

Even a tiger won't eat its cubs...

Emperor Tianxi was forced into this situation by the Crown Prince.

Or perhaps, all of this was just a test from the very beginning.

Is this the price of being an emperor, the Son of Heaven, and possessing this vast land?

Without lingering on the Crown Prince and Emperor Tianxi for long, Yin Quan quickly averted her gaze and looked through the golden beaded curtain at Xiahou Ying, who had remained silent since the beginning.

Perhaps... this was also a test of him...

With a slight stirring in her heart, she pursed her lips and suddenly felt that the layers of beaded curtains in front of her were too dazzling, so much so that she could not see the handsome and refined face behind the curtains that was already deeply buried in her heart and deeply imprinted.

Looking at him, she couldn't help but worry. If Xiahou Ying was the one truly coveting the imperial power... then what was he waiting for...?

A suitable time?

It's still a reasonable reason...

While she was deep in thought, Xiahou Ying suddenly turned his gaze and looked down at her.

"Are you ready?"

Upon hearing this, Yin Quan smiled and replied, "We can continue at any time."

Suddenly, at that moment, a furious roar, hoarse and desperate, came from beside them: "Gu Lounan! You traitor! How dare you do this for your fourth brother..."

"That's enough! Shut up!"

With a stern voice, Emperor Tianxi slammed his palm on the dragon-head armrest inlaid with scarlet gemstones, his dragon eyes sharp and piercing.

After speaking, he nodded to Zhao Ting, who immediately understood and quickly took the struggling crown prince away from the crowd at Phoenix Terrace.

Only when Xiahou Jue's furious roar could no longer be heard did Emperor Tianxi turn his gaze to Xiahou Ying and Yin Quan, who were standing together.

"Let's serve tea."

Upon hearing this, Yin Quan was slightly startled.

At this moment, Emperor Tianxi's voice sounded completely different from before. It was filled with restraint, anger, reluctance, and heartache. So many emotions were condensed into these three words. It sounded like a dull knife with too many nicks on the blade, so much so that it had long lost its original sharpness.

Holding Xiahou Ying's hand, Yin Quan walked among the corpses. She lowered her eyes and saw that the pure white edges of the bright red wedding boots were already stained with blood. She felt a deep sense of sorrow.

For the past twenty-six years, she had never imagined that her wedding would be so... impressive!

On the way back to the Imperial Palace from Phoenix Terrace, Yin Quan remained silent.

Only when he saw the towering vermilion gate of the South Palace studded with gold beast heads did Xiahou Ying slowly speak: "Everything I have done is for this day, so that I can successfully overthrow the Crown Prince."

As he spoke, he turned his gaze to Yin Quan, his eyes direct and clear, his dark eyes as cold as the moon and as deep as a clear spring, unfathomable and unfathomable.

"Am I also part of your plan?" She met his deep, dark eyes without blinking, her lips curving into a smile that was hard to tell whether it was a gentle laugh or a sarcastic remark.

Hearing this, Xiahou Ying pursed his lips, lowered his eyelashes, then lifted them again, and said, word by word, "You are the only unexpected thing in the whole plan."

The smile that had been playing on her lips froze for a moment, and Yin Quan suddenly didn't know how to react or answer.

She had to admit that she had imagined countless possible answers in her mind, but none of them were this one.

Seeing her frozen expression, Xiahou Ying did not continue speaking, but stared intently into her eyes, which were clearer than crystal and brighter than stars, with a mixture of focus and seriousness.

After staring at him for a while, Yin Quan silently turned her head and glanced outside the bridal carriage.

The soldiers accompanying her had long since been replaced by Zhao Ting's men. Recalling that she was right below Phoenix Terrace when the Crown Prince was captured, yet she hadn't seen anyone approach. So how did the Divine Dragon Guards, directly under Emperor Tianxi, manage to ascend Phoenix Terrace...? Could it be that there isn't just one way to reach Phoenix Terrace...?

Thinking of this, Yin Quan turned her gaze to Xiahou Ying and asked the question that had been bothering her: "Last night, Gu Lounan came to see you. Was it related to the mechanisms in Phoenix Terrace?"

Upon hearing this, Xiahou Ying's taut lips suddenly relaxed. Although he kept his eyes fixed ahead and no visible expression appeared on his handsome, angular face, his thin, crimson lips moved imperceptibly: "That's right, it was he who handed over the map of the secret passage beneath Phoenix Terrace to me."

Upon hearing this, Yin Quan turned to look at Xiahou Ying, and a sudden surge of unprecedented impulse and desire arose in his heart.

In this way, everything can be reasonably explained.

That's why the Crown Prince denounced Gu Lounan's betrayal at that time...

Just as she was pondering this, she suddenly stopped. Startled back to her senses, Yin Quan looked up and leaned half her body out of the blood-red gauze curtain of the wedding carriage, and saw the huge plaque written in gold lacquer.

As soon as the bridal carriage landed, she suddenly felt a heat in her ear canal, followed by Xiahou Ying's clear and melodious voice: "Wait for me."

Looking in the direction of the sound, Yin Quan opened her lips as if to speak, but unexpectedly Song Chen came up to her at that moment.

"This old minister respectfully sees off the Princess."

Before the deep voice had even finished speaking, the bridal carriage was lifted up again.

Grasping the edge of the vermilion lattice window, Yin Quan stared at Song Chen, feeling both annoyed and amused.

That old man really doesn't like her...

Standing there with his hands in his sleeves, Song Chen turned around only after the bright red wedding carriage disappeared from sight. Almost at the same time, he suddenly stopped, his eyes widening, and even his gray-white beard seemed to twitch.

"Lord Song, while Xiahou Ying is away, why don't you tell me what exactly you find objectionable about me?" With her hands behind her back, Yin Quan approached the petrified old man as she spoke, a smile always playing on her rosy lips, which looked like a new moon or a blood-stained scimitar.

Song Chen was, after all, a seasoned veteran of the officialdom. Although he was usually straightforward and had offended many people, he was also a trusted minister with rich experience in weathering storms. He was only stunned for a moment before quickly regaining his composure.

"You flatter me, Princess Consort..."

In the outer hall of Taiji Palace, Xiahou Jue and Gu Lounan knelt together in the center of the hall, bowing their heads.

Inside the Yuhua Pavilion in the inner hall of Taiji Palace, Xiahou Ying and Emperor Tianxi stood back to back.

At this moment, Xiahou Ying had already taken off his wedding robes and changed into his usual attire.

Looking at his snow-white robe, Emperor Tianxi slowly walked forward until he stopped beside Xiahou Ying.

"Ten years have passed. For these ten years, you have always harbored resentment towards your father."

He spoke slowly, his voice low and deep, yet not a trace of emotion flowed from his words, as if he were talking about something unrelated to himself.

"Father, are you also holding a grudge against me for my blood oath that day?" As he spoke, Xiahou Ying turned his body to the side, his brows furrowing slightly, and a hint of crimson appeared in his dark eyes, as if he were angry, yet also as if he were laughing.

Upon hearing this, Emperor Tianxi's sharply defined lips, beneath his pale white beard, twitched slightly, but ultimately did not open.

"Your subject takes his leave." After a brief silence, Xiahou Ying bowed slightly and strode out of Yuhua Pavilion, quickly disappearing into the winding corridors.

Following his straight back, as sturdy as a snow-covered pine tree, Emperor Tianxi took a deep breath, his lips and mustache trembling.

Outside the prison, Song Chen looked at Yin Quan, who had already removed her phoenix coronet and wedding robes, with some confusion.

The old man before her had a deep frown between his brows, and Yin Quan smiled and said, "If you want to know what kind of woman I am, my lord, then come in with me."

After speaking, she turned around and stepped over the iron gate guarded by four guards without the slightest hesitation.

After pausing for a moment outside the prison gates, Song Chen's lips twitched slightly. Despite a lingering resentment, he hesitated briefly before following them inside.

Walking on the cold, damp stone pavement, the old man kept a distance from Yin Quan, his wrinkled face always bearing a cold, inquisitive expression.

Suddenly, the figure in front of him stopped abruptly. He frowned, glanced in the direction the figure was looking, and was astonished.

The direction she was heading was...

"Yin Ru, are you surprised? The first person to come here to visit you is me, who has survived from your hands twice and three times." As she spoke, she lifted her gaze and looked around the dark and cold iron prison. Yin Quan's lips were like a crescent moon and her eyes were like hooks. In an instant, she drew blood from Yin Ru, who was curled up on the grass mat in the corner with her knees wrapped around her waist.

"Open the door." She turned her gaze away and gave the order to the female jailer. Her voice was as cold as iron, as if she were not alive. Then, she added in an even colder tone, "I know that the rules of this prison are strict. If anything happens, I will take full responsibility. Remember, tonight, only I am here to visit the convict Yin Ru."

As she spoke, she casually pulled a gold-inlaid jade hairpin from her hair and placed it in the hand of the head female jailer, her voice low and deep: "Do you all understand?"

She felt a heavy force pressing down on her palm, and the female jailer quickly understood and disappeared from Yin Quan's sight with her two other colleagues.

She glanced in the direction the female guards had gone, and only after a long while did she look down at the frail body huddled in the corner: "I just want to know, why did you kill me six months ago?"

With her gaze lowered, Yin Ru seemed like a puppet on a string, completely oblivious to everything.

Seeing that she didn't react, Yin Quan pursed her lips and moved closer to her.

"Princess Consort Duan..."

He uttered a low voice, and an undisguised concern emerged in Song Chen's aged voice.

Upon hearing this, Yin Quan paused slightly, but still took that step.

Suddenly, at that moment, Yin Ru, who was curled up in the corner like a living dead, suddenly let out a howl and pounced on Song Chen.