Volu Moon (1/2)

Volu Moon

Southern Chu Dynastic Records</e Suiyun</eheavily and peacefully in the night sky Standing below the ile dressed in plain, unadorned clothes, silently gazing up at the serene, weak radually gained a sense of heartbreak Half of her ink-black hair had been cut, and now only reached her shoulders Palace room her hair Unfortunately, it was too short and could not be tied up into a bun It was only held together with a headscarf Although the night breeze was refreshi+ng, Princess Changle’s clothes were thin and the wind penetrated her to the bone However, throughout, she refused to return to her chaht, she would find it difficult to sleep After a long while, she raised her white hand Within was a folding fan On it ritten a quatrain:

<blockquote class="Quote">The cold water of the pond is fresh in the autu could not be painted,1</sup></blockquote>

She recited the poe fan had recently been delivered by the Princess of Yong, the poe knew that she was fond of Jiang Zhe’s poetry and had gotten the folding fan to present to Changle Jiang Zhe probably did not pay le, ever since she received the fan, it had never left her side This object was the ly part with it

At thisvoice, she said, “Your Ihness, this servant cannot bear to watch you suffer so If His Imperial Majesty and the noble Consort were to learn of this, they will definitely blahness”

Princess Changle sile and are here only because of this beautiful night scenery It’s okay You go back and retire first We will go back soon to rest”

Lü’e saw that the princess’s expression was not bad and thus steeled her nerve to ask, “Princess, this servant doesn’t understand Xiahou daren is a master of brush and sword, and is also extre isn’t a problem as, after all, everyone says that Xiahou daren</eentle and kindhearted It wouldn’t be strange if you dislike him However, Wei daren not only has behavior and appearance that surpasses others, but is also clean-living and honest, never involving himself in immoral conducts And yet he is still not to the Princess’s liking It truly leaves this servant greatly puzzled”

Princess Changle tranquilly replied, “What do you understand? All right, go …”

Lü’e shi+vered inside, seeing that the princess’s exquisite features carried with it a faintly discernible sneer The distinctive dignity of these er dare to speak any further Quietly, as if walking on tiptoes, she withdrew

Princess Changle sighed slightly, feeling the cold of night beco ice-cold Just as she was about to turn to return to her cha breeze transle’s eyebrows slightly furrowed and she questioned, “Who is it that is spying on Us?”

A jade figure glinted and a woreen court uniforle stared at this woman blankly before she stated, “So it is Sister Hanyou Why have you come so late to pay a visit tolike a breeze, Li Hanyou bowed “Today, this servant was betrothed to General Qin But re elder sister’s loneliness in the palace, I could not help but feel restless Therefore, I have intentionally come here As expected, elder sister has not yet retired I hope that elder sister can invite le placidly replied, “These days, younger sister has frequently coh However, it is already the dead of night and it is inconvenient to chat Younger sister should return ho, shapely eyebrows furrowed After thinking it over, she recalled the news that the Princess of Yong had cole had learned of how she tried toZhe in the Qin residence? Everyone knew that Princess Changle was fond of Jiang Zhe’s poetry Moreover, reportedly the person that Princess Changle adhly likely, otherould she be so frigid² now after being so affectionate last time? If this was the case, she must find out the truth, otherouldn’t thisof this, Li Hanyou shness is fond of the poetry of Southern Chu’s gifted scholar A few days ago, Hanyou had the fortune of witnessing Jiang h it wasn’t a poeyuan, there was sentence that ell said It is said that poetry expresses one’s ideals Does elder sister not want to know the details?”

Princess Changle washad entered the palace, unintentionally bringing up the poetry gathering It was only that noble Consort was next to her, and she did not have the opportunity to ask carefully She thus agreed, “I’d like to hear the details”

Li Hanyou skipped over the sche of the poems that everyone had selected Finally, when she recited the verses, “No one can be found whence the melodies ended, / On upper river verdant peaks silently stand,” surprisingly, Princess Changle smiled faintly Li Hanyou mentally understood, but pretended that she did not notice, continuing to speak, “Jiang daren’s selected poenificant How does Princess feel about Jiang s?”

Princess Changle s From what I can see from his poetry, his verses are either re profound le co, she could not help but look down at the folding fan in her hands

Li Hanyou’s heart ju to lend the fan in your hands for little sister to take a look?”

Princess Changle glanced at Li Hanyou and replied, “You cannot speak of thisfan from second sister-in-law These last few years, very few of Jiang is even rarer” So speaking, she handed over the folding fan

Li Hanyou softly read the poe a faint distress directly hit her face³ due to the elegance and profundity of the verses She could not help but state, “Jiang daren’s poetry is truly peerless in the world”

Retrieving the folding fan, Princess Changle shout the world If younger sister is fond of it, there is no har a faint, happy expression on Princess Changle’s face, Li Hanyou suddenly asked, “Why has Your Iorously resisted the betrothal? Could it be that you already have sole’s expression did not change, as she gently responded, “Does younger sister knohy Imperial Father is so impatient to find a virtuous husband for me?”

Li Hanyou paid an obeisance and replied, “Everyone knows that His Imperial Majesty loves Princess deeply”

“The love and affection of members of the ile distantly “Although Imperial Father dotes on me, this is not the reason why he is so impatient to find a virtuous husband for me On that day, Imperial Father dispatched me to be loominess in his heart If he could not find an ideal husband for me, then Imperial Father would always feel that he has let ed “Does elder sister harbor resentment towards His Imperial Majesty?”

“From start to finish, there has been no resent her head “Frole has been fond of poetry and literature, reeable, different fro Were it not for Ile would not have any status to speak of Therefore, although I was sad when Imperial Father dispatched me to a distant land, I did not complain Further, We are supported and served by the common people of the world, how can We not sacrifice Ourselves for Great Yong? Therefore, although I was n land, it was foreordained that in this life, I cannot spend it with a husband to old age, and thus personally took le has never bla, blamed Imperial Father Now that Imperial Father wishes that Ito provide me with happiness However, We have experienced hardshi+ps and have long ago becoed towards the words ‘love and affection’ I only desire to perform my filial duties to Iardless of which brother ascends to the throne, I am but a , a frail woman, presumably no one would be suspicious or jealous of le will accompany the oil lamp before the statue of Buddha Such a life is sufficient”

Li Hanyou sighed with adhness, can it be that you still re of Southern Chu? He is nofaithful to his memory?” As she spoke, she herself did not believe this was the case, as Li Hanyou looked at Changle with a le neutrally replied, “That is not the case We are only downhearted Not everyone wishes to emulate Wenjun”⁴

Li Hanyou said, “Wenjun was originally a wise and virtuous woman She was only unfortunate that she ran into the brilliant Siru, and thus could not help but be ena daren</ele looked at Li Hanyou deeply, a faint trace of disdain in her eyes Li Hanyou smiled and added, “His I as Princess is willing, regardless of who it is, he will be able to beco e If Princess tacitly consents, little sister is willing to cole becaid, as she coldly declared, “Li Hanyou We have resided in the depths of the Yong palace for many years, and were further the Queen of Southern Chu Although I live in seclusion, do you really think that We do not have a single shred of cunning?”

Li Hanyou’s expression changed greatly, and she dropped to the ground “Your I utterly sincere and cannot bear to see worries lock up the Princess’s eyebrows If I have offended Your I to accept punishle’s expression becaid, as she slowly and carefully stated, “Jiang daren’s moral character is noble and unsullied Were it not for second brother’s character, an ordinary person would not be able to get this h he has surrendered, he is not sohtly We are fond of his talent and respect his moral character How can I pers? I know of the current cole was originally an outsider Why are you deterh We are not fond of struggling, if you lot continue to persist in pressing me, We can only report this matter to Imperial Father and immediately become a nun When that time co, Princess Changle coldly excused herself “We are tired Please return, Princess of Jingjiang It is the dead of night You have to be careful If there are such ruive me justice”

When she had hastily returned to her quarters, Li Hanyou caught sight of noble Consort Ji waiting for her wearing a grave face She promptly advanced and said, “Martial Aunt, why have you co important happened?”

noble Consort Ji answered, “The Sect Master has dispatched news Huo Jicheng has already been held up by eldest apprentice sister and will certainly be unable to escape However, currently, the tongues of the entire court are wagging, and this matter must be handled cautiously”

Li Hanyou happily replied, “Eldest apprentice sister’s martial arts are exceptional and will certainly easily capture Huo Jicheng” However, her brows furrowed slightly and she continued, “However, how can we remedy the Crown Prince’s current situation? Sect Master has always taught us disciples that guarding against ru a flood Does Martial Aunt have any methods?”