Chapter 62: Chapter 62: Love Scatters with the Wind

Although Ming Lingyi called out Xiao Chun’s name, her eyes were fixed on Li Yun.

She had heard Xiao Chun’s voice all the way from the back kitchen and only came out because she was worried.

’She was worried that Li Yun, with his foul temper, might kill Xiao Chun in a fit of rage.’

Sure enough, when Li Yun’s eyes met Ming Lingyi’s, he suppressed the murderous intent rising in his heart.

"Miss," Xiao Chun said, hurrying to Ming Lingyi’s side and lowering her voice. "He looks like a total lecher. He seems respectable enough, but the first thing he did was ask to see you..."

Ming Lingyi: "..."

’Even though Xiao Chun was whispering,’ she thought, ’Li Yun’s hearing is probably sharp enough to catch every word.’

For a moment, Ming Lingyi didn’t dare look at Li Yun’s face, afraid she would burst out laughing the second she did.

’Li Yun has probably never been called a lecher in his entire life, has he?’

Still, with her plump maid’s life on the line, Ming Lingyi shot Li Yun a meaningful glance.

The two left the shop and entered the courtyard through a side gate in the back.

This was Li Yun’s first time visiting Ming Lingyi’s current residence. Compared to her former home, this courtyard house was utterly humble.

The only thing in the courtyard was an old plum tree. The blossoms were gone, but with the arrival of spring, lovely green buds had sprouted from its branches, making it look lush and filling the small yard with vitality.

Beneath the old plum tree stood a stone table and a few stone stools.

Ming Lingyi walked over first. "Why exactly did you come here today?"

’She thought she and Li Yun had had a very clear conversation yesterday.’ Of course, she conveniently chose to ignore the fact that she had been the one to anger him into leaving.

’But she had already stated her position. She wouldn’t return to the palace. She was Ming Yao now, not Ming Lingyi. The affairs of the court had nothing to do with her. How many consorts Li Yun wanted to marry, how many women he chose to favor—none of it was her concern.’

’Wasn’t that for the best?’

’She didn’t even resent him anymore. Wasn’t that the best possible outcome? She was going to pursue her new life, and Li Yun would no longer be bound by the vows they had made in their youth.’

Li Yun said, "I wanted... to talk to you about something."

"Oh?"

"Since Li Yan was with you recently, you must know that on New Year’s Day, Xue Yi was made to repent, facing Kunning Palace," Li Yun said.

As he spoke, he watched Ming Lingyi’s face intently, refusing to miss the slightest change in her expression.

Just as he expected, Ming Lingyi showed no surprise at his words.

"Mm."

’Li Yun had just started to breathe a sigh of relief. It seemed he hadn’t raised his son for five years for nothing.’

"But what does that have to do with me?" Unfortunately for Li Yun, his relief was premature. A moment later, Ming Lingyi asked with an air of curiosity.

"She was the cause of your death. She will spend the rest of her life atoning for it. If you’re still not satisfied, or if..."

"Wait."

Ming Lingyi suddenly cut him off. She looked at Li Yun with surprise, which then melted into a knowing smile.

’She had always felt that Li Yun was high and mighty. Even back in the Great Desert, she’d thought the young general seemed approachable, but was, in fact, secretly arrogant.’

’Perhaps he reined it in a little when he was with her.’

’But she had always been too sensitive.’

’In the past, Li Yun always did what he thought was best for her without asking, and it seemed not much had changed.’

’Just like the words he had just spoken.’

’He’d already made Xue Yi atone for her sins, so what more could she be unhappy about? Why couldn’t she just forgive and forget?’

’That was probably what was going through Li Yun’s mind.’

’But that wasn’t what she was thinking at all.’

"Li Yun," Ming Lingyi said, using his given name. After he ascended the throne, perhaps no one dared to address the Emperor so directly. His eyes flickered when he heard her say it. "What makes you so sure I died because of Xue Yi?"

Li Yun frowned, confused. He had interrogated Sui Ziran back then. He’d confirmed that it was a servant attending to Xue Yi—who was living in Penglai Palace at the time—who had arrogantly taken the world’s last and rarest Phoenix Blood Ganoderma from the Imperial Hospital. That was why Ming Lingyi’s life couldn’t be saved.

Ming Lingyi let out a soft laugh and shook her head.

’It wasn’t that she couldn’t wake up back then. It was that she didn’t want to.’

’For someone who has lost the will to live, it doesn’t matter how skilled the physician is or even if they hold a miracle drug that can raise the dead. It’s all useless.’

’Because she no longer wanted to live.’

’She didn’t want to spend her days pining for a man who would never look back. She wouldn’t let herself drown in the past, watching as she became a shadow of her former self, filled with resentment and self-pity.’

"Then, why was it?" Li Yun asked hesitantly, staring into Ming Lingyi’s eyes.

’An awful suspicion had already crossed his mind. He knew the best thing to do was not to ask, to feign ignorance, but his pride wouldn’t allow him to live the rest of his life in a self-deceiving lie.’

Li Yun left.

He sat silently atop his tall horse.

Ming Lingyi’s voice from before he left, tinged with a mocking smile, seemed to echo in his ears. It was so clear that forgetting it felt impossible.

"Even with the Blood Ganoderma, I wouldn’t have survived."

"Don’t you want to know why? It’s because I didn’t want to live anymore."

"Li Yun, it wasn’t Xue Yi who caused my death. It was because of you that I no longer wanted to live..."

"You see? You yourself know that she caused my death. I died. Ming Lingyi is dead. The person living before everyone now is Ming Yao. Ming Lingyi might have still loved you, but Ming Yao feels not a shred of love for you. We are just two strangers, completely unrelated..."

Her love had scattered to the winds.

His Yuan Niang had said she no longer loved him, that there was nothing between them anymore.

Every sentence, every word, was a sharp blade stabbing viciously into Li Yun’s heart.

He had originally intended to bring Ming Lingyi back to the palace.

But now, he couldn’t help but give up.

Liu Ye had no idea what the Empress had said to his master. All he knew was that when his master emerged from that courtyard, his entire aura was like the calm before a thunderstorm—dark clouds blanketing the city, heralding a tempest.

Back at the palace, Liu Ye followed behind Li Yun. When he saw that his master was still holding the food box, the corner of his eye twitched. His master had refused to let anyone else take the box the entire way back, insisting on carrying it himself.

Now, as they were about to enter Taiji Palace, Liu Ye couldn’t help but step forward and ask in a low voice, "Your Majesty, shall I have the food box sent to the Eastern Palace?"

’After all, the meal had been packed for the Little Prince.’

But Li Yun shot him a sharp glance. "The Eastern Palace? When did I ever say this was for the Eastern Palace?"

Liu Ye: "???"

’Wasn’t His Majesty the one who told me to get takeout for the Little Crown Prince earlier?’

Li Yun had already turned away, carrying the food box into the palace hall.

’Since they had refused his request for an extra portion earlier, it was simply Li Yan’s bad luck.’

’As for this portion, Yuan Niang never specified it was for Li Yan.’

’So, it was his.’