TRT -Chapter 42 You’re Not Allowed to Leave

When news of the Sixth Prince’s death arrived, I was in the courtyard learning how to drive a carriage with Guo’er.

I froze unconsciously. The reins slipped from my hands, and the horse bolted in excitement, frightening several young girls who were helping at the clinic. Fortunately, Guo’er reacted quickly and pulled it back.

Dead…?

I raised my head and looked at Guo’er in a daze, unable to believe it.

Why is it always the good people who die young?

When I heard the news, the first scene that flashed through my mind was of the Sixth Prince sitting calmly in a broken shack, saying that the royal family had committed too many sins, that the people had suffered too much, and that perhaps he was Heaven’s retribution…

“If being bedridden for over thirty years can wash away the blood on the royal family’s hands, then it’s far too cheap for me…”

I still remembered when we first met. He had looked like a refined scholar in elegant clothes, clasped his fists, and said sourly, “I’ve heard that you, little brother, are the heroic knight who robs the rich to help the poor. I admire you greatly.”
And I had mocked him mercilessly in return…

I remembered how he looked at the disaster victims outside Xitai City and said in pain, “When the land suffers from calamities, why is it always the common people who bear the consequences?”

I remembered his flushed face from coughing, how he rolled up his sleeves to help me work, his gentle voice, his slender, beautiful eyes, beads of sweat on his temples. Behind him was always a burly man called Wen Biao, making him look even more fragile and sickly…

I also remembered the last time I saw him.

He told me about her background. His cool fingers gently brushed my cheek. His gaze seemed to look through me at someone else as he said sorrowfully:

“No… you’re not like her. If she had even half of your liveliness and willfulness, things wouldn’t have ended this way…”

His eyes were always filled with sorrow.

For his country?
For his people?
For himself?
Or for her?

They say all sorrow comes from pain, and all pain comes from the mortal world.

Now, he no longer had to suffer.

Seeing me staring blankly, my eyes unfocused, Guo’er tied up the horse and pulled me into his arms under the shade of a tree. I leaned against him, watching little black insects crawl in and out of the damp stone cracks, and suddenly my vision blurred…

I turned my face and buried it in his shoulder.

Guo’er sighed softly, covering my faint sobs. He ruffled my hair and patted my back. Outside the wall, funeral suona horns sounded closer and closer…

I couldn’t sleep all night thinking about the Sixth Prince. It was nearly dawn when I finally dozed off. Not long after, I was woken by panicked cries from the girls in the clinic.

“Something terrible! A prince has come! He wants to see Miss Yun!”

Seeing them running around in chaos, I really wanted to tell them:

Whether it’s a prince or the Son of Heaven, doctors are the greatest! Why can’t you show the same cold-blooded professionalism as veterinarians in modern state hospitals? That’s the gap, girls—the gap!

When they finally dragged me into the main hall, I understood their panic.

That damned big fox sure knew how to put on a show.

Outside, regular troops filled the area. Inside, two neat rows of fully armed Imperial Guards stood at attention. The Big Fox, dressed in plain mourning clothes, sat calmly at the head seat, drinking tea.

An ordinary rattan chair looked like a throne when he sat on it.

Honestly, give him a dragon robe and a crown, and everyone would kneel and shout “Long live the Emperor.”

It was understandable.

If you woke up one morning and found someone sitting on your couch while armed police filled your kitchen and bathroom with AKs, you’d panic too.

I was still thinking about how to start when the girls shoved me forward.

The Big Fox looked displeased.

He wasn’t someone who showed emotions easily, but now his face was as dark as the bottom of a pot.

Better not provoke him.

I bowed obediently and found an empty seat.

“I heard you’re planning to go to Changle,” he said.

Huh?
Yeah…

That old fox sure had good intelligence.

According to Prince Luo, the Hunyuan Pearl was in Changle. Now that Guo’er’s poison was cured, we planned to go look for it. Luo Cheng and Qingqing were still missing, so we would probably head there as planned.

“What are you going to Changle for?”

Two deadly beams shot from his eyes.

I was instantly defeated.

Changle was the Emperor’s base—his mortal enemy’s territory! No wonder he was suspicious.

I couldn’t tell him about the Pearl…

“I… I’m going to Changle to… sightsee!”

I went all in.

“Changle is a famous historical city! A political and economic center! A transportation hub! A tourist paradise—”

“Enough.”

He waved his hand.

“If there’s nothing important, don’t go.”

He tossed an envelope in front of me.

“Mo Han left this for you.”

Mo Han?

“The Sixth Brother.”

What?!

His… last letter?

Why to me?

Nervously, I opened it.

Skipping some difficult characters, I found that four long pages boiled down to two points:

1. You’re talented. Stay by my Fourth Brother’s side and help him become Emperor.
2. My Fourth Brother is a top-tier diamond bachelor. Marry him.

……

Where did you see that I like your Big Fox?!

I wanted to refuse outright, but he’d brought an army.

He clearly wasn’t letting me leave.

And he’d just lost his brother. He needed someone to vent on. I wasn’t about to be that person.

I glanced at him. He was calmly sipping tea, as if everything were under control.

Drinking tea was really a universal skill. No matter what you were thinking—scheming, spacing out, or totally clueless—just drink tea and you’d look profound.

Fine. You want to play deep? I’ll play with you.

I grabbed a cup and drank with him.

Only his table had tea. I marched over and poured myself a huge cup.

Everyone stared.

He looked unsurprised.

One pot later, I was full.

He even ordered another pot.

I burped.

A smile flashed in his eyes.

He finally spoke.

“Do you understand the letter?”

“Mm…”

“Mo Han meant well. What do you think?”

“…Uh…”

“How do you feel?”

Straight to the point!

How did I feel?

I wanted to disappear, take Guo’er and Xiaotao, find Qingqing, find the Pearl, find Master Mingjing, and go back to the modern world!

But looking at the shining blades around me…

“I… I need time to think…”

“Minmin.”

He suddenly stood up, stepped forward, and trapped me in the chair.

He stared into my eyes and said seriously, almost pleading:

“Promise me. Stay by my side. Okay?”

I had never seen him like this.

I shrank back.

“If… if I say no… will you hit me?”

His eyes turned cold.

Oh no.

I’d screwed up.

He was about to give orders.

I grabbed his hand.

“Don’t worry! I’ll stay with you until we reach Changle!”

My meaning:
After Changle, I’ll get the Pearl and leave.

His meaning:
Changle = seizing the throne.
She’s agreed to support me.

So he smiled in satisfaction.

A relaxed, genuine smile.

It overlapped with the one he gave me in the ancestral temple courtyard, dazzling my eyes.

Using the excuse of an epidemic, he shamelessly moved into the clinic.

The girls were overjoyed.

Imperial Guards swarmed outside.

It was driving me crazy.

One day, while I lay in a tree trying to find inner peace, someone climbed up like a monkey, grabbed me, and ran toward the west wing.

“Minmin! I met an ultra-beauty today! Super gorgeous! Smart, elegant, perfect! You HAVE to meet her!”

He ran with shining eyes, carrying me away.