Chapter 74
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Chapter 74:
Yunxiao was handed to Liang Changfeng when he was not yet a month old. It could only make faint noises at first, but then it crawled around Liang Changfeng. Despite being cute in appearance, it was the only thing in the entire palace that belonged exclusively to Liang Changfeng, so Yunxiao grew up almost always by Liang Changfeng’s side.
The palace is a dangerous place where people disappear without a trace. It feels like a silent prison, with thick power in the air that crushes and torments everyone inside. In the midst of chaos and coldness, everyone has to give up their true selves and bow to the authority, like tamed wild animals. Even the queen, the mother of the country, does not feel safe in the cold palace. The late queen’s way of easing her worries was projecting her anxiety onto her son.
So, she urged Liang Changfeng every day to study hard and make their father happy. Even on her deathbed, the last words she left for Liang Changfeng were to be strong and fight for the throne.
When Liang Changfeng was around five or six years old, his relationship with the late queen was not good, and they often had small arguments.
As a prince and the late queen’s greatest reliance, she could not bear to nor could she punish him, so the palace attendants around Liang Changfeng often bore the queen’s anger and punishment.
The late queen intended to make Liang Changfeng realize his mistakes by punishing those around him, showing that his actions would have consequences for others as well.
However, Liang Changfeng was emotionally distant from a young age, and the late queen tried everything to make him submit, but he remained indifferent to the palace attendants around him, showing no guilt or remorse.
When Liang Changfeng first got Yunxiao, he loved it very much. He spent every day with Yunxiao after lessons, even neglecting his studies, which led to a big argument between him and his mother.
Liang Changfeng raised Yunxiao to be lively and close to him. Everyone in the palace knew it was the Second Prince’s dog, and the late queen saw Yunxiao as Liang Changfeng’s weakness. So, she took Yunxiao away when he went to the study room.
When Liang Changfeng asked about Yunxiao, she only said that Yunxiao had been taken away from the palace.
Liang Changfeng was stubborn and didn’t want to give in to his controlling mother. He started refusing to eat, not even drinking water for a whole day. The matter became serious and caught the attention of the emperor. However, the neglectful father just sent a eunuch to tell Liang Changfeng to stop arguing with his mother.
On the third day, the former queen suddenly agreed to return his kite to him, but on the condition that Liang Changfeng had to fulfill her demands.
Liang Changfeng agreed, but driven by rebellious thoughts, he didn’t want to study the required books and histories his mother wanted him to learn. So, he studied them half-heartedly and carelessly.
The former queen noticed this and continued to threaten Liang Changfeng with the kite. If he had lazy thoughts during his studies, the former queen would have the palace servants whip a dog, but if Liang Changfeng did well in his studies, he could play with the kite up close.
Liang Changfeng was very smart. Even though he was forced to learn things he didn’t like, at the age of five or six, he could recite everything word for word.
Once someone has tasted power, they may forget everything, especially when it comes to their own children.
The more the kite could influence Liang Changfeng, the more the former queen saw it as a useful tool to control another tool.
"What happened next?" Li Chunzhou asked, studying Liang Changfeng’s deep eyes and furrowed brows as he fell into memories.
"And then…" Liang Changfeng lowered his eyes, pondering those two short words.
In the palace, everything beautiful was hidden by extravagance and indifference. Love became weak under the shadow of power, and humanity was twisted and destroyed. Everyone searched for a way out in submission. Every drop of blood was cruelly drained, leaving only sadness and fear.
Liang Changfeng seemed to smile, his voice carrying a hint of coldness, "I killed my dear pet Cloud in front of her."
Liang Changfeng’s tone revealed a chilling coldness, but as he recalled the past, he could still remember Cloud’s dark, round, shiny eyes, despite being tortured for so long. Its fur was no longer smooth and shiny, it had become thin. Yet, when it lay in Liang Changfeng’s arms, it still extended its tongue to gently lick his hand, as if knowing Liang Changfeng was going to kill it, but not resenting him.
The feeling of a puppy’s wet tongue licking his tiger wound lingered in Liang Changfeng’s memory. He felt as if he had caught a snowflake in his heart. Since then, no one could threaten Second Prince with Cloud anymore.
Li Chunzhou couldn’t say a word.
Liang Changfeng reached out and gently touched her warm cheek, softly saying, "Lady Chun… as long as you obey, I can love you forever…"
In the dim moonlight, his voice seemed to gradually merge with that of the former empress, exuding both gentle seduction and icy suppression. Once the former empress controlled his life, now Second Prince controlled Li Chunzhou’s life.
Liang Changfeng lowered his eyes to Li Chunzhou’s wrist, usually adorned only with gold and silver jewelry, now clenched by himself till it turned pale. A tiny wound that should have scabbed was oozing blood. Liang Changfeng brought her delicate wrist to his lips and slowly licked away the fresh blood.
Li Chunzhou looked at his frantic eyes, wanting to pull her hand away but unable to.
The whole palace was like a crazy monster, every hidden corner carried countless twisted desires and mad thoughts, like buried bombs that could explode the palace at any moment. It quietly awaited the next sacrifice, the next decaying or thriving dynasty, waiting for the next hesitant soul to lose its way in the darkness.
Liang Changfeng grew up in this kind of environment, unlike the eldest prince and the Third Prince, he didn’t have a gentle and calm mother, nor a reliable father figure to depend on. Thus, he grew up in a twisted way.
When the former empress loved him, he didn’t care about her love.
When Li Chunzhou hated him, he didn’t care about her hate.
Li Chunzhou seemed to see beneath Liang Changfeng’s handsome appearance and his calm exterior, there seemed to be endless dark currents, intrigues, schemes, deception, and betrayal all woven into a tapestry of conspiracies in his body.
"No… I don’t want to!" Li Chunzhou’s voice trembled but was strangely firm.
Liang Changfeng’s eyes changed and his mouth frowned slightly. He let go of her wrist and touched her neck. Li Chunzhou’s delicate veins and hot blood pulsed under his hand. With just a light squeeze, he could easily take her life.
As simple as killing a cloud.
As long as Li Chunzhou died, things would go back to how they used to be, nothing would be able to affect him anymore… but how could he bear to do it?
So Liang Changfeng just gently kissed Li Chunzhou’s cheeks, whispered in her ear, "Lady Chun, cheer up. As long as you behave, I can give you whatever you want…"
"…Really?" Li Chunzhou’s voice was soft in the night, like a whimpering puppy. She said, "Tomorrow I want to listen to a play from Xiangru Court. Could you have them come to the mansion?"
Smiling, Liang Changfeng kissed her temple, delighted that she was willing to make requests. He readily agreed, then pulled her into a tight embrace.
Li Chunzhou didn’t understand why Second Prince suddenly hugged her so tightly. Just as she didn’t realize that humans, in times of distress, sometimes subconsciously express love to replace negative emotions.
Despite her confusion, Li Chunzhou hesitated for a moment before opening her arms, gently resting her head on his chest.
***
The next day when Li Chunzhou woke up, Second Prince was still nowhere to be seen. These days, he would leave early and return late, indicating the unclear situation in different aspects of Daliang.
Qi Leyuan emerged from under the bed only after making sure Liang Changfeng had completely left. He had hidden there for most of the night, covered in dust. Li Chunzhou used a handkerchief to gently brush off the dust from him.