Veil of Darkness: The Enchantress's Revenge

Chapter 6: Caught in Bed

"Princess Mo, how could you..." The man seemed at a loss for words.

Yun Fengqing opened her eyes and looked at him. His eyes were filled with anxiety and reproach, and his official robes were slightly different from the others. Remembering the earlier conversation about "Princess Mo being sent from the Cang Kingdom for marriage," it seemed he was an envoy from Cang Kingdom.
His expression was serious; he couldn't understand why the Ming Emperor suddenly proposed a marriage alliance, and now this incident had occurred. It was unclear who was right or wrong, and he feared that the Ming Emperor might see this as a sign of Cang Kingdom's insincerity and use it as an excuse to declare war. If that happened, both the Silver Moon Kingdom and Cang Kingdom would suffer greatly.
Moreover, given the calm demeanor of the princess, he couldn't help but wonder if she had willingly climbed into the man's bed.
The person on the bed, looking shocked, seemed to finally come to his senses and anxiously tried to explain, "Father, I..." He started to speak but was interrupted by a fit of violent coughing.
The coldness on Gong Mingxuan's face gradually faded, replaced by a hint of concern as he called out, "Imperial physician..."
The physician stepped forward to check Gong Juexiang's pulse and respectfully reported to Gong Mingxuan, "Your Majesty, the Ghost King is already weak. This time, excessive drinking has harmed his body, causing him to cough incessantly."
Hearing this, the Crown Prince, Gong Jueying, standing behind Gong Mingxuan, revealed a fleeting, ambiguous smile. Although it was brief, Yun Fengqing caught it clearly, suspecting that this drunken debauchery was perhaps a carefully crafted illusion!
Gong Mingxuan frowned and sighed in resignation, "Fine, fine! Considering you were drunk and acted without intention, I won't hold this against you." He then turned to Yun Fengqing, frowning as if he found the situation troublesome.
Upon hearing this, Gong Jueying's expression darkened for a moment but quickly returned to normal, while the Jin Prince, Gong Jueyi, remained calm and composed without much reaction.
The envoy from Cang Kingdom, seeing Gong Mingxuan's attitude, quickly said, "Princess Mo's visit is indeed for the marriage alliance. It is a joyous occasion that the Ghost King and Princess Mo have mutual feelings for each other."
What a convenient statement! Which of his eyes saw them as having mutual feelings?
Gong Mingxuan nodded, "In that case, I grant Princess Mo to the Ghost King as his concubine, with the title 'Demon Concubine'!"
Yun Fengqing sighed internally; she had no say in this matter at all!
Moreover, the situation was quite complicated. The emperor's attitude was strange; ordinarily, upon seeing his son lying in bed with a woman who was about to become his concubine, even if there were no feelings involved, he would be furious and embarrassed. Yet, this emperor merely feigned a bit of anger and then granted her to his son, even bestowing a title. It seemed he was particularly indulgent towards his son, yet the title contained the word "demon," and the Ghost King's title wasn't very pleasant either, although it somewhat matched the sickly appearance of this Ghost King who seemed close to death.
Gong Juexiang weakly said, "Thank you, Father!"
His disrespectful behavior was nothing new to everyone; it was well-known that the Ghost King was frail, and the emperor had permitted him not to kneel or attend morning court. Thus, although the Ghost King held the title of prince, he was essentially a powerless invalid, likely to expire at any moment.
For a time, everyone felt a bit sympathetic towards Yun Fengqing.
Gong Mingxuan had taken the opportunity of his 50th birthday to propose a marriage alliance with Cang Kingdom. Today's banquet was held for Gong Mingxuan's birthday, where he would grant the title of concubine to Princess Mo. However, he had not expected her to be delayed in arriving, and then assassins appeared. After dealing with the assassins, Gong Mingxuan worried that Princess Mo's absence might be related to them. Some palace maids had seen her here, so Gong Mingxuan brought everyone to check, only to witness this scene.
Just as she was about to be conferred as a concubine, now this...
Although the emperor was already 50 years old, he still looked quite young, certainly better than the Ghost King!
Not only was he frail, but there were also rumors of him having a preference for young boys. Such rumors were not baseless, as there was not a single woman in the Ghost King's residence, and he appeared uninterested in all women, no matter how beautiful. In fact, some had seen him in ambiguous situations with handsome young men. Despite his sickly appearance, he had a surprisingly strong constitution.
Despite his condition, he was still a prince, and with such good looks and a gentle demeanor, there would always be women who inadvertently fell for him, wanting to enter the prince's residence. The emperor had even granted him a few beauties, but any woman who entered the Ghost King's residence never survived more than three days, often meeting bizarre ends!
Alas... Princess Mo would probably perish within three days; what a pity for such a beauty!
As everyone left the room, only the two people in the bed, covered by the same quilt, remained. Gong Juexiang looked at the person beside him and gently said, "Um... I was drunk... so..." His eyes showed a hint of apology.
Yun Fengqing softly replied, "Could you please turn around first?"
"Oh, okay!" Gong Juexiang was taken aback for a moment and quickly turned away, hesitating as he said, "Don't worry, I will take responsibility for you!"
"Mm." Yun Fengqing casually responded, picked up the clothes that had been carelessly thrown aside, examined them briefly, and then put them on.
Seeing that he was being a gentleman, still facing away from her, Gong Juexiang said, "It's ready."
Gong Juexiang turned back, putting on his clothes with effortless grace. Yun Fengqing faced away from him, gazing out the window, listening to the occasional coughs coming from behind her, a faint smile appearing in her eyes.
She didn't inquire about the Judge's situation in this life because she didn't care much, but it seemed somewhat interesting now.
Walking to the dressing table, she glanced at her reflection: snow-white skin, delicate features, willow-like brows, water-like eyes, and lightly tinted lips holding a faint smile. Aside from her longer black hair, her appearance was exactly the same as in her previous life.