A life of two souls traveling through time

Chapter 280: Uncle and sister-in-law secretly have an affair, and King Han is punished for taking hu

During the White Dew season, the weather is clear and crisp. The sky is as blue as the sky above Shangjing, the capital of Xiyue Kingdom. Outside the city, there are rouge-colored forests and emerald mountain screens, all exuding a strong autumn atmosphere.

In the deep courtyard of the Zongwang Mansion with white walls and green tiles, maple leaves are dyed with flames, golden osmanthus is fragrant, green bamboos quietly surround the courtyard wall, rockery and lake water are reflected in each other, and the pavilion on the water stands like a pine tree. However, the courtyard is silent, and no one cares about or appreciates this picturesque autumn scenery.

Ever since the Prince's wedding, the servants in the Prince's Mansion have never seen the Prince enter the palace again. Even if he needs something, he would just ask the guards around him to come back and get it. The huge Prince's Mansion has gradually become the private residence of the Princess.

However, Princess Zong was arrogant and domineering, and her mood was unpredictable. At first, all the servants in the palace complained bitterly, but since His Highness was unwilling to reply, they had no choice. Now they were used to being extremely cautious and dared not make the slightest mistake. Even when they had nothing to do, they would try to hide in the backyard, and they could no longer play in the courtyard as they did before when Aunt Eli was around.

In the wing room in the front yard of the palace, Princess Zong, Nan Rongliangling, was sitting in front of a bronze mirror, admiring herself. Her beautiful face inadvertently added a bit of maturity and charm, and her every frown and smile also made her look charming.

"Princess, are you still going to the theater today?" The maid Buna was standing behind Nan Rong Liang Ling, fixing her hair. Looking through the bronze mirror, she saw her princess's happy expression, occasionally smiling shyly with her brows lowered. A trace of worry could not help but flash across her eyes.

"Of course I have to go. Chen Lang and I made an appointment yesterday." Nan Rong Liang Ling looked back with a charming smile and whispered to Buna.

"Princess... Mid-Autumn Festival is coming soon... I think you should not go to see Prince Chen during this period of time?" Buna frowned and hesitated for a moment, then squatted down and walked up to Nan Rong Liangling, persuading her in a low voice.

"Why?" Nan Rong Liang Ling was feeling amorous at the moment. When she heard what her maid said, she frowned and felt unhappy.

"Princess, your current status in Xiyue Country is still the Princess of the Zong Kingdom. If this matter gets out, wouldn't it be......"

"Don't worry, I have discussed with Chen Lang that I will divorce the prince when he comes back. He looks down on me anyway, and I don't want to continue to be the prince's consort in name only." Without waiting for her maid to finish speaking, Nan Rong Liangling sneered disapprovingly.

"But....."

"Oh, don't worry about it, hurry up and get dressed, I have to go see Chen Lang!"

Seeing that the princess still refused to listen, Buna had no choice but to get up and go back to her own business.

"My tearful eyes ask the flowers but they don't answer, the scattered red petals fly over the swing."

In the theater with flying eaves, green tiles and red walls, a lady with light makeup on her hair on the stage sings softly about the past and the sorrows of her heart. The guests in the audience can't help but feel like they are in the play.

The third floor of the theater was quiet and silent. Outside the private room with the door tightly closed, Nanrong Liangling's maid Buna was guarding it. Her tiger-like eyes were constantly watching all around vigilantly, not daring to relax at all.

In the past month, Buna was always worried whenever the princess had a secret meeting with someone outside. Although the princess had suffered a lot of grievances since she married the prince, she was now having a secret meeting with the prince's cousin under the identity of the prince's wife. According to the laws of Xiyue Kingdom, an uncle and a sister-in-law having an affair are guilty of hanging. If this matter were to get out, the consequences would be disastrous.

Buna was worried about the princess outside, but in the private room, the candles were lit, the air was fragrant, the red gauze curtains were warm, and the man and woman, who had experienced the joy of love, were still lingering in bed, breathing slowly.

"Chen Lang, you promised yourself that after I divorced Prince Zong, you would marry me and make me your Crown Prince's Consort." Nan Rong Liangling's face flushed, and she snuggled in the young man's arms, acting coquettishly, but her tone was filled with a bit of overbearing command.

"Of course, I keep my word." The young man smiled ambiguously, lowered his head and whispered in Nan Rong Liang Ling's ear in his arms.

This man had red lips and white teeth, and it was difficult to tell whether he was androgynous. He was the youngest son of the current Prince Qing, Yan Chen, and also the cousin of Yan Zong. As Nan Rong Liangling was now the Princess of Zong, he had to respect her as his cousin.

Nan Rongliangling had given up on her husband after being hated by Yan Zong. However, she felt bored in the palace all day and later went to the theater to learn how to listen to operas. It was also here that she happened to meet the prince Yan Chen who was also obsessed with listening to operas. At first, the two of them were still considerate of the uncle-sister-in-law etiquette, and occasionally talked about operas. However, over time, the two of them fell in love with each other after a few exchanges of glances. It was inevitable that smoke would come out of this dry firewood.

"But even if I divorced the Prince of Zong, in the eyes of you Yan family, I am still the former Princess of Zong. Will your father agree?" Nan Rong Liangling had no intention of being intimate with Yan Chen at this time. She held his face up and asked worriedly.

"My father has always loved me, he will definitely agree. Besides, since you have divorced your cousin in the future, you will regain your identity as the princess of Gu Yun. At that time, it will be reasonable for my father, the King Qing, to propose marriage to Gu Yun on behalf of his son." Yan Chen smiled at the beauty in his arms with a confident look and comforted her.

"Don't lie to this princess, or I will not let you off easily." Nan Rong Liangling suddenly pressed Yan Chen under her. Although she spoke in a joking tone, a hint of ruthlessness flashed in her eyes.

"Princess, spare your life."

Yan Chen smiled sweetly, then hugged Nan Rong Liang Ling tightly in his arms and kissed her passionately. In a short while, the private room was filled with gasps again.

"What does my brother want to see me for?"

As soon as Yan Han entered the imperial study and perfunctorily bowed, he sat down in front of Yan Qiao in a bohemian manner.

Although Yan Qiao knew that his younger brother had always been disrespectful to his elders and did not know etiquette, especially after his father's death, he became even more arrogant. But he was the king of a country after all, and Yan Han was probably the only one in the entire Xiyue Kingdom who dared to be so presumptuous in front of him, so he was very dissatisfied.

"I heard that you executed three concubines in your mansion last night?" Yan Qiao did not look happy at this time and asked in a cold voice.

"When did my royal brother become so concerned about my family affairs?" Yan Han smiled wickedly with disapproval.

"Hmph, family affairs? How many concubines have you executed in this month? Every time it happened at night, the miserable sounds disturbed half of the inner city, making people panic! How can you, a prince, be so cruel and ruthless to take human lives?" Yan Qiao was disgusted when he saw the evil look on Yan Han's face. He slammed the imperial table in front of him and shouted angrily.

"Since I spent money to buy them, how I deal with them is my own business." Seeing his usually gentle and docile brother getting so angry, Yan Han was shocked, but he quickly regained his composure and still spoke with contempt.

"Even if you paid for it yourself, it was still a human life. The laws of our Xiyue country have long clearly prohibited masters from privately killing their slaves at will. And you committed ten murders in one month. You are disregarding the laws I set!"

Yan Qiao has always advocated strict laws, but when his father was in power, he did not attach importance to the law and still acted by force, so he could only turn a blind eye. But now that he is the king of a country, he naturally has to promote the rule of law.

However, if we want to truly implement the rule of law, the top leaders must lead by example before the people below can follow suit. If those above do not set an example and pay attention to the law, how can they expect the officials and people below to enforce the law?

"When my father was alive, I killed many people. But I never heard my brother mention any laws at that time."

“You…cough cough cough cough…”

Listening to his second brother's deliberately provocative words, Yan Qiao was so angry that he couldn't breathe for a moment and could only cough violently.

Seeing this, Yan Han also stood up in a hurry, but before he could speak, Eunuch Qin ran in with a worried look on his face, replaced a cup of warm tea for Yan Qiao, and then sighed to Yan Han who was standing beside him:

"Hey, Prince Han, can't you say less? Look how angry you are to His Majesty?"

"Shut up!" Yan Han, who had already been upset by Yan Qiao, became even more furious when he heard that the old eunuch dared to start criticizing him, and his face became grim and terrifying.

Eunuch Qin was so frightened that he quickly lowered his head and silently took care of Yan Qiao beside him.

After Yan Qiao recovered, he gave Yan Han a stern warning in person and ordered him to return home to reflect on his mistakes for three months. He was also fined 1,000 taels of silver, had nearly half of his land confiscated, and had to copy the Criminal Law of Xiyue Kingdom a hundred times.

Upon hearing this, Yan Han felt extremely sad, but he had suffered a lot since Yan Qiao took the throne for more than half a year, and Yan Qiao had also confiscated his military power bit by bit on excuses. Now he was just a powerless prince, so how could he dare to disobey him?

“Cough cough cough…”

"Your Majesty, you have been coughing since the beginning of autumn. The imperial physician has often advised Your Majesty to combine work and rest. Please listen to my advice and stop overworking yourself. Taking care of your health is the most urgent thing!"

After Yan Han left, Yan Qiao still coughed lightly from time to time. Eunuch Qin felt very distressed when he saw this, but he could only persuade her earnestly.

"Okay, you should encourage me more in the future." Yan Qiao smiled.

"I am unable to urge His Majesty when he is busy, even ten oxen cannot pull him back. But in the future, I will ask His Royal Highness the Crown Prince to come to the imperial study more often." As an old servant, Eunuch Qin has watched His Majesty grow up. It is impossible to change his worrying nature easily. Fortunately, in addition to the Queen Mother, there is also the little Crown Prince in the palace who can make His Majesty listen to his advice.

"You old fox." Yan Qiao felt a little amused and helpless when he heard it. He pointed at Eunuch Qin and shook his head with a bitter smile.