RPAGF Chapter 191 The Missed Year
Chapter 191 The Missed Year
Hua Buyu sat up abruptly from the bed, her expression and tone more serious than ever before.
"Yan Yan, don't listen to Yun Zhaoyao's nonsense. I don't like him. He's just a child. He likes whoever he's close to. He doesn't understand anything about men and women."
"But Zhao Yao seems to really like you!"
She waved her hands repeatedly, "His affection is like a child's affection for an older sister, it's different."
"Really? But the way he looked at me when he mentioned you, that's the kind of look Xuan Yuan gives me. Isn't that liking me?"
Hua Buyu shook her head, eager to deny everything, "No, no! Yan Yan, there's absolutely no way I could be with him."
Xin Moyan looked incredulous and frowned, asking in confusion, "Buyu, you said before that you wanted to date a younger man. Zhao Yao is handsome and cute. Although he is only seventeen years old, you don't need to be so opposed to it. Dating is fine!"
"Yan Yan, you don't understand. Even if he becomes an adult, I will not be with him."
"Why? Do you have someone you like?"
She sighed heavily, seemingly reluctant to recall the past. "Yan Yan, I mentioned before that I ran away from home at fifteen and met Xuan Yuan at sixteen. Do you know what I experienced in that missing year?"
Xin Moyan shook her head. She knew that Buyu had something on her mind, perhaps related to her past experiences, but since Buyu hadn't brought it up, she wouldn't pry.
"Yan Yan, you are my only family in this world, and I also consider you my best friend, so I don't mind telling you about my past, even though it wasn't very pleasant."
"Is it related to... Zhao Yao?" she blurted out subconsciously, after all, Zhao Yao gave her the feeling that she had known Buyu for many years.
"Well, but not entirely."
Hua Buyu turned to the side, readjusted his posture, and then began to tell her the story of the past in detail.
“After I ran away from home, I wandered around. One day, I was harassed on the street and happened to meet Qi Liang Wang Yun Kuang, who was returning in triumph. He killed the man and saved me. He also took me back to the palace.”
"Yun Kuang? My brother just said today that he is the regent of Qi Yun Kingdom, and a flamboyant royal uncle?"
"Yes, he is Zhao Yao's uncle. He has made great military achievements and is ambitious. At that time, I was only thinking about escaping and making a living in the Prince's mansion. I never thought that Yun Kuang would be so despicable and shameless."
"No... no words. Could it be that you married that prince back then?"
She instantly bristled and shouted, "What do you mean, 'marry him'? He didn't marry a princess, and I didn't marry him either. In modern times, at most we would just live together. Besides, his palace is full of women, each one of them vicious and wicked. It's a den of wolves. If I had known this would happen, I would have preferred to be a beggar!"
"Huh? Cohabitation? A den of wolves?"
"Mmm! At first, I thought that Yun Kuang was quite pretty. After wandering outside for so long, I did want to have someone to rely on. Who knew that the Prince's mansion was a den of dragons and tigers."
"Yun Kuang took me back to the Prince's mansion. Fortunately, I'm not bad-looking and I'm good at flattery, so at least for a while, he treated me quite well..."
Her eyes gradually turned sad as she reminisced; perhaps she had once held some expectations for him!
"and after?"
"Although those women would always bully and torment me when he wasn't around, he would always bring me delicious food and fun things every time he came back. All kinds of gold and silver jewelry filled the whole room, and I became his darling. He would take me everywhere he went. At that time, I thought, it's just a few women, I can just put up with it. After all, it's not easy to find a long-term meal ticket..."
Her tone shifted, and her eyes gradually turned desolate. "Until one night, I woke up and couldn't find him. That's when I inadvertently discovered his true colors. It turned out he had been secretly training troops for years, just waiting for the right moment to launch a palace coup and usurp the throne to become emperor..."
Hua Buyu lowered her eyes and remained silent for a while before continuing, "I also heard him tell his subordinates that I was nothing more than a plaything for him to amuse himself. Even if he became emperor, he would not make me empress. He would choose a woman who would be beneficial to him and help him ascend the throne."
"Ha!" She suddenly laughed mockingly. "Actually, I don't care about titles or honors, but what disgusts me the most is that he always knew what I went through in the Prince's mansion. He let those women torment me, pretending to know nothing, and continued to dote on me. He not only had no feelings for me, but he even acted so hypocritically in front of me..."
Seeing her speak of these things so casually, Xin Moyan felt a lump in her throat and a prickling sensation in her heart. She suddenly hugged Hua Buyu and patted her back.
"Buyu, you must have had a tough time back then! It's okay, it's all in the past now. You have us now, and you'll never be bullied again."
Hua Buyu shook her head. "Yan Yan, that's nothing. I had already come to my senses by then, but every time I was with him, I felt extremely disgusted. Of course, I also secretly planned to escape from the palace, but things didn't go as planned. One day, he suddenly said that it was Emperor Qi Yun's birthday banquet and insisted on dragging me into the palace to offer my congratulations. I knew that he had made all the preparations and was just waiting for this opportunity to rebel, but I never expected him to be so crazy..."
Xin Moyan suddenly remembered what her brother had said: many years ago, Regent Qi Yun forced the emperor to abdicate, but failed at the last moment. Could it be related to Bu Yu?
"At the palace banquet, he poisoned Emperor Yun's food beforehand, and then, under the pretext of finding the real culprit, locked all the officials in the palace. The Empress and the Zhao Yao siblings were imprisoned separately in their chambers. He gave me a bottle of poison and told me to poison the Empress, while he took the abdication edict to Emperor Yun to demand the imperial seal..."
"Ah! Bu Yu, you said that the regent ordered you to poison the flamboyant empress dowager?"
"Yeah, those are his own brother and sister-in-law. Don't you think he's a pervert?"
"Then...did you listen to him?" Xin Moyan trusted her deeply. Although Bu Yu was unrestrained and unconventional, she had clear likes and dislikes and would never collude with that Yun Kuang!
"Of course... no!"
"Yan Yan, Zhao Yao's mother is the gentlest woman I have ever met. She faced death without hesitation and even entrusted me with the Tiger Tally to give to Zhao Yao. I still can't understand how Empress Yun could have trusted me so much back then?"
"Tiger Talisman?"
"Yes, yes! You don't know, to become emperor, Qi Yun needs to have both the Tiger Tally and the Imperial Seal. They are both indispensable. Otherwise, the civil and military officials and the three armies will not obey his orders. The Tiger Tally originally belonged to Zhao Yao's uncle, but he was killed by Yun Kuang. He couldn't find the Tiger Tally, so he set his sights on Empress Yun."