Huan Qin (3)

"Oh..." Ye Lang replied casually as he ate the exquisite food on the table, separated from Long Ai.

"..."

"Cousin, the piece you just played was so interesting! Could you play it for me again sometime?" Long Ai started pestering Ye Lang again.

"Okay!" Ye Lang nodded in reply.

"Really? That's great! When?"

"You said, in the future..."

"When is 'later'?"

"The future is the future!"

"..."

Long Ai was silent for a moment, then said, "Cousin, you're just brushing me off!"

"Yeah, you're not stupid!" Ye Lang readily admitted.

"Fine, since you agreed anyway, even if you're just going through the motions, you should at least give me a perfunctory answer! By the way, cousin, how did you grow that rare flower? I've tried so many times before, but I couldn't grow it. Also, didn't you say you didn't have any? How come you have some in just a few days..." Long Ai started pestering Ye Lang with other questions, about the flower.

"This rare flower, it is..." Ye Lang didn't mind and directly told Long Ai how to plant it. Of course, he meant the ordinary way and didn't use alchemy. As for why Ye Lang could complete it in a few days, he naturally wouldn't say that.

At that time, Long Ai was only thinking about how to plant it and didn't care about her other issues. Originally, she was just asking casually.

Soon, one program after another changed, and the wonderful performances pushed the atmosphere to one climax after another. At this moment, everyone seemed to have forgotten what had happened before and was completely immersed in the celebratory atmosphere.

Then, an opera by the Celestial Music Troupe brought the atmosphere to its peak. The Celestial Music Troupe truly deserves its reputation as the world's number one troupe; its strength is indeed extraordinary.

"Hey, isn't that my traitorous cousin? Why is she putting on an act, like nothing happened? She's even looking at me with disdain. Grandma, what's going on?"

During the performance by the Celestial Music Troupe, the atmosphere reached its climax when a young girl, a proud young girl, appeared to be Prince Wuji's sister.

Everyone found this situation a bit strange, and Long Ai even directly asked the Empress Dowager was standing to the side.

The Empress Dowager shook her head and said, "She's not glaring at you, she's glaring at your cousin. She's still Battle Qi about what happened before and wants to use this to prove that she's better than your cousin!"

"Battle Qi? Do you mean their plan was ruined by their cousin just now?" Long Ai asked, tilting her head.

"No! Her Battle Qi stems from your cousin's disregard for her. They were already angered by your troublesome cousin!" the Empress Dowager replied with a smile.

"Oh, I see! That's strange. Why would she care about the past instead of the present?" Long Ai was a little confused.

At this moment, most people would find it strange that Prince Wuji and his two children are all prisoners who have failed in their crimes. If they are angry, they should be angry about what just happened.

"She doesn't know what's going on yet. I believe she still doesn't know what her mother and brother did to us. She's been kept in the dark all along!" The Empress Dowager shook her head and said.

When the incident occurred, the Celestial Music Troupe, like the other performers, was isolated in one place and had no contact with the outside world. They were unaware of what was happening in the square.

Perhaps, if things had gone smoothly then, Prince Wuji would have told her to leave; perhaps, she would have become a political sacrifice!

Imagine if she had suffered, then naturally no one would suspect Prince Wuji or think they were involved, since the princess had also died inside.

If all three are unharmed, it will raise suspicions, and regardless of the outcome of Suzaku's coup, attacking the Luther Kingdom will be a certainty.

So, from the very beginning, this arrogant princess was used as a sacrifice. Even knowing the truth, it's uncertain whether she will continue to be arrogant!

"My cousin is so pitiful..." Long Ai was overflowing with sympathy.

"What's there to pity? Maybe she's an accomplice. She's pretending not to know because she wants to save her life, so you won't do anything to her," Ye Lang said nonchalantly.

"..." After hearing Ye Lang's words, the Empress Dowager and the Vermilion Bird Emperor both fell silent. They had both previously felt that their granddaughter (niece) was a pitiful victim and were very sympathetic towards her, and both intended to let her go.

Now, after hearing Ye Lang's words, they also considered this possibility: perhaps the other party was just acting, trying to gain their sympathy.

He probably wouldn't sympathize with the others; he'd rather kill a hundred innocent people than let one guilty person go free. But she was, after all, his family. If it wasn't related to the matter, he would naturally let her go.

At this moment, both of them began to frown, considering whether or not they should let the arrogant princess go!

Just then, Ye Lang said something that made the two of them want to strangle Ye Lang!

"Of course, I was just saying. Maybe she really is a pitiful victim!" Ye Lang said casually and irresponsibly.

To let them go, or not to let them go?

After considering it for a while, the Vermilion Bird Emperor made a decision: he would not release her, but he would not do anything to her; he would simply place her under house arrest in the Vermilion Bird Empire and prevent her from returning.

This is believed to be the best outcome. By keeping her under house arrest here, they will take care of her, ensure nothing happens to her, and allow her to live like a princess. This can also be seen as a form of tolerance towards family.

The other two, naturally, would be released back to the Luther Kingdom after receiving certain conditions and being given some punishment. As for what those conditions and punishments would be, no one could be sure, and Ye Lang and the others did not want to know.

"No matter what, her singing is beautiful, and her acting is excellent! Her opera is a wonderful gift. Ye Lang, can't you sing another song for your grandmother? One song wasn't enough." After speaking about the proud princess, the Empress Dowager looked at Ye Lang, wanting to get more promises from Ye Lang —promises that weren't difficult to obtain.

Ye Lang frowned and said, "Alright, if you want, I'll give you an encore. I already picked one before anyway."

"Really? That's wonderful! Oh, right, I forgot to ask, what was the name of that piece you just played?" The Empress Dowager said excitedly. At the same time, she remembered something important: what was the name of Ye Lang's pipa piece? This was something many people wanted to know.

"Uh..." Ye Lang paused for a moment, then said with a somewhat strange expression, "That song is called Huan Qin!! What do you think, isn't it quite fitting..."