However, the golden veil slowly covered everything, and Yan Qi couldn’t see anything.
This feeling of not being able to see anything made him uncomfortable.
But there was no doubt that the people inside were certainly not in a good mood, and that was enough.
“So, you put in a lot of effort and deliberately arranged meals, passersby, and even beggars around the Crown Prince’s mansion and inn, so that Gu’s advisors and guards could hear that rumor?”
“When you were out by yourself, you even bribed the storyteller at the teahouse. Let him change the topic and tell the old story in public so Gu could hear it, right?”
The clear, moist voice sounded again.
Yan Qi frowned and froze.
“In that teahouse, a storyteller sits in the lobby three times a day, morning, noon, and evening, but before Gu went in for tea, the storyteller had never told that old story in the months before. The owner of the tea house and the staff in the shop also had never heard rumors about that little concubine on the street. The teahouse has always been a gathering place for news, and if there were really large-scale rumors circulating in the Sui capital city, it is impossible that the owner and his staff would not have heard of them. But what they never heard was actually heard by Gu’s advisor and personal followers.”
“There is only one explanation for this matter. There is someone who wants to accurately spread the news to their ears, rather than spreading it on a large scale. Because he understands that spreading rumors on a large scale will inevitably attract the government and the Crown Prince of Sui’s attention. He is afraid of the Crown Prince of Sui and dare not take risks or touch his scales.”
“Of course, he was also very jealous of the deceased concubine, jealous of his ability to receive the Crown Prince of Sui’s supreme favor. He was jealous because, even after his death, he would still be remembered by the Crown Prince of Sui in his heart. That was something he had long dreamed of, and even relying on his virtue and noble status and position, he still was not able to get it.”
Yan Qi’s face gradually turned white.
He smiled and stared straight at the carriage, saying, “So what if Your Highness speaks such words to me from such a high position?”
“Is there not the slightest jealousy in Your Highness’s heart?”
“Your Highness pretends not to care on the surface, but Your Highness has actually inquired about Chu Yan quite a bit in private, right? If not, how could you imitate that Chu Yan’s dressing style in order to please him?”
“How long does Your Highness think a completely emotionless political marriage can last? Would Your Highness be willing to spend your whole life sleeping with someone who is hiding someone else in his heart?”
The carriage was silent.
Yan Qi picked up the painting, which had hurt his eyes countless times and is still an eyesore to him at the moment, from the ground. With almost a sense of revenge, he pointed to the blue flower on the painting and said, “Does Your Highness know what the flower held in the hand of the person on this painting is?”
“It’s Jisang Flower!”
His voice suddenly rose, and anger filled his eyes. “The auspicious flower, which symbolizes auspiciousness and wealth, is so noble that only the Empress and the Crown Princess are qualified to have it. He even gave it to such a lowly person in front of so many people. And I, I put my heart and soul on him for his good, but he turned a blind eye to it. In his eyes, I’m no better than a lowly person from the countryside.”
After speaking, Yan Qi closed his eyes and took a gentle breath, restoring a hint of pride that belonged to the children of the aristocratic family. He clenched his hand and said, “Your Highness should thank me.”
“In this matter, I am afraid that no one but me would dare to speak to Your Highness.”
“Also, I would dare to advise Your Highness not to wear that green robe again. Your Highness has an honorable status, why would you want to go to such lengths for a lowly person?”
The gentle breeze blew by, and the golden curtain fluttered in the air. There was a long silence inside the carriage. The person behind the curtain slowly stood up and said, “You’re right.”
“Gu should indeed thank you.”
Jiang Yun walked through the curtain and slowly walked out, saying, “If it weren’t for you, Gu wouldn’t even know that he had such a deep affection for Gu in his heart, nor what he had done for Gu before.”
“Is that right, Young Master Yan Qi?”
Jiang Yun’s gaze was quietly fixed on Yan Qi.
Yan Qi froze for a moment, his pupils suddenly shrank, and his eyes widened in disbelief as he gazed at the green figure stepping out of the golden carriage, revealing a look as if he were struck by lightning. He felt a heavy blow in his heart, took a step back, and stared at that face as if he had seen a ghost.
“……”
Yan Qi’s face froze for a long time before shaking his head. “It’s impossible, this is impossible. You-how could you—who are you?”
Gongsun Yang shouted on the side, “Unbridled, you dare to be rude to His Highness!”
Yan Qi couldn’t hear anything at all, still looking at Jiang Yun in shock, horror, and disbelief. He even suspected that he had hallucinations.
How could it be? How could this person still be alive? How could he be the Crown Prince of the Jiang Empire?
“No.”
“There must be a mistake somewhere. You—”
Jiang Yun said: “As you think, Gu is Gu.”
“Gu would like to thank Young Master Yan Qi for the wedding’s gift.”
Jiang Yun bent down and picked up the painting that had fallen from Yan Qi’s hand, brushing away the dust on the paper.
“Young Master Yan, you’ve lived all your life involved in self-emotion.”
“To this day, you still haven’t realized anything wrong with yourself, and you still feel that he is the one who let you down, the one who wronged your devotion.”
“Do you know why the Yan family collapsed? Because the entire Yan family, including you, only had the arrogance, narrowness, and greed of aristocratic families but never truly considered the interests of the people. Have you ever thought, if Gu were not Chu Yan but only the Crown Prince of Jiang, because of the rumors you deliberately spread, how serious would be the consequences of being at war with the Sui Empire and causing chaos to the world? You have extraordinary talent and a family background. As soon as you are born, you have unparalleled resources and wealth, and you can fully use your identity and status to seek benefits for others and make some achievements. But you didn’t. Step by step, you sabotaged yourself and drove yourself down the most wrong path of all. If you truly love him, you should know his ideals and his ambitions. You want his love, but you don’t have the courage to break away from your family. Your love is equally arrogant and selfish, and you have never wanted to understand him. You only want him to submit to your will or the Yan family’s.”
“You and him are fundamentally different people. Although he is good at martial arts and warfare, he is a Crown Prince who cares about the people.”
“So even without Gu, he will never fall in love with you.”
Gongsun Yang was originally vigilant and staring at Yan Qi, afraid that the other party would act too aggressively and harm his Highness. After listening to Jiang Yun’s words, his sword almost fell from his hand.
Just now, his Highness said, he-who is he??
He didn’t hear it wrong, did he?
Not far away, Sui Heng, followed by the Guozhu and ministers of all the countries, the Sui Empire’s officials, and the Jiang Empire’s advisors and generals, also revealed different expressions. Upon hearing this, the Chen Kingdom’s Guozhu couldn’t believe it and said, “What? Did no one tell this Young Master Yan Qi about this matter?!”
Several other informed Guozhu silently rolled their eyes at him.
Even if they know about this kind of thing, no one will dare say anything, alright?
The Chen Kingdom’s Guozhu also fell silent in shock and quickly covered his mouth.
And the uninformed part of the people showed extreme astonishment. What, the young gentleman who made a name for himself at the Jiangbei Spring Banquet two years ago is actually the Crown Prince of Jiang?
As for why the Crown Prince of Jiang became Chu Yan, anyone with a brain can immediately understand that it was during the time when the Crown Prince of Jiang fell off a cliff and his life and death were unknown.
The generals, advisors, and famous scholars from the Jiang Empire who came to the banquet looked at Fan Zhou in confusion. Fan Zhou was already holding back a mouthful of old blood and was about to lose his composure. He had to try his best to maintain composure while also gesturing for everyone to remain calm.
But those who had just learned the truth also breathed a sigh of relief. In the past two days, rumors about that little concubine have been raging. When the banquet was just held, the Crown Prince of Jiang did not show up for a long time. They dare not speak up, but they are worried that the Crown Prince of Jiang will be at odds with their Highness over that concubine. If the Crown Prince of Jiang is Chu Yan, then this matter can be resolved easily.
The same secret, revealed in different situations, is just two completely different winds. If there is no wind or waves and this secret is suddenly revealed, it may be discussed as a fascinating story. But once faced with the dangerous situation of the world being in chaos and the two countries being at war, the revelation of this secret, on the contrary, became a good thing for the benefit of the country and the people. Everyone only feels grateful in their hearts.
Yan Bing was being held by the guards and stood beside Sui Heng. After watching the whole thing, he froze in place, his lips trembling for a long time, unable to speak. The spine that had been standing tall finally bent slowly, as if it had lost some kind of support.
Yan Qi felt something and slowly turned his head, looking at Yan Bing standing in the night. He trembled and called out, “Grandfather.”
Yan Bing’s eyes flashed with hatred with a look of iron could not turn into steel, but in the end, he gritted his teeth and didn’t say anything. The winner is the king, and the loser is the bandit. He had been dominating the Sui Empire for decades, and no one understood the meaning of this word better than him. He pinned all his hopes on this grandson, but to his surprise, even after the trip to the northern border, he did not make any progress!
Sui Heng looked at Yan Bing’s still-calm face and sneered in his heart. Obviously, the reaction of the person in front of him was not enough to dispel his hatred.
“Zhao Ji, Liu Cheng, Wei Yunshan, Meng Zhihe, Ouyang Gui…”
Sui Heng recited a string of names expressionless.
Accompanied by this jade-like sound, a strong and sturdy soldier suddenly emerged from the darkness, fully armored, with scimitars on their waists. About ten scholars wearing different styles of wide robes were gagged and tied up on the ground. Zhao Ji was the first to kneel, but Zhao Ji was covered in blood and clearly suffered heavy punishment.
On the other side, there are also several officials from the central court who are also being silenced, detained, and wearing heavy handcuffs on their hands and feet.
The moment Yan Bing saw those students and officials, his calm and indifferent face finally burst, inch by inch, revealing a look of despair hidden deep beneath it.
What Sui Heng wanted to see was his despair. It was good to teach this old man how to experience the despair he experienced when he was trapped in the snowy mountains of the northern region and watched helplessly as the soldiers around him were frozen to death.
After Sui Heng finished admiring, he slowly said, “These twelve scholars are all excellent disciples carefully selected by you. They come from a clean family and have a pure background. On the surface, they may not be able to compete with or have any connections with the Yan family at all. If there hadn’t been this accident tonight, they would have probably stood out at this year’s Spring Banquet and been given the chance to enter the Sui court. In the future, they will be the chess pieces hidden by the Yan family in the court. At critical moments, they can help the Yan family rise again and also give a fatal blow to Gu. You confessed guilt on the surface and were confined to the mansion, but in reality, you are actually putting in a lot of effort to plan everything behind the scenes and have never given up on restoring the Yan family. Unfortunately, God didn’t bless you, Yan family. In this game, Gu still won.”
Yan Bing had already fallen silent, and in an instant, he seemed to be ten years older.
Yan Qi’s hands are tightly curled up in his sleeves, his nails almost piercing his flesh. His whole body trembled gently, still looking at Sui Heng unwillingly.
“Have you—really never liked me at all?”
Sui Heng’s expression was indifferent.
“Gu noticed that even on the brink of death, Young Master Yan is constantly narcissistic.”
“However, Gu can answer you seriously. Gu has never been attracted to you—not before, not now. In this life, in the next life, in the next next life, Gu will never be attracted to you.”
“What about this bone flute? What is this bone flute?”
Yan Qi suddenly opened his collar, revealing a black thread that was worn close to him and the bone flute that had already turned yellow.
Sui Heng said indifferently, “Gu giving you this item as a communication tool, not for you to think of anything. It’s not a valuable thing, throw it away.”
Yan Qi shuddered violently once again.
Sui Heng didn’t give him another chance to speak, and with a wave of his hand, another soldier immediately stepped forward to escort Yan Bing, Yan Qi, the grandfather and grandson, as well as those scholars and officials.
“Your Highness.”
Another personal soldier came over and whispered a few words in Sui Heng’s ear.
Sui Heng nodded, turned around, and smiled at the crowd, saying, “Everyone, it’s time. Please take your seat as soon as possible.”
The guests said yes and quickly saluted before leaving, heading in the direction of the banquet hall together.
As the dusk fell completely, the palace attendants, as usual, began to place prayer lanterns on the Qushui River. The two of them looked at each other and smiled across the night. Jiang Yun turned around, stretched out his sleeves, and kneeled on the grass. He looked at the floating lotus lanterns all over the river and pointed to one of them, saying, “I want that one.”
Gongsun Yang was still on the side, about to go and serve his Highness, when a figure quickly leaped onto the river, flipped its sleeves, and picked up the lantern.
Sui Heng placed the lantern in front of Jiang Yun and asked the palace attendants to bring paper and a brush. He asked, “What are you wishing for?”
Jiang Yun asked: “Does Your Highness want to write with me?”
Sui Heng was somewhat surprised and immediately said, “That’s natural. Gu told you earlier that this prayer lantern requires two people to write together to work. What do you want to write?”
“If I say it out loud, it won’t work anymore. Your Highness writes along with me.”
Sui Heng then just circled Jiang Yun, holding Jiang Yun’s hand vaguely, and was led by Jiang Yun, and a few moments later, he saw two lines of clear and concise characters on the paper: year after year, getting along with each other day and night.
Sui Heng laughed silently, looking at the person in his arms with clear cheeks, and suddenly said, “It’s missing.”
“What’s missing?”
“One missing sentence.”
Jiang Yun looked up at him.
Sui Heng pretends to be serious.
“It’s really missing.”
Taking advantage of Jiang Yun’s lack of attention, Sui Heng quickly grabbed the brush and added a sentence to the paper.
Jiang Yun looked and angrily said, “How dare you write nonsense?”
“What writing nonsense? After writing last time, you’ve given birth to one for Gu. This time, let’s write another one.”
“You can’t even take care of one properly, and you still want more?”
“Who said Gu didn’t take care of him properly? That little thing likes Gu now.”
The two voices drifted into the depths of the Qushui River with the lantern.
Jiang Yun watched as the lotus lantern drifted far away and could no longer be seen. With a smile on his lips, he stretched out his sleeves and stood up, saying, “Let’s go back.”
The two of them held hands and walked back, with a vast expanse of water. The world was particularly peaceful. Jiang Yun said, “I actually feel a bit sorry for Yan Qi. I also feel a bit sorry for Chen Qi.”
“They are all talented people and should have had a better ending.”
Jiang Yun paused and said, “I also don’t wish that there is anyone else in the world who is like me either.”
Sui Heng froze.
He grabbed the person and said, “Sorry, Gu made a slip of the tongue.”
Jiang Yun’s eyes curved and he smiled, saying, “Actually, there is another person in the world who comes from a noble background, has gone through hardships, but can still stick to their true intentions.”
Sui Heng deliberately asked, “Who?”
“Your Highness leans in.”
Sui Heng happily extended his ear.
Jiang Yun lightly said, “A little doggy.”
Sui Heng’s face darkened instantly.
Jiang Yun said, “On behalf of the people of the world, I’d like to thank Your Highness for staying true to your heart.”
If not, he could not imagine what the world would be like today if Sui Heng had surrendered to the Yan family.
Sui Heng said, “That’s natural. Don’t you see who Gu is? If Gu is so spineless, how can I conquer the world-renowned His Highness Rongyu?”
Ji An and Gao Gong have already sent the formal attire over.
A moment later, the two Crown Princes from the south and north of the Yangtze River appeared hand in hand at the Spring Banquet in front of the public, exuding a world-renowned demeanor and making the students and famous scholars all over the world impressed and admired them.
From then on, various rumors about the mysterious Crown Prince of Jiang finally came up with the most fair and truthful answer.
The day after the Spring Banquet ended, Emperor Sui officially announced in front of various civil and military officials in morning court that Jiang Nuo, the Jiang Empire’s Xiao Huangsun, was also a descendant of the royal family of Sui, the Xiao Huangsun of Sui, the Imperial Grandson, and is the Crown Prince’s eldest son.
This has once again caused a huge uproar among the court, the public, and the general public.
After all, it is unimaginable that the two Crown Princes, both men, had conceived Xiao Huangsun. At a critical moment, a wandering expert came to the Sui capital and answered this confusion for the courtiers in the entire palace.
This expert is very famous among the people, and it was none other than Immortal Yu Heng, who predicted the auspicious stone landing on Mount Li two years ago.
Although, due to the rebellion launched by the Yan family, the auspicious stone and the rebellious general Huo Cheng were hit by lightning and turned into baby powder, it was clearly a punishment bestowed upon the Yan family by heaven. In other words, the Auspicious Stone blocked a fatal crisis for the Great Sui inertia, which can indeed be called an auspicious object.
Immortal Yu Heng jokes, “His Highness the Crown Prince personally went to Mount Li to transport auspicious stones and pacify the rebels. His virtue moved the heavens, so the heavens bestowed good luck on the Great Sui and bestowed a son. The North and the South can stop fighting and make a truce at the critical moment for good.”
This statement is very convincing. According to the calculation based on Xiao Huangsun’s age, the time of his pregnancy coincides with the appearance of the auspicious stone and also coincides with the time when the Crown Prince of Jiang was exiled in the capital of Sui.
So after tea and meal, the most heated topic of discussion among the people was from which Highness’s belly did Xiao Huangsun crawl out. “It goes without saying, it must be the Crown Prince of Jiang!”
“Why?”
“Because Xiao Huangsun’s surname is Jiang and he was born in Muyun Pass ah.”
“Impossible. Xiao Huangsun was originally born in Mount Li and later arrived at Muyun Pass.”
“It’s Muyun Pass!”
“It’s Mount Li!”
The two sides argued endlessly, and neither could convince the other.
When Sui Heng returned from the morning court again, there was a new story on the street.
Sui Heng asked, “What kind of saying?”
Shi Fang whispered, “They said that year when Your Highness was training military at Mount Li, it was called military training, but actually to raise a fetus.”
Of course, the auspicious words are only used to give the world an explanation. Everyone on both sides knows that Xiao Huangsun was born from the Crown Prince of Jiang’s womb. Sui Heng also had an explanation for his own people: it was because he had taken the sacred auspicious egg.
This was testified to by the two old heads of the Imperial Medical.
Because the two did indeed diagnose a happy pulse in the Crow Prince of Jiang’s pulse, it was only because it was too unbelievable that they thought it was a false pregnancy caused by auspicious eggs. Almost got rid of Xiao Huangsun.
The new capital has not yet been built, and during the period after marriage, Jiang Yun and Sui Heng have been living in the Sui capital.
Sui Heng has been feeling very depressed lately. Apart from his perfect wedding, he hasn’t slept with his young wife for half a month. Because some little troublemaker always sneaks into their bed in the middle of the night to disturb his good deeds.
Sui Heng came up with a good idea. When he returned from the court today, he took advantage of the gap between the little troublemaker being taken by Empress Yan to try on new clothes in the palace and discussed a trip to Mount Li with Jiang Yun.
“Didn’t Gu promise to take you to the mountains to see the stars, ride the horse, and hunt? It’s better to hit the sun than to choose a day. Today is great.”
Jiang Yun naturally saw his little thought and asked, “What about our little one?”
“Don’t worry, there’s Emperor Father and Emperor Mother watching. The story will also be read by the Emperor Mother.”
Sui Heng was afraid of a long night and immediately asked Ji An and Gao Gong to pack their luggage. They only go for a few days, and there’s no need to bring too much luggages. Moreover, there are also palaces and commonly used items on Mount Li.
The things were quickly packed up, and Sui Heng proudly flipped over and got on his horse. Jiang Yun changed his clothes and came out, standing at the entrance of the mansion with his arms folded, smiling and watching the conversation.
Sui Heng asked, “What? Gu has something on his face?”
Jiang Yun lifted his chin, signaling him to look back.
Sui Heng turned his head and saw a little dumpling wearing new clothes not far away, with his head tilted, being led by Qin momo and his eyes fixed on him.
Sui Heng: “……”
In the end, Empress Yan, along with Xiao Jiang Nuo and Xiao Junwang, Sui Zhang, also joined the team for a spring outing to Mount Li.
In order not to let the little toddler disturb his good deeds, Sui Heng took the initiative to take on the task of caring for the little toddler, and in one day he tossed and read ten stories in a row and finally managed to put the little troublemaker to sleep. Sui Heng came out with a tingling scalp and heard a light laugh.
Looking up, he saw Jiang Yun dressed in a green robe, holding a pot of wine in his hand, sitting on the eaves of the palace. Behind him is a vast expanse of curves and an endless sky of stars, his eyes slightly curved, smiling and looking at him.
This beautiful scene made Sui Heng’s heart skip a beat, and all the complaints in his forehead disappeared. He also jumped up to the eaves and looked at the wine in Jiang Yun’s hand, saying, “You can’t drink it, so what are you doing with it?”
“This is the medicinal wine specially formulated by Divine Physician Meng, there is no harm.”
“I am happy today and would like to have a drink with Your Highness.”
He had a relaxed and unrestrained expression on his face, and Sui Heng agreed.
Jiang Yun didn’t bring any wine cups, so he went straight to the wine jar and drank one sip each with Sui Heng.
Drinking until the mid-moon, Sui Heng propped up his chin and looked at Jiang Yun, who was staring intently at the sky. He asked, “What are you thinking about?”
“Thinking about our meeting, getting to know each other, and walking all the way to today.”
Jiang Yun picked up the wine jar again and took a small sip.
Sui Heng was moved by these words and also followed suit.
Although it was medicinal wine, Sui Heng was also afraid that it would hurt his stomach. He took the opportunity to snatch it and said, “You also leave some for Gu.”
Jiang Yun’s cheeks had already been tinged with a slight blush, and the night breeze blew by. He lifted his arms and hugged Sui Heng’s neck, his green sleeves fluttering in the air, saying, “I want to kiss Your Highness.”
Before Sui Heng could speak, he approached and lightly pecked his face.
Sui Heng smiled dumbfoundedly and said, “Your Highness Rongyu, that’s not how you kiss someone.”
He grabbed the person, threw the wine jar away, bent down, and kissed the person in his arms.
The Milky Way stretches across the sky, the mountains and rivers are magnificent and brilliant, and the Qushui River still flows in the distance. The two embrace each other on the night at Mount Li, kissing each other for a long time.
Perhaps no one in this world will ever know their true stories, but heaven and earth, mountains and rivers, sun and moon, the Milky Way, and gods can prove all their legends.
Once you’ve met the person you love, how can you not be happy in your heart?
The mountains, rivers, sun, and moon—the south and north of the Yangtze River—will forever be remembered!
