Chapter 39: Old Stories

It was late at night. By candlelight, Xueying was diligently taking notes. Her young son was crawling around beside her.

Write it down on paper.

On the ninth day of the eighth lunar month, the Princess and His Majesty parted on bad terms, and she indulged in excessive sexual activity that night, requiring admonishment.

On the tenth day of the eighth lunar month, the eldest princess coughed three times; she should be careful to add layers of clothing.

On August 11th, the Imperial Preceptor had an accident, and the Eldest Princess was in a bad mood, so she was careful in everything she did.

Xueying put down her pen and breathed a sigh of relief. Then she picked up her son and gently coaxed him.

Children are at an age where they are curious about everything, and these past few days he has often asked his mother to tell him stories.

"Mother, I want to hear a story."

Xueying said gently, "Okay, Mother will tell you."

The child reached out and grabbed at the air, saying urgently, "I don't want to listen to the bad fox today, I want to listen to the stars, I want to hear the stars."

Xueying paused for a moment, then realized what she meant. She smiled unconsciously and said, "Okay."

In the warm house, a gentle mother holds her child, and by the flickering candlelight, she softly and gently recounts the story of what happened years ago.

Once upon a time, there was a very powerful little girl who had everything from birth: love, status, wealth, and beauty.

She lived a carefree life until one day, she pointed to the sky and said she wanted a star.

The little girl's father was stumped: how could a person get the star?

The little girl cried and begged for the stars, and then her father called a very powerful person.

The man led the little girl to a starry sky, where stars were everywhere.

The little girl was very happy. She jumped and danced there, but soon she got tired and felt bored because she couldn't touch the stars.

Then she turned around and saw a beautiful little child, a little boy who was the same age as her and just as beautiful.

The little girl pointed at the little boy and said, "That's him, he's the star I want."

The little boy suddenly laughed and said to the little girl, "I am your star, take me with you."

The little girl agreed, and she really did pull the little boy away; she really did take that star away from the night sky.

"And then what happened? Did they just keep playing together?" the child asked his mother curiously.

Xueying gently patted the child's back, paused for a moment, then smiled and nodded, softly recounting what happened next.

The little girl loved that star and often spent time with it.

They spent every day playing together, eating together, reading together, and talking together.

The little boy also took the little girl to see the stars. He told her that the sky is so big, and if she points to any place, a star will appear there because of her.

The little girl said, "I don't want that star. My star is sitting right next to me, and that's you."

The little boy smiled and said, "Okay."

They lived happily together like that, forever.

After the story was finished, the child fell asleep quietly, and Xueying held him in her arms.

Quietly, she thought about the real past.

On the seventh day of the third month of the tenth year of the Shenghe era, Emperor Wen of Zhou passed away. On the same day, the eighth prince, Yan Lin'an, died at Jianmu Terrace, and the eldest princess personally saw him off.

On that day, blood flowed like a river at Jianmutai. The young man lay in a pool of blood, staring intently at the princess's tears, yet he was smiling.

In the distance, the tolling of mourning bells seemed to foreshadow their future.

In the same year, the new emperor ascended the throne and changed the era name to Jian'an.

The first year of Jian'an.

The Third Prince Yan Linzhi suddenly fell seriously ill, and medicine proved ineffective. He died six months after the new emperor ascended the throne.

Almost simultaneously, the Imperial Preceptor's words angered the Emperor, who ordered the Jianmu Platform to be sealed off and the Imperial Preceptor imprisoned.

The eldest princess entered the palace and had a private conversation with the emperor.

Eventually, the Imperial Preceptor was released from prison, and the Eldest Princess left the capital to live a life of seclusion.

The days of quiet contemplation were desolate and dreary, yet the princess did not complain at all, simply passing the days peacefully.

The second year of Jian'an.

The emperor bestowed a marriage upon the eldest princess and the Zhang family. The eldest princess accepted the decree, and the emperor welcomed her back to the capital.

The eldest princess returned to the capital under the pretext of a marriage agreement, personally investigated the matter of the Imperial Preceptor's imprisonment, and secretly assassinated Wuxin of the Demon Suppression Pavilion.

The emperor was furious, and the eldest princess confronted him.

Ultimately, the matter was dropped, and the marriage agreement between the eldest princess and Lady Zhang was brought forward.

In the same year, the Imperial Preceptor wanted to elope with the Eldest Princess, but she refused.

The princess lowered her eyes apologetically; she was born into a high position and neither wanted to nor could leave.

The third year of Jian'an.

On the day of the princess's wedding, the imperial advisor plotted to leave the capital.

During the wedding ceremony, the eldest princess, dressed in her wedding gown, walked out of the Zhang family home, removed her golden crown, took up a sword, and personally led people to surround the Jianmu platform.

Beneath the starry sky, the two broke off their relationship.

The princess's outrageous behavior became widely known, and the emperor ordered a silencing of the rumors.

The matter was not over when news broke that the princess was pregnant out of wedlock, and the father of her child was unknown.

The Zhang family went to the palace to break off the engagement, which enraged the emperor, who wanted to punish everyone. The princess took the blame and was confined to the palace by the emperor.

The imperial advisor spoke for seven days, predicting the dynasty's fate over ten years, and ultimately exchanged his white hair for the princess's release from confinement.

When we met again, it felt like a lifetime had passed.

The white-haired youth knelt and begged the woman, saying that the Lin family's son could not be kept.

The princess laughed, saying he shouldn't have come.

The fourth year of Jian'an.

The princess was born and the emperor bestowed upon her the surname Lin and the title Ling'an.

The Imperial Advisor observes the stars daily inside the Jianmu Terrace, never to leave.

The eldest princess had an adopted daughter outside the palace. The princess often cried and fussed when she was young, but the eldest princess insisted on raising her herself and was often depressed.

The princess grew up day by day, but the eldest princess suddenly fell seriously ill.

Under the sunlight, the princess, having just recovered from a serious illness, smiled and said to Xueying, "I'm tired."

never mind.

In the years that followed, the two met occasionally.

They are no longer young, and when they meet, they don't speak.

At that time, Xueying would pick up the little princess and take her away.

Her parents' story is both too complicated and too simple.

Xueying always believed they loved each other, from beginning to end.

The Imperial Advisor may care more about the area outside the capital, while the Princess dislikes it.

A person who longed for the outside world of Shengjing since childhood, a person who was raised in the wealth and luxury of Shengjing.

It's hard to say who's right and who's wrong; they were never good people either.

Perhaps this ending is good enough for them.

The only bad thing is the little princess.

She was just a child, an accident that wasn't blessed by everyone.

...

The baby in her arms stirred, and Xueying was suddenly jolted awake from her reverie. She calmed down a bit, then put the baby on the bed and gently patted him.

Xueying has been with the princess since she was a child, and even now, she is unwilling to get married and continues to live with her old friend.

A few years ago, the princess gave her the confidence to adopt a child at an orphanage as a single woman.

"Thud—"

The door latch clicked softly, and Xueying got up and opened the door.

Rongniang walked in slowly and asked softly, "Is the child asleep?"

Xueying nodded, and they helped each other back to the bedside.

Rongniang tucked the blanket around the child, her face full of gentleness.

Rongniang lost her husband years ago, and her premature child also died from a cold. Later, she went to work as a wet nurse in the Zhang family.

As the past unfolded, these seemingly insignificant people became friends and found a stable life together.

Xueying took her hand and looked at her with some concern, "What's wrong with you these days? You look thinner."

Rongniang shook her head gently and said softly, "The young master came back recently, and I saw that the child was happy. But not long after, he went out again. I work during the day and see that the adults don't look well. I think... sigh."

Xueying sighed silently, recalling the matter of building the wooden platform this morning.

She quietly told Rongniang about what had happened in the past two days, and also mentioned that she had to get up early tomorrow, probably because the princess was anxious to summon her.

Upon hearing this, Rongniang's eyes reddened slightly. Perhaps it was due to her age, but lately, when she looked at Zhang Xuan who had returned, she felt that the child had grown up and become more sensible, and she was also gradually becoming a little troubled by him.

"Tell me, why can't you get over those old stories and those people?"

Xueying patted her hand, "Look at you, stop crying."

Rongniang couldn't help but say, "You don't know, I... I really feel sorry for those children... Look at me, we don't have any right to do this... But I just..."

She spoke haltingly, while Xueying listened quietly.

The past is too far away, so far that when they talk about it, they always wonder if it was really like that back then.

Xueying and Rongniang are minor figures in these old stories, extremely special minor figures. Fate brought them together, and together they pieced together the past as they saw it.

In the first year of Tianchen, the Zhang family was blessed with twins.

The two children grew up happily; one was named Zhang Ting, and the other Zhang Xuan.

They are twins, look alike, and wear identical clothes and accessories. If it weren't for the gold locks with their nicknames printed on them, almost no one could tell them apart at a glance.

In the third year of Tianchen, Zhang Xiang returned home absentmindedly.

That night, he and his wife had a big fight, while Rongniang, completely unaware of what was happening, was in the room coaxing the two young masters.

Later, after the child fell asleep, the lady called Rongniang away.

Strangely enough, the lady summoned the three wet nurses of the young masters. She didn't say anything, but asked them how the children had been eating and sleeping these past two days. Rongniang found it strange because she had answered these questions during the day.

Before leaving, Rongniang felt really strange and uneasy. She wanted to go and see the young masters again, even though the wet nurse who worked that night wasn't her.

But on this trip, Rongniang witnessed a scene she would never forget.

Inside the main house, a fire suddenly broke out. The fire wasn't large, but it was conspicuous enough that Rongniang could even see the shadows and flashing blades within the flames.

At the same time, from the Princess's residence, which was separated from the Prime Minister's residence by only one wall, came the sound of a child crying. The sound was extremely loud and shrill, as if the child had been frightened.

Finally, someone from the Princess's residence arrived.

Xueying personally led a team to put out the fire.

At this moment, Zhang Xiang finally rushed over from his study.

Amidst the wreckage, the lady and her young son lay lifeless.

Amidst everyone's grief, faint sobs could be heard from beneath a few wooden planks.

Zhang Xiang personally dug out those pieces, and under the board, he found a knife—his wife's knife.

The lady's surname is Li, and her name is Li Suyue.

She was born into the Li family of Qingzhou, the daughter of a military family, and had always loved swords, but she had never touched them since the birth of her son.

Beneath the lady's knife lay a child wearing two gold locks.

It was a strange, balanced ruin, with planks propped up by a horizontal blade, even cleverly leaving gaps and air vents.

The baby lay there quietly with its eyes open, its face ashen, but its eyes gleaming in the light of the blade.

A fire took away the young master's mother and brothers.

They received a knife and a gold lock.

That's an old story from the Zhang family's past.

Was the young master who survived Zhang Ting or Zhang Xuan?

Why is the lady carrying a knife? And why is she in the young master's room?

The fire at the Zhang residence broke out so suddenly in the dead of night, and the servants arrived so late as well.

Nobody knows why.

The past is gone; great men and small men alike have all grown old.

Xueying and Rongniang leaned against each other, watching over the child, and quietly fell asleep.

Tomorrow will be another new day.