Chapter 302: Clearing Up Doubts

When Sima Jun left Tangyuan, the setting sun was hanging in the sky.

His shadow stretched long across the ground. He looked up at the sky and took a deep breath, trying to calm his thoughts.

But my heart is even more confused.

After meeting Lu Xian, his mind was filled with information about the woman named Sun Wei.

It was almost impossible for the daughter of a minor official to leave her hometown and become the successor of Prince Yuzhang without telling the world.

But all this came true under her design.

Her parents were a Taoist priestess from Mount Qingcheng, Chen Mao from Yongfu Pavilion, and Lu Ming and his daughter.

She knows everyone's ambitions.

She strung the lies together so perfectly that she fooled the prince and the queen mother, and almost fooled him too.

Sima Jun wanted to know where this clever trick came from, but neither Yu Yi nor Lu Xian could explain it to him.

But what made him even more annoyed was that Lu Xian mentioned the so-called five-year agreement.

Sima Jun had asked Sun Wei countless times before what she wanted. Every time, Sun Wei told him that she just wanted to spend the rest of her life in the palace and enjoy her retirement.

He was initially skeptical about how a young woman could talk about retirement, but after hearing her talk so many times, he came to believe it.

He actually believed it.

fraud.

It was getting late and it was time to go home.

But he suddenly realized that he was not prepared for everything he had just learned.

He stood in front of Tang Garden for a while, and suddenly saw Deng Lian riding towards him.

"I have already sent an invitation to the Princess's Mansion. The Grand Tutor has not yet gone to bed, so you can meet the Prince." Deng Lian reported.

After hearing this, Sima Jun ordered to go to the Princess's Mansion.

Princess Wanshou originally did not like to interfere with the meeting between Zhou Chang and Sima Jun, but when she heard the news that Sima Jun was injured, she couldn't help but ask about him.

Sima Jun had just woken up a few days ago, and he couldn't hide his haggardness. Even though Princess Wanshou wanted to speak up for Wang Kan, she swallowed the words back when they came to her lips.

"It's getting late, Princess, please go back to your room and rest," Zhou Chang tried to smooth things over for her. "The prince and I still have a lot to discuss."

Princess Wanshou nodded and said to Sima Jun, "Your health is not yet fully recovered, so you shouldn't overwork yourself."

Sima Jun agreed and bowed to see Princess Wanshou off.

Soon, Sima Jun and Zhou Chang were the only ones left in the room. Zhou Chang pointed to a couch nearby and asked Sima Jun to sit down.

"Is there something important that brought you to see me today?" he asked.

Sima Jun didn't answer, but asked, "Master, it's been over a year since you returned to the capital, and it seems your relationship with the princess has improved a lot."

Zhou Chang glanced at him and asked, "What do you want to say?"

"Nothing, I just want to ask Master, what do you think of the princess now?"

Zhou Chang found it interesting: "Why are you asking this?"

"Just curiosity," Sima Jun said. "A teacher's job is to impart knowledge and resolve doubts. This disciple has this same doubt."

Zhou Chang looked at him and said without hesitation, "The princess is my first wife. She and I treat each other with respect, that's all."

"Respect each other like guests?" Sima Jun asked, "But the princess and Master are not on the same page. Master may not even be able to tell whether her words are true or false. How can he treat her with respect like a guest?"

Zhou Chang was very interested: "There's something hidden in your words. Could it be that the princess has offended you somewhere else?"

Sima Jun shook his head and said, "I just remember when Master was carried back to the capital by the princess, he looked quite ready to die. Now I see Master's appearance is different from the beginning."

Zhou Chang glared at him. "Did I want to come back? Back then, I didn't want to go back to the capital, I didn't want to have anything to do with the Wang family anymore, but you guys forced me to come back! And now you're asking me about this, it's ridiculous!"

Sima Jun said: "So, Master and the princess have reconciled."

Zhou Chang asked in return: "Don't you think that I hate the princess?"

Sima Jun didn't answer, just looked at him.

Zhou Chang shook his head and said, "Fool. I know how you view the princess. In your eyes, she belongs to the Wang family and will ultimately stand on their side. But everyone has their own reasons. You are not her, so you may not understand her pain. The Wang family is the princess's blood relative. Do you expect her to abandon her family for me? If she really did that, I would also look down on her. For so many years, she has done her best to mediate between me and the Wang family. For this alone, she deserves my respect. As for reconciliation or not, I have already let go of the matter when I left the capital, so why talk about reconciliation?"

As he spoke, he glanced at Sima Jun and said, "Do you still think there is someone in this world who will treat you completely and without any selfish motives? If so, you will probably be disappointed."

Sima Jun frowned and asked, "Master, have you never imagined having someone by your side who you could confide in and be completely honest with?"

"I certainly thought about it when I was young. But it wasn't until I got married that I realized that no one is perfect," Zhou Chang said. "On the other hand, even parents and close friends can't always be perfect, so why should my wife be an exception?"

Sima Jun's gaze suddenly froze.

Seeing him looking pensive, Zhou Chang suddenly remembered something and asked with concern, "I heard from the princess that the Queen Mother has arranged a marriage for you with Wang Xuanji. Are you worried about this marriage?"

Sima Juan didn't expect him to mention Wang Xuanji. After a moment of silence, he said, "Master also knows?"

"What do you think?" Zhou Chang asked.

"I won't marry her." Sima Jun answered concisely.

Zhou Chang looked at his stubborn expression and sighed.

"Your situation is different from mine back then, so what I say today has little to do with you. Although the princess and I share a different mindset, I willingly married her back then, so even if she made a mistake, I tolerated it. Wang Xuanji isn't the person you want to marry, so if we disagree in the future, there will be a lot of resentment. Your teacher advises you that if you can't refuse this marriage, then you should think it through as soon as possible and let go of your grudges."

Sima Jun didn't want to continue discussing Wang Xuanji, so he just asked, "After all these years, Master, have you ever regretted marrying the princess?"

"No," Zhou Chang said calmly, "or rather, I never thought about it. If you treat marrying a wife as a business deal, calculating the pros and cons, then you'll think about whether you regret it or not. If you just want to be with someone for the rest of your life, then marrying her is a blessing, so how could you have any thoughts of regret?"

Sima Jun seemed to have gotten the answer he wanted and stopped asking.

"It's getting late. I should go back and not disturb Master anymore." He stood up and said.

Zhou Chang was very surprised: "You are so anxious to visit, is there anything else?"

"I haven't seen Master for a long time, so I came to visit. Seeing that Master is in good health, I feel relieved."

Zhou Chang looked at the thick felt on his legs, and didn't know how he could see the four words "healthy and well".

He said meaningfully: "Have you found the answer to the doubts in your heart?"

"About."

After Sima Jun finished speaking, he bowed to Zhou Chang and left the Princess's Mansion.

He returned to the palace without stopping.

When they arrived in front of the palace, someone shouted, "The prince is back."

Cao Song hurried out, bowed, and said anxiously, "The prince is finally back."

Sima Jun asked, "What happened?"

Cao Song quickly said, "Lord Huan has secretly left the capital. The princess just got the news and ordered us to report to the crown prince. She herself led her men and went after her."