Huaiyue smiled back. But a chilling glint flashed in her eyes.
He had indeed forgotten those things, but Chu Minghuan reminded him of them, and he retrieved them bit by bit from the depths of his memory.
In his entire life, he only helped two children, but he deserved his bad luck; the children he helped were either venomous snakes or ungrateful wretches. That's why he ended up in his current state.
After the chessboard was removed, a eunuch brought tea.
Chu Minghuan had calmed down by this time. This person had saved him and helped him. Regardless of whether the other party remembered or cared, he would always remember it.
At that time, he was powerless and could only watch helplessly as things happened, but now he can protect the other party and turn the tables on them.
Although this protection may not be as good as that of others, he will do everything he can.
Just as he had promised Huai Xu, even if the price was his own life. In any case, if it weren't for Huai Xu, he wouldn't have survived that winter anyway.
Chu Minghuan took a few sips of tea, hesitated, and then spoke again: "If you feel uncomfortable... around Song Qing, I can... grant you your freedom."
He thought to himself, "You shouldn't be tied down to anyone. You should live a truly carefree and unrestrained life, just like before, climbing trees and flying kites in the spring, riding horses and hunting in the autumn, and warming yourself by the fire and drinking in the winter..."
Always arrogant, always proud and confident.
Huaiyue's hand holding the tea lid trembled slightly, but she calmly said, "I am of humble status, but I am fortunate to have the Commander's protection. How could I have suffered any grievances?"
"Furthermore, how many people in the world are truly not wronged? They just have different ways of depending on others."
He raised his head and looked at the exquisitely manicured bonsai not far away, his tone revealing a hint of melancholy.
"Just like these bonsai trees in the yard, because of the owner's preferences, their branches and tendons are pruned, their bones broken, and they are arranged into the shape that the owner likes."
"Actually, they are all the same. It's just that some people can see the blood and tears, while others bury their blood and tears deep in the ground and can't bear to see them."
Chu Minghuan's gaze followed him down and naturally saw the potted plants. They were beautiful, but as Chu Huaixu said, even the growth of a single leaf was not up to them; it all depended on the owner's preferences.
He didn't want Huaiyue to become like that. He should be a free bird, not a beautiful but soulless potted plant.
"Huaiyue, I'm serious, you have to believe me..."
Huaiyue turned her face, her thin lips pressed into a line, a faint smile in her eyes:
"Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. I naturally trust you, but I was terrified of poverty in the past and suffered enough. Now I have no great ambitions and only want to live a good life."
"Although the Commander's temper is a bit eccentric and he can be quite stingy at times, staying by his side at least ensures that I have enough to eat, wear, and use. I really think that's quite good."
"Therefore, we can only disappoint Your Majesty's good intentions."
These could not possibly be what this person truly felt. Chu Minghuan could not believe it. Given that person's character, he would never choose to live by relying on his enemy for wealth and status.
He must have had other motives for staying by Song Ting's side. It's just a matter of who he's after.
But Chu Minghuan didn't want to force him, nor did he care whether he wanted revenge or not, so he nodded and said, "Okay."
...
Seeing Zhou Tong at the foot of the mountain greatly shocked Song Ting, so as soon as she returned to the temple, she was anxious to find him.
"Where is Huaiyue?"
From the series of events that occurred before and after the prayer ceremony, Song Ting vaguely guessed that there must be a force manipulating things behind the scenes.
Zhang Bingzhi had a plan, and Huai Xu had a plan, but the hidden force behind them was the most important factor.
Song Ting never imagined that it would be related to Zhou Tong.
Zhou Tong is still alive.
Regardless of whether Huai Xu knew about this or not, he had to ask the other party for clarification.
“He’s in the courtyard,” Qi Zhou said, “playing chess with the young emperor.”
That's why Qi Zhou was kicked out. Song Ting understood, and felt inexplicably unhappy.
"From now on, you don't need to listen to the young emperor. Huaiyue must always have someone by her side."
Qi Zhou and Xiao Wu responded simultaneously, "Yes."
As I walked to the backyard, I saw two figures, one in black and one in red, sitting under a tree, talking animatedly, though I couldn't tell what they were saying.
Huai Xu suddenly gave the young emperor a faint smile, his eyes and brows filled with tenderness.
Chu Huaixu was always smiling. He smiled when he was happy, he smiled when he was unhappy, and he even smiled when he was holding a dagger and trying to kill him.
But most of those smiles were fake. He might have thought he was putting on a good act, but Song Ting could tell at a glance whether he was genuinely smiling or faking it.
He hated him, and even disdained to hide that hatred, so it was difficult for him to be genuinely happy in front of him. In his smiles, which were a mixture of genuine and feigned joy, that pitifully small amount of happiness only revealed itself sparingly and unintentionally.
But now he's showing such a gentle smile to the young emperor.
Song Ting was so jealous she was almost going crazy.
But Xiao Wu stabbed him in the heart again: "My lord, why aren't you going over there again? I think the young emperor seems to really like Prince Huaiyue. The late emperor had three or four children when he was his age. Could it be that he's also into homosexuality?"
Song Ting shot her a piercing glare: "Are you really that bored? Have you caught the real culprit? Has the panic among the people subsided?"
His anger came out of nowhere, and Xiao Wu was dumbfounded, saying blankly, "No, no."
Didn't we investigate this together? Don't you know whether we found out the truth or not?
He thought to himself.
Instead, Song Ting kicked him hard: "Then hurry up and go!"
Even after running quite a distance, Xiao Wu was still completely baffled, unable to understand why Song had suddenly become angry.
"Has your husband been getting angry lately? Why are you suddenly so irritable? Did I say something wrong?"
Qi Zhou propped his forehead up with his hand: "You'll die from that mouth of yours sooner or later."
Xiao Wu thought for a moment, then said incredulously, "Could it be because I said the young emperor likes Prince Huaiyue?"
Qi Zhou: "..."
"No way," Xiao Wu exclaimed dramatically, "Our lord is even jealous of this kind of thing? Is this really our lord?"
"The young emperor and Prince Huaiyue, it's impossible, there's a difference of more than ten years between them, and one of them is the emperor..."
That's an overreaction from the adults. Their anxiety about that person has reached the point of being paranoid, seeing everyone as a potential rival.
"Let me tell you, Qi Zhou, there's no guarantee that person really knows some kind of black magic. When we get back to Chang'an, we must ask that masked doctor to take a look at the master..."
"..." Qi Zhou couldn't stand it anymore and grabbed him by the collar. "Shut up and get going, or the adults will really make you clean the latrines if they hear you."
"It's not scary if the adults hear it, it's scary if that person hears it..."
I know you still dare to talk nonsense.
So shut up and get out of here.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com