Chapter 440: Does Xiao Yan need to sell his body?!
Tang Ning raised her head: "Is it mother?"
Xiao Yan hummed, his expression distant as he held Tang Ning in his arms. "She never told me her name back then, only that she was Aunt Xue's best friend. She held the other half of the dragon-patterned pendant as a token of trust and secretly sent me out of the capital."
"I injured my eyes in the fire at the Eastern Palace, and witnessed the deaths of my father, the king, and my mother. Furthermore, I suffered health problems while in the Eastern Palace, and my temperament became unpredictable. But that lady always patiently took care of me."
The eldest grandson of the emperor, who was once high and mighty, suddenly became blind and all the people close to him died. He was desperate and could not live anymore.
During that time, he refused to take medicine or see his wounds, was full of resentment, and his body was covered with sharp thorns, wishing to hurt anyone who tried to get close to him.
But Madam Rong always stayed with him. She never tried to comfort him or persuade him to let go. She just made a new bowl of medicine after he knocked it over, and changed the medicine for him while he was asleep. She would make sweet plum blossom pastries and occasionally sit not far from him to play the piano.
She is very good at playing the piano, and it seems that she can soothe the anger in people's hearts.
Later, she brought the little pink ball and chirped in his ear, leaving him with almost no free time to think about the tragedy of the treason.
"I've recovered my eyesight. I don't know how many people died in the capital because of that rebellion. Your mother never hid that from me. She always said that as long as you are alive, there is hope."
"I recuperated there for a long time, until a few days later she suddenly left. When she came back, she looked anxious. Coincidentally, my father and the old subordinates left by the He family found me, so she urged them to take me away."
"Thinking about it now, it was probably because the late emperor knew about the Dragon Jade Order and suspected the Grand Tutor, and thus implicated Madam Rong."
Tang Ning was precocious and remembered some of her childhood memories, though not as clearly as Xiao Yan's. She frowned and asked softly, "Then why didn't mother give you the dragon pattern pendant?"
Xiao Yan said, "I don't know either, but I guess either she was afraid that I was too young to control the He family and my father's old subordinates, and that they would seize the dragon-patterned pendant and I wouldn't be able to protect it. Or, she didn't know what this thing was at the time and just thought of it as a token of Aunt Xue's love."
He picked up the dragon-patterned pendant from the pile of clothes at the head of the bed and handed it to Tang Ning.
"The material of this jade pendant is ordinary, and the workmanship is not very fine. Aside from the special carvings, if you split the remaining half of the jade into two pieces, no one would think it is a tiger talisman that can mobilize troops."
"After Emperor Taizu passed the Dragon Jade Token to my father, no one except the earliest commander of the Zhen'an Army and Shang Zhonglin, the leader of the Dragon Court Guard, had ever seen what the Dragon Jade Token looked like."
"I don't know why this thing ended up in Aunt Xue's hands and ended up in the Rong family, but I don't think Aunt Xue ever told your mother what it was used for."
Madam Rong left the dragon-patterned pendant to Tang Ning, thinking of leaving a remembrance for Aunt Xue. Later, the late emperor confronted Grand Tutor Rong several times, and Empress Lu repeatedly tested the Rong family. It was probably at that time that Madam Rong realized what the dragon-patterned pendant was.
The previous emperor and the new emperor were eyeing the Rong family covetously, and Empress Lu also made her uneasy. Madam Rong did not dare to put the thing on herself, and no one would think much of it if she hung it on Tang Ning as an ordinary jade ring.
Tang Ning touched the dragon-patterned pendant. "My mother only told me that this was a gift from Aunt Xue, and that I couldn't leave it. Later, when something happened to her and she was trapped in the Song family ancestral hall, she told me that I must return the item to my little brother and not give it to anyone else."
She paused.
"Mother said that even grandfather can't do it."
Xiao Yan had a complicated expression when she heard this. Since Madam Rong had guessed the purpose of the dragon-patterned pendant, she would feel at ease if she handed it over to Grand Tutor Rong, but she had never let it go, let alone mentioned it to Grand Tutor Rong.
Xiao Yan didn't have a good impression of Rong Qian'an. Back then, when his father wanted to eradicate the aristocratic families and restore the government, it was Rong Qian'an who first proposed it. If it weren't for his help, his father and the He family would not have ended up being deserted by everyone.
He did not blame Rong Qian'an for what he did, but his father had committed treason, the He family had been exterminated, and almost all the court officials who followed his father had died. However, Rong Qian'an withdrew in time and left the court to save himself.
Others did not know the truth of the conspiracy, but Rong Qian'an knew it. However, he never stood up and never said a word to defend his father. He just guarded the Rong family school and watched his father get the title of Li, be despised by the people of the world, and be covered in infamy after his death.
Xiao Yan could understand that the general trend was set, the court was changing, and Rong Qian'an was powerless and could only protect himself. He could also understand that for the sake of the so-called overall situation and the stability of the court, and to prevent the Great Wei from falling into chaos, he buried the past after Emperor An ascended the throne and allowed his father to bear the bad reputation.
But he didn't like Rong Qian'an.
Madam Rong might have known that after handing the dragon-patterned pendant to Rong Qian'an, for the sake of the overall situation and stability, this item would fall into the hands of the royal family. However, because of her friendship with Aunt Xue, she never handed it over until her death.
Xiao Yan pursed his lips: "I owe it to my mother."
Tang Ning's eyes were red as he held the dragon-patterned pendant and whispered, "Mother would be happy if she knew that somehow the thing was returned to you."
"It's just a good thing it's inconspicuous, and it's also a good thing no one ever thought that my mother would give it to me..."
Otherwise, how could she have kept it when she was young.
She remembered that someone wanted to take the dragon-patterned pendant away, but she always remembered her mother's words, and even after being scolded to the point of being confused, she held on tightly and refused to let go.
Later, during an argument, something fell into the filth in the house, and even the maids found it disgusting, but she guarded it tightly and bit anyone who tried to grab it.
Perhaps because she was too crazy, Old Lady Song just thought that this was a thought left to her by her mother. She was afraid that she would not survive if she moved it. And seeing that the thing was just an ordinary piece of jade and insignificant, she allowed the dragon-patterned pendant to hang on her body.
Seeing that she seemed to be lost in memories, Xiao Yan tightened his grip a little and lowered his head to kiss the corner of her eye.
"Don't even think about it. I will make those who have hurt my mother and you wish they were dead, and I will make them ...
"Um!"
…
Tang Ning was already sick, and after all the trouble, she relaxed and became tired. She soon fell asleep on Xiao Yan.
After Xiao Yan saw that everyone was asleep, she picked up Tang Ning and gently placed her on the bed.
He bent down and kissed the little girl, fastened her underwear for her, and gently stroked her sleeping face for a while. Then Xiao Yan put on the clothes on the bedside, and then walked out of the room lightly with wrinkled clothes on his head.
As soon as he got outside, he met Canglang's gaze, which said, "The governor is very brave."
"Madam Rongguo said that after the governor comes out, go see her immediately."
Xiao Yan: “…”
Canglang glanced outside and said, "Mrs. Rong's maid is guarding there the whole time. If the governor comes out any later, he will probably break his legs."
Seeing Xiao Yan remained silent, Cang Lang stepped forward and said, "Master, this ugly daughter-in-law of yours must eventually meet her parents-in-law. Otherwise, I'll prepare a few thorns for you, and you can come and apologize by carrying them on your back, just like Gu Helian, who pretended to be pitiful and miserable in order to gain entry."
"From my perspective, Madam Rongguo is just someone who likes colors. In terms of appearance, you are much prettier than that woman surnamed Gu."
Xiao Yan kicked Canglang with an expressionless face, and Canglang grimaced in pain.
"Get away from me."
Does Xiao Yan really need to sell his body?!
Two cups of tea later, when Xiao Yan saw Rong Yue, her clothes were even more wrinkled, with faint traces of being torn. There were some ambiguous marks on the exposed half of her neck, and her eyebrows, which were more beautiful than those of a fairy in a painting, were tinged with a few traces of unusual shyness.
He usually looked as cold and sharp as the snow on the mountains, but at this moment he seemed to have fallen into the mortal world, and was tainted by the air of worldly life. Seeing Rong Yue's tense face, Xiao Yan blushed before he could say anything.
Rong Yue's anger stagnated: "..."
Why is he blushing?!
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