Chapter 81 I Will Always Love You
In the early morning, as the sun rose, the people of Shengjing City still got up early and had their meals as usual, as if there had not been a fierce battle in Shengjing last night, nor had there been a change of power, and everything was peaceful as usual.
"Your Highness."
Concubine Qiong was sitting in the hall. Her hair, which was full of pearls and jade, seemed to have fallen off a little during the palace coup. The originally harmonious hair had turned into a mess now. There were also some loose hairs on her temples. Her gorgeous clothes were slightly messy, and her shawl was wrinkled.
Noble Concubine Qiong was the most favored, and the palace was magnificent and splendid, as dazzling as Noble Concubine Qiong herself. But now, she sat in the midst of pearls and jade, but with an air of dejection that could not be concealed.
Hearing Cui Yiluo's voice, Concubine Qiong's dark eyes suddenly lit up and she looked at Cui Yiluo.
In fact, Cui Yiluo's most striking resemblance to Concubine Qiong's was in her eyes; both were bright and charming, their glance captivating. But the resemblance was only physical; the essence was completely different. Concubine Qiong's eyes were always sharper, full of aggression, even now, when the situation seemed hopeless, they still held a hidden edge.
Concubine Qiong walked forward quickly, as if she wanted to hold Cui Yiluo's hand, but was stopped by the guards before she could touch her.
Concubine Qiong's eyes were fierce as she scolded, "How dare you stop me!"
The fifth prince has been imprisoned, and this morning, Princess Hejia and the young seventh prince cried and begged in front of the emperor's bedroom after hearing the news, but the emperor did not let them in. Instead, they were taken back to the palace and placed under house arrest.
Although Concubine Qiong had not been punished yet, the situation was hopeless. The favored concubine who was once high and mighty had fallen from grace overnight. The guards sent to guard her were all from the Third Prince who had just gained power, so they would not show any leniency or care for her.
Seeing that the guards didn't show any fear like before, and instead didn't take her seriously at all, Concubine Qiong immediately turned to Cui Yiluo, revealing a fragile expression and asking for help: "Yiluo..."
Before this, she only called her Madam Jiang Shao.
Cui Yiluo's expression was so calm that it was impossible to tell what she was thinking. She ignored her request, her tone flat and silent, "Your Highness, His Majesty has only granted you one incense stick of time. What brings you here to see me?"
Concubine Qiong's breath was choked, and a barely perceptible ruthlessness flashed in her eyes, but was quickly suppressed.
She put on a gentle and helpless expression, "Yiluo, I'm sure you know what happened last night. Your husband has done a great job in protecting the emperor, and he will definitely be an important official in the new dynasty in the future."
Although the emperor was poisoned and would not live long, he had not yet passed away. Concubine Qiong spoke frankly about the new dynasty, as if the previous trust and closeness between her and the emperor were all illusions.
Cui Yiluo interrupted her and said, "Your Majesty, if you have anything to say, please speak directly."
Concubine Qiong was startled again, and took a deep breath without making a sound. Suddenly, a look of bewilderment appeared on her beautiful face, her watery eyes flushed red. She covered her mouth and nose with a handkerchief and said, "Yiluo, I am sorry for what happened in the past, but I believe you can understand."
Cui Yiluo frowned slightly, her tone tinged with sarcasm, "Why do you think, Your Majesty, I understand you?"
"Because you're like that too! Isn't that right?" Concubine Qiong looked at Cui Yiluo's momentary reaction and was very satisfied. She spoke with more confidence than before: "You and I are no different. Back then, I had to abandon you and find another way out to avoid your cowardly and incompetent father. And when you grew up and were in a similar situation, didn't you make the same choice as me? You were unwilling to marry an old man, so you put in a lot of effort to hook up with Jiang Yunjin."
Concubine Qiong nodded slightly, her expression both assured and satisfied: "Yiluo, you are indeed my daughter. We are very similar, aren't we?"
After Concubine Qiong finished speaking, Cui Yiluo didn't show the reaction she'd expected. Instead, she stared at the pearl on her cloud-shaped shoes. But it seemed her words had touched her heart, leaving her stunned for a long time. Although she hadn't raised her, blood ties were a mysterious thing, and no one knows a daughter better than her mother.
She was about to strike while the iron was hot when she suddenly heard a chuckle in the hall.
Cui Yiluo raised her eyes to look at her and shook her head gently, "My Lady, I am different from you."
Her voice was not loud, but it was filled with infinite certainty.
"Your Majesty, I want to ask you something." Without waiting for Concubine Qiong to reply, she went on: "When my stepmother betrothed me to Cheng Feng, I wrote a letter asking your aunt for help. Later, I secretly asked your aunt for help several times. Your aunt wanted to help me, but she rejected me every time. It was you who kept her from coming forward, wasn't it?"
Although Lan Hui was only her aunt, she was the second wife of the Jiang family after all. If she came forward, Yao might not insist on marrying her to Cheng Feng because of the power of the Jiang family. However, Lan Hui just politely refused her every time, and after the refusal, she felt extremely guilty towards her.
Concubine Qiong obviously did not expect Cui Yiluo to ask her this question. She was always sharp-witted and did not know how to respond for a moment.
Her reaction confirmed Cui Yiluo's suspicions. Cui Yiluo smiled and said, "Your Majesty, there is no need to answer."
It was not until this moment that Concubine Qiong showed a hint of genuine helplessness.
"Yiluo, this isn't my choice! Xiao Jing was determined to use you to gain influence. If you marry someone higher up, wouldn't you be drawn into even more turbulent circumstances and put your life in danger?"
Cui Yiluo's eyes suddenly turned to disbelief when she looked at her, and her gaze was direct and sharp. Concubine Qiong tried hard to maintain her expression.
"My Lady, aren't you and the Fifth Prince the ones who have been endangering my life?"
Concubine Qiong quickly denied: "I didn't do that. Your aunt came to me and told me about this. I warned Zheng'er at that time. I was completely unaware of what he did later..."
Cui Yiluo's face was stoic, as if she had no energy to express any emotion. Her tone was also calm: "My aunt did come to the palace frequently when I first arrived in Shengjing, but Xiao Zheng never showed much fear at the time. Your Majesty, you didn't warn him, you acquiesced."
Concubine Qiong's voice suddenly became stuck in her throat, unable to utter a word. But soon, she changed her expression and tried to reach over the guards to grab Cui Yiluo's hand, but was blocked tightly by the guards.
"Yiluo, all those mistakes I made in the past were made in a moment of confusion. Your mother feels guilty towards you, but how can anyone not make mistakes in their life? In fact, I also had the thought of taking you away. You were my first child, and it was extremely difficult. I was in pain all day before giving birth to you. I was with you day and night for six months, but I couldn't even take care of myself at the time. I really had no way to protect you. Yiluo, you haven't conceived a child yet, so you may not be able to experience it firsthand, but in the future..."
Cui Yiluo interrupted, "Your Majesty is truly confused. Last time at the palace, I explained it clearly to you, and you heard it clearly. My biological mother, Lan Yi, died in the Ningzhou River eighteen years ago."
Concubine Qiong had tears in her eyes, as if she was suppressing her grievances, and she wiped her eyes with a handkerchief helplessly.
Cui Yiluo watched this and felt a lump in her throat. A beautiful woman shedding tears is always the most pitiful thing.
"Yiluo, it doesn't matter if you don't recognize me, but Zheng'er is your biological brother, as are Ying'er and Qi'er. Your husband is now highly regarded by His Majesty and the Third Prince. You should at least consider some blood ties and spare their lives, even if you have to demote them to commoners..."
Cui Yiluo took a deep breath, smiled and said, "After talking for so long, this is exactly why you came to me."
At this point, Concubine Qiong was also desperate: "Ying'er likes you very much and is very close to you, isn't she? Can you bear to see her die? And Qi'er, he is so young, still a child... As for Zheng'er, he is indeed unforgivable to you, but I only hope that you can spare his life... Just let him live."
Cui Yiluo saw through her intentions: "By sparing Xiao Zheng's life, isn't it just to wait for him to make a comeback one day, and then make you his queen mother, and enjoy all the glory and wealth?"
Concubine Qiong shook her head: "No..."
"Your Highness, the incense stick has arrived. I will not disturb your rest any longer. Farewell."
After saying that, she turned and walked out of the hall. Concubine Qiong tried to grab her by jumping over the guards regardless of anything, but her fingertips only touched a corner of her goose yellow shawl. The fine silk slipped across her fingertips, and before she could tighten it, it quickly flowed away like running water.
Just like the relationship between them.
The bright spring sunlight shines freely on the young woman standing in front of the temple gate, outlining her exquisite figure. The goose yellow shawl adds a touch of bright color to her plain clothes, making it bright and shining, just like the first blooming forsythia in early spring.
Seeing Cui Yiluo about to leave the palace, Concubine Qiong trembled slightly. When Cui Yiluo stepped over the threshold, she couldn't help but raise her voice: "Yiluo, can you call me?"
She was her first child, and she didn't like Cui Qi. Cui Qi was cowardly and incompetent, and was not worthy of her at all. But she also felt attached to and pity for Cui Yiluo, the piece of flesh that fell from her. At the beginning, she really thought of taking her away. After all, she knew what kind of situation she would be in if she left her in Cui's house.
When she first saw Cui Yiluo in Shengjing, she felt pity for her because Cui Yiluo looked so much like her. Even Xiao Ying looked less like her, and Cui Yiluo's temperament was very similar to hers.
Over the years, she had doted on Xiao Ying the most out of her three children. Even Xiao Qi, who was born later, couldn't take away half of her love. Perhaps she was making amends, giving Xiao Ying the love she should have given her first daughter, so that she would feel better.
She knew that perhaps she would never see Cui Yiluo again.
Lan Yi's eyes, which were always filled with sharpness and arrogance, revealed a hint of longing as she looked at Cui Yiluo's back.
But Cui Yiluo didn't even turn her head and walked straight out of the hall.
Before leaving, she heard Cui Yiluo say calmly, "My Queen, I understand the choice you made, but I will not forgive you."
From beginning to end, she just called her "Royal Concubine" and "Empress", not mother.
Lan Yi suddenly felt as if her soul had been taken away, but in front of the guards, she was still Concubine Qiong.
She nodded slightly, took a deep breath to suppress the tears in her eyes, sneered, and put on her usual arrogant and elegant demeanor, without any trace of the humble attitude she had just shown to beg.
-
Cui Yiluo walked out of Concubine Qiong's palace. The brocade handkerchief in her hand was deeply wrinkled by her grasp. Her tense shoulders were slightly raised, and she looked as lonely as a solitary peak.
The palace door opened for her and then was closed layer by layer. Cui Yiluo watched as the outermost palace door slowly opened, revealing the familiar corner of a crimson robe.
Just like last time when she came out of the side hall where Concubine Qiong was, he was waiting for her outside.
Cui Yiluo didn't ask him why he came, but just walked up to him and held his hand.
Jiang Yunjin also did not speak, and tacitly did not ask what Concubine Qiong had said to her, but just held her hand instead.
Along the way, the palace servants were shocked to see that Jiang Linggong, who was the most polite and aloof, was walking in the palace holding his wife's hand in a blatant and unreserved manner. They couldn't help but look at him a few more times.
Even Cui Yiluo felt a little uncomfortable. When she secretly glanced at Jiang Yunjin, she saw that he looked calm, as if he was unaware of the gazes of the palace servants passing by. He even held her hand tighter, as if he was afraid that she would pull away.
The carriage door was also tightly closed, and the aroma from the Boshan stove burning inside the carriage was sweet and fragrant.
The silence was broken only by Cui Yiluo's low voice when the carriage started moving.
"Will she die?"
Jiang Yunjin shook his head slightly, "Your Majesty will not kill her."
Cui Yiluo lowered her eyes and tugged at the silk ribbon around her waist, stirring it with her fingers, but the slow and intermittent movements clearly revealed that the owner of the fingers was not focused on it.
She didn't look happy or sad, she just looked indifferent and had no reaction, as if the person mentioned was just a stranger who had nothing to do with her.
"Jiang Yunjin, are you still using contraceptive pills?"
There was a moment of silence in the car. Cui Yiluo felt the man's nervous gaze on her face. She only heard him speak with an explanatory tone: "The matter in the palace has not been resolved yet. I..."
"You can continue using it."
The man's breath suddenly stopped. After several breaths, his stagnant and hoarse voice was heard: "Why, don't you want to have children with me?"
Cui Yiluo rested her hand on her cheek, her beautiful face expressionless as she said calmly, "Promise me one thing, and I'll tell you."
"What?"
Cui Yiluo spoke each word clearly and slowly, "You said that you can only have me in this life and that you will always trust me."
A faint smile flickered in Jiang Yunjin's dark eyes. He stared into her eyes and repeated seriously and solemnly: "I will love you forever and trust you forever."
He spoke very sincerely, and Cui Yiluo was stared at by his straightforward gaze and subconsciously wanted to avoid it.
She clearly said that she was the only one in this life, but he deliberately tampered with her words, making it clear that he wanted to make her uncomfortable. Moreover, this was the first time he used the word love. The words "forever" and "love" were extremely serious in Cui Yiluo's eyes.
It was clearly her condition, but he refused to let her go. As soon as she turned her face, he pinched her jaw and turned her back.
His eyes fell on her red lips that were about to open, and he said without hesitation: "It's your turn."
Cui Yiluo's heart began to beat faster again, but she remained calm on the surface. "What did I say?"
Jiang Yunjin's thumb, which was resting on her chin, moved upwards, rubbing against her tender red lips, his eyes so deep that he seemed to want to devour her.
"You have me in your heart, don't you?"
Outside the carriage window, there were endless sounds of carriages, conversations, and shouts, but they were blocked by the windows. It was as if a natural barrier had been formed inside the carriage, and nothing could interfere.
But Cui Yiluo still recognized that this road was the same route they took when they were trapped in the fairy trap and Jiang Yunjin said he wanted to take it when he returned to the Jiang Mansion.
The carriage turned the first corner.
Cui Yiluo suddenly smiled, like a peach blossom in bloom in March, "Yeah, me too."
The man's eyes darkened as he gently rubbed her red lips, as if he was about to enter her mouth at any moment.
He asked, "What is it?"
Cui Yiluo pulled his wrist away and said angrily, "Jiang Yunjin, don't push your luck."
"Why did you ask me to continue taking the medicine?"
Cui Yiluo didn't answer, but leaned forward and kissed his thin lips. As soon as she raised her face, the man also lowered his face, and they had a tacit understanding that seemed like they had done it a thousand times.
As their lips and tongues intertwined and the water gurgled, Cui Yiluo's vague voice was heard.
"Because I want to spend a few more years alone with you."
A low laugh from the man was heard in the car, tinged with infinite satisfaction.
Then, for some unknown reason, the originally calm male voice became uneven: "Going to Qingchi Lane?"
"Why, is my husband really going to completely break the rules?"
Jiang Yunjin's voice was hoarse: "Isn't that what you want to see me like this?"
Cui Yiluo was about to open her mouth to refute, but her words were once again blocked between her lips and teeth, and only a vague whimper escaped.
The carriage changed its route. On the day when the winter snow had just melted and the spring sunshine was in full bloom, the horse's hooves crushed the bright sunlight, filling the room with fragrance and harmony, and drove freely towards the house that looked like the south of the Yangtze River.
The rain from the apricot blossoms is wetting my clothes, while the wind from the willows is not cold on my face.
-End of text-
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The author has something to say: "The rain from the apricot blossoms wets my clothes, the wind from the willows blows on my face without chilling me." This is from "Quatrain: Tying a Short Canopy in the Shade of Ancient Trees"
The main text ends here~ The biggest challenge in this book was the characterization of A'Luo. Although there have always been voices that criticize A'Luo, I personally really like her characterization. She is the most unique heroine I have ever written. A'Luo and her cousin both appear tough on the outside but are actually very eager for love, so the two of them are the most compatible and suitable pair.
There will be extra chapters in the future. Extra chapters will not be updated daily, but will follow the rankings. I will try my best to indicate the update time in the post. The extra chapters mainly focus on post-marriage [yellow heart], raising children, and if lines. The cousin's perspective will be placed in the welfare extra chapters. In addition, there will probably be one or two welfare extra chapters. Thank you for supporting the authentic babies.
There will be a lucky draw, thank you to all the babies who have supported us all the way [red heart]
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