end
In the following days, Jiang Yunshu didn't see Ling Jingchu much.
She breathed a slight sigh of relief; she still felt a little uneasy if she actually saw Ling Jingchu now.
Since Ayao came back, she's become even more clingy than before. These past few days, she's been constantly by her side, almost never leaving her side except when she's changing clothes.
As the two were reading, Gu Hanyu stormed in angrily.
"Where is that treacherous scoundrel Ling Jingchu?" Gu Hanyu said, hands on her hips. "I'll tear him apart today and make him regret ever coming to the capital!"
She looked over suspiciously, and A Yao also put down her book and looked over. Gu Hanyu saw the two of them, paused for a moment, and then smiled slyly.
Jiang Yunshu and A Yao both felt a chill run down their spines upon seeing this.
“Jiang Yunshu,” Gu Hanyu said with a smile, looking at the two of them, “Let me tell you, some people are beasts in human form, with faces as beautiful as jade but hearts as venomous as snakes.”
"Take Ling Jingchu, for example, that treacherous villain!"
Jiang Yunshu was even more confused by her indignant appearance.
"What's wrong?"
"What's wrong!?"
Gu Hanyu snorted coldly: "Ling Jingchu is malicious and a complete hypocrite. He actually instigated the Second Prince to speak to His Majesty, asking me to marry Lu Xing!"
Travel?
Jiang Yunshu thought for a moment before she remembered.
Lu Xing is truly Gu Hanyu's number one nemesis. Lu Xing is an arrogant and spoiled young general who grew up on the frontier. He knows many things that the young masters in the capital don't. But after Gu Hanyu, the young lady who grew up in the countryside, returned, his proud topics of conversation and experiences were no longer unique.
Whenever he and Gu Hanyu met, they would do some ridiculous things.
For example, the two would compete to bandage a deer with a broken leg during a hunt, compete to find the most herbs while playing Cuju (ancient Chinese football) on ice, and compete to catch fish in someone's backyard during a flower-viewing banquet...
She simply couldn't believe that Gu Hanyu and Lu Xing were together. Did they spend all their time at home competing to grow flowers and vegetables?
"Is he good enough for me?!"
"I hate a brainless brute the most!"
Jiang Yunshu whispered, "Even the Prime Minister might not think much of the Lu family. Lu Xing is indeed not good enough for you. Ling Jingchu hasn't even met Lu Xing yet, so why is he already interested in him?"
Gu Hanyu blinked rapidly, turned her head and coughed twice, indignantly saying, "Anyway, he's no good!"
Jiang Yunshu looked at her suspiciously: "If I remember correctly, the youngest daughter of the Lu family likes the Second Prince, right?"
Gu Hanyu nodded.
Previously, there was a great commotion in Yujing City. In order to marry the Second Prince, the youngest daughter of the Lu family drove away all the men who came to propose marriage and declared that she would not marry anyone but the Second Prince.
The old general even personally pleaded with the emperor for the sake of his youngest daughter.
However, the emperor persuaded him to return.
The Lu family was a family of military generals, possessing thousands of soldiers, and the emperor hated nothing more than forming cliques and engaging in corrupt practices.
At that time, as the crown prince, Mo Tingyu could not and would not form a marriage alliance with the Lu family.
A neutral party like the ancient prime minister would not get involved in this mess.
She wasn't worried, but she suddenly became a little curious. She looked straight at Gu Hanyu and said, "I really don't know what kind of man you would like. You say that a strong and powerful man is brainless, and a handsome and elegant man is like a willow branch. Is there really someone you like in Yujing City?"
"You don't need to worry about that."
Gu Hanyu waved her hand, interrupting her question.
"I'm here to tell you something."
Seeing that Gu Hanyu had become serious, she also asked solemnly, "What is it?"
“The dikes in Jiangnan were built by the relatives of the Vice Minister of Works, and ten million taels of silver were levied annually. This did not match the report from Nanhua County. It was immediately discovered that the Vice Minister of Works had embezzled nearly twenty million taels of silver.”
"The Vice Minister of Works has been imprisoned, and the people in the court are in a state of panic. Ling Jingchu is a newly appointed top scholar. His actions will only ruin his future."
Jiang Yunshu was stunned for a moment, then a voice came from behind her.
"Why is Miss Gu still here? I heard that General Lu has already gone to the Prime Minister's residence."
Gu Hanyu flew into a rage the moment she heard Ling Jingchu's voice, turning around to shout angrily, "You treacherous and cunning Ling Jingchu, I will not let you get away with this!"
Ling Jingchu was dressed in a red official robe, with a handsome face. If it weren't for his deep and melancholy eyes, he would have looked truly radiant.
He raised an eyebrow slightly, and someone rushed over from the doorway.
"Miss, please return to the manor quickly, the master is looking for you!"
Gu Hanyu spat at him through gritted teeth, then winked at Jiang Yunshu before leaving.
The courtyard fell silent.
Jiang Yunshu looked at Ling Jingchu, feeling somewhat at a loss. The two had not seen each other since that day.
After a moment of silence, she suddenly chuckled twice: "Ayao, it's time for you to eat. I'll go check on you."
Ling Jingchu quickly stepped forward and grabbed the person.
“Jiang Yunshu, I wasn’t drunk that day. My feelings for you started the day you picked me up.”
Her eyes suddenly widened.
I won't force you.
Ling Jingchu stared intently at her, his eyes deep: "After all, I've waited all these years."
"There is one more thing."
Before she could recover from the shock, Ling Jingchu continued.
“I have already sent a letter to Uncle Jiang and Aunt Ruan asking them to come to the capital. The Qiang people have invaded, and the national treasury is empty. I have asked Uncle Jiang to give away all his wealth and come to this small courtyard in the capital with me.”
"Don't worry, my salary is enough to support you. Although it's not as good as before, it won't leave you destitute."
She suddenly realized, the Jiang family... was raided because of this?
She had always thought that the Third Prince was discarding her after he had served his purpose, but now it seemed that it wasn't because of that.
only……
She glanced at her wrist, which was tightly held by Ling Jingchu: "I'm going to see Ayao."
Ling Jingchu paused for a moment, then looked at her meaningfully before slowly letting go.
After she turned around, a strange smile appeared on her lips.
She didn't dislike him.
She didn't find her own thoughts disgusting.
Ling Jingchu's smile continued to widen.
The vines that had been growing in the shadows seemed to have suddenly seen the sunlight, and they grew even more vigorously.
——
Three years later.
His Majesty was unwell, and Ling Jingchu, who was then the Minister of Works, visited him with his colleagues.
At this time, a folk song was circulating, saying that the emperor was dying and was incompetent, which angered the emperor so much that he vomited blood and was determined to kill everyone in the world.
The third prince knelt down and pleaded for mercy: "Father, the country belongs to you, and the people belong to you. If we were to kill them all now because of the words of these ignorant children, it would chill the hearts of the people!"
The second prince, who had been reinstated as crown prince, also knelt on the ground to plead for the people.
Ling Jingchu and a group of ministers also knelt before the bed.
The emperor was extremely weak, but the bulging veins on his forehead betrayed his anger.
Just then, someone rushed in from outside and whispered something in the Third Prince's ear. The Third Prince then stood up with hatred in his eyes, grabbed Ling Jingchu's clothes, and punched him hard.
"Ling Jingchu, what exactly are you trying to do!"
"Back then, you spread a nursery rhyme saying that my Mo family's empire would change hands, and I knew then that you were treacherous. Now that my father is ill and bedridden, how dare you spread such treasonous words, deceiving the emperor and your father? What are you trying to do?!"
"still……"
Mo Yanzhou looked at the Crown Prince with red eyes.
"Was this actually instigated by the Emperor?"
"This world will be yours sooner or later, why do such a thing!"
The Third Prince's words shocked everyone, and they looked at each other, unsure of what to say.
"The Third Prince is distorting the truth and speaking so arrogantly before His Majesty. Does he think I am completely unaware?"
Ling Jingchu touched the blood at the corner of his lips and looked at Mo Yanzhou with a half-smile.
Then, with a single glance from the Crown Prince, the people behind the Third Prince stepped forward.
He knelt down heavily.
"It was all the Third Prince's doing. Half a month ago, when the Emperor was just falling ill, the Third Prince had someone write this rebellious poem. He ordered the servants to teach it to the children in the city, and then ordered the servants to shift all the blame onto Lord Ling and the Crown Prince."
"This servant's life and fortune are entirely in the hands of the Third Prince, I dare not disobey..."
The man cried and kowtowed, confessing his guilt.
The Emperor glared angrily, and Eunuch Su helped the man lean against the bedside.
A deep voice: "...Third brother!"
The emperor coughed a few times, and the crown prince quickly stepped forward to hand him a handkerchief.
"I have always known that you are quick-witted, and the old ministers in the court are all on your side. They say that you are kind-hearted and have the talent to govern the country."
The emperor was panting as he spoke, so he lowered his voice.
"But they don't know that this is just your facade. Back then, you instigated Consort Li to make things difficult for Shen Qingyao because you believed that I cherished Roujia and thought that Consort Li was not good at raising her."
"The Empress and Consort Li have always been at odds. You knew she would make things difficult for Roujia, but you still took advantage of your own sister!"
"You even schemed against your own mother for the sake of the eldest prince!"
"How can I entrust the empire to such a cold-blooded and ruthless person?!"
The emperor's face turned red with anger, and he coughed violently a few more times.
The crown prince quickly brought over some medicine and fed it to the child.
The Third Prince watched the tender scene between father and son before him and smiled coldly. He said resentfully, "Yes, so what!"
"Unlike my second brother, who has been loved by you since childhood, and whose mother is not favored by you, I can only fight for what I want myself!"
What's wrong with what I did?
He snorted coldly, his eyes sharp and piercing.
Suddenly, he drew his sword, easily stepped over the crowd, and pressed it against the emperor's neck: "Father, it's time for the heavens to change."
A moment later, the bedchamber was completely surrounded by guards with swords.
The third prince curled his lips into a smile: "Father, as long as you write the edict of accession, you will still be the Emperor Emeritus."
"Your son will definitely treat you well."
With three swords pressed against his neck, the crown prince gritted his teeth and said, "You've usurped the throne! Third brother, do you want to bear the guilt of patricide?"
The third prince raised an eyebrow and looked over, then laughed loudly: "Second brother had treacherous intentions, but I saw through them and suppressed them. Father Emperor was disheartened by you and thus passed the throne to me."
"What crime have I committed?"
Ling Jingchu smiled too.
"The Third Prince is a man of great strategy, but he has forgotten that there is a general in the capital."
The Third Prince narrowed his eyes: "Lu Xing?"
"Him?"
"Yes, it's me!"
Lu Xing, clad in full armor, waved his hand and declared, "Take down all these traitors and sinners for me!"
As more and more soldiers poured into the palace, the Third Prince's expression grew increasingly terrified.
"Don't you have no soldiers?"
“I don’t have one, but my dad does.”
He seemed indifferent to the journey.
"General Lu is not here..."
Lu Xing shook his finger, and Jian Cici raised an eyebrow: "Your information is wrong. My father is at the city gate right now."
"impossible……"
"impossible……!"
The moment the third prince was imprisoned, the emperor vomited blood and died, passing the throne to the crown prince.
Ling Jingchu was extremely busy, while Jiang Yunshu realized her own feelings amidst fear and trepidation.
The new emperor's original intention upon ascending the throne was to arrange a marriage for Ling Jingchu, but Ling Jingchu declined the emperor's offer.
When Jiang Yunshu rushed into his arms, trembling with fear, after he returned home, he felt a pang of regret.
"Yun Shu, would you marry me?"
The End.
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