Xiao Ling paused, "Jiang Yuchen should have already told you about my background."
"I did say some things." Shen Yuan did not deny it, but she wanted to hear Xiao Ling's words from him himself.
Xiao Ling cleaned the long sword, put it back into its sheath, and then sat down next to Shen Yuan.
He glanced at Shen Yuan and confessed, "When you saved me at Nanlu Mountain, I did lie. I'm not from Jinling; I'm from the capital, and those who were chasing me were also from the capital."
When Xiao Ling said this, the back of his hand holding the knife hilt turned slightly white, as if he was a little nervous.
Contrary to his expectations, Shen Yuan was not angry.
“This isn’t exactly a lie. Your mother was from Nanjing, so you’re practically half a Nanjing native too,” Shen Yuan said. Then she asked, “The reason you didn’t dare tell me the truth back then was probably because you were afraid I wouldn’t save you, right?”
Xiao Ling: "Mm."
Shen Yuan said, "This is the instinct for survival, and it's not a mistake."
"But I shouldn't have kept it from you for so long." Xiao Ling felt somewhat ashamed when she recalled what happened at Nanlu Mountain.
At first, he was indeed afraid that Shen Yuan would find out his identity and be unwilling to save him, so he kept it from her.
But later, he didn't intentionally hide it from Shen Yuan.
He has decided to give up his identity, stay away from the hustle and bustle of the capital, and just be an ordinary helper in a cheap pharmacy in Jian'an City.
Therefore, he felt there was no need to tell anyone about his past.
Hearing Xiao Ling say this, Shen Yuan nodded: "You really shouldn't have kept it from me for so long."
Xiao Ling lowered his eyelids. He knew that he and Shen Yuan would eventually have this day.
He knew it from the moment he told that lie on the southern slope of the mountain.
However, Shen Yuan did not continue to dwell on this matter. Instead, she said, "I grew up in Jian'an and know very little about the affairs of the capital. But I have heard storytellers say that His Majesty has a total of nine children. Apart from the two sons and one daughter born to the Empress, the other princes and princesses all died young."
Xiao Ling remained calm. "The storyteller was right. There is indeed only one princess, one crown prince, and one prince in the capital now. The rest... have all passed away."
"And what about you?" Shen Yuan asked, looking into Xiao Ling's eyes.
Xiao Ling lowered his eyes. "Me?"
“If it weren’t for you, I would have died on Nanlu Mountain two years ago. As for Tiantian, she was recorded as having died young by the palace servants from the time my mother gave birth to her.”
Shen Yuan was stunned, but the question that had troubled her for a long time was finally answered at this moment.
In her previous life, when she was imprisoned in the princess's mansion as a slave, she had never heard of the name Xiao Ling, because the names of princes and princesses who had died young could not be mentioned casually.
Xiao Ling in his previous life may have died five years ago on the southern slope of the mountain.
Without her Crane Blood Flower, he would bleed to death, his bones hanging on the pine tree dried by the wind and eaten by birds and beasts. Naturally, he would never have the chance to find Xiao Jinmeng again.
So Xiao Jinmeng would most likely still be a little beggar in Jian'an City, living a precarious life, and might even freeze to death in that winter.
Shen Yuan was lost in thought when she suddenly heard Xiao Ling ask, "Do you hate the Xiao family?"
Shen Yuan didn't hide anything; she nodded, "Yes!"
After a pause, Shen Yuan looked at Xiao Ling: "If you haven't confessed to me tonight, I think we'll be enemies once we enter the capital."
Upon hearing this, Xiao Ling suddenly burst out laughing.
The winter moonlight, carrying a desolate chill, fell on Xiao Ling's face, making his mocking, self-deprecating smile appear even colder, causing Shen Yuan's eyes to sting.
She didn't know why she felt this way, why looking at Xiao Ling's smile made her feel a pang of bitterness and sorrow, and she quickly covered her nose.
But Xiao Ling said, "You hate the Xiao family, and so do I."
Shen Yuan's pupils contracted as she looked at Xiao Ling in shock and disbelief.
Xiao Ling continued, "He could have saved my mother, but he listened to treacherous words, killed my mother, lost my sister, and abandoned me on Qingyun Mountain for ten years."
"And the one who spread those wicked rumors was the mother of the nation who gave birth to two sons and a daughter."
Therefore... Xiao Ling hates those two people sitting high in the main hall.
Shen Yuan's mind raced. She had thought she would be on the opposite side of Xiao Ling, but she hadn't expected that the people they hated were all related to Xiao Yunyan.
Xiao Ling is very likely the only person who can bring down Xiao Yunyan.
Xiao Ling looked at Shen Yuan: "You and Grandma aren't from Jian'an. You're from Jian'an, aren't you?
Although it was a question, Xiao Ling's tone was firm.
Shen Yuan countered, "How did you figure that out?"
Xiao Ling: "Grandma's specialties are all Beijing cuisine. Only native Beijingers know how to make those dishes. And the hot pot mutton you often make is also a Beijing style of cooking."
After hearing this, Shen Yuan belatedly realized and said, "So, you already knew about my and Grandma's background when I saved you?"
Xiao Ling paused for a moment, then said, "I can only deduce that you are from the capital. As for your and Grandma's identities, I don't know. I only stayed in the capital for eight years."
Shen Yuan nodded after hearing this, and then asked Xiao Ling, "We've known each other for so long, we're pretty good friends, right?"
Hearing this, Xiao Ling's gaze on Shen Yuan deepened. "Yes, they are very close."
“Friends should speak their minds and be honest with each other.” Shen Yuan smiled at Xiao Ling and confessed to him, “My purpose in going to the capital was actually to stop Chu Yuning from participating in the imperial examination.”
"Because next month, he is very likely to be the top scholar in the imperial examination, and the person he is going to marry is very likely to be Princess Xiao Yunyan of the Great Yan Kingdom!"
Xiao Ling was somewhat taken aback when he heard this. He didn't know how Shen Yuan could be so certain that Chu Yuning could become the top scholar. After all, he had witnessed Chu Yuning's literary talent before. Although she was intelligent, her learning was far inferior to that of the students at the Imperial Academy.
Moreover, Xiao Yunyan has been pampered since childhood, and she is arrogant and haughty. How could she possibly marry someone like Chu Yuning, who comes from a poor background?
Xiao Ling was filled with doubt, but seeing Shen Yuan's confident expression, he inexplicably felt willing to believe her.
Xiao Ling looked at Shen Yuan and said, "I'll help you!"
It took Shen Yuan seven whole days to travel from Jian'an to Yanjiang.
It took another three days to cross the river by boat.
When Shen Yuan and Xiao Ling disembarked and arrived at the southernmost city in the northern part of the Great Yan Kingdom, it happened to be the Lantern Festival on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month.
Shen Yuan, supporting Xiao Ling's hand, jumped off the dock and gazed at the towering city walls in the distance, a hint of curiosity flashing in her eyes: "This... is Shenyang City?"
"Yes." Xiao Ling nodded and said, "We need to go into the city!"
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