Most of the theaters in Chang'an were concentrated in the Da Ci'en Temple in Jinchangfang.
Mu Wanyao went to Ci'en Temple with Yang Si to watch a play.
Temples in this era had many functions. They were not only used for worshiping Buddha and seeking good fortune, but also for scholars to stay, for patients to recuperate, for masters to lecture on Buddhism, and for entertainment. Ci'en Temple was a famous temple in Chang'an. When watching a play, there was a special seat for the princess.
However, today, Mu Wanyao and Yang Si did not use their privileges as nobles. Instead, they mingled with the crowd like ordinary people and watched the show for an entire afternoon.
The Buddhist temple would light lamps at night, and it rained in the evening. Everyone went into the temple and under the corridor to avoid the rain. Yang Si and Mu Wanyao followed the crowd to the eaves to avoid the rain. As soon as the two of them hid under the eaves in the rain, Mu Wanyao shivered, and Yang Si took off his outer robe and put it on her.
She glanced at him.
The handsome, tall, brother-like young man put his hand on her shoulder and smiled at her. That kind of nonchalant style was unique to Yang Sanlang. Mu Wanyao couldn't help but smile, and accepted Yang Si's outer robe draped over her with peace of mind.
The two of them looked at the sudden rainstorm under the dark sky, and saw other people still walking in the rain, looking for a place to shelter from the rain.
Mu Wanyao suddenly pursed her lips and smiled.
Yang Si: "What?"
Mu Wan looked at the people hiding from the rain and said softly, "I thought that if Yan Shang was still here, he would definitely go out and hand out umbrellas to people or instruct them on how to hide from the rain."
Yang Si paused.
Said, "Is he so nosy?"
Mu Wan shook her head calmly: "Yeah."
She squinted her eyes, which were misty from the rain. She said softly, "I was the one who got into trouble because of his meddling in my affairs."
If he hadn't been nosy and showed her where to hide from the rain when they first met, they wouldn't have the fate they have today.
Yang Si looked down at her inquiringly, her face was as white as snow, her eyes were black and her eyelashes were long. She looked at the heavy rain in the sky and earth with great peace and tranquility, and her quiet appearance was so touching and well-behaved... a little like the Mu Wan he knew before.
Yang Si whispered: "That's great."
Only in this way could he leave Chang'an without any worries and entrust Mu Wanyao to Yan Shang. A person who is trusted by a princess with thorns all over her body should be worthy of his trust, right?
Mu Wanyao didn't ask him what "that's great" he said, but just said, "When are you leaving Beijing?"
Yang Si smiled: "Let's go tonight."
Mu Wan shook her head in surprise and turned to look at him: "So urgent? Are you going alone?"
Yang Si said nonchalantly, "What else? I don't have anything to do in Chang'an, and I don't have anything to worry about. The sooner I leave, the sooner I can leave. Why keep hanging on?"
Mu Wan shook his head in a calm voice: "Yang Sanlang has always been such a free person, not bound by anyone."
Yang Si was silent for a while, then laughed at himself.
He said: "I am also constrained by others. I am not as comfortable as you think."
Seeing Mu Wanyao looking at him in disbelief, Yang Si said, "I hope my father and mother are safe and healthy, and I hope the people I care about live a very good life."
He paused for a moment before lowering his voice and said, "I also hope that I can help Brother Lang when I go to Longyou."
Mu Wanyao said nothing.
The "Brother Lang" that Yang Si mentioned was naturally the Crown Prince, Mulang. It's just that no one would call someone like Yang Si did.
They have been avoiding people, and the guards did not allow ordinary people to get close to them. Yang Si said calmly: "Brother Lang has never had military power. Chang'an is tightly controlled by the Qin King's troops. It is really difficult for him. He finally infiltrated the Ministry of War with the help of the military exercise and let the Qin King be locked up in his mansion to rest... I left again, and he had to rearrange his layout in Chang'an.
"As for me, I hope to start from a small soldier and be able to play some advantages in Longyou. One day, I will fight for a general position in Longyou, and Brother Lang's situation in Chang'an will be better. A prince, who finally controls the financial power, but has no military power... is worse than a county prince. It's really ridiculous."
Mu Wanyao said, "You are so nice to him."
Yang Si said no more.
He and the Crown Prince have always had a good relationship, no one needs to say more. The Crown Prince clearly needed him in Chang'an, but he let him go. And he fought in the killing field in Longyou, hoping to help the Crown Prince.
Yang Si lowered his head and said seriously: "Yaoyao, I hope that after I leave, you can live in peace with His Highness."
Mu Wanyao mocked, "It depends on him, doesn't it? He is my natural choice, I have no other choice. But he treats me, his biological sister, less sincerely than he treats you, an outsider. I would naturally want to live in peace with him and cooperate well. But I can't guarantee it to you.
"Yang San, you hope that we are all well. I also hope that we can all get what we need. But all this has a prerequisite, doesn't it?"
Yang Si looked down at her, without saying anything, and reached out to rub her hair. He looked up at the rain, which was gurgling and gradually became lighter. Mu Wanyao heard Yang Si sigh.
Mu Wanyao felt a little uncomfortable to see such a high-spirited man like Yang Si sigh.
Mu Wanyao lowered her eyes: "After all, I am not the Mu Wanyao in your memory."
She can still go to Ci'en Temple with Yang Si to watch a play, but the little princess who followed Yang Si closely in her teenage years has disappeared. She can pretend to be the same person she was back then, but both she and Yang Si know that even if they watch a play, they can't go back to the past.
Yang Si looked down at her and said, "Don't say that, Yaoyao. Everyone grows up. You've been through so much... If you were still the same person you were before, wouldn't that be too scary?"
Mu Wan raised her face and looked at him with eyes as dark as water.
He leaned over to look into her eyes and said, "I actually have a lot of regrets. I regret why I didn't take you with me when you got married. I regret why I didn't follow you to Wuman. I regret why I am the third son of the Yang family and can't do whatever I want.
"I've had the urge to look for you so many times, but I was stopped every time. Sometimes I even regret why we didn't get engaged in our early years, or even earlier."
He looked at her quietly: "Sometimes I wonder, if we had been engaged at that time, you wouldn't have to go to marry. I wanted to protect you, but I didn't have the ability. You don't know how many times I hated myself for this."
Mu Wan shook her lips.
There were tears in her eyes, all caused by the rain. She no longer wanted to cry to anyone except in front of Yan Shang.
So she couldn't cry now, she just felt sad and aggrieved.
Mu Wanyao finally lowered her head and smiled: "I believe you. But I'm fine now, right?"
Yang Si said "hmm".
He stood up straight and said nothing more. He put his arm on her shoulders and watched with her the rain that was slowly falling between the sky and the earth.
The rain subsided and the sky darkened. Lights gradually lit up in the temple, under the masonry, in the courtyard, and in the corridors.
The sky and the earth became dark and then bright. The drizzle could not extinguish the candles. The crowd hiding under the corridor became lively again. Regardless of the drizzle, people went in twos and threes to see the lanterns and money.
Mu Wanyao heard Yang Si say in her ear: "Yaoyao, we can't go back to the past to make up for our regrets. But we still have a future."
This is the most important sentence left in Mu Wanyao's heart by Yang Si, who was still a teenager and had not yet come of age. She would often think of this sentence in her dreams, day and night, for many years.
-----
After that, Yang Si said goodbye to Mu Wanyao and said he was leaving the city. Mu Wanyao was reluctant to leave, so he also led the horse and said he would see him off. Yang Si thought, after seeing you off for thousands of miles, we must say goodbye anyway, so why bother?
However, seeing Mu Wan shook her head, he tacitly agreed to let her send it off.
The two rode out of the temple and rode in the dark. The sky and earth, which had just rained, were filled with a strong damp smell. The scent of soil and flowers was all in the air. It was quiet and lingering. The two rode and chatted, just like in the past.
Yang Si rode on his horse and said loudly: "Come to think of it, I should thank Yan Erlang for taking away a difficult girl like you."
Riding behind him, Mu Wanyao glared at him through Mu Li: "Nonsense! He didn't take me away."
Yang Si turned his head to look at her and smiled: "Why, you still want to abandon me after having sex with me? That's too cruel, isn't it?"
Mu Wanyao: "My side is complicated, who is as simple as you."
Yang Si: "You just can't let go of your own interests. You are caught between the Crown Prince and the Li family. The Li family can only rely on you now, so you don't have to please others. Are you never going to marry? A failed marriage will make you escape from now on?
"If I were you, I would have agreed to marry Yan Er a long time ago. Yan Er is so easy to bully."
Mu Wan shook her head and said, "Of course you are willing! You said long ago that you like girls like him, and you even asked me every day if there is a Yan Er of a different gender. How dare you!"
Yang Si laughed.
He said casually, "Why not? We are brothers and sisters, and we all look at the opposite sex in the same way. Come to think of it, does Yan Er really not have a sister?"
Mu Wan shook her head: "No! Stop dreaming!"
Yang Si felt sorry and tried to persuade her again: "A good man cannot wait. If he waits, he will be gone. In the end, everything is just a finishing touch. You are always so hesitant and afraid. Don't let yourself get delayed. You also have to be honest... Although Yan Suchen has a good temper, you can't play with other people's feelings. How can you bear to play with others?"
Mu Wanyao thought to herself that what he said was really simple.
She couldn't help but sigh.
She said, "Now that I think about it, it would have been better if I had not gone to Lingnan. Anyway, the prince forced me to marry you, so it's good to marry you."
Yang Si: "Stop! Let's not torture each other! I like the well-behaved sister Mu Wanyao in the past, not the aggressive Mu Wanyao now. As for me, I want a heart that belongs to me alone, like glass. Now that you don't have it, don't torture me."
Being despised like this, Mu Wanyao got angry, grabbed the reins and sped up a few steps, whipping the horse under Yang Si. The horse was startled and immediately raised its hooves and ran away.
Yang Si was not panicked at all, he easily regained control of the horse. The horse rushed out, and his loud laughter could be heard in the wind: "Are you angry because of shame? Hahaha..."
Hearing his laughter, Mu Wanyao couldn't help but laugh.
She spat, "Mad."
Had to catch up with him.
The guards followed the young man and the princess from a distance, and saw the two of them talking and laughing, chasing each other, so relaxed. The guards were also very relaxed, and were not anxious that the princess would be killed. After all, Yang Sanlang was there.
The two men dismounted in front of the city gate, handed over their badges, and then led their horses out of the city gate.
The last thing he said was to say something, so Yang Si gave him a final word of advice: "Anyway, if you have any troubles, you should tell Yan Erlang. Even if you can't get married, you have to speak out. If you keep holding it in, both of you will suffer in the end. There are too many such things. Yaoyao, don't be speechless."
Mu Wan shook his head and said to him: "If you grow a mouth, you will scare people away."
Yang Si turned around and said, "Maybe it's not that he was scared away? Why don't you try? Can't you have more faith in people?"
Mu Wan shook his head and his eyes flashed: "Hey..."
She saw a group of dark figures standing at the city gate, as if waiting for someone. She recognized the leader and was about to remind Yang Si, but Yang Si was still teasing and laughing with her. As soon as she turned her head, Yang Si saw the people outside the city gate and took a deep breath.
Yang Si stood up straighter all of a sudden, and his tone became serious: "Father... why are you here?"
Father Yang led the guards and stood outside the city gate waiting for his son to leave the city. Seeing his son and the princess together, Mu Wanyao looked cold and Yang Si was a little embarrassed, but Father Yang just glanced at them and said nothing.
Mu Wanyao's face was cold, and her heart shuddered. Yang Si's father was a cold-faced man, very serious. When Yang Si was a child, he was often hung up and beaten by his father... so much so that Mu Wanyao's calves trembled a little when she saw Yang's father now.
It was understandable that Yang Si stood so straight.
He was a little afraid of his father.
Father Yang just said, "Your mother couldn't bear crying and insisted that I come to see you off. So I came."
Yang Si scratched his head and said dryly: "...Oh."
He was a little uncomfortable: "Thank you for your concern?"
Mu Wan shook: "..."
I think he definitely deserves a beating again.
However, they had not seen each other for many years. Perhaps it was because Yang Si had grown up and it was not appropriate to beat his son, or perhaps it was because Yang's father was too old and could not swing the whip anymore, but Yang's father had no reaction to Yang Si's misbehavior.
Father Yang said, "You asked the prince to lobby us. The prince said that he asked you to go to the battlefield... But don't we know you well? If you don't want to go, His Highness will not force you. It is probably your own idea. My Yang family has never had any power in the border army, and no one can take care of you. We only have some connections with aristocratic families. If you have difficulties after you arrive in Longyou, you can go find someone to help you.
"I see you plan to stay there for the whole year. Take these materials with you, they may be useful."
Yang's father had a sullen look on his face and asked the guard to take out a package and hand it to Yang Si.
Father Yang took a look at the bundle and said, "There should be clothes and food prepared by your mother, as well as some healing medicines and the like. Write to your family often after you leave."
Yang Si quietly listened to his father's arrangements. After the initial threat of his father scolding him disappeared, he relaxed. Then, seeing all these preparations, he fell silent again.
After a while, when Father Yang had finished his instructions and was about to return to the city without hesitation, Yang Si took a step forward and said, "Father...will it be difficult for you if I leave?"
Father Yang turned around and asked, "What's the problem?"
Yang Si: "That's right, I'm not the only son of our family..."
Father Yang: "Then you don't have to worry. I am planning to give birth to another son while I still have the strength. Even if I don't have one, I will adopt one later. Do you think the direct descendants are counting on you to bring honor to the family? We have never counted on you."
When Mu Wanyao heard this, he chuckled.
Yang Si glared at him.
Yang Si was also choked by his father and laughed dryly: "Is that so... Then I feel relieved."
Yang Si didn't have such a heavy heart. He said goodbye to Mu Wanyao and Yang's father and others easily, then got on his horse and left. Dust was swirled behind him like a thick yellow wind. He was a great horseman and had a great demeanor on horseback, which made everyone at the city gate look at his back.
Mu Wanyao stood beside Yang's father and heard him sigh softly.
I heard him say: "Sanlang, I never ask you to bring honor to our family, I just wish you a peaceful life.
"Don't die on the battlefield and let us send you away in vain."
The voice was very low and desolate. It was something Mu Wanyao had never heard from Yang's father. She turned her head to look at him in surprise. In the darkness, she vaguely felt that Yang's father was different from the serious and scary person she had thought.
Father Yang said to her, "Princess, please forgive me for making you laugh."
Mu Wanyao was a little flustered and said softly: "I just didn't expect...you have this side."
杨父：“以为我见到杨嗣就想揍他么？殿下，天下岂有不爱自己孩子的父母？”
Mu Wanyao didn't say anything.
She stood at the city gate, made way, and politely let Yang's father and his party return to the city first. After that, Mu Wan looked outside the city where no one could be seen, and then looked at Yang's father and his party going far away in the city.
Thinking that she wouldn't be able to see Yang Si for a long time, she felt lost and sad.
Then she answered Father Yang in her heart: Yes. There are parents in the world who don't love their children.
-----
Mu Wanyao returned to Ci'en Temple again. There was no other reason, because her maids were still waiting for her in the temple, and she wanted to go back to the temple to take them with her.
However, this time when he returned to Ci'en Temple, the rain had stopped and the temple was brightly lit. People were rubbing shoulders with each other, so densely packed that Mu Wanyao felt overwhelmed.
Mu Wanyao asked the guards to go in and find the maid, and then she stood in front of the temple gate waiting for someone. She had no interest in looking at the lights in the temple, so she took off the veil from her hair and fanned herself with it. While casually watching the people coming in and out of the temple, Mu Wanyao's eyes suddenly fixed.
She saw Yan Shang.
He was wearing a long robe with a belt, all in blue and white, and his long hair was tied up with a white headband. The headband fell on his clothes and got tangled with his sleeves. He walked among the people, looking around. His elegant appearance was extremely conspicuous in the crowd, attracting countless girls to look at him secretly.
When a brave woman went up to talk to him, she saw him politely step back three steps and salute, and also talk to the woman who took the initiative to talk to her, as if asking something.
Mu Wanyao looked at Yan Shang through the crowd and thought to herself, this is what he looks like outside.
Oh, it's just like Polygonatum, handsome and elegant.
While Yan Shang was looking for someone, Mu Wanyao stood outside the crowd and observed him. He stood there for a while in confusion, looking casually in the direction of the temple gate. At this moment, Mu Wanyao saw that he was stunned for a moment, and then his eyes lit up slightly.
He smiled with a look of relief and walked towards her.
Mu Wan thought to herself: Oh, this guy is so boring. Seeing her observing him from behind and deliberately watching him looking for someone, he wasn't angry? Didn't he have any temper at all? He was still angry with her before.
She felt more and more guilty.
Just as Yan Shang was walking towards her, a child suddenly fell down in the crowd between them and started crying loudly. The adults around stopped to show their concern, but no one stepped forward for a while. Mu Wanyao watched Yan Shang look at her hesitantly with an apologetic look on his face.
Sure enough, as she expected, he walked over decisively, squatted down to look at the child, and asked in a soft and comforting voice.
Mu Wanyao finally stopped waiting there and walked over to stand next to Yan Shang. The temple was crowded with people. She saw Yan Shang squatting here, and many people squeezed over, trying to squeeze him and the child in his arms to fall. Mu Wanyao sent a look, and the guards immediately cleared the way and made a space.
Mu Wan shook her head and asked Yan Shang: "What's wrong?"
She saw Yan Shang still holding the child and talking to the child in a low voice.
Yan Shang raised his head, frowned and said softly: "His parents are missing, and he has a fever again. I want to send him to the temple's sickbed and wait for his parents to come find him. Your Highness..."
Mu Wan nodded: "Okay."
She didn't mind, Yan Shang breathed a sigh of relief and stood up holding the child.
Perhaps Yan Shang really had the power to soothe people. Mu Wanyao and the guards followed him all the way to the infirmary. They saw that the child in Yan Shang's arms sobbed at the beginning, but finally stopped crying. She hugged Yan Shang's neck with peace of mind and put her crying little face on Yan Shang's shoulder.
The child looked from Yan Shang's shoulder at the beautiful girl following behind him.
Mu Wanyao saw that the child was no more than four or five years old. Yan Shang said that he had a fever, but Mu Wanyao thought that he was okay and quite normal.
The child began to communicate with Mu Wanyao behind Yan Shang: "Sister, are you Brother Yan's wife? Just like my father and mother."
Muwan shook his head in silence.
Yan Shang whispered: "No, this sister hasn't married yet, don't talk nonsense."
The child opened his eyes wide in surprise: "Then why is she following you, brother?"
Yan Shang whispered: "We are friends."
The child nodded half-heartedly, then lay on Yan Shang's shoulder and stopped talking.
Mu Wanyao felt uncomfortable listening to this. Because she didn't respond, could Yan Shang only say that they were friends?
-----
After finally sending the child to the infirmary, Mu Wanyao and Yan Shang came out.
Mu Wanyao said, "I thought you were going to wait there until the child's parents came before you could leave without worry."
Yan Shang whispered, "His Highness is still here, how can I abandon him? This is enough. It's not like I can wait for someone here. I have told the people at the infirmary, and I will come and ask tomorrow. If the child finds his parents, that would be the best."
Mu Wan shook her head and looked at him, saying, "You are really nice to everyone."
Yan Shang looked at her and was stunned for a moment: "Do you hate me like this?"
Mu Wan thought for a moment and said, "It's okay. It's a little troublesome, but it's not annoying."
Yan Shang smiled a little.
The two walked under the lights, and Yan Shang asked her in a low voice: "You and Yang Sanlang...did you have a good afternoon?"
Mu Wan shook: "Yeah."
Yan Shang hesitated again. He asked in a tangled tone, "I came to the temple but couldn't find you. I asked the abbot but he said he didn't know. Did you send Yang Sanlang back home?"
Mu Wanyao said, "I sent him out of the city, and he left directly."
Yan Shang: “Is that so.”
He stopped talking, and Mu Wan turned her head to look at him. Seeing him frown, she felt relieved, regretted her own dirty deeds, and wondered why she did this. Finally, she was... a little jealous.
Yan Shang raised his eyes and met her gaze.
The flames shone into the eyes of the two men.
Both of them were stunned for a moment and looked into each other's eyes quietly.
The sea of people everywhere seemed to be empty all of a sudden. The two looked at each other in silence and peace, unable to control their own fate, looking at each other infatuatedly, and nostalgic.
They both saw affection in each other's eyes.
Yan Shang looked at her for a long time, his throat moved, he suddenly held her wrist, pulled her hand, and pulled her closer to him. Yan Shang: "Yaoyao, for me, can you be with other gentlemen in the future..."
Mu Wanyao didn't wait for him to finish: "Yes."
He looked surprised.
Mu Wan shook her head with a cold look: "I never liked any of them, you don't have to worry. I am different from my aunt, I don't like many messy people."
Yan Shang's eyes were tender, and he said softly: "Why do you say that? Of course you are different from her, I know it in my heart."
In the crowd, he was too embarrassed to do anything more, so holding her wrist tightly was already a bold move on his part.
As Mu Wanyao looked at him, she thought of how good Yan Shang had been to the child, what Yang Si had said, "You should keep your mouth shut and not delay others", the pain she had suffered in Wuman, and even the Yan Shang family she had seen in Lingnan...
She suddenly said, “But I have one thing in common with my aunt.
"I can't bear you a child."
In the chaotic crowd, Yan Shang was leading her carefully, afraid that she would be bumped into. She suddenly said this, which was inaudible in the noisy crowd. But Yan Shang was so concerned about her that he heard it immediately.
He turned to look at her and tightened his grip on her wrist.
He said, "What did you say?"
Mu Wan shook: "I can't give you a child."
Yan Shang was silent for a long while, then forced a smile and said, "It's okay, I don't ask for that. We are still young, and I just want to be able to achieve a happy ending with you, with you..."
Mu Wanyao smiled slightly.
But his eyes were cold.
She said, "Yan Shang, you understand what I mean, don't pretend you don't understand. I'm not saying I don't want to give you a child, but I can't. I don't have the ability. I can't have a child."
Yan Shang stared at her blankly.
The sudden burst of information made him look at her blankly.
He held her wrist, and Mu Wanyao felt his hand trembling slightly. After a while, he said, "You were lying to me, weren't you?"
Mu Wan shook: "What do you think?"
Yan hasn't spoken yet.
Mu Wanyao smiled at him and said, "Don't be in a hurry to talk to me, don't be in a hurry to respond to me. Are you confused and bewildered now? Can't you tell whether I'm telling the truth or a lie? Go back and think about it carefully. Think about this problem carefully.
"I didn't want to say it. But I can't keep lying to you and bullying you because you are ignorant. Yang Si is right. I can't keep lying to you just because you are easy to bully.
"Think about it carefully, Yan Shang."
-----
In the emperor's bedroom, the old emperor couldn't sleep after seeing off the crown prince, and was thinking about his young daughter's marriage.
In fact, at this point, it doesn't matter to the old emperor who Mu Wanyao marries.
So what if the Li family wants to form an alliance with the Wei family? Mu Wanyao has no children, so this alliance will only be short-lived and will not be able to take root. Because there is no blood connection, neither the Li family nor the Wei family can make sacrifices for each other. Putting aside Mu Wanyao, the two families can certainly form an alliance.
However, the Li family was still reluctant to give up Mu Wanyao, who was of royal blood.
The emperor murmured in the darkness: "Yan Shang..."
It's not impossible.
After many twists and turns, it was still the same person who arranged the marriage. But compared to the old emperor's previous intention to get rid of Mu Wanyao, this time, the old emperor couldn't help but start to make plans for Mu Wanyao.
As long as Mu Wanyao likes her, he will bring Yan Shang to her even if he has to force her.
Yan Shang cannot betray Mu Wanyao, so he must prevent Yan Shang from having children... no other children can threaten Mu Wanyao's position.
And Yan Shang must become strong enough to protect Mu Wanyao after he leaves.
The emperor's love and hatred are both cold and ruthless, which makes people feel uneasy.
When the emperor was thinking about this secretly, he had already woven a network in his mind and started to lay out, but his face remained indifferent, as if he didn't care about the affairs of these children at all. It was his attitude of not caring about anything that made everyone very bold and make plans for themselves.
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