On that day as he was being chased and assassinated, Yan Huisheng’s guards were scattered by the assassins along the way. Eventually, only he himself remained, with two assassins hot on his tail. In reality, he had very little energy left and was in the middle of wilderness. Accepting his fate, he started thinking that perhaps his death would relieve his father, the Emperor, from considering him a threat. He wondered if his father would grieve for him.
To his surprise, things took a positive turn. He saw a woman fishing by the river. As she turned around to the noise, he realized he should spare her from getting involved. If the assassins killed him, they would surely not spare this witness.
At the time, he never imagined that after the woman glanced at him, she would suddenly withdraw her fishing net from the river. As the two assassins were about to strike him, she briskly tossed the net at them. Caught off guard, they got tangled in the net. Seeing this fortunate turn of events, he promptly unsheathed his sword, stabbing each assassin.
After defending himself, he had nearly no energy left. He sat on the ground, breathless, managing to thank the woman, "I am greatly obliged, miss." He vividly remembered her calm expression. She coolly asked him, "Is there a reward? As a token of gratitude." When he was startled by her straightforwardness, she added, "Do you have anything valuable on you that you could give me?" Seeing his hesitation, she directly pointed out, "For instance, that dagger on your waist looks quite nice."
He cherished that dagger dearly. However, no matter how much he cherished it, it was not as important as his life. Without any hesitation, he pulled the dagger from his waist and threw it to her.
Upon receiving the dagger, she observed it with satisfaction. Her voice was filled with delight, "Alright! I’ll take this as my reward. You’re saved now. I’ll leave. Take care!"
When she decided to leave, he was about to stop her but stopped himself as he noticed more people approaching. He quickly cleansed the ground of blood and discarded the abandoned fishing net and the corpses of the assassins into the river.
Within the blink of an eye, she was already far away, and the people arriving were his hidden guards who suggested that it wasn’t safe to stay there any longer and hurriedly left the place.
Since he couldn’t approach her earlier that day and the sky was already getting dark, he only had a blurry impression of her face. However, the memory of her during his desperate moment was deeply engraved in his mind - a beautifully spirited woman who stirred his heart at first glance.
Upon hearing this, the Empress was taken aback. After a moment, she finally spoke, "If the Nanchu Queen wants her dead, if you protect her, you might anger the Nanchu Queen who may choose to support someone else instead. As you know, your elder brothers and even your younger brother are all ambitious."
"If the Nanchu Queen wants her dead, why so? There must be some reason. As you said earlier, she must bear deep grudges against her to want her dead from thousands of miles away. Does she not dare to send someone to kill her inside Daliang? Or has she actually tried but failed? Therefore, taking a detour to seek your help in finishing her?" Yan Huisheng asked.
The Empress appeared thoughtful and responded, "We need to investigate this."
"And what about the Nanchu King? Is he aware of the Queen’s intention to murder an innocent girl?" Yan Huisheng said, "Mother, I am not afraid of the Nanchu Queen. Even if she could convince the Nanchu King to support me, it would be because the Nanchu King chose to do so. If I displease her and her opinion sways the Nanchu King to support someone else, that would mean the Nanchu King had reservations about me from the start."
While the Empress agreed with his reasoning, she still had something to add, "What about Zhou Gu?"
Yan Huisheng stayed silent.
The Empress spoke sternly, "You are the Crown Prince. Even if Zhou Gu hadn’t betrothed her, you could not possibly get married to her due to her low status. Unless, of course, you grant her the title of a concubine, which might be somewhat acceptable."
The Crown Prince responded calmly, "Mother, you’re overthinking. With Father’s current oppressiveness towards me, he definitely will not allow me to marry a woman from a noble family and gain power. Perhaps to Father, her status is just about right."
The Empress drew in her breath, feeling anxious, "Do you really want to marry her? Zhou Gu has always been sincere towards you. You can’t take his wife away!"
Again, the Crown Prince stayed silent.
After a moment, he finally spoke, "What if he doesn’t want to marry her?"
Looking at the Empress seriously, he further queried, "If Zhou Gu doesn’t wish to marry her, do you think, Mother, that there won’t be any problem for me to marry her?"
The Empress’s expression fluctuated as she retorted, "Would Zhou Gu not want to marry her? He agreed to this prearranged marriage when he was a child, and the old Duke himself sent Zhou Gu to Jiangning, which shows the importance he placed on this. Why would she be any less desirable to Zhou Gu if you looked at her?"
Yan Huisheng fell silent again.
The Empress spoke gravely, "Crown Prince, you cannot make mistakes, especially at this critical time. How will love compare to your ambitions and legacy? If you offend the Nanchu Queen and Zhou Gu turns against you, thus you offend the Duke Residence, your position as the Crown Prince may be at stake."
Seeing Yan Huisheng still silent, the Empress spoke urgently, "So far, you have been respectful and uphold your virtue, displaying a well-rounded demeanor. You have both moral and intellectual virtues and have gained widespread acclaim. It was not easy to build a good reputation, but it only takes a moment to ruin it. Once tarnished, you cannot retain your position as Crown Prince. And once you lose your title, even if you marry the woman you wish for, can you protect her? As the history books show, no prince waiting for his ascension had a good ending if he failed to become the emperor. Don’t be careless."
Yan Huisheng remained silent.
Soften her tone, the Empress said, "You can have any woman in the world. It should not be difficult to give up on one woman, especially when your feelings towards her are based on just one encounter. As your mother, I believe you can let go. You must consider the bigger picture." 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮
When Yan Huisheng still remained unmoved, the Empress became exasperated, "Crown Prince!"
Finally, Yan Huisheng spoke, rubbing his forehead, "Mother, I can assure you, if Zhou Gu wishes to marry her, I will not stand in his way. Zhou Gu and I share a deep bond from childhood. During the years he accompanied me in the Eastern Palace, he was always sincere. He traveled to Jiangning County to congratulate his fiancée on her Coming-of-age Ceremony, still helping me to rope in talents. I am neither heartless nor ruthless to take someone else’s wife."
On hearing this, the Empress let out a sigh of relief, "That’s a wise decision."
"However, if, without my interference, he chooses not to marry her, or if anything happens to disrupt their betrothal, then I will step in," Yan Huisheng added. "At that time, I hope you will not stand in my way, Mother. To be honest, I have never touched any of the palace maids you and Father gave me because I wasn’t interested in them."
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