Chapter 109: I want her to be the Princess of Jin.
Even though he told himself many times that his only wish in this life was for her peace, happiness and fulfillment, when she really abandoned him, King Jin still felt a suffocating sadness in his heart.
It was like swallowing a needle silently, and her body was covered in blood and flesh, but she could neither hear nor see.
She only thinks about Xie Xuanlan in this life.
After all, Xie San in this life and she were in love and gentle and considerate. How could the bastard in the dream compare to him?
Disappointment was tinged with regret: perhaps she shouldn't have let him guess her identity from the beginning, shouldn't have expected her to favor him. She pitied the frail Prince Jin, not the man who had caused her depression and betrayal in her past life.
In this short moment, thoughts were running wild in the minds of both of them.
Cong Ying, fearing he might not understand, added, "You've seen and known more than he has, and you understand me far better than he does. If you wish to replace him, it won't be difficult. But you are now the Prince of Jin, a member of the royal family and a noble, with a bright future ahead of you. Sanlang has very little. If I abandon him now, he will likely face certain death. Your Highness, even though I know who you are, Sanlang lives on in my heart."
Feeling her firm attitude in defending Xie Xuanlan, Prince Jin gradually gave up hope and no longer hoped to win her sympathy.
He tried to mend the suspicion between them and regain her trust, so he said, "I never meant to take you away from him, nor did I ever mean to harm him. I truly wish you the best."
This is of course a lie.
Perhaps at the beginning, he did have such a vision, but later when he found out that she had feelings for him, he became close to her intentionally or unintentionally, and he couldn't let go of her beauty. His original intention had long since changed.
Why should he be so generous as to let go and bless others with a smile when his lost treasure was picked up by others?
It is obvious that he knows how to cherish her better than Xie San and will treat her better.
The distracting thoughts in my mind kept turning over and over, sometimes it was a crushing loss, and sometimes it turned into a decisiveness with hidden murderous intent.
But he looked sincere on the outside, holding Congying's hand and swearing to her:
"This morning at the imperial court, the King of Ying and his family revealed all their cards, yet they were unable to convict Xie San. I have leverage over Han Zhongcheng, and he dares not openly aid the King of Ying. Now, we just have to wait for Xuan Zhiyuan to arrive in the capital. With his testimony and Xie San's blood-written petition, he will surely be able to escape danger in Xizhou."
Cong Ying breathed a sigh of relief, but still held on: "Xuan Zhiyuan is Prince Consort Xuan's uncle. If the Xuan family wants to fight with Wang Xiexiang to regain the command of the Xizhou army, Xuan Zhiyuan may not speak for Sanlang."
The King of Jin said, "Xie San saved his life, and was then plotted against by his former colleagues. He feels both grateful and guilty. Xuan Zhiyuan will not harm him."
Cong Ying said: "There is another person who has not yet expressed his position on this matter, but he is extremely important."
The Prince of Jin paused for a moment before understanding: "You mean His Majesty?"
Congying nodded.
Emperor Fengqi's attitude towards Xie Xuanlan was very contradictory. On the one hand, he knew that Xie Xuanlan was a sharp knife, and was very useful in dealing with both the Western Tartars and the King of England. On the other hand, he was wary of his surname Xie, and was afraid that the power he had accumulated in Xizhou would make Prime Minister Xie even more powerful, and that one day he would lead his troops to Yunjing, which might really change the throne.
"The birds have all flown away, the good bows have been put away, and now that Wang Zhaoshen is dead, does Your Majesty still dare to keep Sanlang?"
According to Prince Jin's understanding, Xie San is definitely not someone who will sit still and wait for death. Before Emperor Fengqi reveals anything, he will definitely stir up a bigger mess.
But the King of Jin intended to play the role of a good guy in front of Cong Ying. He said, "Don't worry, I will do my best to help him in front of His Majesty."
After guessing that he was the Saburo in her dream, Cong Ying was no longer able to trust him at all.
If a person goes back to his past self, he will certainly use what he knows to plan for himself. However, if he becomes another person and forms a competition with his former self, what will he choose? Never dare to bet.
Although the shackles in her heart were lighter, her worries about Xie Xuanlan who was far away in Xizhou became heavier.
She was full of worries. She hooked the corner of King Jin's sleeve and approached him. She hugged him from behind, gently pressed her face against his back, and said softly:
"This matter is a bit too unbelievable. I don't know what to do right now. I want to protect him, but I'm also afraid of hurting your feelings... Can we not mention this for now? Just pretend I know nothing about it. Once this difficult time is over and Sanlang returns from Xizhou, the three of us can sit down and have a good talk about this. I think Sanlang will be very happy. He will regard you as a brother."
Brother?
King Jin felt a surge of warmth and coldness in his heart, which finally turned into a silent sneer.
No one knows better than him what Xie Xuanlan will do. If there really comes a day of peace and tranquility, I am afraid that the two of them will fight to the death.
But he didn't add any more trouble to Congying at this time, and said softly to her, "Okay, everything is up to you."
＊
After sending Congying away, Prince Jin turned around and went to look for Princess Xuande.
Ever since he sent Cong Ying away, the eldest princess suddenly became less interested in meddling in other people's affairs. She would just watch the flowers and play with the birds in her mansion every day, and occasionally ask Doctor Zhang to check her pulse to see if she was safe.
After not seeing her for more than half a month, she had made herself plump and radiant, forming a sharp contrast with the frail Prince Jin.
Seeing the Prince of Jin like this, the Princess no longer called him "my son" as she used to, telling him to put on more clothes and take his medicine. Instead, she gave him a neutral admonition: "Thinking too much is bad for your health. Don't overwork yourself."
The King of Jin said, "I have come here to ask you to relieve my worries."
"It seems that you need help with something, mother. Go ahead." The eldest princess drank the ginseng tea slowly.
The King of Jin said, "I want to marry Jiang Congying as my Princess."
The ginseng tea had not yet been swallowed down his throat when it was pushed back into the cup by a breath of air.
The eldest princess immediately laughed out of anger. If the person in front of her was not her own son, she would have thrown the tea on his face.
She cursed, "If I had known this would happen, why did you do it in the first place? You should have listened to your mother and made it a done deal. Now the baby should be born, and now she's gone and you come to beg me for help. What's the point of begging me? Go ask the gods to cast a curse on her!"
The King of Jin allowed her to ridicule him silently. After she had vented her anger, he slowly explained the pros and cons to her:
"I am plagued by illness and will not live a long life. I didn't want to marry before because I was afraid of leaving her a widow. The court has been quite turbulent these past few days, and I've felt a pang of sadness as I watched from the sidelines. I also feel that we should find someone to support our palace. When I die, you, mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, can support each other and prevent the palace from falling into decline."
These words made people feel uncomfortable. The eldest princess said coldly: "Don't talk nonsense. Besides, I am the emperor's sister. Why do I need help from an orphan like her? I think you want to find a backer for her?"
The King of Jin remained silent. "A new emperor appoints new ministers. Mother must protect not only her own honor, but also that of Doctor Zhang, and—"
He paused for a moment, his eyes sweeping across the princess's clean nails, and he finished the sentence with a slight smile:
"And the child in my mother's belly, my unborn brother."
With a clang, the princess dropped the teacup in her hand in shock, her face turning pale and red: "How did you know that..."
She was afraid that Prince Jin would overthink things, so she hurriedly tried to explain. However, Prince Jin shook his head gently and said, "Mother has worked hard for me for over twenty years. It's time for her to raise another child to carry on the family line and fulfill my filial duties. I'm happy for her, and I also want to find a way out for you. The King of Ying is unreliable, and the only reliable person is Princess Chun'an. If Mother wants to join forces with her, the best way is through Jiang Congying."
Jiang Congying becoming the Princess of Jin will be able to form an alliance between the Prince of Jin's Mansion and your lord, which will benefit all three of them.
With status comes power. From then on, Jiang Congying no longer had to run around in plain clothes and ask for help from others for trivial matters. People like Wei Ji and Du Rupan had to kneel down and salute her and wish her good health and longevity when they saw her in the future.
The eldest princess still hesitated and said, "I have never been involved in the affairs of the court."
Prince Jin: "Don't bother me, mother. Just go find Princess Chun'an, give her something, and tell her..."
After he gave these instructions, the eldest princess went to Princess Chun'an's mansion that afternoon.
Before she arrived, Princess Chun'an was listening to the court lady Gan Jiu complaining:
"... Jiang Congying actually had the audacity to forge your decree and deceive Imperial Censor Wei, saying you didn't want to kill Xie San at all. That's sheer nonsense! You'd hate to chop the entire Xie family into pieces! I don't think she truly wants to serve Your Highness. She's here to spy for the Xie family. She and Madam Xie are as close as mother and daughter. Perhaps their victory in the discussion was a trap set by them!"
Gan Jiu has a talent in "investigating treacherous officials for His Highness" that is hard to match for others. He can explain all his nonsense in a way that makes sense.
Although Princess Chun'an did not immediately believe the "spy" or "trap" theories, she was still somewhat dissatisfied with Jiang Congying for using her name to find Wei Ji and ask him to impeach Kang Huayu during the court meeting and indirectly plead for Xie Xuanlan.
She was about to summon Jiang Congying to ask, but she heard that Princess Xuande had come to visit.
Princess Chun'an personally welcomed her, politely but not enthusiastically: "Aunt, why did you choose to come to my house?"
The relationship between this aunt and nephew cannot be said to be very good.
In fact, it was originally a good thing. Princess Chun'an lost her mother when she was born, and her aunt often visited her, which gave her some imagination about her mother.
But later she heard her aunt arguing with her father about wanting to marry Prime Minister Xie, and her heart sank.
Xie Xiang was her enemy, and she felt that her aunt had betrayed her.
Although her aunt ultimately failed to marry, it was because Prime Minister Xie was determined to marry Cheng, and her father refused to approve, not because her aunt suddenly came to her senses. From then on, Princess Chun'an became disappointed with her aunt, and the two gradually grew apart.
The eldest princess ignored her indifference and embraced her with great enthusiasm: "I have come to give you a great gift."
She clapped her hands, and the maid presented a square wooden box. Princess Chun'an saw that it contained a stack of manuscripts with the words "Qingyi Chulun" written on the cover.
Chun'an picked up a book and flipped through it, discovering a manuscript that had been used as a model and textbook by the female students of the Imperial Court before the first debate. This manuscript had been given to the Imperial Court by Yiyun. Why would the princess give it to her? How could it be considered a gift?
The eldest princess explained, "Zi Su watched Jiang Congying write this manuscript sentence by sentence, and then secretly copied it from her."
Princess Chun'an's expression immediately changed: "Aunt, are you saying that this manuscript was written by Jiang Congying?"
Wasn’t it created by Taiyi from the people of Luoxiang Mountain?
The princess smiled and raised an eyebrow, then followed the instructions given by the Prince of Jin, saying, "I'll tell you one more thing. When Jiang Congying was little, she once said, 'The fallen osmanthus tree turns into fireflies, illuminating the whole hall.' She chose the courtesy name 'Luoxi' for herself."
Firefly is a fallen osmanthus.
The guess that had vaguely flashed through Princess Chun'an's mind but had not yet taken shape suddenly came true, making her dazed for a moment, and her hand holding the manuscript could not help but tremble slightly.
It turned out to be her, it turned out to be her... It was her, everything felt right.
But why would she lie to herself?
The princess said, "Before, she was Xie Xuanlan's fiancée, so of course she didn't dare to tell you the truth."
Princess Chun'an said in a cold voice, "Now that she is the Master of Ceremonies, I personally appointed her, why is she still unwilling to speak?"
It's not like she hadn't been given a chance to speak. The last time they met at the Prince of Jin's Mansion, when Jiang Congying handed her the latest manuscript, Princess Chun'an had also tried to test her. Why hadn't she admitted it then?!
The eldest princess said: "Of course, it's because she still cares about Xie San. Between you and Xie San, she chooses Xie San. Although she won't harm you, she is not sincere in her kindness to you. In the future, if Xie San makes a move, she will no longer be the hostess."
Princess Chun'an was almost breaking the manuscript in her hand.
The eldest princess smiled and fanned the flames: "Can a woman from our Xiao family endure this? So, do you want to snatch her away completely?"
Princess Chun'an was filled with both joy and anger, her emotions reaching an extreme. However, she calmed down and walked slowly to the rose chair, sat down, picked up a cup of tea, and leisurely looked at the eldest princess. "Aunt, you've been provoking me for a long time. Isn't it time to tell me your true purpose?"
The eldest princess sat across from her at a small table, leaning slightly towards her.
The gleam in her eyes reminded Princess Chun'an of her childhood, when she was clamoring to snatch Prime Minister Xie back to be her consort. The look of arrogance and determination on her face, which seemed to be justified, was exactly the same as it was now.
The eldest princess said, "How about you and I, aunt and niece, join forces to take her back and make her the Princess of Jin, severing her ill-fated relationship with Xie San and helping you two, a pair of loyal subjects, to be together?"
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