Chapter 75: Is tolerance loving me or tolerating me? ...
After seeing off the eldest princess, Cong Ying felt uneasy.
She suspected that the abnormal behavior of the two princesses of the Xiao family was due to the shadow of King Jin, but she could not understand King Jin's thoughts.
In other words, even though I guessed it, it's still hard to believe. How can someone be so deeply in love with me when we've only met a few times and have never had a close relationship?
Cong Ying was thinking about discussing the recent events with Xie Xuanlan, but he was very busy these days because Emperor Fengqi would move the palace to hunt in ten days, and the envoys from Western Tartar who came to negotiate peace were also invited to the entourage. In order to avoid any trouble, Emperor Fengqi entrusted the important task of front and rear guard to the Twenty-Four Guards. Xie Xuanlan was busy with the dispatch between the two places and had no time to rest.
That night, Cong Ying sat in the library waiting for him, her mind absentmindedly playing with the Half-Mirror. A gentle breeze ruffled her temples, and she felt drowsy for some reason, eventually falling asleep at her desk.
Then I had another dream.
Sixty miles southwest of the Xunling Palace is Xunling Mountain, a mountain with high mountains, dense forests, and plump wild animals. It was enclosed as a royal enclosure.
A camp was set up outside the enclosure. Cong Ying, Madam Xie, and sister-in-law Meng were sitting in the tent drinking tea. A moment later, Xie Miaozhu, the sixth wife of Xie, rushed in like a gust of wind. She was dressed in riding and shooting clothes, with an angry expression on her face, and she cracked her whip with a loud noise.
She was heard complaining, "My eldest and third brothers have both been punished, so why am I the only one being detained? The ladies-in-waiting around Xiao Li are all laughing at me!"
Madam Xie glanced at her and said, "How can you keep mentioning the princess's name? There are royal relatives and nobles everywhere today. You should stay calm. If you want to go hunting, wait until your third brother is free and ask him to accompany you."
Xie Miaozhu became even angrier: "It's not like I need someone to play with me!"
Xie Miaozhu turned and ran out again. Mrs. Xie sighed and shook her head gently: "With Ah Zhu's temper, I hope he doesn't get into trouble."
Unexpectedly, Madam Xie's prediction came true. At noon, a commotion suddenly broke out outside the tent. The maid who had gone to inquire about the news returned in a panic, reporting, "The Sixth Miss startled the master's horse, and the master fell off and bled. The imperial physician says she's had a miscarriage!"
Cong Ying and Madam Xie were both horrified.
Your lord's tent was completely surrounded, and only the chief physician and the ladies-in-waiting were hurrying in and out, pouring out basins of blood, which soon dyed the grass crimson.
Cong Ying's heart was in a knot and her whole body was shaking. Suddenly, she saw Xie Xuanlan walking towards her. She was about to go up to him and ask him, but a man came forward with a sword in hand.
He is the Prince Consort Xuan.
Prince Consort Xuan, who often seemed aloof and uncompetitive, now had bloodshot eyes. He drew his sword and slashed at Xie Xuanlan with a sharp and ferocious blow. Xie Xuanlan countered with his Yanzhi knife. The two exchanged dozens of blows in a split second, and finally, Xie Xuanlan knocked Prince Consort Xuan's sword away. The purple-blue blade pressed against Prince Consort Xuan's neck, and with a slight movement, it cut a long, thin bloody mark.
Prince Consort Xuan said coldly, "I will fight with all my might, and I will bear the consequences of my life and death. I have no complaints. If you are so upright, why do you resort to such sinister and despicable means? You harmed the late queen before, and now you harm her again. Do you, the Xie family, really have such a strong will towards the heir to the throne?"
Xie Xuan glared at him. "Has Prince Consort Xuan gone mad? Everyone saw clearly at the time that your Lordship was not controlling the horse properly and was deliberately charging towards my sixth sister."
"Intentionally?" Prince Consort Xuan's voice was unsteady: "It's clear that an assassin forced her. You Xie family, you Xie family..."
Xie Xuanlan said, "Whether it's an assassination or a conspiracy, if Prince Consort Xuan has evidence, please present it to the emperor."
He turned and saw Congying standing by the tent. He stopped talking to Prince Consort Xuan and walked towards her, knife in hand. Seeing Congying's heavy expression, he thought she was worried about Xie Miaozhu. "Did mother ask you to come and ask for information? Although Sixth Sister is in trouble, her life is not in danger for now."
Cong Ying asked him, "Where are you going?"
Xie Xuanlan said, "The princess' tent."
"Take me with you," Cong Ying lied, "My mother-in-law asked me to find out about the princess's situation."
Xie Xuanlan unloaded his sword in front of the tent, and the female official rolled up the tent curtain for the two of them with a cold face.
The princess tent was divided into three rooms, and the depth was about as wide as the entire courtyard of a wealthy family. As soon as she entered the tent, she saw the tea room for guests. However, even through two doors, Cong Ying could still smell the bloody odor coming towards her.
Emperor Fengqi sat in his armchair, looking exhausted and sad. Princess Xuande comforted him. Cong Ying heard the princess say, "Women in the Xiao family are probably destined to be tough. My sister has lost her husband and her son, so she understands Chun'an's pain best. Ultimately, we have to look forward to the future. What matters most is ourselves..."
Congying was kneeling on the ground, but was suddenly stunned when he heard this.
She killed her husband and lost her son...Did Princess Xuande lose her son?
A pale, handsome face suddenly appeared in her mind, with deep, dark eyes gazing at her with affection. It was His Royal Highness the Prince of Jin. Wasn't he alive and well? Why would the princess claim she had lost her son?
Cong Ying was confused for a moment, and then slowly felt fear - along the way, she really didn't see the prince's tent.
Before she could figure it out, she suddenly heard the sound of porcelain breaking. It was Emperor Feng Qi, who usually kept his emotions to himself, who smashed the teacup in his hand at Xie Xuanlan.
"Go tell Xie Huanzhi that I will posthumously confer the title of Crown Prince on Chun'an's unborn child. Once the Crown Prince dies, someone must be buried with him. If the assassin cannot be caught, I will take the lives of your Xie family as a sacrifice!"
Xie Xuanlan did not dodge. The scalding hot tea soaked his scarlet robe. He tilted his face slightly, and because his black hair was tied up in a jade crown, the broken porcelain pieces left an inch-long bloody mark on his jaw.
Xingying's heart was hanging, staring at him steadily. His expression was as calm as water, but there was a dark undercurrent in his eyes, which was chilling and cold. But the moment his eyes met hers, he suddenly lowered his eyes and breathed.
When he looked up at her again, she was calm and gentle, full of comfort.
His Royal Highness Prince Jin... In Ying's mind, this look was inappropriately combined with that of another person.
…
"Ah Ying, Ah Ying?"
Suddenly I was awakened. I raised my head from the table and saw the dim flickering candlelight in the wick.
The person who called her was standing with his back to the candlelight, and his facial features were blurred in her eyes, except for his eyes as black as ink jade, which were bright and tender.
"Jin——"
Feeling something was wrong, Cong Ying bit her tongue in time to stop talking. But the smile in the man's eyes faded, and he stared at her quietly. Cong Ying sighed inwardly, rubbing her eyes slowly, and said, "San Lang."
Xie Xuanlan did not respond.
Cong Ying rested her forehead on his shoulder and whispered, "I just had a nightmare."
Xie Xuanlan supported her with one hand and asked, "What did you dream about?"
Cong Ying shook her head. The scene in her dream was still clear, but she didn't mention it to Xie Xuanlan. She said softly, "It was so bizarre, I can't remember it clearly. Did you just come back?"
"Well, there was a heavy rain in Xunling a few days ago, and the fence of the enclosure collapsed. We need to send someone to repair it urgently. I just finished the assignment and returned home. I heard that you sent someone to look for me during the day, so I came to check on you."
"Haven't you eaten yet? I'll go get you—hiss—"
Cong Ying wanted to ask someone to go to the kitchen to get some food, but her hands and feet were numb from sleeping so much that she couldn't stand up for a while. Fortunately, Xie Xuanlan had anticipated this and helped her sit down steadily. He lifted his robe and squatted in front of her, holding her ankles and massaging her legs and abdomen.
Cong Ying lowered her eyes to look at him.
His hair was extremely black, glistening slightly in the dim candlelight, which only accentuated his fair complexion. It was a pearly, jade-like, vibrant white, unlike the pale, sickly, bluish complexion of the Prince of Jin. However, both had the same long, dense eyelashes, which, when lazily falling, obscured their gaze, making it difficult to discern.
While Xie Xuanlan was rubbing her legs, he suddenly asked, "Do I look like him?"
Ying's entire body tensed up, and the tension was especially palpable in his palm. He loosened his grip and stared up at her. "Ying, there's something I've been wanting to ask you. You're so hesitant and torn. Do you think I'm like him, or do you think he's like me?"
Cong Ying denied guiltily: "I didn't..."
Xie Xuanlan interrupted her calmly: "Now that things have come to this, you might as well tell the truth, so that I can be mentally prepared."
Cong Ying really didn't want to answer this embarrassing question. She slowly stood up, holding onto the edge of the table, and looked away: "That's all just nonsense that's asking for trouble. Sanlang, I chose you instead of him. Isn't that enough?"
"I always want to know why you chose me."
Xie Xuanlan said, "Otherwise, if the Prince of Jin requests an imperial decree to confer you the title of Princess of Jin, I would be defying the decree in front of the Emperor, thinking I love and protect you, but in reality I am going against your wishes. That would be ridiculous."
He had originally convinced himself that no matter how much Cong Ying wavered, no matter how much the Prince of Jin fought for her, he would marry Ah Ying, wait until the matter was settled, and then slowly win her heart back. To this end, he could turn a blind eye to her guilt and confusion, and tolerate her concealment and empathy. However, some recent events gradually made him unable to tolerate it.
Cong Ying said, "I won't agree to him."
Xie Xuanlan asked, "Why?"
From the firefly in silence.
In silence, Xie Xuanlan sneered softly, "Why does he dare to keep saying in front of me that he understands you better? How many times have you met? He said Congshan Academy isn't worthy of you, and that my stubbornness will only hurt you... Ah Ying, what are you really thinking?"
Congying originally intended to try to talk to him about Congshan Academy and Taiyi Girls' School, but unexpectedly, the matter involved King Jin and had become a sharp blade that stabbed him. Congying really couldn't bear to mention it again.
She swallowed the polished speech word for word and asked Xie Xuanlan, "Sanlang, you are so aggressive. If I really ask you an answer you don't want to hear today, what will you do?"
Xie Xuanlan said, "I don't know. I can't bear to see everything broken, nor do I have the magnanimity to help others."
He walked up behind Congying and slowly embraced her. The sound of her heartbeat, heavy with emotion, traveled along her shoulder bones and into her throat. Congying leaned into his arms and closed her eyes, feeling his lips on her hair and the back of her neck, his hands stroking upwards along her waist and abdomen.
Cong Ying did not refuse. He needed it, and she needed it too. The tense heartstrings needed to be relaxed, and the torn window paper needed to be glued together.
The moment he was picked up by the waist, Cong Ying put her arms around his neck and whispered softly, "Ahe is in my room, let's stay here."
Looking around, I saw books piled up everywhere and teachings of sages hanging on the walls, every word of which emphasized the importance of etiquette.
There was only a Luohan couch behind the screen, which was only wide enough for one person to take a nap. The two of them entangled in it for a long time, their hair and breathing disordered. Finally, when Cong Ying hit her forehead again, Xie Xuanlan stopped and carefully gathered her messy clothes.
"Aying, you shouldn't treat me like this."
His voice was low and long, and his burning desire fell on her neck and turned into a sigh: "I often can't tell whether you really like me or are just tolerating it reluctantly."
A strand of his hair twirled between her fingers. "Isn't it because I love you that I tolerate so much?"
Xie Xuanlan said, "That's different."
Cong Ying murmured in confusion: "How is it different?"
If you love someone, you always have to sacrifice something for him, such as for Ah He and San Lang. She has always believed so.
Xie Xuanlan was also confused, and it was even harder for him to explain it to her. The two of them stared at each other in silence for a long while, then suddenly laughed together. Xie Xuanlan lowered his head and kissed her, then said in frustration, "I personally decorated this Suyuan Garden. How could I have forgotten to put a step-out bed in the library?"
Cong Ying said, "If you think so, then the library alone can do it."
Xie Xuanlan lowered his eyes and smiled: "Where else do you want to go? In the courtyard, in the pavilion by the water——"
Cong Ying covered his mouth and glared at him.
"One last word..." Xie Xuanlan's voice came from his palm: "This is also the last time I will discuss this with you. The wedding date is October 6th. Will you marry me?"
Cong Ying said without hesitation: "I will marry you."
With those two simple words, Xie Xuanlan completely forgot all the unhappiness caused by the Prince of Jin. What about the Princess of Jin, the Princess? All the dark storms and gloom he'd felt since arriving here melted away in her arms. Rather than disobeying her orders, as long as he didn't go against her wishes, things didn't seem so bad.
Xie Xuanlan lingered, unwilling to leave, and Cong Ying asked him, "Your Majesty is going to the palace to hunt in the second half of the month. Who will be accompanying you?"
"There are many people going, including important officials of the imperial court, close relatives of the royal family, and sons and daughters of noble families. Just talking about the Xie family, even my eldest sister-in-law and several of my younger sisters will go."
"Can I go?"
"Um?"
Cong Ying stood up and sat upright: "I heard that Third Young Master Xie is unrivaled in riding and shooting. I want to go and see him. If there is any prey, we can share it."
Xie Xuanlan smiled lazily: "If you say so, I must take you with me."
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