In an instant, Yu Chuxuan lost the gentle tenderness he had shown when Jing Ning was there, his eyes revealing a hint of playfulness, his face full of grievance.
"You should ask her what she thinks of me."
He walked into the hall on his own, and Yue Jiang followed instinctively, only to hear his slow, deliberate voice.
"She was mesmerized the moment she saw me after marrying into the Jade Kingdom. How could I not know who she was looking at? It must be the debt of love that my good brother owed in the Jing Kingdom."
"Later, she thought she had done a thorough job and kept asking about the Crown Prince of Yu Kingdom. But all she heard was about my brother."
"She likes my brother, what can I do? I can't let her down."
Yue Jiang suddenly thought of the time when Jing Ning tried on her wedding dress. At that time, she thought Jing Ning was about to be married off to a foreign power, and thinking that they were in the same boat, she wanted to seek comfort from him.
Actually, Yu Chuyi was in the East Palace, and she rushed to the pharmacy where Yu Chuyi worked. The person Jingning wanted to see one last time was Yu Chuyi.
It was only because Yu Chuyi had comforted her.
Yue Jiang came to her senses, half believing and half doubting: "Don't lie to me. Even if that's the case, even if Jing Ning was mesmerized when she first saw you because you and Yu Chuyi are twins, you still did something to attract her."
"Otherwise, given her reserved nature, how could she dare to inquire about the affairs of a crown prince when she first arrived?"
Yu Chuxuan sat down, poured himself a cup of tea, and nodded as instructed: "My father spent the first half of his life doing nothing, but in the second half he began to cultivate Taoism, wanting to become an immortal, and built a Taoist temple on the mountain in the suburbs of the city."
"He abandoned worldly desires to cultivate Taoism, yet he still wanted to meet his newlywed wife late at night. The wind on the mountain at night was so fierce that it almost scared the young girl to death."
"I also brought this upon myself. I was busy all night with his wedding night. My father made Jingning stay for half the night before sending me down."
"I don't know if she was terrified by my father, but on the way down the mountain she buried her head in my arms, trembling all over, crying her heart out."
At this point, a mocking smile appeared on his lips: "She was so frightened by my father that she came out and snuggled into my arms. Does she even know who I am? It's only because my face looks exactly like Yu Chuyi's."
"She was easy to coax, and then she kept pestering me. The fact that she dared to pester me without even asking about Yu Chuyi's character and conduct gave her the courage."
Yue Jiang gently pointed out: "Yu Chuyi's character and conduct do not allow you to have an unclear relationship with Jing Ning. Even after being the Crown Prince of Yu Kingdom for many years, you still had to seek help from others to solve your problems."
"If Jingning is with you like this, and it's discovered, what if it harms her?"
Yu Chuxuan joked, "Do you think I really managed to keep it from that person on the mountain all these years? It would have been her fault if she hadn't found out."
"Only Jingning is foolish enough to think that every time she comes to see me, she makes up an excuse to cover it up."
"It's safer to be a little dirty in the royal family."
Yue Jiang said that she had seen many filthy things in the Moon Kingdom, but the Jade Kingdom seemed to be even worse than anywhere else.
Do you like Jingning?
Yu Chuxuan paused in his action of putting the tea into his mouth, his eyes dark as he stared at the tea leaves in the cup, and he pursed his lips.
"I don't like it. It's annoying. She cries all day long and gets sick when she can't see me. I don't know how Yu Chuyi got into this trouble."
Yue Jiang was raised and disciplined from a young age. Although the relationship between Jing Ning and Yu Chuxuan was unbelievable, she gradually came to terms with it.
She tried to get information out of him: "But she likes you, she relies on you. You protected her at first because of Yu Chuyi, but what about all these years?"
Yu Chuxuan understood the probing in Yue Jiang's words perfectly, but he raised an eyebrow, completely unconcerned.
“I can—give her back to Yu Chuyi. I’m so annoyed with her. I have to act outside and still have to act in front of her. She’s having a really comfortable time every day.”
Yue Jiang said anxiously, "Don't make any rash moves. Back then, she had absolutely no romantic relationship with Yu Chuyi. At most, she had some girlish infatuation. But after all these years, she has completely developed feelings for you."
"If you expose her, she won't be able to handle it."
Yu Chuxuan said sarcastically, "Look, you said she wouldn't be able to stand it. I'm not a living bodhisattva who has to take care of her for life and pretend to be Yu Chuyi for her forever."
"Anyway, Yu Chuyi is back. I'll give Yu Chuyi to her later. It's always better to have a real one than a fake one."
"you……"
"Your Highness, His Majesty has read the memorial you submitted and said he is about to return to the palace."
Before Yue Jiang could finish speaking, a soft, feminine voice came from outside.
Yu Chuxuan immediately stood up and replied impatiently, "I understand. I will definitely welcome Father Emperor back properly."
"Then I'll go back and report," the eunuch outside said as he left.
Looking at Yu Chuxuan's ecstatic expression, Yue Jiang asked in bewilderment, "Is it because the Emperor of Yu Kingdom is not in the palace that we can't kill him?"
Yu Chuxuan was in high spirits and talked a lot.
"That's right. He has elite guards protecting him, and the mountain is full of traps. Even if I had extraordinary abilities, it would be difficult to kill him up there."
"He wants immortality? When he comes down, I'll send him straight to hell."
"What did you say to make him come down?" Yue Jiang vaguely realized that although Yu Chuxuan said he wanted to ask Jing Yan and Rong Ying for help, he had his own plan.
Perhaps the one who can lure the Jade Emperor down the mountain is either Jing Yan or Rong Ying.
“Send him an old friend; this person can get the old man to come down the mountain,” Yu Chuxuan said, overjoyed.
He turned and pointed at Yue Jiang, warning her, "If you don't want anything to happen, you'd better behave yourself in the Eastern Palace, otherwise, I won't take care of you."
After saying that, Yu Chuxuan walked away quickly.
Yue Jiang felt uneasy. Yu Chuxuan always left things unsaid. After thinking for a while, she decided to go find Yu Chuyi. Yu Chuyi shouldn't still be keeping things from her at this point.
...
As soon as Jing Yan and Rong Ying entered the Jade Kingdom, they were discreetly invited to a residence by the Dragon Tiger Camp. The people who came only took Rong Ying away.
Jing Yan did not come unprepared; he brought a large number of people with him, including his doubles, who had all infiltrated the capital of the Jade Kingdom before him, using Yu Chuxuan's help.
The reason he hasn't entered the capital yet is because he can't fully trust Yu Chuxuan; he wants to bring Yue Jiang and Rong Ying out safely.
***
The people of Yu Kingdom all know that the emperor spends most of his time cultivating Taoism on the mountain, while the crown prince governs the country.
When the Jade Emperor descended the mountain, he was surprised to find that his entourage was so grand, surrounded by armored guards, even more imposing than the imperial guards he usually saw.
Yu Chuxuan stood at the head of the procession outside the palace, and when the Jade Emperor's carriage approached, he bowed with his hands clasped.
"Your subject respectfully welcomes Your Majesty back to the palace."
The Jade Emperor is fifty-four years old. In recent years, he has been practicing Taoism in the mountains, and he still wears a Taoist robe and holds a whisk in his hand.
However, his face did not have any air of otherworldly elegance; instead, he was as thin and bony as an elderly person in their seventies or eighties.
When he saw Yu Chuxuan, he casually took out a vermilion pill from his sleeve and gave it to him: "You are not well. This pill is newly made by me. Try it and see how it goes."
Yu Chuxuan took the pill and swallowed it without thinking: "Not bad, thank you, Father."
The Emperor of Yu Kingdom stepped down from his carriage and casually remarked, "I heard that Chu Yi has returned."
After hearing this, Yu Chuxuan paused for a moment, then nodded and said, "Nothing can be hidden from Father. My elder brother has returned."
"I want to see him," said the Emperor of the Jade Kingdom.
Yu Chuxuan calmly replied, "There's no rush to see my brother; he's with the Empress Dowager."
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