Chapter 34 This time before leaving, she really wants to keep him
"Have you seen Master and Madam?" Yang Yan didn't dwell on her previous sentence too much, but continued to ask.
"I see." Chai Heng nodded, and after saying this, she suddenly had nothing more to say to him.
She still remembered how, long ago, Yang Yan always thought she was noisy. But back then, she'd always happily recounted the trivialities of the day to him, never stopping until her mouth was dry. Thinking back now, she'd probably already said everything they'd ever said in their lives.
She didn't say anything, and Yang Yan didn't get annoyed. He just continued, "Now that you've seen Master and his wife, why don't you spend some time with them? Why are you rushing to the villa?" "I have something in the villa, and I want to go get it."
Chai Heng didn't tell Yang Yan that she was leaving the next day. Nor did she tell him that once she left, she would never return. Her farewell to Cui Miao could be described as a reunion, but with him, it was a reunion for eternity. Thinking of this, Chai Heng felt a surge of mixed emotions.
When she married Yang Yan, she had never imagined their relationship would end up like this. Back then, she was simply gambling, betting that Yang Yan would rise to prominence, bringing honor to the Chai family and earning her mother's respect. The days that followed were relatively peaceful. If it weren't for Xue Ruyue, she might have truly believed he would fall in love with her.
"Yang Yan, there's actually a question I've been wanting to ask you. Can you tell me the truth?"
"What's the problem?"
"In your previous life, you had murderous intentions towards me before you left for Yongzhou. Or did you realize I was overreaching and planning to attack Xue Ruyue again, and that's when you finally decided to kill me? I swear by your deceased mother, you won't lie to me."
This question may seem unimportant, but it has always been on Chai Heng's mind. She often dreams of the scene when they quarreled the night before he left for Yongzhou.
At that time, she wanted to make peace with him with all her heart, but she failed and was instead hurt by his cold words. She was not happy at all.
If he had wanted to kill her before going to Yongzhou, she would have been a clown. But if he wanted to kill her only after she had touched Xue Ruyue, she would have been more accepting.
Yang Yan couldn't remember how many times he had explained to Chai Heng that he had never intended to kill her, but she just didn't believe it.
She didn't believe he liked her, didn't believe he hadn't had murderous intentions towards her. The root of the problem was that every time he threatened her in the past, his threats were too harsh, making her take them seriously and truly believe he was going to kill her.
"I have never thought of killing you." Yang Yan patiently explained to her again.
"I swear on your mother's behalf."
"I swear on my mother's behalf."
After hearing this, Chai Heng finally believed it.
"You ordered people to dig the pit, and you said you didn't set the trap. Then who could it be? Mother? Or someone else who has a grudge against me?"
After her rebirth, Chai Heng hadn't given much thought to who was trying to kill her. In her mind, the most likely person to do such a thing was Yang Yan or Madam Chai. But since it wasn't Yang Yan, then it could have been Madam Chai, or, of course, someone else.
"In your previous life, after you died, I sent someone to investigate."
"But before the truth was found, I would have died."
Yang Yan also fell into deep thought. In his previous life, he had indeed sent people to investigate immediately. He had seen some clues, but before those clues could completely reveal the mastermind, he died from dealing with too many documents and not sleeping for several days and nights.
The past cannot be retrieved.
She hasn't died so young in this life, so it doesn't seem meaningful to think about these things too early.
After Chai Heng asked the question, he got an answer that was unexpected but not so bad, so he continued to remain silent.
She just felt a little sleepy, so she rested her forehead on Yang Yan's shoulder.
Seeing her like this, Yang Yan knew that she wanted to sleep, so he carried her on his back and continued walking forward.
When they arrived at the villa, Chai Heng woke up on her own. Yang Yan put her down in the villa's flower hall. After a short rest, Chai Heng's twisted leg healed.
"I can go back by myself later, you go now."
Chai Heng sat on the stool and looked at Yang Yan.
For some reason, her words today were not really sarcastic, but Yang Yan always felt his heart pounding.
This kind of beating was very sudden and inexplicable. Only in his previous life, before he learned of her death, had Yang Yan's heart beaten like this.
A strong sense of uneasiness suddenly surged in his heart, so before leaving, he frowned and turned back: "Are you sure you don't have anything else to say to me today?"
"No."
Chai Heng said.
Everything she wanted to say to him had already been said in her previous life. If she had to say something, it was just to tell him once again that although he had never intended to kill her, she would never forgive him, never.
But he didn't like to hear such words.
It’s better not to say anything.
Yang Yan looked at her, a moment of suspicion rising in his mind. He subconsciously felt that she wanted to leave this place. After all, in her past life and in this life, when she was most sad, she kept talking about returning to Furong Mountain and home. Now that Prince Jing and his wife had arrived, she might really leave with them.
But on second thought, it shouldn't be that fast.
He no longer trapped her. She was free in the capital city. She also loved the work of the Beijing Guards, so she wouldn't leave so early.
But after thinking about it, he stopped and turned back to ask her: "If Prince Jing and his wife return to the capital, will you go with them?"
"Won't."
Chai Heng lied to him without a second thought. She would feel guilty when she lied to anyone, but not when she lied to him.
Perhaps fearing he wouldn't believe her, she added, "You haven't even imitated Cui Miao perfectly yet, and I haven't even been able to inspect your achievements yet. How can you leave?"
The words he said on a whim two days ago just happened to serve as a reassurance to Yang Yan.
With this reassurance, Yang Yan felt relieved. "Then you can rest first. Stay with Prince Jing and his wife for the next few days. I will come to see you after they leave."
"good."
After Chai Heng finished speaking, he looked at him as if he was seeing someone off.
Yang Yan didn't want to push her too far, so he turned and left.
To him, this was just an ordinary day in his life.
At that time, he didn't know that after this separation, it would take all his energy to meet again in the future.
Chai Heng looked at his back and watched him go away.
Suddenly, she recalled a summer long, long ago, when she sat in the courtyard of the Marquis's mansion, eating Sushan. The capital was very hot that year, and she ate one cup after another.
When she was eating the fifth cup, Yang Yan didn't allow the kitchen to make more for her.
She was very angry and said to him: "Marrying a man provides clothes and food, but now I have to rely on others to control me when I eat. So why should I marry you? I want to leave the mansion and leave you to someone else."
He was also very unhappy at the time, his face suddenly darkening: "Who will you leave me to? Is it so easy to say that you will leave the Marquis' Mansion?"
She asked him, "When can you say that?"
He said that this would only happen if one day he did something really excessive and made an irreparable mistake.
And this time, she really was going to leave him alone.
*
As Yin Yuzhen had anticipated, the so-called welcoming banquet never took place. The emperor, feigning illness, was unable to leave the palace, so Li Dehai made a special trip from the palace to the post station and read out the emperor's decree, which essentially meant a reward but no meeting.
If they don't meet, whether to hand over the military power or keep it depends entirely on the couple themselves.
Hand it over. I’m so angry.
I always felt that in the eyes of the emperor, the couple were no longer considered human beings, but rather two tools. They were used as good bows when needed, and wiped clean and covered with a piece of cloth when not needed.
If I don’t hand it over, I’m afraid the old emperor will cause trouble.
The couple had been loyal ministers their entire lives, so there was nothing the old emperor could find fault with them. But the families of the former ministers on the mountain might not be so lucky. If he went crazy and found a random excuse to clean up Furong Mountain, it would be more trouble than it was worth.
After all, we are not afraid of an emperor who is normal, but we are afraid of an emperor who is crazy.
Thinking of this, Yin Yuzhen looked at her husband.
"I'd also like to trouble you, Master Seal, to return and thank His Majesty for this gift. The Tiger Talisman of the Three Armies is still in my possession. Before I leave tomorrow, I will have my most trusted subordinate deliver it to the Ministry of War."
"The battle against the Western Rong was a narrow victory. Your Majesty's words in the imperial edict were truly exaggerated. It was the excellent coordination between the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of War regarding food and armaments that enabled the Jingnan Army to achieve victory. I dare not take any credit for this victory."
Prince Jing clasped his fists towards Li Dehai.
Li Dehai said, "Your Highness is too modest. Everyone in the Great Qi knows that you and your wife are both powerful men. It's a pity that you didn't get to see His Majesty in good health when you returned to the capital this time. When you have the chance in the future, you two can come to the capital again and meet His Majesty."
"Okay, please give me the seal."
Prince Jing returned.
After receiving a reply that he was willing to hand over the military power, Li Dehai walked back with satisfaction.
In Ganlu Hall, the saint had been waiting for Li Dehai for a long time.
"Did he really agree so readily?" The saint coughed and gasped a few times. The nightmares that had been tormenting him for days had made him emaciated and he coughed at the slightest provocation.
Li Dehai said, "Prince Jing is a loyal and righteous man. He is absolutely loyal to you and the court. He was just as decisive when he first handed over military power."
The sage said, "That's not necessarily true. The first time he handed over the military power so readily, it was only because he raised the daughter of the Chai family, and Yang Yan was the Chai family's son-in-law, which was equivalent to being half a son-in-law to him. He gave it up for the child he raised, not for me, nor for the friendship we had shared for so many years."
"Prince Jing still cares about you, otherwise he wouldn't pretend not to know even though he knows you didn't have hysteria yesterday or today."
"If he and Yuzhen had cared about me, they wouldn't have kept such a group of people on Furong Mountain. Who are they? There are the thieves who helped my brother kill me, and there are their children and wives. Aren't they the ones who keep me awake every night? Yesterday, Xue Qing mentioned in the palace that he wanted to wipe out the remnants of the previous dynasty. If he and Yuzhen hadn't protected those people, none of those thieves would be left by now."
The saint spoke tremblingly. He couldn't sleep at night because he thought about the living people on Furong Mountain. When he reached the deepest point in his words, he suddenly coughed up a mouthful of blood.
Li Dehai hurriedly asked the palace maid to fetch the copper basin: "Your Majesty, please do not worry about this. The dragon's health is more important!"
"Ahem... It's almost time for me to go down to the underworld and meet my ancestors, but I'm not afraid. Since ancient times, who hasn't seized the throne? Even if my brother were to come looking for me down there and demand my life, I wouldn't be afraid..."
The saint kept coughing and finally passed away.
For a moment, the entire Ganlu Palace was in chaos.
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