If the person wasn't standing right in front of her, Yu Jiao thought, no one would believe it even if she told it to others. Even the high and mighty Cheng Dugong would fall into the ordinary world and give such earnest advice to others.
The tense atmosphere just now eased with Cheng Ying's words. Yu Jiao felt it difficult to treat Cheng Ying coldly because of her words, and she didn't even know how to return the post in her hand.
Cheng Ying suddenly discovered that the little girl was a person who would only respond to soft words and not to hard ones. He had been in a superior position for a long time and was used to being strong. In the past, when the two of them had been at loggerheads, it was mostly because he had threatened the little girl with a cold face first.
After realizing this, Cheng Ying twisted the sandalwood Buddhist beads on her wrist, her voice low and gentle, rarely showing weakness, she said: "The whole capital knows that I asked the emperor for an imperial decree to recognize you as my adopted daughter. If I don't express my gratitude when you get married, how can I have the nerve to ask for a glass of wedding wine? Liu Yuning, do you want everyone to criticize and laugh at me behind my back, saying that although I have great power and eyes, I am deserted by my friends and relatives, and even my closest adopted daughter actually looks down on me for being a eunuch?"
When talking about the word "eunuch", Cheng Ying emphasized the word. Normally, no one dared to mention this word in front of him, and he himself felt a little unfamiliar with this word.
After saying this, Yu Jiao's attitude softened visibly, and even the coldness on her face faded a little.
"Could it be that you don't want to have anything to do with someone like me? Or is it really like what I said, that you look down on people of my background?" Cheng Ying saw her weakness and took advantage of the situation. She couldn't help teasing Yu Jiao again and said this deliberately.
"I have never looked down on people with a background like Dugong." Yu Jiao said almost without thinking: "People never get to choose their background. As a human being, there are always some frustrations. If you were in someone else's shoes, I believe no one would not want to live like Dugong."
Cheng Ying looked at her serious explanation and couldn't help but chuckled slightly. This smile was short-lived and disappeared before Yu Jiao noticed. He continued to ask seriously, "You have always been reluctant to call me your foster father. Don't you think that accepting me as your foster father is an insult to your identity?"
"Of course not." Yu Jiao hesitated, then said bluntly, "I don't want to acknowledge you as my adoptive father because the people and things in the capital are too complicated. I don't want to get involved in the affairs of the nobles. Being your adopted daughter is too conspicuous. I'm not a smart person, and I'm afraid of causing trouble for my family. I'm also afraid that I'll fall into a trap if I'm not careful, and end up dying without a burial place."
Yu Jiao paused, and confided in Cheng Ying, "I just want to live a relaxed and free life within a limited scope, without having to worry about my heart beating and my body being cautious. After coming to the capital, I realized that life in the countryside is happy. Although there are trivial matters every day, I don't have to worry about my life at any time."
This is Yu Jiao's true feeling, especially after she just went to Pingliang Prefecture. Although the ice and snow outside Liangzhou are freezing, it makes people feel that the world is vast and there is no need to be confined to a corner. There is no need to bear the heavy burden of fighting for power and profit in the heart and body. Being in it, one feels peaceful and relaxed.
She spoke seriously, and Cheng Ying's expression also became serious as she listened.
In his dreams over the years, what he missed most was the laughter in the bamboo house on the Qinling Mountains, the endless medical books he and his junior sister had to recite all day long, the endless herbs they had to dig in the mountains, and the teacher's incessant nagging. At that time, he might have found it boring, but now he misses it all and wants to go back to that time the most.
Cheng Ying looked at Yu Jiao with gentle eyes. The little girl was wearing a plain white Xiang skirt today. The cross-collared collar made her neck look slender and delicate. The light from the lattice fan fell on her face, and fine hairs could be seen. The baby fat on her cheeks had not completely faded, but her words were so clear that people felt their hearts calm down when they were with her.
He couldn't help but raise his hand and rub the top of Yu Jiao's head: "I promise that as long as I live, I will never let anyone embarrass you because of me."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
