Chapter 049

Zhan Yue had grown up with many difficulties. In the past 25 years, there was actually nothing that he absolutely had to have.

He had a revenge that he had to avenge, a family that he had to revive, but he never thought that there would be someone in his life that he had to get.

The year he became the Jinwu Guard, Empress Pei, Xiaozhen, passed away, and the whole country was in great mourning. Zhan Yue was fifteen at that time.

Fifteen is an age between maturity and youth.

He is very precocious in some aspects, but also as dull as a child in some emotions.

He had long since sensed his father's lukewarm attitude toward him, and had sensed his stepmother and eldest sister-in-law's superficial kindness toward him, as well as the deep hostility engraved in their bones.

But he was not very enthusiastic about sex. A 15-year-old boy from an ordinary family could already marry. Old Lady Wen had wanted to arrange a concubine for him several times, but Zhan Yue always found different reasons to refuse.

After his mother passed away, Zhan Yue wrapped himself up like an airtight wall. The loneliness and helplessness he once had disappeared into the clay wall along with the strong wind and heavy rain.

The remaining emotions also became clouds and mists that could not be detected or touched. He was not used to people being too close to him, not used to women being dragged into his life, and even less used to being with someone day and night.

He thought that he would live like this for the rest of his life.

On the fourth day after Empress Xiaozhen passed away, Zhan Yue was sent to guard the Qianqing Palace. During those days, His Majesty's mood was somewhat erratic due to the Empress's sudden departure, and no one was willing to approach him easily. Even several of the ministers left in a hurry after the court affairs were over.

It was not until nearly the hour of You that the Qianqing Palace welcomed its first visitor.

The visitor looked too young, and her figure was still round and smooth under her gorgeous clothes.

Zhan Yue had just joined the Jinwu Guard at that time, and he didn't know all the nobles in the palace. The one guarding the gate with him today happened to be the boy from the Yongning Marquis's family. Because he was the sixth in the family, he was called "Lu Liu". Lu Liu was a warm-hearted brother. Seeing that he didn't know how to greet him, he took the initiative to remind him: "It's the eldest princess who is here."

Zhan Yue raised his eyebrows slightly.

It was common knowledge that the eldest princess and the fourth prince in the palace were the queen's children. So, the little girl in front of him had just lost her mother?

Thinking of this, Zhan Yue looked at the eldest princess again with a look of silent scrutiny and seriousness.

Jiashan was six years old that year, a little older than Zhanyue when she lost her mother. She had a very fair face and porcelain-white skin, almost as tender as freshly peeled egg white.

She held Madam Zheng in one hand, while Madam Zheng was holding the Fourth Prince who had just learned to walk and talk. Due to his eye disease, the Fourth Prince started learning later than other children. At the age of two, his speech was still unclear and intermittent.

At this time, he was held by Madam Zheng, with his hands waving in the air. Zhan Yue heard that the Fourth Prince seemed to call out something vaguely.

He was too far away to hear clearly.

The next moment, he saw the eldest princess suddenly stand on tiptoe and pull at the corner of Nanny Zheng's clothes.

"Mammy, please put Yuankang down." The eldest princess' voice was childish, but her words were pronounced clearly, with a hint of stubbornness that was like "a wildfire that can never be extinguished."

Her face was serious, and she said softly, "When we go in later, if Father sees Yuankang like this, I'm afraid he will be even sadder."

"We are here to comfort our father. We should not add to his sadness." The eldest princess stretched out her arms. Her arms were thin and short, like young lotus roots that had not yet fully grown.

But Zhan Yue noticed that her arms were stretched straight, firm and powerful.

The eldest princess said, "Give it to me, I will hold Yuankang."

Nanny Zheng hesitated for a moment, and even Zhan Yue looked at the eldest princess with a little suspicion.

At that time, Jiashan was only as tall as Zhan Yue's thigh. Even though she looked better than ordinary children, in Zhan Yue's eyes, she was just a little taller than a bamboo shoot.

Can you hold the Fourth Prince?

Zhan Yue looked doubtful.

However, Nanny Zheng had already carefully handed the Fourth Prince over to Jiashan.

Jiashan's arms were firm and steady. Zhao Youze seemed to have noticed that someone else was holding him. He used his two chubby little hands to instantly wrap around Jiashan's neck.

After losing their mother, the two little children probably get used to relying on each other like this on a daily basis.

Jiashan seemed to realize something, and he comforted his younger brother softly, then placed his little head on his shoulder.

"Please help me pass the message, adults." Little Jiashan finally raised her head, looked at Yueyang, and smiled appropriately.

Zhan Yue lowered his head to look at her, and beneath the eldest princess's dignified appearance, he suddenly saw a pair of red and swollen eyes.

Her pupils were dark and her eyes were as round as a deer's. The slight sweat on her delicate nose revealed how hard it was for her to hold the Fourth Prince.

"She is still very sad after losing her mother." Zhan Yue suddenly thought inexplicably, "Is it the same as I was back then?"

Zhan Yue vaguely recalled himself back then.

The night of heavy snow that was hidden deep in his heart once again occupied his mind.

However, before he could come up with a definite answer, Chen Banban from the Qianqing Palace came out personally and took Jiashan in.

When they were all gone and not even the sound of their footsteps could be heard, Lv Liu, who was on duty with Zhan Yue, sighed with a hint of sadness: "Alas, in this palace, how many people look respectable. But inside, everyone is suffering from their own sorrows."

After hearing this, Zhan Yue did not answer, but just pursed his lips slightly.

"Just like the eldest princess just now," Lu Liu's voice gradually lowered, "Your Majesty may love her for a few years for the sake of Empress Yuan. When Your Majesty establishes a new queen in the future, and the new queen gives birth to a legitimate son, the eldest princess may have a hard time. So, it's a pity to be born into an imperial family."

The following words were probably very confidential, and Lu Liu's voice became lower and lower until even his voice could no longer be heard.

Zhan Yue didn't say a word the whole time, just stood there straight without interrupting. Half of his mind was still on that rosy face just now.

In fact, Lu Liu was right. His Majesty would definitely appoint a new queen, and the Fourth Prince was like that, so one could imagine what the eldest princess' future would be like.

Zhan Yue was born with a lack of empathy. He might be missing the string called "sympathy" in his brain. He would not sigh like Lu Liu, but just thought with a little regret -

They are so young, yet they are involved in such a turbulent situation. It is indeed a pity as Lu Liu said.

However, it's just a pity.

There are so many poor people in the world, and Zhan Yue himself has his own troubles to deal with, so how can he take the time to help others?

If you don't learn to be strong, perhaps you deserve to be defeated by your weakness.

At that time, almost everyone in the court and outside the court thought that once a new queen was enthroned, His Majesty would share half of his love for the eldest princess with the children born to the new queen.

Zhan Yue is no exception.

Some people wanted to see the princess rise and fall with a sense of joking, while others hoped that the little girl would stand up with vigor and vitality and not be bullied by others.

However, no one would have expected that after so many years, not only was the throne of the Empress Dowager still vacant, but even the eldest princess was still loved by the emperor as before.

She was like a most tenacious cattail, and for many years after the empress's death, she silently protected her younger brother and was always in the emperor's heart, maintaining a tendency to spring back to life.

Zhan Yue, who watched her grow up little by little, probably didn't even notice it himself. The amazing glimpse at that time, at some point, slowly turned into a deep obsession.

She became the only soft thought in the man's heart when he woke up in the middle of the night - he wanted such a strong and beautiful princess so much.

I want to protect her and I also want to be able to depend on her.

Now, the obsession of many years has come true——

Zhan Yue's pupils couldn't help but shrink, and he let out a long, deep breath.

Jiashan, who was under him, had never experienced sex before, and there was still a hint of youthful charm in her bright eyes. Even though it hadn't even started yet, Zhan Yue was already feeling the taste of it.

Every drop of blood flowing in his body was stirring his mind, calling out, and filled with the most primitive desires in his body.

Jiashan's black hair was slightly wet. Seeing that Zhan Yue's eyes were still on her, she called out in a panic, "Zhan Yanqing."

Zhan Yue uttered "hmm" softly, with a special kind of charm in his tone.

His upper body and chest were already naked, and at this moment, after a day of hard work, his eyes inevitably revealed a laziness.

He put one hand on Jiashan's waist and held her in his arms in a half-embrace position.

As their lips parted, Jiashan's eyes were a little hazy. Zhan Yue stared at her, and couldn't help but lower his head and kiss her forehead.

He casually lifted the quilt, and the quilt with the auspicious dragon and phoenix on it instantly covered Jiashan's soft body.

"Princess." Zhan Yue spoke in an intimate tone, looking straight at her, "Jiashan is your title, do you have a nickname?"

Jiashan didn't know how Zhan Yue could say these words without blushing or breathing heavily. She leaned on his rock-hard chest and felt her face burning.

She shuddered and said softly, "Father named her Ling Jiang."

"Ling Jiang," Zhan Yue smiled. He held her hand tightly from under the quilt, interlocking their fingers intimately. He said, "His Majesty wants my princess to be a talented lady, Xie Daoyun."

The most famous talented woman in the Eastern Jin Dynasty was Xie An's niece, whose nickname was Ling Jiang. Her famous line "It's not as good as the willow catkins rising in the wind" made Xie's daughter famous all over the world.

Unfortunately, Xie Daoyuan's later years were miserable. A civil uprising at the end of the Eastern Jin Dynasty caused her husband Wang Ningzhi to die early, and she remained chaste throughout her life and never remarried.

Zhan Yue looked into Jiashan's eyes and said, "I will not be like Wang Ningzhi who died young. I want to grow old with you."

Jiashan's breathing rose and fell for a moment, and she turned her face away.

Zhan Yue held her face with one hand, not allowing her to escape.

His fingertips couldn't help but trace her petal-like lips. He smiled and said, "The princess seems to have never been so nervous before."

"It's so cute." Zhan Yue said.

Being teased by him like this, Jiashan bit her lip lightly and hit Zhan Yue hard.

Unexpectedly, his clothes were gone. Jiashan's palm suddenly hit Zhan Yue's chest. Her fingers were thin and soft, and his whole body shrank instantly when she touched him.

Realizing what she had encountered, Jiashan was almost out of breath. She struggled for a while with a dry mouth, closed her eyes and said, "It's so hot."

"What should we do then?" Zhan Yue glanced at her sideways, as if he was really asking for her opinion.

Jiashan stared at him quietly for a moment, blushing and saying, "If you stay away from me, you won't feel hot."

Zhan Yue smiled softly, leaned down and kissed her cheek gently. He insisted, "But I don't want to be far away from you."

"I'll come a little closer," Zhan Yue's pupils were dark, and he leaned over to her ear and said, "OK?"

Jiashan's red lips moved slightly, her eyes gradually became moist, and she uttered softly, "If I say it's not good, can it be not good?"

"If it's not good, how can the prescription be effective?" Zhan Yue's warm lips moved from her cheek to her round earlobe. His voice was hot and deliberately low and soft.

He actually took Jiashan's earlobe between his lips and said, "Princess, don't you want me to sleep in the compartment?"

"Zhan Yanqing..."

Jiashan was afraid of itching, and every skin on her body was very sensitive. Being treated like this by him, she couldn't help but look at him with affection in her eyes, and let out a coquettish sound that seemed to be half complaining and half humming.

Zhan Yue's eyes were bright enough to be shocking in the night. He coaxed her softly, "Don't be afraid."

"Don't be afraid, my princess." Zhan Yue repeated.

Jiashan couldn't stand his big-tailed wolf look, thinking that he had lived two lives, while he was just having his first time. Jiashan snorted in a slightly dissatisfied and muffled voice.

When she snorted, Zhan Yue's eyes deepened. The dangerous factor in every man's bones that cannot tolerate provocation surged up at this moment.

He suddenly increased his strength, firmly grasped Jiashan's fair and slender wrist with one hand, and directly lowered his head to kiss her.

His movements were clumsy, but his tongue was deft, and the kiss made Jiashan unable to stop, and a moan came out of his throat.

This moan seemed to be a response, Zhan Yue's eyes were deep. The broken sounds between Jiashan's lips and teeth were soon drowned in the numbness of his limbs.

At first, she still felt the pain and bit her teeth lightly. Later, Jiashan took the initiative to wrap his hands around his neck.

She closed her eyes slightly, breathed in his scent, and kissed the corner of his lips.

"Ling Jiang..."

Finally, Zhan Yue stopped calling her "Princess" and just called her by her name. His usually calm emotions suddenly became intense during this night.

There was a dark fire in his eyes, and he kissed her hard but carefully.

Zhan Yue had a fair face and his arms were like iron hoops. He held Jiashan tightly in his arms until late at night.