Finally, Concubine Jiang was taken to a nearby palace to change clothes.
The banquet continued, and everyone quickly put this episode behind them. They began to clink glasses and pretend to be nice to the Western Region delegation.
Concubine Jiang was in Lanyue Pavilion, and just as she was about to take off her wet coat, she heard steady footsteps coming from outside the palace.
Her hand holding the clothes paused, and before she could tell A Ruo to go and take a look, she saw a figure opening the window from outside and then flipping over and walking straight in.
"Your Majesty?"
Jiangpin's eyes widened, and she subconsciously took a half step back, "Why are you here?"
Amur closed the window with his backhand to block the view from outside. His eyes fell on Concubine Jiang's wet clothes, and his Adam's apple rolled:
"It's not safe here, let's go."
"No!" Concubine Jiang said urgently, "The palace rules are strict. If someone sees us..."
Before he could finish his words, his wrist was grabbed by a rough hand.
His palm still smelled of alcohol and the cold scent of leather, but his strength was too strong to break free.
"Wu Ya said that there is a secret passage in the backyard of Lan Yue Xuan that leads to the observation tower in the back mountain. It is remote and no one would go there."
Concubine Jiang looked up suddenly, her heart almost jumping out of her chest.
Of course she knew what Amur meant by this, but once this matter was discovered, the consequences would be disastrous.
But if I don’t go…
After today, perhaps the two will never have the chance to meet again.
…
Amur took Concubine Jiang's hand and ran quickly in the garden, passing through the rockery path of Lanyue Pavilion and entering a hidden secret passage.
Amur knew that this was illogical and extremely risky.
But at this moment he couldn't care about much else. He just wanted to hold her hand tightly, fearing that if he let go, he would never be able to hold it again.
At the end of the secret passage is a lookout tower, surrounded by towering ancient trees that cut the moonlight into tiny spots of light.
When they reached under a big tree, Amur finally stopped, turned around and stared at her, his eyes filled with emotions that had been suppressed for many years.
"Alia (Jiang Bin)..."
"Twenty years..." His voice was hoarse, and he raised his hand to touch her face, but stopped when it was less than an inch away, and finally just brushed away a fallen leaf from her shoulder.
"How are you doing?"
Jiangpin's eyes were filled with tears, and she suppressed her sobs. "The deep palace with fine clothes and delicious food is naturally good."
"Luxury clothes and delicious food?"
Amur smiled bitterly and suddenly moved towards her, his tall body completely covering her.
He took Jiang Concubine's hand and said, "Why are your hands rougher than when we were on the grassland? Why is there no smile in your eyes anymore?"
His voice trembled: "Alia, how long are you going to lie to me?"
In fact, he had inquired about it on the way here. Concubine Jiang had been locked up in the cold palace for the past few years and had suffered a lot.
He only secretly hated his own incompetence.
The word "Alia" finally broke down Jiang Bin's defense, and tears finally rolled down.
She turned her face away and choked up, "Amur, why are you doing this? We can't go back..."
"No!"
Amur took her hand and placed it against his chest.
"If you want, I will..."
"Amur!" Concubine Jiang suddenly spoke, stopping him from saying the stupid words that were about to come out.
"Don't even think that. I'm not worth it!"
She didn't want to see Amur start a war between the two countries just to be with her, which would cause great suffering to all people. Even if the two of them finally got together, she couldn't afford such a heavy price.
So, that's it!
Amur understood her concerns very well. He was also in agony for a moment, as if his chest was blocked by a huge rock.
"It's been twenty years..." His voice was hoarse, "I have never forgotten you for a single day."
Concubine Jiang closed her eyes and let the tears fall.
Isn't she the same?
The palace was lonely. During the sleepless nights, she would think of the wind on the grassland and the image of Amur riding a horse and holding her hand.
“But we are not just us anymore.”
She opened her eyes and suppressed her trembling. "You are the king of the Western Regions, responsible for the people of a country, and I am the concubine of the Great Chu, with Hong'er behind me..."
When she mentioned Chu Hong, her voice became a little lighter, "I can't let him fall into danger because of me."
Amur took a deep breath and finally asked the question that had been weighing on his mind for days.
"Alia, Chu Hong... whose child is he?"
Concubine Jiang's whole body stiffened, and the blood instantly flowed backwards along her meridians and rushed straight to her forehead.
She pushed Amur away fiercely, her voice trembling subconsciously: "Why are you asking this? Hong'er is your majesty's flesh and blood, and he is the legitimate prince of the Great Chu!"
Concubine Jiang clenched her hands tightly in her sleeves, forcing herself to look as natural as possible so as not to lose her composure.
Amur's pupils shrank and he stared at her trembling eyelashes.
After a while, he suddenly held up Concubine Jiang's cheek and forced her to look directly into his eyes:
"Alia, look me in the eyes and tell me you're not lying to me!"
Concubine Jiang felt like she was struck by lightning, and her heart seemed about to jump out of her throat.
She looked into Amur's amber eyes, which were filled with twenty years of affection and persistence.
And at this moment his questioning almost burned through her soul.
Amur!
Forgive me!
Concubine Jiang's eyelashes trembled slightly, and a tear slid down silently, but she quickly wiped it away the moment it fell.
When she raised her eyes again, there was only clarity and peace in her eyes.
"The king is drunk."
She took a half step back, her voice as light as a wisp of smoke: "Hong'er is the Prince Rui appointed by His Majesty himself. He is of royal blood. How can we play with him?"
Amur's hand froze in mid-air, and he suddenly felt a dull pain in his heart, as if he was hit by a huge rock. He staggered and almost fell.
It's suffocating to feel like there's just a glimmer of hope, but it's ruthlessly shattered in the blink of an eye.
"I don't believe it!"
Amur retorted subconsciously, still staring at Concubine Jiang's eyes, "On the night you set out for Da Chu, we were at Moon Lake...
You have been mine for a long time, I don't believe that Emperor Chu has not noticed it."
Amur pressed forward step by step, and Concubine Jiang gave in again and again. Her back was already against a pillar, and she had nowhere to retreat.
No one noticed that her hands under her sleeves had already been bruised.
…
At this time, outside the Lanyue Pavilion, two young eunuchs were crouching and moving towards the backyard.
They were Concubine Xie's confidants. They had just followed Amur's trail to find this place, but stopped outside the fake cave.
I saw that the stone slab behind the rockery had been opened, revealing a secret passage with several fresh shoe prints next to it.
"Go back and report the news!"
One of them said in a low voice, "Just say they escaped through the secret passage and left footprints behind."
The other person immediately turned around and hurried towards the direction of the banquet.
As the young eunuch hurried away, he didn't notice that the palace maid who had just served tea to Concubine Jiang was secretly observing everything on the other side.
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