Chapter 3188: Tired and old
Although she has been favored for nearly ten years since her canonization, but——
Do people’s hearts really never change?
Although Zhu Chengxuan didn't say this out loud, the conflicted expression on his face and the tangled look in his eyes made it clear. Nan Yan chuckled and said, "How can people's hearts not change?"
“…”
“Of course people’s hearts will change.”
Zhu Chengxuan said: "Then Madam——"
Nan Yan said, "Your Highness was just worried that the Emperor might change his mind, but why don't you worry that my heart might change one day?"
Hearing this, Zhu Chengxuan was shocked.
Indeed, he only thought that maybe one day his father would change, but he never thought that the imperial concubine in front of him, who had always been his strong backing and even had deep feelings for his deceased mother, might also change.
Seeing Zhu Chengxuan speechless, Nan Yan smiled calmly and said, "People will change. It's hard to say who will change in the future, nor is it clear what the world will be like after the change."
“…”
"So, I don't think about the future."
“…”
"Now, this is my intention. If I do things this way, I will at least be worthy of my current self."
Zhu Chengxuan felt something surge in his heart, a wave of heat rising up, burning his eyes red. He was silent for a long time, then whispered to Nan Yan in a hoarse voice, "I believe the queen will not change."
“…”
"I also believe that my father will not change as long as he is with the Empress."
“…”
"I, I don't want to change either."
Hearing these somewhat childish words, Nan Yan smiled so hard that her eyes narrowed.
She reached out and brushed Zhu Chengxuan's shoulders, brushing off some of the fallen snow. She smiled and said, "Staying the same naturally has its advantages, but it can't be used as an excuse for not growing up or making progress."
Upon hearing this, Zhu Chengxuan immediately understood what she meant and blushed.
Nan Yan smiled and said, "Your Highness cannot remain childish forever. A benevolent and successful monarch who is too stubborn will inevitably be deceived and exploited by treacherous villains. Therefore, it is right for Your Highness to grow up, and you must grow up quickly, so that your father can breathe a sigh of relief sooner."
As she spoke, she looked up and forward.
Zhu Feng looked very happy indeed when he was playing with his children, but Nan Yan knew in her heart that Zhu Feng could only eat one bowl of rice at a time now, and that was only after her persuasion. He seldom slept through the night, and more often than not, he would wake up in the middle of the night, hold her while she slept soundly, and silently look at the night outside the window until dawn.
Although he is not old yet, he is indeed very tired and looks old.
As if sensing her gaze, Zhu Feng turned back from playing with the two children and looked at them, smiling and saying, "What are you still looking at? Why don't you come and help?"
The two children had thrown a lot of snowballs on him, and even his eyebrows were white.
Nan Yan immediately came over with a smile: "Who are you helping?"
Xinping shouted, "Help me, help me, Mother, help me beat Father!"
"good,"
Nan Yan smiled and kneaded a ball of snow. Just as she walked in front of her, she suddenly smeared it on her face. Xin Ping was immediately frozen like a little white monkey. She screamed with cold and hurriedly called her brother to help. Zhu Chengxuan also ran up with a smile, and then the five members of the family got into a fight, and their laughter kept echoing over the imperial city.
This time, the emperor and the imperial concubine had gone through so much trouble in the south, and when they finally returned to the capital, they were naturally told to be loyal by the censors. Zhu Feng was annoyed by them for a long time, but he knew he was in the wrong and could only endure it. So for a long time afterwards, they stayed quietly in the imperial city and never stepped out of the palace again.
Fortunately, Zhu Chengjin's big problem was resolved, so they didn't have to go out and do anything else.
About two months later, news came from Jinling that Ye Zheng had set off for Zhoushan with Ran Xiaoyu. Four months later, news came from Zhoushan that the fleet had set out to sea.
The fleet this time was not large, but it had four large ships, seven small ships, and hundreds of people traveling together.
Moreover, although Ye Zheng's purpose of going to sea was to find the whereabouts of Zhu Chengjin, he could not say so openly. After all, Zhu Feng sent an unidentified corpse into the imperial mausoleum shortly after returning to Beijing. However, no formal mausoleum was built, and the body was buried casually far away from Emperor Gao's mausoleum.
He did not make this matter public, nor did he deliberately conceal it.
So, news spread quickly.
Normally, if the imperial court gave a definitive conclusion on such matters, the people might still speculate. However, precisely because it was done in such a vague way, the people were convinced that the unidentified corpse must be His Majesty Emperor Wen, who had previously rebelled in the south and caused a lot of controversy.
So, Zhu Chengjin is really "dead".
As a result, after hearing the news, the remaining forces left by Zhu Chengjin in Yan State completely gave up the idea of rebelling again.
When Ye Zheng went out to sea, it naturally could not be said that he was going to look for Zhu Chengjin. He did the same thing as Gu Yiyou and Tong Sinian did when they went to the Western Regions. He found many caravans to travel with him, and used the money left to him by Zhu Feng to buy a lot of silk, tea, and porcelain. He went out to sea with great fanfare, claiming to spread the prestige and culture of the Great Yan Dynasty far and wide.
After receiving this news, Zhu Feng locked himself in the imperial study again.
The whole night.
Nan Yan didn't want to go in and disturb him, nor did she allow others to disturb him. She just went over to check from time to time. There was no sound in the imperial study until dawn, when Zhu Feng opened the door and walked out.
Nan Yan had been waiting outside early. Seeing his red eyes, she walked up to him distressedly and said, "Your Majesty."
Zhu Feng gave her a haggard look and smiled slightly.
"I'm fine."
In fact, they had known that they would have to separate a long time ago. The reason why Zhu Feng decided to leave first was because he was afraid of having to experience that kind of helplessness. However, he did not expect that he could not escape what he had to experience.
But, the pain will pass.
Although Ye Zheng had taken away a piece of his heart, he still had to live, for the country in front of him, for the little woman in front of him who loved him so much that she was trembling all over, and for his lovely children.
So he forced himself to cheer up and even went to the morning court.
He was busy until noon before returning to Yonghe Palace. Nan Yan served him a little food as he had no appetite, and then told everyone around him to go back and let Zhu Feng catch up on his sleep.
Zhu Feng was lying on the couch beside the bed with his eyes closed. Nan Yan thought he was asleep, so she fanned him gently with a round fan.
Who knew that after a while, he suddenly said: "There is one more thing, I almost forgot."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com