Chapter 41
Zhao Congyun continued, "Back then, Jiang Rao gave birth to a child out of wedlock, which was not considered a glorious thing even in a place like Xinghua Tower, so few people knew about the existence of such a child.
"When the Xinghualou tragedy happened, Jiang Rao happened to be away recuperating from an illness while preparing to give birth, so she escaped the disaster. Jiang Huan and Xing'er found her and took care of her until she gave birth... Unfortunately, after Jiang Rao learned of the Xinghualou tragedy, she became depressed and passed away shortly after giving birth to Ah Nian.
"Because the issue involved the heir to the throne, and even the future emperor, Jiang Huan and Xing'er discussed it and decided to raise Ah Nian disguised as a girl while secretly investigating the truth of the incident. Later, they disagreed and parted ways, leaving Jiang Huan to raise Ah Nian alone."
Zhao Congyun took a sip of tea and lowered his voice, "When my brother learned he couldn't have an heir, he was disheartened and depressed. He even hinted that he would pass the throne to me in the future... I never had any interest in the throne. After getting Jiang Huan's permission, I told my brother the truth."
Yue Mingming was puzzled: "Did you know about Ah Nian's situation a long time ago?"
Zhao Congyun and Uncle Dong exchanged a glance, and Uncle Dong continued, "We only found out that Jiang Huan was related to Xinghua Tower, but we didn't know there was a child... They protected that child very well."
Yue Mingming felt a pang of sadness when he thought of Ah Nian's grown-up demeanor. "Not only did she protect him well... Sister Jiang Huan also taught him well."
Now Yue Mingming understood why he had felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity the moment he first laid eyes on Ah Nian. The child's every move and gesture revealed a dignity and self-possession quite unlike that of ordinary people, a resemblance very much to Zhao Congyun.
She had never seen Zhao Congyun when he was a cub, but she thought he must be such a serious little gentleman.
Zhao Congyun paused, looked around, and then lowered his voice and said, "My brother, upon learning the truth, was overjoyed and has secretly drafted an edict to appoint Anian as the crown prince!"
Yue Mingming and Uncle Dong were both shocked.
However, Yue Mingming was sighing that a chicken had turned into a phoenix. The little brat who had once fought with him for a chicken leg had unexpectedly transformed into the current crown prince and future emperor. Uncle Dong frowned and said worriedly, "Your Majesty means... that the prince will take care of His Royal Highness? That's a bit too much of a responsibility!"
Zhao Congyun sighed softly, "This is truly a helpless move. My brother, the emperor, is eager to recognize his own flesh and blood, but if Ah Nian's identity is exposed, Lord Fan will surely take action against him... Now I can only use the pretext of exile to get him to stay away from the troubled areas of the capital. When the time is right, I will reveal my identity and kill them by surprise."
A hint of sharpness flashed across his brows. "Lord Fan now has a lot of influence in the court. After Concubine Zheng gives birth, they will surely be unable to restrain themselves and aim for the throne... I don't have much time left!"
Yue Mingming had just come back from his distraction. Upon hearing this, his heart immediately jumped: "What are you going to do?!"
"I want to clear the obstacles for my royal brother and hand over a stable kingdom to that child in the future. This is also what I owe Jiang Huan."
Yue Mingming's heart skipped a beat, and he knew that this man would not stay in the frontier and raise a child!
She had mentioned the phrase "making a comeback" earlier, not only out of comfort, but also because Zhao Congyun had already been burdened with this scenario. In fact, ever since she woke up in the inn, a new mission had been hanging before her, but she had been deliberately ignoring it.
The system requirement this time is to "help Prince Jia regain his position."
What a clichéd return of the king.
Yue Mingming knew this was necessary for the plot, but she resisted it from the bottom of her heart. "Restoration" sounded grand and exciting, but even a political novice like her could foresee the difficulties and dangers hidden within it.
She had already experienced the perverted degree of this game. The previous mission "Becoming a Princess" almost caused the death of her and Zhao Congyun, and also cost the lives of Jiang Huan and Xing'er. Judging from the escalating difficulty of the mission, she didn't dare to think about the consequences of the "reset" path.
The north wind is howling outside, but no matter how small the inn is, it is still a safe haven where we can live in this vast world.
Yue Mingming silently counted the people who stayed by her side - Zhao Congyun, Uncle Dong, Anian, and Su Dingrou in the distance... She couldn't lose any of them again!
She asked slowly, "Do you realize how dangerous this is? Even if things didn't work out before, you could still use the excuse of 'blood ties' to contain the Emperor. But in the eyes of those rebels, your royal blood is a reason to eradicate them completely. You can't even hide, so why are you actively courting death?"
Zhao Congyun tightened his grip on the cup, his eyes flickering for a rare moment: "...I know, but I can't just ignore it."
"You're just going to listen to your brother?" Yue Mingming said angrily. "He was so suspicious of you before. If he hadn't known Lord Fan was planning a rebellion, he might have fulfilled their wish and had you executed! Now Baba is using you as a pawn, using you as a tool! He's got his own kingdom and his own son. Why should he want you to clear the way for him?"
In connection with the story told to her by Nanny Sun in the palace, Yue Mingming deeply felt that Zhao Congyun was essentially lacking in love and could not stand the slightest kindness from others. No matter how others let him down, as long as they turned around and apologized, he would still be willing to die for others.
He treated Emperor Zhaoming like this, so why didn't he treat himself the same way?
Thinking of this, she felt ashamed and her voice softened again: "We will stay in the borderland and take care of Ah Nian until he grows up well. This will be considered as our responsibility to your royal brother and sister Jiang Huan."
Raising children is hard work, okay!
Zhao Congyun listened to her silently without refutation. He turned around and asked, "Uncle Dong, you think so too, right?"
Uncle Dong was stunned and immediately denied it: "I will obey the prince's orders in everything! If the prince is determined, even if it means going through mountains of swords and seas of fire, all the secret guards and I will not refuse!"
Yue Mingming was greatly shocked, and her eyes almost rolled up to the sky - who was it that looked so worried and hesitant just now? If she wasn't afraid of embarrassing Uncle Dong, would she have spoken first without caring about the consequences?
Now, he has become a loyal and righteous servant. He foolishly told a lot of truths, and every word hit at Zhao Congyun's sore spot. He must be extremely disappointed in himself!
As expected of an old fox working under a little fox! Shameless!
Zhao Congyun lowered his eyes, pondered for a long time, and said solemnly to Yue Mingming, "Don't worry, although the road ahead is dangerous, I swear to heaven that I will protect you and Ah Nian."
Well! In Zhao Congyun's eyes, she really became a coward who was afraid of death!
Yue Mingming wasn't moved at all. Instead, she felt a little angry and aggrieved. She thought, "Does he really look down on her like that? This idiot...does he even know what she's worried about?"
She took a deep breath and said with a smile, "Since Your Majesty has said so, I feel relieved! I've read in history books that battles for the throne are always extremely tragic, especially for the losing side...
"But I'm curious. If Your Highness fails, how will you guarantee the safety of Anian and me? As your accomplices, what will become of us? Has Your Highness ever considered this? Has Your Highness ever cared about this? Has Your Highness ever been afraid?"
Zhao Congyun was stunned for a moment, his throat rolling, but he was defeated by Yue Mingming's aggressive gaze and couldn't say a word.
Yue Mingming suppressed his smile. "There's one more thing... Have you ever thought about why Sister Jiang Huan and Xing'er went to so much trouble to raise Ah Nian as a girl? Maybe they just wanted the child to live a good life, not to become a crown prince or emperor!"
Zhao Congyun's face turned pale, but he still tried to remain calm and patiently explained, "They might have planned this in the past, but in the end, Jiang Huan revealed the secret before she died... Maybe she changed her mind... I even suspect that from the beginning to the end, they never completely gave up on restoring Ah Nian's identity!"
"If they just wanted to raise their child safely, why did they go to the capital? Why did they seek revenge? Of all the princes and nobles, why did Jiang Huan go to such great lengths to find me?"
He didn't want to argue with Yue Mingming, so he tried to keep his tone gentle, but his anxious tone still revealed his hidden desire.
He didn't expect her support, but he needed her understanding very much.
Zhao Congyun was unwilling to admit that he had felt guilty from the moment he made up his mind. He had always felt that he was born into an imperial family and that this was his fate, but this time he could not be without regrets.
He resented his brother's lack of trust in him, resented those treacherous villains who had made the court a mess, and resented himself even more for not learning his lesson, for giving up his peaceful life and repeatedly putting himself and those around him in danger.
Of course he thought of a better way.
If Ah Nian was as helpless as he was, then at least, to be on the safe side, he should have sent Yue Mingming away completely. He had hesitated since leaving the palace, repeatedly struggling with the issue all the way, but ultimately, selfish motives got the better of him and he couldn't let her go.
Yue Mingming was absolutely right! He deserved the scolding!
Finally, he said dejectedly, "I'm sorry, I didn't think it through... I'll think about this matter carefully."
Uncle Dong also tried to smooth things over, saying, "Madam Yue, calm down. The prince was in such a hurry and had no time to rest. His mind is confused. Please give him some time to think."
These words were spoken in a way that was both derogatory and praising, and seemed to be a complaint, but in fact, every word was filled with heartfelt concern for his prince.
Yue Mingming knew what Zhao Congyun was thinking, but she didn't want to see him take such a risk. Since he had agreed to take a long-term approach, it meant there was still room for maneuver. She stopped pestering him and walked down the stairs, saying, "I'm too lazy to talk to you. I'm going to go see Ah Nian."
Zhao Congyun followed her obviously thinner figure and silently swallowed a mouthful of tea.
The tea provided in the inn was of poor quality to begin with, and tasted even worse after it cooled. Zhao Congyun only felt that the taste spread from his lips and teeth all the way down to his internal organs, and it was indescribably bitter.
Uncle Dong was about to go find the waiter to make fresh tea, but Zhao Congyun stopped him and started discussing the next arrangements for the secret guards. Unexpectedly, not long after, the waiter came running over, not only bringing fresh tea, but also a bowl of steaming sweet-scented osmanthus porridge with two fried eggs.
The osmanthus porridge was pretty standard, but the fried egg was hard to describe - the yolk was not fully cooked, and the presentation was even more bizarre, with two eggs arranged to look like two eyes, and a smiling mouth squeezed out from underneath with red chili sauce.
You can tell at a glance who did this.
Zhao Congyun took it, pondered for a long time, and took a cautious bite. Uncle Dong stared at him nervously, as if his prince was testing the poison on himself.
"Hmm...it actually tastes pretty good." Although Zhao Congyun was not used to eating half-cooked fried eggs, he didn't dare to let someone down.
The waiter next to him looked at him expectantly, as if to say, "I won't leave until you finish your meal." Zhao Congyun had no choice but to bite the bullet and take another bite. Then...his face flushed all the way to his neck.
"What's wrong?!" Uncle Dong stood up and went back to his room to get medicine.
Zhao Congyun grabbed him and shook his head with difficulty: "It's okay...it's the sauce...it's too spicy."
The waiter chuckled and said proudly, "Of course! Our chef is from Shuzhong, and this is his hometown's secret hot sauce. It's incredible! When the young lady heard about it, she specially chose this one. She said you like spicy food!"
Zhao Congyun's face broke out in sweat instantly. Unfortunately, the pot of cold tea on the table was poured out by Uncle Dong and replaced with a pot of boiling hot tea. When he was at a loss, he glanced at the stairs and saw a figure suddenly retract its peeping head.
The veins on his forehead were throbbing and his mouth seemed to be on fire. However, the dark clouds in his heart just now quietly dissipated in this prank.
Zhao Congyun let out a breath. It was not until this moment that he realized that he was finally back with her.
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