Chapter 69
Mrs. Chen's guess was further confirmed.
She had long noticed that Yue Mingming was not an ordinary girl. She was abandoned in a dry well in the middle of the night. This act of destroying the body and covering up the evidence was either a revenge killing or a murder of passion.
And looking at Yue Mingming's face, the possibility of a murder of passion is certainly higher.
I think it was some rich, unfaithful man who played with people's feelings and didn't want to take responsibility, and finally decided to "deal with" the trouble in this way - this is how it was played out in the storybooks.
Mrs. Chen just didn't expect that the "heartless man" was actually the unattainable Regent!
The timing is perfect! Mrs. Chen thought angrily, otherwise why would this happen just when he came to Lingzhou?
She advised sincerely, "Sister, if it were anyone else, I would have gone with you to settle the score with him... But the man you've offended is not one we ordinary people can afford to offend. Listen to my advice, forget about him, and live a good life from now on... I know a lot of brothers in the Mu family army, and I will definitely help you find a suitable husband!"
Yue Mingming didn't listen at all and just murmured, "I don't believe it."
Even if it was her fault, she disappeared for two years.
It’s only been two years. Is it possible to forget someone so easily?
"Sister, you must be mistaken."
Mrs. Chen sighed and said, "My husband saw it with his own eyes, how could it be fake? The princess was dressed in silk and satin, looking very noble. The child is about two years old, a son!" She glanced at Yue Mingming cautiously and said, "Sister, you have no chance!"
When Yue Mingming heard the words "the child is two years old," her mind went blank. She was stunned for a moment, then suddenly stood up and said, "No, I have to go check it out!" She walked out in a daze, but was stopped by Mrs. Chen.
Seeing her like this, Mrs. Chen knew that no matter how she tried to persuade her, it would be useless. She would not give up unless she saw it with her own eyes. So she thought for a moment and said, "Where are you going to find someone in the middle of the night? I have to go to the military camp to deliver food at noon tomorrow, so I can take you in."
"But you have to promise me that you can only look at her from afar, and don't rush over and try to kill yourself, otherwise we'll both get beaten!"
Seeing that Yue Mingming didn't say anything, Mrs. Chen assumed that she agreed, so she took the initiative to find some clean clothes for her to change into, and also made the bedding for her.
"Go to sleep first. We'll talk about it tomorrow, no matter how big the problem is!"
Yue Mingming lay down quietly like a puppet. She thought she would suffer from insomnia, but unexpectedly, she closed her eyes and fell asleep soon.
All the old friends are there in my dreams.
Everything is still the same as it was at the beginning.
*
Zhao Congyun sat in the middle, looking at the friendly faces in the tent that he remembered, now filled with vigilance, pity, or guilt... and suddenly felt extremely bored.
He had had enough of this childish game of venting his anger.
What on earth am I doing here?
"Lingzhou's military affairs can be handled by the old general and the young marshal. There's no need to report to me." Zhao Congyun suddenly said, "Since you've delayed too long, I will depart for the capital today."
In fact, the return trip to Beijing was originally scheduled for two days later, but Uncle Dong was well prepared. He could see that his prince's forced momentum could collapse at any time.
"I'll arrange it right away." Uncle Dong left first. Zhao Congyun signed a few documents and nodded slightly to Mu Yun. It was the most polite scene he had shown in these days.
Mu Yunqing lowered her eyes and didn't look at him.
Zhao Congyun was slightly stunned. Just as a self-deprecating smile appeared on the corner of his lips, he saw Mu Yunqing kneel down without saying a word: "Please forgive me, Your Majesty."
"Forget it..." Zhao Congyun thought Mu Yunqing was still blaming himself for what happened that year.
Mu Yun shook his head lightly: "I'm not apologizing for two years ago, but now!"
"I would like to plead for Huo Lianying's wife, Mrs. Pei, can she see the child?"
Following his words, everyone knelt down in the tent. More than ten lieutenant generals said nothing, but just silently supported their young commander.
Everyone looked at Zhao Congyun.
Zhao Congyun was unexpectedly calm.
In fact, he already had a premonition in his heart.
When they set out in the morning, Li Pingru followed them with the child in a domineering manner. Li Pingru had dressed the child extra grandly today, and Mu Yunqing seemed preoccupied the entire morning...
"What if I don't agree?" Zhao Congyun said lightly.
Mu Yunqing didn't answer and didn't stand up.
It seemed as if everyone was going to keep kneeling like this.
Zhao Congyun pushed open the tent door and saw a plainly dressed woman kneeling in the center of the empty and solemn martial arts arena. She was too far away to make out her features, but her slender figure stirred a hidden memory deep within him.
Zhao Congyun turned his face away, unable to watch any further.
He walked towards a carriage that had been parked for a long time. He lifted the curtain, and Li Pingru led the child inside. Zhao Congyun reached out and took the child in his arms, then slowly walked to the woman's side.
The woman clearly heard the footsteps and even the child's unique murmur, but she never looked up, only her back trembled constantly.
Zhao Congyun leaned over and gently placed the child in front of her: "Leave Lingzhou, change your surname, and don't let me find you again."
Amid the woman's desperately suppressed sobs and everyone's meaningful gazes, Zhao Congyun left alone and never looked back.
*
Everyone in the court knew that what was worse than the Regent's temper was his drinking capacity.
Zhao Congyun, however, was a relatively good drinker. No matter how much he drank, he wouldn't act irrationally or behave in a rude manner. He was even more amiable than usual. For him, drinking meant sleep, and also escape. Only when a certain emotion overwhelmed him, when he couldn't bear it any more, would he have a few drinks and get completely drunk.
That's the case today.
After leaving the Lingzhou camp, he headed straight for the winery. Before getting drunk, he sent someone to give Uncle Dong his address. He hoped to be on his way back to Beijing when he opened his eyes again. As for Lingzhou... he never wanted to set foot there again.
As he wished - when he woke up, Zhao Congyun found himself in a moving carriage.
The interior of the carriage was as luxurious as before, with books neatly stacked and the heater burning brightly. He was covered with a black fur cloak. Everything was familiar and appropriate.
But Zhao Congyun always felt that something had changed.
He stood up, holding his forehead, reached for the teacup and drank it all, then was slightly stunned.
It was not the hangover soup that Uncle Dong usually prepared for him, but a bowl of sweet honey green tea.
This is definitely not something Uncle Dong would come up with!
Zhao Congyun immediately thought of Li Pingru. Perhaps because of the Huo family's affairs, she felt indebted and wanted to show her goodwill.
Zhao Congyun didn't want to pay attention to her, but after drinking this bowl of honey tea, he did not feel so uncomfortable anymore, so he paused and drank another cup silently.
The dizziness gradually faded, and memories surfaced. Zhao Congyun realized that something was wrong in the carriage.
odor!
Not only is it not unfamiliar, it is too familiar!
It was the pine snow scent he was used to.
But since the palace coup two years ago, he only used sandalwood for worshiping Buddha. Those incense balls full of the scent of the past were sealed in the ginseng garden and never touched again.
Who is it...
Zhao Congyun stared at the incense ball that had not yet burned out in the stove, and his heart was suddenly filled with turmoil.
In the entire mansion, besides himself, he had only given this incense pill to two people: Uncle Dong and Yue Mingming.
A certain image flashed through his mind. Two years had not faded it, but made it as clear as yesterday, because it was a scene he often dreamed of - a snowy night, the cold wind was whistling against the window frames, he was reading at the desk, and she was dozing off beside him with a hand warmer, euphemistically calling it "reading companionship".
At that time, Zhao Congyun deliberately angered her by saying that her snoring was too loud. Yue Mingming was shocked and embarrassed, and threw the hand warmer at her without any hesitation. Zhao Congyun took it lightly, felt the temperature, added a fragrant pill, and handed it back.
Yue Mingming took it and smelled the scent. His anger instantly subsided, but his cheeks flushed slightly. That was his scent.
"What kind of fragrance is this? It smells quite nice." Yue Mingming asked curiously.
"I made it for fun." Zhao Congyun held the book in front of him, covering the slightly curved corners of his lips.
"Can you teach me how to do it?"
"Yes. I'll teach you someday when I'm free."
…………
He ultimately failed to fulfill his promise. The student ran away, so what could the teacher do?
"Who... who is outside?" Zhao Congyun inexplicably came up with a guess that even he himself thought was outrageous, and asked in a hoarse voice.
No one answered. The carriage continued to gallop.
Through the thick curtains, he could clearly feel someone sitting there.
Zhao Congyun suddenly lifted the curtain of the carriage, and what hit him head-on was the silent and boundless night of the border and the particularly chilly spring breeze.
Only then did he realize that this was the only carriage traveling around him. The bumpy ride told him that this was definitely not the official road back to Beijing.
"Who are you?" After Zhao Congyun's eyes adjusted to the darkness around him, he immediately grabbed the figure driving the coach in front of him.
The man didn't look back, but the car suddenly shook at this moment. The horse was frightened and neighed. The driver held the reins tightly and barely saved the car from the edge of overturning.
Zhao Congyun was already dizzy after sobering up, and his whole body felt like it was falling apart and he had no strength to move. The sudden bump made him fall back into the car in an instant, knocking over a pile of books.
"Hey...are you okay?" A panicked but concerned voice came from outside.
Zhao Congyun covered his ribs where he was hit and couldn't say a word.
He wondered blankly, was he crazy, or was he dreaming? Otherwise, how could he hear Yue Mingming's voice?
He also imagined that she had added the scented pills, and even the cup of honey green tea was suddenly tainted with her scent.
The little carriage seemed to have driven back two years.
She is everywhere.
Seeing that he didn't say anything, the car finally stopped. There was a long silence between the two sides of the car curtain.
It feels like being homesick.
A soft sigh came from outside: "I wanted to give you a surprise, but it turned out like this..."
Zhao Congyun reached out his hand several times, then finally let it go dejectedly. His eyes gradually grew hot, his throat boiling, and he finally uttered a half-incoherent question: "...You...are back?"
"Well, I'm back!"
A slender hand, slightly red from the cold, reached in and lifted the curtain high. Zhao Congyun saw the face he had been thinking about day and night.
As bright as golden osmanthus, as bright as the moon.
In those sparkling eyes, there was a longing that he could not bear, and a love that he dared not let down.
The next second, fireworks lit up the sky behind her, and Zhao Congyun could see clearly that they were on the newly built dam in Lingzhou.
Clusters of huge bright lights exploded in the night sky, with a roar that was endless. It was even more grand and splendid than the one he had prepared for her that year.
But all that was reflected in Zhao Congyun's eyes was her face.
Soon, the light gradually faded, and the world returned to silence. Yue Mingming scratched his head, a little embarrassed. "Uncle Dong and Mu Yunqing prepared this for me... We were pressed for time, so this is all we could come up with. I'll save up for a bigger batch for Mid-Autumn Festival this year!"
Seeing that he remained silent, she finally became a little anxious: "I admit that it was my fault for disappearing for two years, but there was a reason for that—"
"Are you still leaving?" Zhao Congyun interrupted her in a trembling voice.
"Um... probably... not anymore..."
Before she could finish her words, she was pulled into his arms. The embrace got closer and closer, and her heartbeat beside her ears was like a drum, which was a confession more sincere than a thousand words.
"I'm sorry to have kept you waiting so long."
"……It doesn't matter."
As long as she comes back, he is willing to forgive the whole world.
(End of full text)
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