Chapter 132
The rest was none of Qin Su's or Ye Yan's business; they were too young to be involved in these events.
Emperor Jingxi summoned several people to the Imperial Study, whose names all indicated they were important officials, presumably to discuss how to proceed with this matter.
As they approached the palace, Emperor Jingxi said to Ye Yan, "Logically, the credit for this matter belongs to you, but it's not advisable to make it public..."
He pondered for a moment and asked, "I may bestow this upon the General's Mansion, or we can discuss your merits together when you grow up. What do you think?"
The rewards given to the general's mansion could only be some gold, silver, jewelry, and other valuables.
After all, Ye Yan's father was a Grand General who could not be granted any further titles, his mother also held an imperial title, and his elder brother was capable enough that he did not need Ye Yan's help or support.
Ye Yan certainly wouldn't choose this; he wanted to accumulate merit, and besides...
He glanced at Qin Su beside him, and then thought about how much Emperor Jingxi valued Qin Su, and felt the pressure more than a decade in advance.
Perhaps he needs to think about how to accumulate more merit.
When Emperor Jingxi heard Ye Yan say he would choose the second option, he was unaware that Ye Yan had already planned for events more than a decade in advance. He chuckled and said, "Not bad, you have ambition. I believe you will be extraordinary in the future."
Zhao Changde, standing nearby, chuckled and said, "General Ye certainly knows how to raise children."
Qin Su raised her chin slightly: "My father also knows how to raise children!"
Zhao Changde was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter.
Ye Yan couldn't help but chuckle and said, "Then my father is indeed not as good at raising children as His Majesty."
Qin Su comforted him considerately, "That's your father's problem, not yours. Don't be sad."
Emperor Jingxi couldn't help himself this time. He pinched her cheek and laughed, "Don't talk nonsense. Aren't you ashamed to praise yourself?"
Qin Su grumbled, "Well, I'm praising Father Emperor too."
Everyone burst into laughter.
After arriving at the palace, Emperor Jingxi and Zhao Changde went to the Imperial Study to discuss matters, while Qin Su and Ye Yan headed towards Zhaoning Palace.
The palace maids and eunuchs followed at a distance, while Qin Su whispered to Ye Yan.
"I thought about a lot of things while we were on the city wall," Qin Su told him, sharing her confusion.
Why is a locust plague considered a bad thing, yet officials use it to sing praises? Why is this top-down influence so pervasive, yet no one questions it? Why are ordinary people genuinely happy about it?
After listening, Ye Yan did not rush to answer, but asked, "Your Highness usually consults His Majesty directly when you have questions. Why didn't you mention it to His Majesty this time?"
Qin Su hesitated for a moment, looked back and saw that none of the palace servants had followed, and then whispered to Ye Yan, "Grand Tutor Zhao taught me that the kinship between the imperial family and the common people is different. My father and I were first ruler and subject, and then father and daughter. However, I am still young, so the father-daughter relationship is far stronger than that between ruler and subject. But as I grow up, I must be careful to maintain the proper boundaries and pay attention to the changing relationship between my father and me."
“I don’t think Father Emperor seems to think there’s anything wrong with it. I have a feeling that maybe we shouldn’t ask him about this,” she said with keen intuition. “Besides, Grand Tutor also said that I can listen to different people’s opinions when I encounter problems.”
Ye Yan was surprised that Zhao Changde had taught Qin Su these things so early: "Won't Your Highness be saddened by what Lord Zhao said?"
Qin Su asked curiously, "Why should I be sad?"
"Because many people believe that true intimacy is being yourself in front of the other person without having to think," Ye Yan said. "If there are concerns or need to think things through, then it means you are not close enough. Your Highness and His Majesty have a deep father-daughter relationship, yet Lord Zhao teaches Your Highness these things. I think Your Highness will feel sad."
Qin Su thought for a moment and said, "I don't think so."
"I think Grand Tutor Zhao is right. No matter how close the relationship or how trusted the person is, we should pay attention to how we get along. This is not a sign of estrangement; on the contrary, it is a sign of cherishing each other."
"Let alone getting along with others, even when I'm alone, I need to examine myself three times a day and think about myself. How can I not consider how I get along with others? It's strange to not consider the other person and yet expect them to accept my unbridled self."
Qin Su turned her head and looked up at Ye Yan, who was much taller than her, and said seriously, "If I have no scruples about others, it means that they are not important to me. If they are important, I will definitely have scruples and put in effort."
Ye Yan stopped in his tracks without realizing it, staring at her blankly: "You... have you always thought this way?"
He discovered that bouquet of dried roses in the previous world, but never asked Qin Su about it. Qin Su knew he knew, but never mentioned it.
But in Ye Yan's heart, that bouquet of dried roses held extraordinary significance.
It is the moon's reflection, the fragrance of flowers, the fishing rod dangling below the water's surface, the vast net, and above all, proof of Qin Su's feelings for him.
But it was one thing for him to have guessed it, and hearing Qin Su say it now brought him a different kind of joy.
"That's always been my thought." Qin Su stood opposite him, her eyelashes fluttering twice as she stared at him. "Why do you have that expression?"
Ye Yan revealed an expression that seemed to both want to sigh and laugh.
He squatted down and said to Qin Su, "I really don't know if what you're doing is a punishment or a reward from heaven."
He carries all his memories, trapped in a child's body with the soul of an adult, and must wait for more than ten years until Qin Su grows up—this is his punishment.
But Qin Su, having lost her memory, shed all the mystery and ambiguity of the past, becoming more innocent and open than ever before. Ye Yan was able to get closer to her and understand her as he accompanied her through her growth, which was another reward.
Qin Su frowned her delicate eyebrows: "What reward or punishment? What are you talking about?"
Ye Yan said, half-jokingly, "I'm talking about meeting you."
Qin Su opened her eyes wide, her clean and beautiful pupils filled with accusation and dissatisfaction: "Is there any need to question this? Of course it's a reward, and if it's a punishment, then it's a punishment for me."
Ye Yan chuckled.
Even though Qin Su had no memory of it, she became more and more like herself over time.
Ye Yan asked, "Why is this punishment for you?"
Qin Su said matter-of-factly, "I didn't need any friends before, but you met me, so I have a friend now, which means I have an extra weakness. Isn't that punishment?"
Ye Yan was speechless for a moment, then said, "If that's the case, it seems to make some sense. It's like when the Seven Fairies met Dong Yong. Although they found love, they also turned from goddesses into humans."
Upon hearing the new terms, Qin Su immediately asked with interest, "Who are the Seven Fairies? And who is Dong Yong?"
In Ye Yan's memory, this story existed in ancient times, but he didn't know if there was such a legend in Dayu. So he picked her up and walked towards Zhaoning Palace while telling her this myth.
There are many versions of this story, and Ye Yan is telling the version he saw in his childhood in modern times.
Qin Su was shocked to hear that the Jade Emperor had given Dong Yong two choices: he could cultivate to become an immortal, or the Seventh Fairy Maiden could remove his immortal bones and become a mortal. Dong Yong chose to become a mortal with the Seventh Fairy Maiden.
"Didn't he love the Seven Fairy Maidens? Why would he rather let them suffer like this than cultivate immortality?"
Ye Yan replied, "I don't know either, but people always have some flaws. Perhaps he simply can't bear the pain of cultivating immortality, or perhaps he's worried that during the long process of cultivating immortality, the Seven Fairies will no longer like him, and he will lose love."
Qin Su said indignantly, "Then he really is a bad person."
She also told Ye Yan, "You mustn't become such a bad person when you grow up."
Ye Yan joked, "I don't want to either, but I don't know what I'll become when I grow up. What if I become a bad person too?"
Qin Su said, "Then I'll keep an eye on you and supervise you."
Ye Yan stepped into Zhaoning Palace, placed Qin Su on the swing in the courtyard, and asked with a smile, "Is it that scary? How long are you going to keep an eye on her?"
Hearing him say it was scary, Qin Su sat on the swing and swung her legs triumphantly: "That depends on how you perform!"
"I'm willing to wait a little longer."
"Wow, you're so weird, you actually like being watched!"
...
A group of palace servants standing under the eaves in the distance looked at the two people not far away with mournful expressions.
"Sister Qingmei," a eunuch said with a mournful face, "Isn't Young Master Ye supposed to be your study companion? How come he's taking your job of carrying the princess and my job of swinging the swing? How am I supposed to live like this?"
Qingmei looked speechless: "Don't ask me, I don't know either."
Actually, she was also quite annoyed. This young master Ye was too diligent, as if he wanted to take care of everything around the princess. She had never seen such a companion before!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com