"Is it because that person has a grudge against you that they deliberately stole this official position to annoy you?" Liu Zhishan's eyes flashed.
"Probably not, I haven't offended anyone." Ever since she framed the Ning family for treason, she has had almost no contact with her former friends.
She now spends her days in the inner palace, which is the Empress's territory. The Empress has never liked her, so no matter how high her status is, she can only behave herself.
Moreover, she is now a widow.
She was often unconsciously overlooked at many celebratory occasions in the palace.
So she's had enough of this kind of life.
"Zhishan, when can we go public? If we delay any longer, I won't be able to have children." She's already getting old, and if we delay any longer, she'll be too old.
The eldest son of the Ning family has been dead for so long; even if we were to observe mourning for him, that would be enough time. "How much longer do we need to continue this clandestine practice?"
"This will take some time." Liu Zhishan frowned, looking somewhat troubled.
"Why? Am I, Princess Shangyin, not worthy of being seen by others?" Shangyin pushed Liu Zhishan away. She had already endured so much for him for so many years.
Should we continue to endure this?
"I don't want to go on like this anymore. If you don't want to be with me, let's part ways amicably."
"Of course not." Liu Zhishan pulled Shang Yin back and held her in his arms. "Of course that's not what I meant. Don't you know how much I like you?"
"How should I know? You always say that, but you never give me a promise. How long do you want me to wait?" Shang Yin struggled a couple more times. "What kind of person do you take me for?"
"I'd give up my life for you, so what do you think I've taken you for?"
The monk Liu Zhishan and I met relatively recently.
To be precise, when they first met, Shang Yin had not yet married his elder brother; the imperial decree had just been issued, and the two had just become engaged.
Shang Yin did not object. The eldest son of the Ning family was young and promising, the object of many girls' dreams in the capital. She enjoyed the feeling of being envied, but she felt a little uneasy.
I always feel a little regretful that I haven't experienced the love stories in the novels.
Shang Yin has always enjoyed going to the Great Buddha Temple to listen to Zen teachings.
Of course, saying she was going to listen to Zen teachings was probably just a way to have fun. After all, with her carefree and unconventional personality, how could she possibly understand Zen principles?
Since it didn't cause too much trouble, the Emperor and Empress Dowager turned a blind eye.
However, one day when she went out, she unfortunately encountered bandits.
The bandits were extremely fierce; they not only robbed them of all their belongings, but also tried to forcibly take Shangyin back to be their chieftain's wife.
Shang was terrified.
At that moment, Liu Zhishan, who happened to be passing by, saved her.
Liu Zhishan was stabbed twice while trying to save her and almost died.
At that time, Liu Zhishan, who was on the verge of death, held Shang Yin's hand, his eyes filled with love, such intense affection that it almost drowned her.
He confessed his love with deep affection.
Tell Shang Yin that he has been secretly in love with her for a long time, and that he has cherished her in his heart ever since they first met.
Shang Yin had always fantasized about the love stories in storybooks.
I was immediately moved to tears.
Later, they often met secretly at the Great Buddha Temple. Although they never went all the way, they did everything they should and shouldn't have done.
At this point, Shang Yin, deeply in love, was no longer satisfied with sneaking around.
She wanted Liu Zhishan to marry her.
It was at this moment that Liu Zhishan told her, his face contorted with pain.
He was already married before he met her.
He was a newly appointed Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations), and he was already the son-in-law of Jiang Sheng, the Vice Minister of Revenue, after the list of successful candidates for the imperial examinations was compiled.
Shang Yin was naturally in a state of utter confusion. She never imagined that she would end up having an affair with a married man.
"Divorce her and marry me."
“Shangyin, I can’t do that. Vice Minister Jiang has been kind to me, and I absolutely cannot be an ungrateful person.”
Upon hearing Liu Zhishan's words, Shang Yin immediately stood up and left.
She never saw Liu Zhishan again until she married into the Ning family.
Unfortunately, Shang Yin still couldn't escape Liu Zhishan in the end.
After going through many twists and turns, the two of them got together again, hiding it from everyone else.
The fundamental reason why Shang Yin agreed to cooperate with Emperor Chengye to frame the Ning family and have the entire Ning family executed was so that he could be with Liu Zhishan openly and legitimately.
As a result, she became a widow for several years, while Liu Zhishan had not divorced her and remained Jiang Shilang's son-in-law.
The two argued about this several times.
Amidst their bickering, they managed to recount the general events that had occurred in the past.
"So it turns out that Brother Ning has been wearing a green hat for so many years. He's really had a terrible time." Does the Emperor really have a grudge against their family? What kind of person did he bestow a marriage upon his elder brother?
Not only did he cheat on his older brother, but he also ruined his entire family.
Zhao Qingqi covered his mouth as he listened to the noise coming from the next room, his face filled with disbelief.
"Don't worry, I've specially treated this room. We can hear their voices, but they can't hear ours."
"Is this really Aunt Shangyin?"
Today, Ning Hong said she would take him out for a walk. They had just left the palace gate when they saw Shang Yin sneaking into an unfamiliar carriage.
Out of curiosity, he pulled Ning Hong along and followed behind, only to overhear such a thing.
He heard the word "framing".
"Was the Ning family wronged?"
Because Aunt Shang wanted to be with her lover, she conspired with her father, the Emperor, to kill the Ning family. "Why? The Ning family protected our Great Yin Empire, why did Father do this?"
"Hehe, why?" Ning Hong chuckled. "Why do you think it could be? Naturally, it's because your achievements are so great that they threaten the emperor's position."
"His achievements overshadowed the emperor?" Zhao Qingqi murmured these four words. "Just because of that?"
"Isn't that enough?"
Of course not.
Zhao Qingqi shook his head. "The Ning family are the war gods of our Great Yin. My father was wrong."
"If you were to ascend the throne, would you be willing to clear the Ning family's name and tell the whole world that your father was wrong?"
“I—” He wasn’t sure if he dared to.
Perhaps they dare not.
"It's okay, there's still time. You can think about it slowly." Seeing his conflicted expression and knowing that this might be his Acha, Ning Hong felt a little reluctant to pressure him.
"By the way, how do you know it won't be a problem to talk in this room?" Zhao Qingqi didn't know how to answer Ning Hongze's question, so he could only change the subject.
"It was a coincidence." This was the restaurant where he gathered intelligence; it was his property, so he naturally knew that, but there was no need to tell him that.
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