Chapter 265 Nian Qing
As soon as Su Qingwan returned to the palace, she immediately sent someone to look for Lu Nianqing. During this period of time, Lu Nianqing followed General Xiaoning all day long, concentrating on learning how to manage the army.
Marching and fighting is not just about wielding swords and guns, but also about the transportation of supplies and logistics support. Except for coming back every morning to have breakfast with Su Qingwan, he was busy running around outside the rest of the time.
Su Qingwan once took Lu Nianqing to pay homage to the Huainan people, but regarding the important matter of recognizing their ancestors, the aunt and niece had a tacit understanding and tacitly agreed not to mention it.
Lu Nianqing is thirteen years old this year, and looks a bit like the prince of Huainan. He has been pampered since childhood, and as a descendant of Huainan, he has a slender and upright figure. He is already taller than his peers, and he has grown even taller this year. Now he is half a head taller than Su Qingwan. From a distance, he looks like an eighteen-year-old boy full of vigor and vitality.
However, upon closer inspection, his face still looked a little childish. Fortunately, he had received a strict upbringing since childhood, and his gestures were full of a majestic aura, which diluted some of his childishness.
Su Qingwan's memory of family affection seemed to remain in the past decade. Whenever the seven-year-old girl, trapped in the past, looked at Lu Nianqing, she seemed to see her brother walking towards her, and her heart was filled with mixed emotions of sadness and joy.
That day, she took Nianqing for a slow walk in the palace garden. Lu Nianqing knew that her aunt must have something important to say, so she followed quietly and waited patiently for her to speak.
In fact, they were very familiar with each other. Su Qingwan often went up the mountain to visit Lu Nianqing as the eldest princess's confidant, more often than the eldest princess and the Lu family. During the years when Lu Nianqing practiced martial arts in the mountains, the exquisite double swordsmanship in his hands was taught by Su Qingwan herself, which was a unique skill passed down by the Su family.
"My aunt sent you a letter to summon you back to Huainan. It happened suddenly. Originally, I planned to discuss all matters in Huainan with you after the national mourning period was over. I thought that you could travel around and relax during this year. But now Lu Jing has come to Huainan and discussed with me the ownership of the Huainan fiefdom and the pros and cons. Now there are only two of us, aunt and niece, left in the palace. I also want to hear what you really think." Su Qingwan broke the silence first and said softly.
Lu Nianqing fell into a long silence after hearing this. Whether it was the eldest princess or Su Qingwan, they both overlooked a very crucial thing.
Since childhood, Lu Nianqing has believed that he is the blood of the princess and the Lu family. No one has ever told him his true origins - he is actually the blood of Huainan. In order to prevent him from establishing too deep an emotional connection with the Lu family, the princess was cruel and sent him to the mountains to practice martial arts when he was three years old.
This was too cruel for the young Lu Nianqing. He grew up almost alone in the mountains, and rarely saw his family all year round. He was lonely and confused. For a long time, he felt that he was abandoned by his mother and could only fend for himself on this lonely mountain.
"Aunt, I have always wanted to travel around the world because I am so confused and don't know where to go. I often feel that I am a superfluous person in this world. I should not have been born, but was brought into this world by my mother and the current situation. Later, she exiled me to the mountains to practice martial arts and rarely came to see me. When I was a child, I missed her very much, and I also wanted to..." Lu Nianqing paused slightly when he said this. He knew in his heart that Huainan and the Lu family were sworn enemies, but he knew nothing about his life experience since he was a child, and the Lu family treated him very well. Prime Minister Lu and his son-in-law had high hopes for him, and they often quarreled with the eldest princess in order to get him back to the Lu family.
In Lu Nianqing's memory, the Lu family seemed to love him more than his mother, and hoped that he could grow up by their side.
He had always believed this when he was a child. "I really don't understand why my mother doesn't want me to have too much contact with the Lu family, and even hates me getting close to them. But emotionally, I can't give up my attachment to her. So, I once suspected that I might not be of the Lu family's blood, but I never dared to ask. I could only pretend that I didn't notice anything. Anyway, I only stayed in the capital for a few days a year, so there was no need to think too much. But in fact, deep down in my heart, I could never identify myself. I had no idea who I was and what I was. There are so many relatives around me, but I feel that no one is close to me. The person my mother cares about most is my uncle, and the prince consort has so many children. If there is one more of me... Not many, but one less of me is enough. One New Year's Eve, the snow on the mountain was too thick, so I couldn't go back to Kyoto and had to celebrate the New Year alone in the mountain. But strangely, I felt very calm, even relieved. That was the most comfortable New Year's Eve I ever spent. I didn't have to go to the Lu family to face a group of strange faces, nor did I have to put on a forced smile in front of my mother. The Lu family was still harmonious without me. My mother would go to the palace to spend the New Year with my uncle, and I didn't seem to matter to anyone. In this way, I spent ten years in a daze, until later, I realized my life experience, and my previous suspicions came true. I also secretly checked the past of my mother and... my father. "
Su Qingwan listened, her lips moved, wanting to say something, but swallowed it back, her heart full of heartache for Nianqing. Over the years, she and the princess had indeed neglected Nianqing. He was so young, but he had endured so much alone, and on his road to growth, no relatives were by his side.
"I heard from the maid in the mansion that my mother had a difficult labor when she gave birth to me. My uncle wanted to save her, but she insisted on giving birth to me. At least... I came into this world because of my parents' love. I can also understand my mother's helpless actions over the years. She sent me away to protect me. But, aunt... who can understand the loneliness of me living alone in the mountains all these years?"
Lu Nianqing was very calm from beginning to end. In Su Qingwan's eyes, he was more mature and stable than his peers, and rarely had the willful temper of ordinary children. A boy of twelve or thirteen should be naughty and disliked, but he was sensible and distressing. At a young age, he was responsible and never acted recklessly.
"Nianqing, auntie..." Su Qingwan wanted to say something to comfort him, but she couldn't say it. Over the years, she had been wandering around, working hard to redress Huainan's injustice, and she really didn't care about Nianqing.
Lu Nianqing sighed softly and said in a low voice: "When my aunt sent me a message, I didn't really want to inherit Huainan. Although I am of Huainan's bloodline, I am too unfamiliar with Huainan. There is no emotional foundation at all. Such a heavy past and responsibility are weighing on me. I am afraid I can't bear it."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
