Zhao Shu remained silent, looking at her father, the Prince of Yong. He pulled Zhao Shu to his side and said indifferently, "Elder sister, what brings you to Guanzhou?"
Zhao Shu was startled by the term "elder sister." Jiang Yue was clearly an enemy, not a friend, yet she still called her "elder sister." Was her father too soft-hearted?
She looked at her father with suspicion, but before she could find the answer, Jiang Yue told her herself.
"Heh." She chuckled, then laughed a few more times, "Hehehe." The smile was extremely bitter. "Eldest sister? Hahahaha, eldest sister." She muttered to herself as if possessed, looking at Prince Yong with mockery. She was extremely averse to the words 'eldest sister,' as if they had touched a sore spot.
“Elder sister, if there is nothing else, please return home to serve your father-in-law. After all, in this world, your father-in-law loves you the most.” Prince Yong’s tone remained indifferent. Zhao Shu had observed carefully that back in the Marquis of Yiguang’s mansion, when her father saw Jiang Yue, he was momentarily dazed.
This time, however, there was none of that. But the large hand holding hers was trembling slightly, and her father was trying hard to control himself.
She gently patted Prince Yong's arm with her other hand and said softly, "My aunt came with Consort Hao. Consort Hao said that my aunt's birth chart is compatible with hers, and that with my aunt by her side, she can protect the imperial fetus."
Prince Yong glanced down at Zhao Shu and smoothed the fine hairs on her forehead. "Since you are the Consort's maid, go and do your work. Ah Jun, let's go."
Zhao Shu almost burst out laughing. Her gaze fell on Jiang Yue's pale face. But just one sentence and Mo Ran's attitude made her eyes well up with tears. She looked pitiful and choked out, "Huai Lang, do you really... really want to treat me like this?" Her aggrieved appearance was so pitiful that it seemed as if the whole world had hurt her.
Prince Yong ignored her and continued talking to Zhao Shu, "Ah Jun, when I was in Miao territory, the local officials there taught me to play the xun. I will teach you tomorrow."
“Father is lying. There are clearly many people in the Central Plains who can play the xun.” Zhao Shu exposed the excuse that Prince Yong had made up.
Prince Yong flicked her nose. "The local official came from the capital. After arriving in Miao territory, he invented a new way of playing the flute. Father found it quite novel and learned it."
Zhao Shu pouted with amusement, accepting his utterly ridiculous excuse, and the two crossed the river to enter Hanzhang Palace.
"Your Highness, don't you want to know where Song Tianhe is? Song Tianhe at Hangu Pass, Your Highness, the Song Tianhe that my second sister longed to find back then, have you forgotten? Don't you want to fulfill my second sister's last wish? Ironically, my second sister longed to find her lover, Song Tianhe." Jiang Yue turned around and said resentfully.
I don't know where she got so many tears, it seemed like they would never run out. Even when she stopped choking up, she could still cry nonstop, and big tears would fall from her eyes, making her cry very beautifully.
Zhao Shu turned around and said coldly, "Is Miss Jiang slandering my mother? Regardless of whether my mother has any lover, Miss Jiang is just arbitrarily slandering the first-rank princess of the court. I wonder what crime she should be charged with? People often say that blood relatives are connected even if their bones are broken. I wonder if Miss Jiang has ever regarded my mother as her own sister?"
However, Jiang Yue ignored Zhao Shu and stared straight at Prince Yong. Her tears flowed like the waters of the East Sea, endless and continuous. Her expression was so painful that she seemed to be suffocating. She was heartbroken and her liver and intestines were breaking.
Prince Yong said to Zhao Shu, "Ah Jun, be good, go back first, your father will be here soon." There were some sordid things he did not intend to tell Zhao Shu.
Zhao Shu naturally couldn't do this here, especially since she was no longer a child. She looked at her father, whose eyes were clear and not clouded, and felt relieved. She nodded and said, "Father, A-Jun has made you clothes and a purple-gold crown. You can wear it to pay your respects to Grandmother later."
"Alright." Prince Yong affectionately patted her head and pushed her out.
Zhao Shu stopped fooling around and quickly turned back. By the time she reached the corner, she could no longer hear any sound, but she saw Huo Baichuan waving at her.
She walked over, and Huo Baichuan lowered his voice, "Come with me."
He mysteriously turned to the other side, climbed over the wall, and entered Hanzhang Hall. Duozi held her in his arms, and with a leap, they jumped over the wall.
After climbing over the wall, Huo Baichuan had already gone quite a distance. Zhao Shu hurriedly followed. After a while, Huo Baichuan stopped under an osmanthus tree. Zhao Shu walked over and saw him holding a piece of dry grass in his mouth, making a shushing gesture.
Duozi waited at a distance, but in the blink of an eye, Zhao Shu disappeared, though she must have been somewhere nearby.
Suddenly, it was Prince Yong's voice that asked, "What do you want?"
Zhao Shu glanced at Huo Baichuan with disdain. So he was eavesdropping, which was exactly what she wanted.
Huo Baichuan didn't care about her eye roll and just listened quietly.
Jiang Yue remained silent for a long time, so Zhao Shu quietly asked Huo Baichuan, "Sir, this is not in accordance with your status."
"What's inconsistent? Consort Hao wants the Crown Prince dead, and she also wants to win over your father so she can deal with my Huo family. That's called knowing yourself and your enemy. Hmph, what a clever plan. She only knows how to use women to ruin things. She's spineless." He didn't name names, but that was enough to explain why he was there.
Zhao Shu was satisfied with this explanation. Anyone could see what Consort Hao and her group were planning. It was simple and crude. Had the battle already reached such a fever pitch?
Before she could continue, Jiang Yue finally spoke, her voice choked with sobs as she said, "Huai Lang truly loves Second Sister, loves her deeply. But what about me? Has Huai Lang ever had me in his heart?" She asked hysterically, her face hidden from view. If it were visible, it would surely be a face streaked with tears.
"I don't want to bring up what happened back then, elder sister..."
Before he could finish speaking, Jiang Yue interrupted him, "Huai Lang, do you know that it hurts me more to call me elder sister than to call me Miss Jiang? It was clearly me and you who came first, so why do you love my second sister more? My second sister and I look so alike, why do you only see her and not me?"
"Do you know how long I've been waiting, how much I've thought about you, how much I've longed for you to come and marry me, how much I've longed to see you? But it's been ten years, ten years!" she roared. "Ten years! I've waited for you for ten years! Why can't you see me, my love? How many decades does a woman have? My second sister has been dead for ten years! Why can't you change your mind?"
"Elder sister should know that you are only able to stand here today and question me because you are grateful for Ying'er's magnanimity. If it weren't for Ying'er telling me not to take my anger out on you, you would have already turned into a pile of bones. Don't mention Ying'er's matter again, or don't blame me for being merciless. As for Song Tianhe's matter, I already knew about it back then because you kept it from Ying'er. Now that you bring it up, I will ask you, where is Song Tianhe?"
Jiang Yue laughed sadly for a long time, as if she were tired. "In the end, you still love Second Sister more. Wild grasses grow, glistening with dew. A beautiful woman, graceful and charming. We met by chance, just as I wished. Wild grasses grow, heavy with dew. A beautiful woman, graceful and charming. We met by chance, and will be together forever. Do you still remember this song, my love?"
She continued, "Huai Lang can forget the affection between us, how could he remember a mere song? I was foolish, I was foolish, I gave my heart to the wrong person. You and Second Sister are both liars, both liars. You betrayed me, betrayed me!"
“Want to know where Song Tianhe is? I can tell you.” Staring blankly at Prince Yong, a maniacal smile appeared on his lips. “Marry me, and I will tell you. Don’t you love Second Sister and everything about her? Marry me, and you will know where Song Tianhe is.”
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