Chapter 2 True Meaning
The Crown Prince had a tight border patrol schedule, so naturally he couldn't stay in Yizhou for too long. After a few days of rest, he prepared to depart for the Anxi Protectorate.
The farewell banquet at the Beiting Protectorate was extremely lively. Although Qiandeng did not attend the banquet, he could hear the noise coming from the front yard.
Although they were somewhat restrained in front of the prince, most of the generals in the army were rough men. After a few drinks, the sounds of shouting and yelling could be heard.
Aunt Yuehe also sent a sumptuous banquet to the backyard and offered vegetarian wine to Qiandeng as a farewell.
Qiandeng asked her to express her gratitude to Prince Linhuai for his hospitality these past few days. Her usual gentle smile was somewhat hesitant: "County Lady, have you not seen our Prince these past few days?"
Qian Deng nodded: "Your Highness is very busy with official duties and must be too busy to spare any time. I only hope that one day I can have the opportunity to see your majesty and express my gratitude for your kindness."
"I believe the county lady will have a chance." Aunt Yuehe said affirmatively.
The two chatted for a while, and the moon was already at its zenith.
Daimao sent Aunt Yuehe out of the hospital. Not long after, he hurried back, with a strange look of trepidation on his face. He whispered, "County Lady, guess who I saw outside?"
Qian Deng's heart skipped a beat, thinking that tomorrow would be the day he left Beiting, and that person might show up. The word "Ling" rolled over in his mouth, but he finally stopped and asked calmly, "Who?"
"Your Highness, he's out there sobering up."
A faint sense of disappointment and surprise surged in Qiandeng's heart. He stood up and went to the gate of the courtyard. Sure enough, he saw the prince under the apricot tree outside, with only Wei Fengyang by his side.
Seeing Qiandeng coming over, he was even more surprised than her: "Lingling, why are you here?"
After thinking for a while, he came to his senses: "Yes, you will be staying here for the next few days."
"What about His Highness? Why did you drink the wine from the front yard here?"
The prince was quite helpless: "Those soldiers are all extremely drunk. I can only use the excuse of changing clothes to come here to catch my breath."
Daimao couldn't help but want to laugh, thinking that these border soldiers were so bold and presumptuous that they actually dared to force His Royal Highness the Crown Prince to drink?
Wei Fengyang, who was standing next to her, had already signaled to her and took her away.
The apricot trees swayed, the moonlight danced, and the surroundings were quiet. Only Qiandeng and the prince were left in the dark courtyard.
Qian Deng felt that this was not right and advised, "Your Highness should return as soon as possible. You are an honored guest. If you leave the table for too long, I'm afraid many people will come out to look for you."
"Are you afraid someone will find me, or are you afraid of me and are deliberately avoiding me?" The prince seemed genuinely drunk. There was a faint glint in his gaze as he looked at her, and his words were a bit more impulsive than usual. "Before we set out, Mother told us to look out for each other along the way. But on this trip, why do I feel like, Lingling, you're deliberately avoiding me? You said we were traveling together, but we were so far apart on the road. Occasionally, when we got off the car together for a breath of fresh air, you always spent time with the same few people. You never came to chat with me about our experiences. We actually had fewer opportunities to see each other than when we were in the capital."
Qiandeng lowered his head, and a flash of light flashed before his eyes: the gift given by the prince on the Dragon Boat Festival, and the longevity thread entangled on the nine golden flowers.
Didn't he really understand why she avoided him?
She took a half step back and slowly said, "Your Highness, you know that I'm escorting my ancestors' remains back home, relying on the border patrol team. This is not legitimate, so how could I dare to have any more interactions with Your Highness?"
But the Crown Prince, drunken as he was, refused to tolerate such perfunctory evasion. He insisted, "Lingling, I thought our relationship was different from others. How come you still don't understand my feelings? Those nine golden flowers... aren't just a token of the court's favor; they're something I sincerely want to give you."
In the silent courtyard, the grass and trees behind him swayed slightly as he said this.
However, both of them were so emotionally charged that they didn't notice any disturbances.
"This matter..." Qian Deng stared at him and asked subconsciously, "Does Her Majesty the Queen know about it?"
The prince was silent for a moment, then replied, "The only people in the world who can make nine golden flowers are the craftsmen in the palace."
In other words, without the permission of the emperor and empress, the palace craftsmen would never have been able to privately create anything that exceeded the regulations.
Qian Deng couldn't believe it: "I have a flawed appearance and am considered an unlucky person. Why would Her Majesty the Queen make such a decision?"
"Lingling, why do you have to belittle yourself? Your flawed physiognomy stems from saving me back then; your husband's frequent misfortunes are simply due to their own fate. Yan Penglai, on his deathbed, revealed that the rumors about your fate were a slander orchestrated by Princess Gao. Furthermore, Empress Xiaoyuan, Wang Zhengjun, lost her husbands repeatedly out of wedlock, and people say she had a noble fate that led her into the palace, ultimately becoming the mother of the nation. How could we know if your fate is also so noble that no one in the world can match it, causing all this trouble?"
Qian Deng looked at his eager face and felt it was absurd. "I don't know who my fate is with, but Your Highness, you and I are definitely not destined to be together."
"Why? Why can those people of varying backgrounds be candidates for your husband, but I can't?"
"Your Highness is undoubtedly the most noble person in the world. Why should you compare yourself to anyone else? It's just that Your Highness was present when my mother passed away, and she has already chosen a candidate for me. I will definitely follow my mother's dying words, and my husband will be chosen from those candidates. How could I go against my mother's wishes and marry Your Highness instead?"
Under the moonlight, the prince's face turned pale. He asked, "How do you know I wasn't among the people your mother was referring to? Wasn't I also in the water pavilion that day?"
Qian Deng shook his head. "Your Highness, don't forget that you and I were at Mother's side at the time. She was referring to all the gentlemen in front of us, including Cui Shaoqing, but not you and me."
Hearing her mention Cui Fufeng, the Crown Prince felt even more uneasy and resentful. He murmured, "So you had already chosen him, and even though he owed your father and grandfather so much, you were willing to give him a chance. Only I... didn't?"
"Your Highness, why are you speculating about this?" Qian Deng said softly, his breath taut. "I only wish to follow my mother's wishes and find the person she designated."
The prince took a step forward, his eyes full of darkness, and opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something.
But in the end, the words stuck in his throat could not be uttered, and he left without saying a word.
Qiandeng stood in the night wind, looking in the direction he left, without moving a step.
Daimao, who was waiting outside, saw the prince leave in anger and became anxious. She quickly ran to Qiandeng to check if her county lady was in trouble.
Qiandeng shook his head at her and motioned her to go back with him.
Daimao patted his chest and breathed a sigh of relief, whispering soothingly, "County Lady, how could you possibly anger His Royal Highness the Crown Prince? I've noticed that His Royal Highness has changed significantly since the incident with the Grand Princess of Gao and the Princess of Changyi. After all, he's grown older and gained more experience, and he's truly different now."
What she didn't dare say was that although it would be a good thing for the court if the prince lost his weakness and kindness, it would be quite scary if his temper became increasingly violent.
"Indeed, it's different..." Qian Deng nodded, muttering to herself, and as she turned to leave, she suddenly felt a chill in her heart, and subconsciously repeated, "It's different..."
Daimao was surprised to see her strange expression, but then he saw Qiandeng suddenly turn around and hurriedly chase in the direction of the prince.
The prince walked a short distance and his figure was just around the corner.
Qian Deng's heart was filled with panic and confusion. He quickened his pace and was about to catch up with him, but he saw that he had slowly stopped.
Wei Fengyang, who was beside him, was waiting for him. He looked up at the slanting moon above his head and muttered four words: "So that's it..."
Qiandeng stopped and stood behind the corner, hesitating for a moment.
She heard Wei Fengyang lower his voice and ask, "What does Your Highness mean?"
The prince shook his head, his low voice filled with disappointment, exhaustion, and reluctance. "So this is what Madam Qi meant back then..."
These few words, shimmering in the moonlight and slightly distorted, were actually somewhat incomprehensible. But to Qiandeng, they were like a bolt from the blue.
In an instant, it seemed as if everything appeared before her.
On the night my mother passed away, she pointed at the eleven figures looming in and out of the water pavilion before her and uttered her last words with difficulty:
"Deng Deng, you must marry him... and then take him home!"
So that’s it… So that’s it!
Today, she finally understood the meaning of her mother's last words.
That was the only safest path she could arrange for her daughter at the last moment of her life.
Even though her daughter never understood the true meaning of it, she knew that her daughter would definitely listen to her and would not fall into the trap and regret it for the rest of her life.
Even though my mother came from the countryside and had no foresight, she did her best and considered everything before her death.
Hearing the footsteps of the Crown Prince and Wei Fengyang gradually fading away, Qiandeng stood in the dark corner, thinking of her mother's last words, tears welling up in her eyes, unable to control herself.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com