Chapter 140 Growing More and More in Love
Chu Yunjin was shocked.
Ling Yumo is actually a prince of Xiling?
"He was the most beloved son of the Emperor of Xiling. His mother was murdered, and he was also plotted against by the Empress's family. He fled to the border and was rescued by one of my generals." Yan Cang slowly recounted Ling Yumo's experiences. "At that time, he was seriously injured and almost on the verge of death. The military doctor treated his wounds for two days without sleep and only then was he saved from the brink of death."
Chu Yunjin nodded slowly: "I see."
Yan Cang said calmly, "He was only thirteen years old that year. After he recovered from his injuries, he stayed by my side as a bodyguard."
"He's still just a boy, how pitiful," Chu Yunjin sighed softly.
Children born into royalty are born noble, but because the allure of the dragon throne is too great and the struggles within the royal family are extremely dangerous, they are destined to be in danger from birth.
Some princes died while still in their infancy.
It is clear that having many offspring is not necessarily a good thing.
Yan Cang spoke calmly, yet with a hint of strategic planning: "The Northern Desert Iron Cavalry has been provoking the Yong Dynasty for many years. They even tried to form an alliance with Xiling to jointly conquer the Yong Kingdom. However, Xiling has been plagued by internal strife due to the struggle for the crown prince and has been too busy to take care of itself, so the alliance has not been successful."
Chu Yunjin frowned slightly: "Then why can't Yong Kingdom form an alliance with Xiling and directly destroy Mobei?"
Yan Cang replied, "The climate in the northern desert is harsh, far less prosperous than that of Yong, and its geographical location is not as good as that of Xiling. Moreover, their customs are completely different from those of Yong..."
“That’s not a reason.” Chu Yunjin frowned. “Yan Cang, the people of the northern desert are fierce. Even if you scare them, that fear has a time limit. They have the gene of plunder in their bones. Once they have recuperated for a period of time, the army will come back again and again, without end.”
Yan Cang nodded: "Therefore, I secretly helped Ling Yumo cultivate his power and seize the throne. Xiling will become an ally of Yongchao within the next thirty years, and Ling Yumo himself will not be allowed to betray this life-saving grace for any reason or in any way."
Chu Yunjin fell silent.
A life-saving favor in exchange for thirty years of peace—it's a good deal.
Moreover, the alliance between the two countries has not caused any loss to Xiling. On the contrary, the warlike nature of Mobei is ingrained in their bones. Now that Yongchao is stronger than Xiling, if Mobei were to attack Xiling in turn, it is uncertain whether Xiling could defeat Mobei without the help of Yongchao.
Yan Cang was a brave and skilled prince who commanded all the troops in the land.
However, being brave and skilled in battle does not necessarily mean one enjoys war.
War always brings harm to a country. The death of a soldier on the border is a devastating blow to a family: a wife loses her husband, a mother loses her son, and a child loses his father.
Years of war have also greatly depleted the national treasury. Once the treasury is empty, the only option is to increase taxes on wealthy merchants and ordinary people, making life even more difficult for them.
One general's success is built on the bones of ten thousand.
While expanding territory is a noble cause, it also results in countless deaths and injuries, which means eternal pain for families who have lost husbands, sons, and fathers.
Chu Yunjin is from Heping.
She loathed and even feared the harm caused by conflict, especially in ancient times when productivity was already low and the consequences of years of war were unbearable for ordinary people.
Yan Cang had the ability to be a monarch who expanded the territory and become a legendary emperor who would be remembered in history—but the price was that he would spend half his life on the battlefield.
Therefore, he was unwilling to do so.
From the perspective of personal love, all his plans in this life were for the purpose of better protecting his loved ones. From the perspective of the nation, his ambition was simply to make the Yong Kingdom strong, stop the war, and develop the people's livelihood.
Expanding territory was not his ambition.
Chu Yunjin leaned on Yan Cang's shoulder, her voice gentle and tender: "Yan Cang, I love you more and more."
Yan Cang looked down at her, a slight smile playing on his lips: "Me too."
...
June 20th, the weather was hot.
Yan Jinyue held a housewarming banquet at Princess Zhaoyang's residence.
The invitations were sent to royalty, nobles, and aristocratic young men and women.
The Princess's residence was not far from the Prince of Yan's residence, separated only by a street.
When Yan Cang and Chu Yunjin arrived at Princess Zhaoyang's residence by carriage, there were already quite a few people there.
Chu Yunjin met Yan Zheng, the "cowardly" third prince whom Yan Cang had described.
As the carriage stopped outside the princess's residence, Chu Yunjin heard a man pleading for mercy: "I was wrong, I was really wrong, I didn't touch her first... Last night she climbed into my bed on her own, I... I was so shocked, I immediately had her dragged out..."
"Flies don't land on eggs without cracks!" The woman's voice was not only fierce but also furious. "If you're so lecherous, then don't make up so many excuses!"
"I'm innocent—"
"I saw it with my own eyes!"
"I really didn't—"
Chu Yunjin curiously peeked out: "Who is this?"
"Third Imperial Brother."
Chu Yunjin was surprised, then lifted the curtain to take a look. She couldn't see clearly, so she simply got up and got off the carriage. Then she saw a woman in a pale yellow dress get off the carriage and slap away the hands that were trying to help her in front of the carriage: "Get out of the way!"
The woman was quite beautiful, with bright and striking eyes. She didn't look like the kind of person who had been tamed and was humble and docile. On the contrary, the man in front of the carriage was handsome—to be honest, of all the princes that Chu Yun Jin had seen so far, each had his own unique beauty, and none of them were lacking in looks.
Indeed, genes can be improved through environmental factors.
Regardless of whether the founding emperor was handsome or ugly, as long as he kept marrying beautiful women as concubines and empresses, the descendants of the royal family and powerful ministers would become more and more handsome with each generation.
We've gone off on a tangent.
Chu Yunjin turned her head to look at the Third Prince.
Honestly, the Third Prince's features are somewhat similar to the current emperor's, much more so than the First Prince and Yan Cang. He's also quite tall, not much shorter than Yan Cang. With his imposing stature, he hardly looks like a coward.
But he really doesn't seem like the head of a family.
"Good Wan'er." He pulled at the woman's hand, "I was wrong, I'll go back tonight and... I'll..."
"So what?" The woman glanced back at him. "Do you want to execute that maid who climbed into your bed?"
"Huh?" Yan Zheng's mouth dropped open as he looked at her cautiously. "This...this isn't right, is it? It's a human life after all..."
Chu Yunjin's expression was subtle, and she stammered, "Third Imperial Brother, Third Imperial Sister-in-law?"
The woman turned around and saw Chu Yunjin standing there. She raised an eyebrow and asked, "Fourth sister-in-law, did you come alone?"
Chu Yunjin shook her head and pointed, just as Yan Cang stepped down from the carriage.
"Fourth brother, you're here too?" Yan Zheng automatically ignored Chu Yunjin and greeted Yan Cang.
Chu Yunjin looked at him, unable to suppress her suspicion.
After listening to his conversation with the princess, she felt that Yan Zheng was not really timid, but rather henpecked, and that the couple had a good relationship.
After all, every couple has a different way of getting along, so is it an exaggeration to say that he is timid as a mouse?
Yan Cang nodded: "Third Imperial Brother, Third Imperial Sister-in-law."
The third prince was titled Prince Jing, and his wife, whose maiden name was Shao Wan, was the adopted niece of the current Consort De.
Consort De came from a military family; she was the daughter of the Shao family of Yangcheng.
The children of the Shao family all practiced martial arts from a young age, and each of them was heroic and valiant. Consort De thought that her son would also be a military talent. However, Yan Zheng did not like to practice martial arts from a young age, and he even did his studies half-heartedly. This made Consort De so angry that she often suspected that he had been switched at birth.
How could she give birth to such a good-for-nothing son?
As the brothers exchanged brief pleasantries, another carriage slowly approached.
The group turned to look.
The next moment, Yan Zheng's eyes widened: "Big...Big Brother and...and Shen Jingbai?"
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