Chapter 145: So early on, did he fall in love?
Yan Jinyue's imposing manner of questioning and accusing had completely vanished.
She picked at the rice in her bowl, ate all the dishes she liked on the table, then put down her chopsticks, wiped her mouth, and said, "I'll go back and have a good talk with Ling Yumo."
After saying that, she got up and left.
Back at the princess's residence, the servants were still cleaning up the tables, chairs, and dishes left after the banquet. Yan Jinyue returned to her own bedroom, dismissed everyone around her, and called Ling Yumo over.
After Ling Yumo appeared, he simply looked at her without saying a word.
"Aren't you good at eavesdropping?" Yan Jinyue frowned at him. "Then you should know what I'm going to ask you, Ling Yumo. Just tell me yourself."
Ling Yumo remained silent for a moment, then stepped forward and slowly sat down beside Yan Jinyue under her wide-eyed gaze.
Yan Jinyue couldn't help but move to the side.
“My mother was my father’s most favored concubine. When I was only ten years old, my father wanted to make me the crown prince. Because of her excessive favor, my mother was suspected and suppressed by the empress’s family and was repeatedly framed, but my father protected her every time.” Ling Yumo’s voice was indifferent, as if she were telling someone else’s story. “When I was twelve years old, my father fell seriously ill and my mother passed away. When my uncle learned that the empress wanted to kill me, he sent me out of the capital overnight, and I began a year-long life on the run.”
Yan Jinyue's expression changed slightly: "Being constantly being chased?"
Ling Yumo hummed in agreement: "Although I have practiced martial arts since I was a child, I am no match for the many who can fight. The Empress sent some highly skilled masters. I had to hide and fight, and every time I was caught, I had to go through a dangerous battle and then continue to flee... During this time, many people died innocently because of me. My attendants who protected me, innocent passersby, and even the doctor who treated my wounds at the clinic died at their hands."
Yan Jinyue's face turned pale, and she was terrified as she listened.
He was only twelve years old at the time, yet he experienced such a huge change and danger, fleeing all the way and seeing so many people die because of him... How much pain he must have felt.
Yan Jinyue cautiously asked, "And then?"
"Later I fled to the border." Ling Yumo's voice was cold. "The hatred was too deep. I thought about using the enemy's army to take revenge. As long as I could eliminate the Empress's faction, I was willing to pay any price."
Yan Jinyue listened quietly without interrupting.
“At that time, the commander of Xiling who was stationed at the border was not one of the Empress’s men. I thought I could stay at the border, but there were confidants of the Empress’s family in the army. He tried to kill me several times. I knew that it was not safe to stay in the military camp. When I had the opportunity to go out of the city to inspect, I quietly left the military camp, but I was still caught up by someone.”
"I was very lucky this time. When I was seriously injured, I was rescued by the general stationed at the border of Yong Kingdom, and then I met your brother, the emperor."
Ling Yumo lowered his gaze slightly and quietly took her hand: "I recuperated in your brother's military camp for three days before I regained consciousness."
"I see." Yan Jinyue nodded slowly. "So, my imperial brother is your savior?"
After all, his subordinates would not have taken him in without his elder brother's permission.
Ling Yumo nodded: "Mm."
Yan Jinyue asked, "And then you stayed by his side as a guard?"
Ling Yumo was silent for a moment: "I had too much hatred in those years, and I always couldn't help but want to go back and take revenge, but I knew that I couldn't fight against the Empress's faction on my own."
Yan Jinyue nodded slowly: "Indeed, we cannot contend with it."
Ling Yumo said indifferently, "In the following years, I studied martial arts diligently and underwent special training... When the time was right, I contacted my uncle. During the time when my father was seriously ill, I supported my third brother in resisting the Empress and her son. I also made a will stating that as soon as he died, the throne would pass to my third brother. The Empress dared not let him die and has been trying to find and destroy the will for many years..."
Ling Yumo's tone remained calm: "They are fighting to the death in the court, while I am waiting for my chance to act. My uncle is scheming for me in the court, and my father is paving the way for me... But after the beginning of summer this year, my father's health deteriorated again. This time it is very dangerous. Last month, my uncle sent another letter, urging me to go back for the third time."
He turned to look at Yan Jinyue: "Every time the Prince of Yan returned to the capital over the years, I accompanied him. I have seen you a few times. You were still young then, innocent but beautiful, kind-hearted, and not at all like a princess. But you have a fiancé... which makes me a little disappointed."
Yan Jinyue's pretty face flushed slightly: "You fell in love so early?"
Ling Yumo was silent for a moment: "I don't know if it counts as the first stirrings of love, because at that time I still had hatred in my heart and no time to think about romance, but..."
Perhaps he had been consumed by hatred for too long, and he suppressed all his emotions and desires, trying to appear as if he had no desires or wants. But the more he pretended, the less he could control himself.
When I first met Yan Jinyue, she was indeed very young, so young that it was impossible for anyone to be so beastly as to think of any romantic feelings between them. At that time, she had a beautiful face that looked like it had been carefully sculpted. At around ten years old, she was already so beautiful that people could foresee her future stunning beauty.
The attraction to the heart stems from lust at first sight.
But her age prevented him from making any progress, so he simply kept this young girl quietly in his heart. He didn't even dare let the Prince of Yan know, fearing that if the Prince discovered his "treacherous intentions," he would kill him or banish him.
Every time he returned to the capital after that, he would secretly search for her whenever he accompanied the Prince of Yan into the palace.
Ling Yumo hadn't thought about his own feelings at first. He just unconsciously felt that the little princess was so beautiful, so cute, and so kind-hearted, like a sun that could shine into the coldest corner of people's hearts.
This feeling came out of nowhere.
Ling Yumo hadn't even realized he had fallen in love with her when he heard that she had been betrothed to Pei Yi'an—the Grand General of Yong Kingdom, who had been stationed in the southern border.
This left me feeling like there was a void in my heart.
But he has no right to complain.
She had never even met him. Pei Yi'an was a great general, and a general paired with a princess was much better than him, a down-on-his-luck prince stranded in another country.
And then...
Later, Ling Yumo kept fantasizing about how he would explain his feelings for her if he were to marry her one day. How could he make his feelings for her sound convincing?
He always felt that his liking was weak and lacked any solid reason.
He was worried that she didn't believe him.
His identity might lead people to mistakenly believe that he approached her in order to gain the help of the King of Yan, and might make them suspect that he was deliberately trying to curry favor with the Yong Kingdom.
Therefore, Ling Yumo never knew how to bring it up.
After listening to his story, Yan Jinyue remained silent for a long time before saying softly, "You promised my brother that you would only marry me in this lifetime. Is that true?"
“Yes.” Ling Yumo nodded. “I have suffered greatly from having many wives and concubines, and I will never follow in my father’s footsteps in this life.”
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