Chapter 127 Did the Princess Consort of Jin Die?
The emperor often stayed overnight at the palace of concubines who had been banished to the cold palace.
Yan Cang paused for a moment: "So you mean that the matter of my mother being banished to the Cold Palace was probably a scheme from the very beginning."
Chu Yunjin was initially delighted: "So, Father Emperor didn't suspect Mother of having an affair?"
Yan Cang nodded: "It should be."
Chu Yunjin breathed a sigh of relief, then frowned in confusion: "What is Father's intention in doing this?"
Yan Cang said indifferently, as if he didn't care much: "They have their own interests."
Romance?
Chu Yunjin felt both relieved and had mixed feelings.
She's been feeling guilty and remorseful lately; was it all part of His Majesty the Emperor's scheme?
But then she thought that it was a good thing for them that the Emperor trusted the Consort. Her self-blame and guilt were the original owner's fault. Who told her to be used?
"Jin'er." Yan Cang lowered his head and kissed her fair neck, his deep voice suddenly tinged with a seductive meaning, "We've been apart for so long, and I was thinking that absence makes the heart grow fonder, and tonight we'd be celebrating our wedding night... I'm full of energy, so let's not sleep tonight, but you just happen to be pregnant..."
Chu Yunjin understood his words, and her pretty face flushed red: "Yan Cang!"
Yan Cang pulled her into his arms, and they both fell onto the bed: "Go to sleep."
Chu Yunjin lay in his arms, facing his handsome face, her slender fingers tracing his eyebrows and eyes: "A little darker."
Yan Cang nodded: "It's normal to get a little tanned from the wind and sun outside."
"But it still looks good." Chu Yunjin smiled contentedly. "Very masculine."
Yan Cang enjoyed this intimacy, but he wasn't very confident in his self-control, so he could only take her hand away and say, "Behave yourself."
"Yan Cang".
"Um."
Do you prefer a boy or a girl?
Yan Cang was silent for a moment, then hugged her closer: "If possible, I hope to have both a boy and a girl, but having children is a very hard thing. We can let nature take its course and not force it."
He paused, then said, "Unless I can bear the pain of childbirth for you, I have no right to make any demands."
"Don't make it sound so serious," Chu Yunjin said. "We were just chatting."
Yan Cang chuckled softly: "I like both boys and girls, as long as they are our children."
Chu Yunjin pursed her lips: "If I had seven daughters in a row and couldn't have a son, would you find someone else to have a child with?"
Yan Cang chuckled: "I won't let you have that many children."
Chu Yunjin paused for a moment in an odd manner, then changed the subject: "If I have three daughters, would you find someone else to have a son?"
"No." Yan Cang couldn't help but chuckle. "No one else will do. No matter if you have a son or a daughter, no matter how many children we have in the future, I will not marry another woman for any reason or excuse."
Chu Yunjin said "Oh," and then asked, "But what about the country?"
“Although the royal family has few offspring this generation, it’s not that there are no boys,” Yan Cang said. “You don’t need to worry about that.”
Chu Yunjin was silent for a moment, then suddenly asked a completely unrelated question: "Yan Cang, is the Princess Consort of Jin dead?"
Yan Cang froze.
All the warmth and romance of the bedside room vanished without a trace.
Yan Cang's face stiffened and turned pale. He stared blankly at Chu Yunjin, his voice hoarse: "Why are you suddenly asking about her?"
"I'm just curious." Chu Yunjin snuggled into his arms, hugging his lean waist tightly as if to give him strength. "She must have done something extremely wicked to end up like this."
Yan Cang didn't speak, but silently let her hug him, his expression tense, and it was impossible to know what he was thinking.
"Yan Cang," Chu Yunjin's voice was low, as if it came from a distant place, "Are you feeling very sad? Actually, I don't blame you... If you feel guilty towards me, blaming yourself for not protecting me, I don't blame you. Really, you have your own helplessness..."
Yan Cang was shocked, and a look of grief appeared in his eyes: "Jin'er..."
Chu Yunjin gently closed her eyes: "One night, I had a dream in which I was your empress. Although I woke up before I even saw your face, for some reason, I was certain that the emperor was you."
Yan Cang's lips were pursed until they turned pale: "What else did you see in your dream?"
“There were only nannies and palace maids,” Chu Yunjin recalled. “They said the Prime Minister and the Duke of Dingguo were forcing you to depose the Empress because my father was confiscated for corruption, and I was no longer qualified to be the Empress… But I knew they were just using this opportunity to put their own daughter on the throne…”
She opened her eyes and looked at Yan Cang with heartache: "Were you very helpless back then?"
Yan Cang was stunned for a long time before slowly tightening his arms and holding her tightly in his embrace: "I'm sorry."
"Don't apologize to me." Chu Yunjin held up a finger to his lips. "Although I don't know what happened later, I know that none of this was your intention. You were powerless to change it. That's why in this life, you practiced martial arts from a young age, went to the battlefield to fight early, and gained military power. It's because you no longer wanted to be threatened by others, isn't it?"
Yan Cang didn't speak, but held her tightly, his body tense, his eyes filled with deep pain and self-reproach.
Chu Yunjin didn't say anything more, she just quietly sat in his arms.
She felt she might have spoken too soon.
Perhaps we should wait a while before saying these things.
However, a short, sharp pain is worse than a long, drawn-out one.
If the problem isn't resolved, it will remain bottled up in his heart, tormenting him for a long time.
What was originally a warm and beautiful night suddenly became long and unbearable.
Yan Cang held Chu Yunjin quietly for an unknown amount of time before slowly releasing his arms: "Go to sleep."
"Yan Cang." Chu Yunjin raised her head and kissed his lips. "I know you're hurting, but..."
“Jin’er.” Yan Cang’s expression was stunned, and bitterness appeared in his lowered eyes. “If you knew what you had endured, you would not forgive me.”
"How could that be?" Chu Yunjin frowned. "You don't believe me?"
Yan Cang looked dejected and remained silent.
Chu Yunjin asked, "Was my pain caused by you?"
Yan Cang clenched his fists: "It's because of my incompetence..."
“But you weren’t the crown prince from the beginning,” Chu Yunjin said. “If you never had the idea of vying for the throne, then it’s not normal that you would have no power in the court, no civil or military officials who are truly loyal to you, and that you would have been hampered by others when you ascended the throne in a hurry.”
Yan Cang stared intently at her: "Jin'er, because you don't have those memories yet. If you did—"
"Can you tell me?" Chu Yunjin said. "Tell me in advance so I can be mentally prepared. If I suddenly remember it someday, it won't be too shocking."
Yan Cang lowered his eyes and remained silent.
An aura of unease emanated from him.
Chu Yunjin had never thought that such a powerful person could have such moments of confusion and helplessness, but at this moment, Yan Cang was truly feeling lost and uneasy.
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