Chapter 89: The Secret of Heartbreak, Princess's Visiting Card
Shang Yuwan went back and asked Ji Suxian to take a look. Apart from the usual insomnia, nightmares and headaches, there was nothing wrong with her.
"I've heard a bit about Yuan Ji. He entered the Mogui Academy at the age of six, and became famous at seven for writing 'Ode to the Elm Tree.' Then, for some reason, he suddenly disappeared from the public eye. It wasn't until he avenged his family that he regained his fame. Not long after that, he joined the Imperial Censorate and became Chief Censor."
After listening to Shang Yuwan's story, Ji Suxian thought about it carefully and said, "Could it be that you were too busy in your previous life, and he rarely appeared in front of you, so you forgot about him?"
Shang Yuwan's past life was a living hell. If she did approach someone, it was with the intention of making friends. If that were the case, it was only natural for her to forget Yuan Ji.
Xiao Qingxu sat aside and listened quietly without saying a word.
Shang Yuwan nodded, "Probably." She was so busy in her previous life that she gradually forgot her love for Xiao Qingxu, not to mention a person who she had approached with the intention of making friends but later fell silent.
Ji Suxian took out a freshly made black hair cream and calming incense from the medicine box and handed them to Shang Yuwan, while asking, "Speaking of which, when you were alive in your previous life, before the Shang family was in trouble, that old Emperor Chengming was very kind to you and the Shang family. Even the eldest princess's attitude towards you was normal."
"While some in Kyoto may be jealous, they won't resort to violence against you. Even if they do, they're not qualified. Those people in the palace... let's go back a bit, and at a blind guess, their target, while still unclear to us, isn't the Shang family or your father."
Ji Suxian looked into what Shang Yuwan had done in his previous life, but he was really puzzled.
"Is he prophetic or has he seen something? Is his eye so sharp? The Shang family has inherited the title of General Zhenxi for generations, and their foundation is more stable than the other three families. Not to mention the friendship between Emperor Chengming and your father—although now, the word "puddle of mud" is not enough to describe his disgusting appearance."
"You spend every day among those high-ranking officials and nobles. Whenever you meet someone of good character, you do your best to help him. You say it's to help the Shang family gain a foothold, but that doesn't make sense."
The Shang family is thriving, with luxuriant branches and leaves. Why would Shang Yuwan need to work so hard?
"Did you also plan the Royal Hunting Tournament?" Xiao Qingxu asked at this time, "Did you anticipate the day when the Shang family would be exterminated, so you prepared for eleven years?"
She came to Beijing at the age of five, entered Mogui Academy at the age of seven, and then secretly mediated and arranged everything for the Shang family. At the age of ten, she saved him at the royal hunting competition when he was not yet named King Qi. Soon after, the verbal engagement between the two of them became an imperial decree of marriage.
On the day when the Shang family was ordered to be exterminated, seventeen officials in the court stood up to plead for the Shang family. The most important of them was the Imperial Censor Baili Pu.
Shang Yuwan remained silent and did not answer.
Ji Suxian stopped talking. Xiao Qingxu was silent for a long time and said, "Just answer this question."
"Did you save him on purpose at the Royal Hunting Tournament? Was it because you liked him, or were you trying to use your engagement with the prince to...protect the Shang family?"
Shang Yuwan didn't know his identity and mistakenly thought that he was jealous. She sighed and finally explained it to him.
"I saved him not entirely because I like him, nor was it entirely for the sake of gaining his protection."
Shang Yuwan and Xiao Qingxu looked at each other and said calmly, "Saving him is also for my mother."
"The late queen and my mother were close friends. Before she died, she took me to meet him a few times. My mother loved him so much that she felt very sorry for him."
"My mother's only close friend is the late queen, so I naturally pay more attention to her son."
Shang Yuwan lowered his head in silence and said, "It will be good for both of us if we tie the engagement together."
Xiao Qingxu's disfigurement meant he would never be crowned emperor, and it was inevitable that someone would take advantage of his misfortune. With this engagement, the Shang family could protect him from such bullying. Shang Yuwan's secret actions were bound to be hidden from Emperor Chengming, but with Xiao Qingxu around, he could dispel them—no, delay them for a little longer, allowing the Shang family to survive for another day.
Shang Yuwan had a premonition that the Shang family would be wiped out, but she didn't expect it to happen on her wedding day, and she didn't expect Emperor Chengming to be so heartless and ungrateful.
Her father had imprisoned her for life in Yanmen, and Emperor Chengming certainly didn't want him to return to the capital. In her previous life, Shang Yuwan had planned to visit Yanmen as a son-in-law after her marriage, but she couldn't act as quickly as Emperor Chengming.
After hearing this, Xiao Qingxu fell silent again.
"You did a great job."
After an unknown amount of time, Xiao Qingxu finally spoke. His tone was calm and there seemed to be no fluctuations.
"If it weren't for the fact that I couldn't reach Yanmen, your father wouldn't have gotten into trouble."
Shang Yuwan had been secretly plotting for years. With her intelligence, she must have realized that something was wrong with Yanmen. She hadn't been able to get any information from there for years, not even a secret guard could get through. No one would believe that Emperor Chengming hadn't been involved.
If she could really place people in Yanmen, Shang Junhu might not have lost his life in vain.
What did Shang Yuwan see when Emperor Chengming treated the Shang family well, but he never said it out loud.
Ji Suxian and Xiao Qingxu realized that it was getting late, so they said goodbye to Shang Yuwan and left.
"Brother Xiao, her heart meridian was damaged a long time ago."
Ji Suxian and Xiao Qingxu walked for a while when he suddenly said this.
She didn't care about Shang Yuwan at first, but later she learned of Shang Yuwan's true identity, and after what happened tonight, she felt that she could no longer hide it.
"If my pulse reading is accurate, she must have been five years old when her heart pulse was damaged."
Compared with the damage to the heart meridians, the exhaustion of Xiao Qingxu's internal organs and the gradual dissipation of his heart energy, although the damage is less severe on the surface, it also causes great harm to the body.
Xiao Qingxu's long eyelashes trembled slightly.
When he was five years old, Shang Yuwan had just arrived in Kyoto. Three months after arriving, Mrs. Lu Xu committed suicide in Shang's house.
Before Xiao Qingxu and Ji Suxian parted ways, they issued a secret order: "Send someone to check on Madam Lu Xu, and don't let her find out."
Although Shang Yuwan didn't say it explicitly, nor did she reveal the whole story, it seemed from her that Emperor Chengming had harbored murderous intentions against the Shang family long ago, and this wasn't simply due to a fear of their power. If that were the real reason, Zhao Zhouxing's family would be far more prosperous, and there was no reason to use the Shang family as a target to intimidate the court officials.
Shang Yuwan has a strong character. Even if he suffered the pain of the death of a loved one when he was still young, he should not be so sad.
Xiao Qingxu returned to his room. The candlelight flickered and wrinkled his broken eyes.
His intuition told him that it was definitely a secret that made Shang Yuwan collapse to the point of wanting to die.
And the core of this secret lies in Madam Lu Xu.
——
"So you pulled me out of bed and talked to me for most of the hour last night just because of this person?"
The next morning, Bailipu received a visiting card from Xiao Qinggu and looked at Yuan Ji who was standing beside him with a smile.
His disciple was good in every way except his behavior. He was more like a treacherous minister. However, this was only superficial; deep down, he was still loyal to the emperor.
After thinking for a while, Baili Pu asked, "Do you want to take sides? Your Royal Highness is a woman, and it is difficult for her to inherit the throne. Your Royal Highness is still in charge of the Eastern Palace, so no matter what..."
Bai Li Pu thought of Xiao Qingji's previous scandal, fell silent, and changed the subject: "I've said before, as long as we sit on the Imperial Censorate, we will be the eyes of the Emperor. Heng'er, the only one we must be loyal to is the Emperor."
Heng'er was the nickname Bailipu gave Yuan Ji. He knew that this child had been burdened with hatred since childhood. Even though he had adopted her, he must have suffered countless bullying behind her back, hidden from him.
Yuan Ji has been sensible and obedient since he was a child. People gave him this nickname in the hope that he would not be blinded by hatred, weigh everything properly, and avoid ruining himself in the future.
During Yuan Ji's revenge, Baili Pu knew he'd been a bit harsh, but he didn't say anything. Instead, he defended him. Because those weren't his own burdens, he hadn't experienced the child's pain. So, while he was somewhat puzzled, he didn't try to stop him.
But Bailipu was not willing to take sides.
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