Chapter 54 Rumors

In the thirty-third year of Fengxing, the second prince was convicted of murdering his younger brother and was ordered to reflect on his sins in Xiangguo Temple.

When Sui Yan heard the decision, he nearly spit out a mouthful of tea. He coughed for a long time before he said with difficulty, "Xiangguo Temple? Did you hear it right? Just reflect on your mistakes, and nothing else?"

Duan Ruwang's ending was not much different from that of his previous life, but in his previous life, he was framed by Sui Yan for poisoning the emperor and was imprisoned in Xiangguo Temple, never to be allowed to leave for the rest of his life. In this life, he harmed the most favored fifth prince, but was only punished with remorse.

The crime of "reflecting on one's mistakes" was not a big one, but it was indeed a small one too. After the emperor had calmed down, he could release the person at any time and anywhere. It was hardly a punishment at all.

Jun Jingxing was almost sprayed with tea by him, and said unhappily, "It has spread all over the capital, how could I have heard it wrong?"

Sui Yan murmured, "It seems that the emperor really intends to give up Duan Xichen."

Jun Jingxing said "hmm".

Less than half a year after Duan Ruwang was convicted, Jiang Enhe had the Yin Lingfeng case retried and sentenced. Pieces of evidence were presented to the emperor, and with the help of Crown Prince Duan Mingchong, the unjust case was finally cleared.

The fifth prince Duan Xichen was addicted to medicinal incense and his temperament changed drastically. The emperor imprisoned him in the palace and did not allow him to leave. He also sent several important officials of the fifth prince's lineage to justice, thus silencing the people.

After Yin Lingfeng was cleared of all charges, Jun Jingxing buried the remains of his family members in the ancestral tomb and also built a cenotaph for himself.

Yin Yuanzhi no longer exists in this world.

Yin Shenqiu returned to the rebuilt Yin Mansion, while Jun Jingxing found a quiet place to open a pharmacy, where he performed miraculous healing and saved the wounded.

Sui Yan's body would always fall seriously ill due to the old poison every time the season came or after being blown by the cold wind in winter. Whenever that happened, the pharmacy would be closed for more than half a month, and Jun Jingxing would not leave the mansion until Sui Yan got better.

Before Sui Xun left, he told Sui Yan that he might come back during the Chinese New Year. When the Chinese New Year came to an end, Sui Yan waited at the door every day with great anticipation, and from time to time he would go to the palace to ask Duan Mingchong if there was any news from the border.

In the first year, Sui Xun sent a letter home, saying that bandits were rampant at the border and he would not be back for the New Year. In the letter, he also asked if Sui Yan had found a girl he liked, and also sent back a vase with a flying phoenix carved on it.

Jun Jingxing saw this once and joked, "Your brother is urging you to find someone to fly with as soon as possible."

Sui Yan was so angry that he beat him out.

The next year, Sui Xun sent another letter home, saying that the war at the border was urgent and he could not come back. This time, he was probably worried that Sui Yan would be angry, so he sent a bunch of new and interesting gadgets from the border, and also included a small folding screen with a picture of bird playing in water.

Sui Yan gnashed his teeth in anger.

Jun Jingxing, who was passing by, said faintly: "This is urging you to find a girl as soon as possible..."

Before he could finish, Sui Yan kicked him out.

Year 3…

Oh, in the third year Sui Xun finally wrote a letter saying that she was coming back, otherwise Sui Yan would have worried that his unfocused brother who was always trying to urge him to get married would directly send him a statue of Guanyin, the Goddess of Fertility.

As soon as the first month of lunar calendar began, Jun Jingxing hastily closed the pharmacy and went to the marquis's mansion with his belongings.

In three years, the nineteen-year-old Sui Yan was no longer as childish as he was in his youth. He had grown into a slender man, and his every move was graceful and dignified. However, he did not grow into an eight-foot-tall man as he had expected, which made him regretful for a long time.

"All the suffering I endured as a child was in vain."

At that time, he was so angry that he almost wanted to bite his hand. Perhaps because he was afraid of the pain, he grabbed Jun Jingxing's hand and bit it hard. Jun Jingxing was so angry that he almost beat him up, causing him to swell up into an eight-foot tall man.

Jun Jingxing walked into the side yard holding a wooden box, and almost stepped on a rabbit as soon as he entered the door.

He jumped twice on one foot to avoid the white ball, and said unhappily: "Can you take care of this rabbit? I'm not responsible if I step on it."

Sui Yan was wearing a purple robe, lying leisurely on a rattan rocking chair in the sun. There were several white rabbits squatting on the grass nearby.

The one that Duan Mingchong had given him had already died, but Sui Yan held it in his arms, dug a hole under the cherry tree in the middle of the night, and buried it in the soil with tears in his eyes.

But a few months later, another little moon-watching golden bear was also buried.

Jun Jingxing liked to develop medicines and poisons, so he raised two rabbits to test poisons. After the two little rabbits died, Sui Yan was overwhelmed with grief and asked for the two rabbits for testing poisons, and held them in his arms every day.

Duan Mingchong had been to the mansion several times. Seeing how much the marquis liked the rabbits, he sent people to find several rabbits and sent them over. The yard was filled with white fluffy rabbits.

Sui Yan lay on the rattan rocking chair, swaying slightly, closed his eyes and stretched out his hand: "Tea."

Jun Jingxing pretended not to hear.

Sui Yan waited and waited but tea didn't come. He grabbed some and said, "Sugar, please."

Jun Jingxing said faintly: "The needle is coming."

Sui Yan sat up immediately and tiptoed guiltily to pour tea and get sugar.

Three years have passed and he has grown into a real man, but he is still afraid of needles. It can be said that except for his face becoming more handsome, he has not made any progress at all.

Jun Jingxing walked to Sui Yan holding the wooden box and said, "Here, this is a gift for you."

Sui Yan suddenly said “Oh my god”: “Come on, why give me a gift…”

As soon as he opened the box, he saw a glittering golden statue of Guanyin, the Goddess of Childbirth.

Sui Yan had a blank expression on his face and said, "Get out."

Jun Jingxing said, "I plan to put this on the table in the main living room of your room so that you can see it at a glance."

Sui Yan's eyebrows had grown longer and his face had become more handsome. Because his lips were naturally slightly curled, he looked like he was smiling even when he had no expression. Jun Jingxing was not afraid of him anyway, so he enthusiastically brought the Guanyin statue into the house and placed it on the table.

Sui Yan followed him into the house and watched him find a place to place the Guanyin statue. He stared at him coldly and gritted his teeth.

Jun Jingxing tried various positions and said without turning his head, "Don't grind your teeth. It's not easy to think about how to tell your brother that you are still unmarried at such a age."

Sui Yan said angrily: "You are older than me, but you are not married either!"

Jun Jingxing finally found a good seat, turned around and smiled: "But I don't have a brother to urge me."

Sui Yan: “…”

Sui Yan almost broke his voice: "Get out!"

Jun Jingxing said: "Calm down, even the crown prince is going to choose a crown princess, don't you know how anxious it is?"

Sui Yan was stunned: "Crown Prince... Concubine?"

Jun Jingxing said, "Don't you know? It is said that the emperor has been secretly selecting a lady from a famous family for the prince. The prince will marry at the latest after the New Year."

Sui Yan's body swayed for a moment, and he didn't have time to investigate the Guanyin statue on the table. He murmured, "Then...what did the prince say? Did he agree?"

Jun Jingxing found it strange: "Why does he disagree with the matter of establishing a concubine? Besides, it was the emperor who arranged the marriage. Do you think the emperor would go along with him even if he disagreed?"

The prince's marriage is a matter of national destiny.

Sui Yan forced a smile and said, "Yeah, that's right."

Jun Jingxing looked at his pale face and said in astonishment: "You wouldn't really do that to the prince..."

Sui Yan used to be so close to Duan Mingchong, and always said that she was going to marry into the Eastern Palace and become the Crown Princess. Jun Jingxing thought it was a childish joke, but now it seems that it is not the case.

Sui Yan, who seemed to be so cold-hearted, actually fell in love?

To a man?

And it was to the crown prince?

Sui Yan said nothing.

Jun Jingxing suddenly didn't know what to say.

Sui Yan took the candy and sat back in the rocking chair and continued to lie there. Although he closed his eyes, Jun Jingxing knew that he was definitely not asleep.

Jun Jingxing sat in the room for a while, and when he caught a glimpse of the fertility-giving Guanyin, he suddenly felt it was a bit dazzling.

He felt extremely sorry for Sui Yan, but he couldn't do anything for him. After thinking for a long time, he was about to go forward and take down the statue of Guanyin, the Goddess of Fertility.

Sui Yan suddenly said, "I've made up my mind."

Jun Jingxing's hands trembled, and he almost dropped the statue of Guanyin, the Goddess of Childbearing. He turned around and asked, "What?"

Sui Yan sat on the rocking chair, turned his head and looked at Jun Jingxing with sparkling eyes, and said, "I want to let the prince know that I have feelings for him."

Jun Jingxing's hand shook again, and the Guanyin statue fell to the ground directly.

It broke into pieces with a bang.

Breaking something during the New Year, especially a Guanyin statue, is a bad sign.

Jun Jingxing was startled and quickly squatted down to pick it up, muttering, "I hope everything is fine."

After he picked up the Guanyin statue, he looked up at Sui Yan weakly: "What nonsense are you talking about?"

Sui Yan began to analyze: "Think about it this way. For all these years, I have never once told the prince that I love him. He may just regard our friendship as a close friendship, or a brotherly one. Since I haven't said it out loud, according to his personality, even if he has some feelings for me, he won't express them out loud."

Jun Jingxing: "So?"

Sui Yan blinked and said, "So I have to tell him, if he also has feelings for me..."

Jun Jingxing raised his hand to interrupt him: "Then have you ever thought about this, even if the prince and you are in love, given your status, can you really be together?"

Sui Yan: "Why not? As long as I like it, why should I care about others?"

Jun Jingxing was almost powerless: "I'm talking about the crown prince! The heir apparent of a country! Do you want him to have no children or grandchildren? You two are both men. Let's not talk about whether he can be tolerated by the world or not. Let's just talk about his identity - since Duan Mingchong is the crown prince, he must have a child to inherit the throne in the future."

Sui Yan pointed at himself and said innocently: "I'm just a child."

Jun Jingxing said, "Pooh."

Sui Yan: “…”

Jun Jingxing felt that his feelings for him were in vain. Sui Yan's appearance was not the kind that should make people worry. He said impatiently, "So, you have said so much nonsense. What do you want to say?"

Sui Yan then said, "If the prince really has no affection for me at all, then I won't force him."

Jun Jingxing: "Hmm? Then what?"

Sui Yan thought for a moment, and then said, "If he really has some feelings for me, but he obeys the emperor's arrangement to make him his biological son for the sake of the country, then such a person is not worth giving everything to me."

Jun Jingxing was really impressed by him. He didn't expect that even at this point, he was still so insightful.

Sui Yan said: "So, before he tells me in person that he is getting married, I will never believe the rumors outside. Those are just villains trying to sow discord between us."

Jun Xiaoren: "..."

Jun Jingxing said angrily: "I just heard what others said, how can I stir up trouble between you?"

Sui Yan said faintly: "See, he is angry because of shame."

Jun Jingxing: “…”

Jun Jingxing began to grit his teeth in anger.

Sui Yan enlightened him: "Rumors are spread by mortals like you who like to listen to gossip. Look at me, I never spread rumors about others."

Jun Jingxing glared at him angrily.

就在這時，海棠從門口跑過來，嚷嚷道：“少爺，您之前傳出去江大人和銜曳姑娘二人相互愛慕的蜚言被江大人知道了，他現在正堵在侯府門後，拎着木棍要揍您呢！”

Sui Yan: “…”

Jun Jingxing: “…”

The mortal who was dragged down from the altar by Haitang's words waved his hands desperately at him: "Send him away! Let him go!"

Haitang ran away in a hurry.

Jun Jingxing smiled, "Hmm? Hmm? Lord Hou, what did you say so confidently just now?"

Sui Yan pretended to be calm: "This is pure slander, I didn't spread it..."

At this time, Haitang, who had gone and come back, ran back again: "Young Master, Young Master!"

Sui Yan immediately said angrily: "I didn't spread rumors about them! This is none of my business! I just chatted with a storyteller in the restaurant for a few words, how can this be considered spreading rumors!?"

Haitang: “…”

Jun Jingxing: “…”

Haitang hesitated and said, "No, Master. I meant to say that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has arrived and is outside."

Sui Yan: “…”

oh.