Chapter 77 The Past
Sun Wei's gaze fell on the lotus in the center of the carpet, and her eyelashes trembled slightly.
"The Crown Prince and the Crown Prince...should not oppose the King Pushe. I have no intention of asking them to be my guarantors."
"So you came to me?" Princess Wanshou asked, "But you ruined Bo Ya's plan, and you know I'm Bo Ya's aunt. How can you convince me to help you?"
"I don't need any persuasion." Sun Wei looked up at her again, her eyes calm. "In the princess's heart, Grand Tutor Zhou's importance has long surpassed that of Wang Pushe. Based on this, the princess will help me."
"What do you mean?"
"Lushan is very big. Without my guidance, the princess will not be able to find Master Zhou. She will come back to find me when the time comes."
Princess Wanshou finally came to her senses and sneered twice.
"You said you were doing good things, but it was all fake. In the end, you still controlled me."
Sun Wei said: "The princess also said that since I was able to find this place, I am not just a good person who does good deeds."
"That's great. If you don't act nice, I won't be manipulated." She said calmly, "There's nothing much for us to talk about. Please leave."
Sun Wei stood up, brushed her skirt, and said, "Is the princess truly immune to manipulation? Then why does she live on this deserted island? Isn't it so that Grand Tutor Zhou can pass by this island one day when he returns from the sea? The princess has been worried about Grand Tutor Zhou's affairs her entire life. How can she ever be at ease?"
Princess Wanshou said nothing, only said, "Get lost."
Sun Wei bowed and turned to leave.
Seeing her come out, A'ru hurried over to her and asked, "What happened?"
Sun smiled and said, "You don't even know why I came here, so why are you asking what happened?"
Aru pursed his lips and said, "I don't need to know what the princess thinks. I just need to know whether it's going well or not."
Sun Wei shook her head slightly.
It was rare for A'ru to hear Sun Wei complain about things not going well, and it was also the first time she'd seen her silent. So, on the way back, once inside the cabin, she pestered Sun Wei about the story of Princess Wanshou and Grand Tutor Zhou.
"That eunuch Guo is so secretive, yet he doesn't dare to tell the whole story. It makes me itch." As she spoke, she asked in a naive way, "Could it be that the princess betrayed Grand Tutor Zhou and then turned over a new leaf?"
"Where do you want to go?" Sun Wei couldn't help laughing.
A'ru smiled and said, "Then you should tell me about it, otherwise I won't be able to sleep tonight."
Sun Wei said, "Princess Wanshou's husband is named Zhou Chang. He was a famous scholar during the previous emperor's time and was also the Prince's Grand Tutor at the time, a proper tutor to the Crown Prince."
A'ru asked, "Is he the teacher of the current emperor?"
Sun Wei shook his head: "He is the teacher of Prince Huaixian."
"Oh. It's the late Crown Prince." A'ru suddenly realized, "I know this. The current emperor is not the eldest son of the late emperor, and the empress dowager is not the original empress, but the successor empress. Not long after the empress dowager was crowned empress, Crown Prince Huaixian passed away due to illness, and the current emperor became the crown prince. I heard that Crown Prince Huaixian's illness is very strange."
Sun smiled.
"I can't go into detail about what happened, but after Crown Prince Huaixian died, Grand Tutor Zhou was heartbroken by the loss of his beloved disciple and became deeply depressed. Later, when the emperor ascended the throne, he became obsessed with cultivating immortality and ignored state affairs, leaving Grand Tutor Zhou disheartened. So one morning, Grand Tutor Zhou wrote a document, thousands of words long, bitterly cursing the emperor. He then resigned from his post and fled, never returning to Jiankang City."
"How cool!" Aju sighed, "How long ago was that?"
"I can't remember the exact year, but it should have been at least ten years."
"Ten years?" A'ru was surprised. "Has the princess been looking for Master Zhou for these ten years? Why?"
"There are some secrets in there, and we outsiders don't know whether they are true or false. In short, it seems that the princess owes a lot to Master Zhou."
A'ru thought about it and opened her mouth wide: "Could it be..."
Sun Wei made a gesture to keep quiet.
The princess and the empress dowager were sisters from the same clan and had a very close relationship. The empress dowager would frequently summon the princess to the palace for conversations. Consequently, the death of Crown Prince Huaixian was often linked to the princess and the empress dowager. This, combined with Grand Tutor Zhou's subsequent ruthlessness towards the princess, only served to raise suspicions.
But what the truth was, Sun Wei never really knew in his previous life.
She only knew that Master Zhou died in Mount Lu, and the princess finally learned of Master Zhou's whereabouts. In the end, she stayed at Mount Lu to guard Master Zhou's lonely grave until she died alone.
"No wonder Eunuch Guo refused to speak," A'ru muttered. "These people look glamorous, but they're full of rotten things inside, like they're infested with maggots."
"Then why are you asking?"
"I was just curious. I thought it was a joke about a man and a woman in a theater. Who knew it was this?" Aju sighed. "I won't ask next time."
After chatting for a while and resting for a while, it was getting dark and we were almost at Taiqing Temple.
Aju lifted the curtain and looked at the palace under the moonlight. It was solid and magnificent, like a sleeping dragon.
She suddenly looked closely and asked, "Is that man on the dock the prince?"
Sun Wei also leaned over to take a look, and it was indeed Sima Jun.
He was seen holding a lantern in his hand, and followed by two guards, whose expressions were not clear.
"Has the prince just returned?" Aju asked.
Sun Wei looked at the boats on the shore. There were no lights on, and even the boatmen had all dispersed.
"It must have been ashore for some time," she said.
"Then the prince came here specially to wait for you?"
Sun Wei curled her lips: "Maybe he came to question me why I went out to sea without permission."
Aju rolled her eyes and couldn't help laughing.
"What are you laughing at?" Sun Wei asked.
"I'm laughing at the two of you. That night, you questioned the Crown Prince about his own risk, and the Crown Prince repeatedly questioned you about your own risk. You clearly both care about each other, but you're always pushing each other, and it all ends in unhappiness."
Do you care...
Sun Wei stared at Sima Jun in the distance for a long moment before saying, "It's true that I care about the Crown Prince, but why does he care? He just thinks I always act on my own."
A'ru was surprised and said, "After Wang Han took you away, the prince rushed to save you. And when we stopped the rebels in Jingkou, the prince also rushed there without saying a word. Didn't the princess see his anxious look? If that's not concern, what else could it be?"
She said, then shook her head: "I thought the princess was a clear-headed person, but in fact, there are times when she is confused by the situation."
Sun Wei looked at Sima Jun on the dock and smiled faintly: "I am a sober person, don't talk nonsense."
The boat slowly approached the shore, and Guo Shun came to pick up Sun Wei from the boat, while Deng Lian had already walked to the shore step by step to report to Sima Jun.
Sun Wei was well aware of Deng Lian's tactics.
On the way, he was always like a mute, so quiet that people forgot he was there. In fact, he was quietly observing, and after returning, he explained everything clearly to Sima Jun, no matter how big or small.
However, Sun Wei was very familiar with Sima Jun and knew how to make excuses in front of him.
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