Chapter 171: Apologize
Sun Wei looked at him and said, "Sir, do you think that I have disregarded the Crown Prince's safety?"
Sima Jun shook his head. "I think Madam shouldn't disregard her own safety. There's nothing in this world worth risking your life for. Anyone who truly cares about you wouldn't put you in danger."
Sun Wei was stunned.
After a while, she smiled.
"Your Highness thinks that I do all this for you, right?"
"Isn't it?"
"Yes and no." Sun Wei said, "What do you think of the Crown Prince as the heir apparent?"
"The prince is kind, benevolent, and wise, and he deserves to be a wise ruler."
"I think the same," Sun Wei said. "Your Highness's ambition is to bring peace and order to the people of the world. Your Highness's ambition is the same as mine."
Sima Jun was also stunned.
"Your Highness wants to be a loyal minister, and I, too, want to be a loyal minister," Sun Wei said. "But given the current situation, if we're not willing to take even the slightest risk, how can we accomplish this great cause? So, Your Highness, don't worry about me anymore."
Sima Jun's eyes were deep.
"Madam said before that she just wanted to spend the rest of her life in the palace and enjoy her retirement in peace," he said.
"That's what I wanted to do," Sun Wei said. "But if the great cause fails, the first to suffer will be the Prince of Yuzhang's Mansion. I am there, and I will not be immune to the disaster. Ultimately, what I did was to live the rest of my life in peace. It's in line with what I said before."
Sima Jun did not answer, but nodded slightly after a while.
"That's very good," he said. "May your wife get what she wants."
Sun smiled and said, "When that day comes, the prince will get what he wants."
Sima Jun also smiled faintly, not knowing whether he really believed it or not, and did not say much.
——
Sima Jun had sneaked out after all, and soon he stood up and said goodbye.
Deng Lian personally escorted him to the outskirts of Jiankang City.
I saw a rope hanging beside a secluded city wall.
In the torchlight above, a graceful figure appeared. It was clearly the insider who helped Sima Jun enter and exit the city.
Sima Jun was in no hurry to leave, but only asked Deng Lian about what happened before and after Sun Wei came to Jiankang.
Deng Lian answered truthfully, "After the Crown Prince left, I lived in fear every day, fearing that the Princess would notice something was amiss. To be honest, the Princess was relieved when she discovered it. However, the Princess was furious this day; I've never seen her so harsh. Your Highness, even if you send me to fight in the future, please don't let me provoke the Princess again."
Sima Jun patted him on the shoulder and then explained to him Sun Wei's trip to Wujun.
"Does the Crown Prince really intend to send the Princess to Wu Commandery?" Deng Lian asked. "Even if there's no war going on there, the people are already in a state of panic. No matter how capable the Princess is, she's still a weak woman. If anything were to happen, wouldn't that be like walking into a tiger's mouth?"
"Don't worry." Sima Jun said, "There won't be a major war in Wujun."
Deng Lian was stunned: "The prince is saying that the princess made a mistake?"
"Everything depends on human effort," Sima Jun said. "I will try to lure the Three Immortals away, and there will be no chaos in Wujun."
Deng Lian understood.
Sima Jun returned to the palace and had just entered the house when he heard the voice of the eunuch outside.
"The prince is awake, shall we have dinner?"
Sima Jun thought of what happened just now.
She sat opposite him, her head bowed as she ate, her long eyelashes drooping, casting a faint shadow on her fair cheeks.
——The Crown Prince's ambition is to bring peace to the people of the world and restore order to the world. My ambition is the same as his.
My heart seemed to be touched again.
"Serve the food," he agreed, and after a moment, added, "Tell the chef I want fish soup."
——
The prince personally lobbied and it really worked.
At noon the next day, an imperial decree came from the Empress Dowager's palace, summoning Sima Jun to an audience.
The grandfather and grandson met again since the dispute a month ago.
The Queen Mother seemed to be in a very good mood. After Sima Jun bowed, she let him sit down.
Sima Jun still bowed and refused to get up.
"It was my willful behavior earlier, unable to understand the Queen Mother's painstaking efforts, that caused her grief. Last night, I dreamed of my father. He angrily rebuked me for disobeying my grandmother. I know I was wrong, and I beg the Queen Mother to forgive me."
The Queen Mother felt sad when she heard him mention Prince Yuzhang.
"Ajun," she said, her tone softening as she waved, "Come, come to grandma."
Sima Jun stood up and walked up to the Queen Mother.
The Queen Mother looked at his respectful look and thought of how Prince Yuzhang looked back then, and sighed.
"Do you know how much effort your father put into fighting against the Huan family and gaining a foothold in Jiangzhou?"
"Father used to talk about it with his grandson, and he knew about it."
"That's good to know," the Queen Mother said. "Eradicating the Huan family is not only my wish, but also the unfinished work of your father."
Sima Jun bowed to the Queen Mother and said, "Your Majesty, you are right. It was my grandson who was confused. If Your Majesty still trusts me, please allow me to go to Kuaiji immediately, mobilize the troops from the Northern Prefecture and Jiangzhou, and then proceed to Jingzhou to capture the thief Huan!"
"Now?"
"Right now."
After hearing this, the Queen Mother became hesitant.
Now Wang Zhi has arrived in Wujun. The new chess pieces have been placed, how can he regret it?
"We can discuss this later," the Queen Mother said with a pleasant expression. "I know your heart is with the Three Wus. If peace isn't restored there, even if you were to attack Jingzhou, you wouldn't be able to do it with any peace of mind."
Sima Jun shook his head. "Grandson, I've thought this over again and again. This matter has been a long-standing worry for the Queen Mother. Now that the time is ripe, we can no longer delay. If I can't help the Queen Mother with her worries, I would be unfilial and a disgrace to my father's teachings. How can I still have the dignity to be the Crown Prince of Yuzhang?"
"I understand your filial piety."
The Queen Mother helped him up and let him sit beside her.
She looked at Sima Jun carefully. "When you were little, every time you came back from the battlefield, you were always the closest to Grandma. Grandma sometimes thought, how wonderful it would be if Sima Jun never grew up?"
"It's my grandson who has caused the Queen Mother to worry."
The Queen Mother held his hand, patted it gently, and said, "If you want to go to the Three Wus, go ahead. Accompany the Crown Prince and eliminate the traitors of the Three Immortal Sect. Then, come back and deal with Huan for me."
Sima Jun pursed his lips and said, "Thank you, Grandmother, for your help."
The Queen Mother nodded with satisfaction: "When the war is over, you will have finished your mourning. For a man in his twenties, it's time to get married. Double happiness."
Sima Jun raised his eyes: "Why did the Queen Mother bring up this?"
"Isn't it just a coincidence?" The Queen Mother said, and then said to the palace maid beside her, "Is Xuanji here? Call her in."
After a while, a girl of about seventeen or eighteen years old came forward, bowed her head and said, "Xuan Ji greets the Queen Mother and the Crown Prince."
The Queen Mother looked at her and smiled at Sima Jun, saying, "Earlier, the Princess said Xuanji was a perfect match for Ah Jun. I didn't believe it then. Ah Jun is a military commander, and Xuanji is a weak woman. I was afraid it would be like a stone hitting an egg, and it would break at the first touch. Now it seems that they are indeed a match made in heaven, just perfect."
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