Chapter 1
The chirping of insects and the singing of birds are heard in my ears. It is now August and the heat is getting stronger. Everything I see is steaming with heat waves, and the people who are fighting feel dizzy.
Inside the Shouwang Mansion, the maids and eunuchs sweeping the floor outside were all dressed in bean green clothes as they walked back and forth, adding a different kind of brilliance to the red walls and bringing some coolness to the scorching summer day. They all walked lightly, and every move they made carried a grace that was not seen outside.
Yue Qingning was deeply impressed. It turned out that the waiters in the prince's mansion were different from those in other places. It was truly a royal style.
However, such a unique interest failed to attract her attention. Yue Qingning turned her gaze away indifferently. The stuffy atmosphere in the room made her unable to stay any longer.
"I wonder when His Royal Highness Prince Shou will be back?"
How could the mother dare to be impatient in front of the eldest princess? Even if she couldn't wait any longer, she had to wait and asked carefully with a smile.
Since she and her mother entered the mansion at noon, they have drunk three or four cups of tea in succession, but Prince Shou still has not shown up. They said they were interested in establishing a relationship, but he has never come out to meet them.
Yue Qingning had never had any interest in Prince Shou, and after being treated coldly like this, she actually felt a little indifferent, as she should have. Originally, the royal family of the Heavenly Kingdom was not something a mere Shangshu's daughter could reach. Now, he didn't even come to see her after she entered the house. It seemed that the two of them were really not destined to be together.
The eldest princess, who was curled up on the main seat, also looked unhappy at the moment. She was already old, and her health had been deteriorating in recent years. She was anxious when she heard her child ask this. She started coughing again because of this anxiety. Her mother hurried forward to rub her back to help her calm down, but the eldest princess held her hand and said that she would send someone to urge her.
However, the servant on the other side still responded, saying that His Highness was busy with affairs and could not see him today.
The princess's already pale face turned even more ashamed upon hearing this. After all, she was the one who invited the person and arranged the matter. Zhong Changning was the only bloodline left from her late husband's side branch. She and her husband had never had any children in their lives, so she treated the Zhong family's children as her own.
Now is a turbulent time. The prince is powerful and is constantly purging officials who oppose him. It will soon be the Yue family's turn. She wants to protect the child of Xie Ge's family at all costs.
But now she couldn't invite Ah Heng over, which made her embarrassed today.
"Changning, let's wait a little longer. Ah Heng isn't usually like this, but he's had urgent matters recently! You know the situation in the court. The Crown Prince is openly and covertly trying to trip up those who don't obey him. I'm afraid your Minister Yue has also given him trouble a few times. If Qingning can enter the Shou Palace this time, as long as Ah Heng is still here, he will definitely do his utmost to protect your Yue family."
Zhong naturally knew that the court was in turmoil. Her daughter had become a victim of political struggle without doing anything. No matter how much she said, it would be useless. But at least she should maintain some dignity, right?
Because Prince Shou mentioned the matter of marriage after leaving the court, she brought her daughter to meet him.
If it weren't for the fact that these words came from her own husband, she would have never dared to believe it. Sure enough, when she arrived at the Shouwang Mansion, the Shouwang who had clearly mentioned this intention in the first place didn't even bother to meet him. Did he still want her to rush to marry his daughter?
Even if her husband agreed, she couldn't afford to lose face! Moreover, if her daughter really married into the family, she would have to endure countless grievances in silence.
After drinking two bowls of tea, Zhong couldn't keep the smile on her face. Even in front of her own relatives, she couldn't force a good expression. She had to stand up while she still had some face left, and took her daughter to say goodbye to the eldest princess.
"I didn't choose the right time this time. It seems that His Highness is too busy with official duties to spare time. In that case, we should go back and visit again another day!"
The eldest princess stretched out her hand to keep her, but before she could say anything, the servant at the door came in to report.
"His Highness said he is not available today, please come back tomorrow!"
“…”
As a result, the three people who still wanted to maintain some dignity were unable to say a word. The awkwardness seemed to condense in the air. Fortunately, Yue Qingning reacted quickly and comforted them with a smile.
"Your Highness should prioritize state affairs. It's a pity that we can't help you right now. If we can relieve your worries a little, it would be a relief."
"Your Highness, Princess! I will go back with my mother this time. I will come to visit you again if I have time."
Since people said so, what else could the princess say? She sighed deeply, as if she wanted to express her deep love for her sons and her care for the younger generations.
Yue Qingning noticed something was wrong. She looked over and saw that the eldest princess's noble demeanor, which was usually low-key and without showing off, seemed to have become a little thinner under her kind eyes due to her years of faith in Buddhism.
In the past, I didn't care about anything, but now I seem to have suddenly become lively because I don't have much time left. I want to make good use of the time I can still move to find a good way out for my children and grandchildren. Unfortunately, none of these young people are obedient.
After walking out the door, Mrs. Zhong finally let go of the stiff expression on her face and raised her hand to rub her facial muscles.
"I heard from your father that Prince Shou had this intention, so I rushed to meet him. I didn't expect that he was just saying it casually and didn't take it seriously at all."
Yue Qingning remained noncommittal. After all, she didn't like any of the royal family members. The emperor was old and senile, the prince was tyrannical and cruel, and the royal family was no different from ordinary people. They were all born of the same father. How good could Prince Shou be?
It's like picking a general from a group of dwarfs. If there was no one among the princes to support him, his own father would probably look down on this arrogant Prince Shou.
But he couldn't say out loud what he was thinking, so Yue Qingning supported Zhong and said nonchalantly.
"Mother, His Royal Highness Prince Shou may really have something to do this time, and father has been supporting His Royal Highness for many years. Even if this fails, we will still be on His Royal Highness's side. After all, that Crown Prince..."
The conversation suddenly stopped here. As the two of them were walking out through the corridor, the carriage parked in the backyard suddenly neighed, and they both looked intently.
In front of the handsome red-maned horse, there was a man standing upright, stroking the horse's mane with one hand and saying something to himself.
Without seeing the face or the shirt, she already knew who the person on the other side was. Yue Qingning was struck by lightning. She was too familiar with him.
It's just that they shouldn't be at this moment, shouldn't be here, and shouldn't even meet.
After all, the two of them now belong to different factions, and their identities are even more different than before. I'm afraid I won't be able to say anything nice when they meet again...
Mrs. Zhong walked forward first and saw the people over there. She was about to speak, but gradually realized something and stood there, not knowing what to do.
The man over there was not as embarrassed as they were. He patted the nose of the red-maned horse. The horse seemed to be very close to him and snorted against him as if it was inseparable.
He stroked the horse twice and walked forward.
His body is like a drunken jade mountain in the breeze, and his mouth is like the endless singing of Wing Chun.
"Madam, how are you!"
They bowed from a distance, with a long flight of bluestone steps between them. Zhong waved her hand awkwardly.
"I didn't expect to meet you here!"
He seemed not to hear the sarcastic tone in the words and leaned forward again.
"His Royal Highness Prince Shou has something to discuss with you and asked me to come over."
Prince Shou actually invited this treacherous minister to his palace. I really don't know if the sun rises from the west. Moreover, as a member of the prince's faction, it is obviously not a good thing for him to come to Prince Shou's palace. The prince and Prince Shou are enemies. I'm afraid that inviting him to the palace this time will cause some trouble again.
The man didn't mind Zhong's awkward look, and turned around to bow to Yue Qingning.
Yue Qingning hurriedly stopped him, "Sir, please don't embarrass me!"
“…”
Never had a moment felt as long as this one. Yue Qingning put his hands behind his back, twisting the corners of his clothes tightly, trying hard not to show any strange expression.
He seemed to look at her from a distance, then bowed down.
"It's been a long time since we last met. I wonder if the young lady is doing well? Que Ming has always wanted to go back to the mansion to pay her a visit, but he never had the time."
Both of them were in Kyoto, but hadn't seen each other in three years. It was really lame to ask whether they could find time or not.
I don't know what he means by saying this now. After all, when he was kicked out of the house three years ago, they were far from being as respectful to each other as they are today.
It’s better not to talk about the past. Yue Qingning didn’t want to say more to him, so he pulled his mother and got into the car.
When passing in front of him, Que Ming, who had just been pretending to be sincere, actually took a step back, as if he was avoiding them as if they were sick.
Her originally calm heart was suddenly turned upside down by his retreat. In an instant, even her rationality could not stop her from looking back.
He didn't seem to expect that she would come back. When he raised his eyes, he almost bumped into her. His elegant face was so close to her that she finally saw what he looked like now.
He has grown taller and his figure is different from before. It seems that he has grown up under the care of fine clothes and delicious food. Even the immaturity on his face has faded. Now Que Ming has really grown into a person that she can't recognize.
No wonder she wanted to cling to the prince! If she could get such support, what would it matter if the prince was a boy?
After all, Fu Fen He Lang has probably wanted to go this way for a long time.
It's just a pity for her, her...
Thinking of this, Yue Qingning suddenly stopped thinking, and also suppressed the overflowing emotions. Things have come to this point, and people have parted ways. There is no point in arguing about it anymore.
She shook her head and finally uttered a sentence.
"I'm sorry, I was confused just now."
There seemed to be a sob in her words, but she was lost in thought and didn't notice it, but the person on the other end heard it clearly.
The man just stood in front of her, and when the wind blew, the green shirt also flew towards her, almost wrapping him up. Yue Qingning looked up, confused, and the two of them just stood there in silence, stretching out the little time left.
Until he raised his hand, reaching out as if to touch her face.
Yue Qingning dodged suddenly. He paused for a moment, but did not take his hand away. He still raised his arm to block the glaring sunlight for her.
The two men looked at each other in silence, finding it difficult to speak because the prince was standing between them. If they spoke to each other, it would be hurtful. It would be better if they didn't say anything to preserve some of their past kindness.
After pondering for a while, Que Ming said solemnly.
“…Be careful on the road and have a safe journey.”
Yue Qingning suppressed the bitterness and replied "OK".
This is what is decent.
He was now an official, no longer the little follower who had followed her around. She hadn't quite recovered from this change of status, and she was completely unprepared to see him again. The feeling of subconscious dependence washed over her, making her forget the rules and unable to even call him "Sir."
The man watched them get into the car. Yue Qingning leaned against the car window and her eyes couldn't help but turn red.
Fortunately, my mother didn’t see it and continued talking to herself.
"Que Ming is truly capable. He left our Yue family and even managed to curry favor with the Crown Prince. Now he's even an official. Looking at his current prestige, who would have thought he was once a servant who looked after horses in our family?"
The words fell to the ground and no one picked them up. Zhong glanced at Qingning who was lying by the window. She was holding her chest with her head down. After a long while, a silent voice came out from between her folded sleeves.
"When they become adults, they will definitely have their own abilities. It has nothing to do with us. We just need to avoid offending them."
Mrs. Zhong couldn't stop talking after hearing this and raised her voice angrily.
"He's certainly capable! Otherwise, how could he have charmed the Crown Prince? I took him in for five years, protected him for five years! I was afraid he'd leave home and be taken away by someone powerful and influential, and I didn't expect him to be so eager to go! It was my lack of foresight that blocked his bright future."
The person by the window had not left yet, and Yue Qingning could even see his shoes.
It was strange to say, but one could read a person's expression from his shoes. She simply understood how bitter his heart was.
"Stop talking! Their affairs have nothing to do with us. Let's go!"
The carriage finally moved forward two meters, and the man's footprints changed. He took half a step towards her direction and finally stayed where he was.
Yue Qingning breathed a sigh of relief as she watched the man in green robe gradually disappear from her sight. She turned around and leaned against the window, but the regret in her heart did not disappear because of this meeting. Instead, it became even greater, until she was completely enveloped in the mist.
She thought that if she really parted ways with him, there would probably be even more hatred.
Que Ming had to be even more cruel to her, cruel enough to take her life and hurt her body, so that the friendship between the two of them over the past five years would truly end.
Fortunately, he couldn't do it, and neither could she.
In this way, it is enough that we will never become enemies in our lifetime.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
