Chapter 76 (Second Update) We're going to Jinling...
Just one step away, Xiao Mingzhang was just one step away from succeeding tonight.
But Ayan's arrival disrupted all his plans.
Yunzhu's eyes gradually became firm and decisive after Ayan's voice rang out.
She said to Xiao Mingzhang, "Put your clothes on, you are not allowed to stay tonight!"
"..." Xiao Mingzhang was speechless. He looked down at his own condition, his watery eyes trying to evoke a trace of Yunzhu's pity. "In my current state, do you really think I can go out?"
Following Xiao Mingzhang's words, Yunzhu finally looked down at his body.
His current condition... is indeed not suitable for him to go out.
Especially since he wasn't wearing a shirt and rushed out like that, it would probably cause even more trouble.
Yunzhu then said, "Then you stay inside for now, I'll go out."
"Do you really have to see Ayan tonight?" Xiao Mingzhang was unwilling to give up. He grabbed Yunzhu's wrist, knowing that what he wanted to do was never just stay alone in her room.
"Xiao Mingzhang!"
Yunzhu was getting impatient with him. She glanced anxiously at the door, afraid that if she didn't respond soon, Ayan would leave again.
She said, "I must see Ayan tonight!"
Her tone was firm, leaving no room for Xiao Mingzhang to harbor any further ulterior motives.
Xiao Mingzhang had no choice but to suppress his resentment. He released Yunzhu's wrist, and in an instant, Yunzhu rushed to the door and said, "I'm here! Ayan, I'm changing my clothes. Wait a moment, I'll be right out!"
Xiao Mingzhang had never seen Yunzhu so anxious before.
Ayan, standing outside the door, seemed unaware of what was happening inside. Hearing Yunzhu's words, she simply replied calmly with a "okay."
Yunzhu then began to change her clothes and tidy her messy hair without stopping.
This was the fastest Yunzhu had ever changed clothes that Xiao Mingzhang had ever seen. After she finished changing, she glared at Xiao Mingzhang again before reaching the door, signaling him not to move around in the room, before opening the door and going out.
Xiao Mingzhang sat in the shadows of the room, raising an eyebrow as he watched Yunzhu's retreating figure.
After returning home tonight, he felt that Yunzhu was acting very strangely, and now it seemed that it was probably related to Ayan.
...
Yunzhu went out the door, and Ayan was waiting outside.
Upon seeing Yunzhu come out, Ayan kept glancing into the house.
Ayan is a martial artist, so she has a keen eye and sharp ears—this is a fundamental skill. Just now, she was standing outside the door and heard Xiao Mingzhang's voice inside.
Ayan couldn't quite describe her emotions. Xiao Mingzhang was in Yunzhu's room, which seemed like a perfectly normal thing, but she always felt that the moment she heard Xiao Mingzhang's voice, she was standing outside the door, and there was an awkward feeling in her chest that made it hard to breathe.
It seems she felt that Yunzhu could reconcile with Xiao Mingzhang and could choose to stay in the same room with him, but she shouldn't have done it so quickly no matter what.
They just had a fight this afternoon!
"Ayan?" Yunzhu knew Ayan's basic skills, so she looked at Ayan with a guilty expression.
Just like in the afternoon, she tiptoed to take Ayan's hand.
Fortunately, this time Ayan didn't shake her off again.
Yunzhu breathed a sigh of relief and asked, "You're back? Shall we find a place to have a good talk?"
Ayan finally nodded.
In the afternoon, she stormed out of the house. Not knowing where to go, she went to the military camp and borrowed the army's horse farm, where she rode the horses for a few exhilarating laps.
Like Yunzhu, Ayan has loved horseback riding since she was a child. Whenever she is unhappy, as long as she gets on her horse and gallops away, it seems that everything can be forgotten.
Although many times, running a marathon doesn't actually solve anything, she always makes it a habit to run a few laps when she's unhappy, letting the breeze blow through her hair and take away all her troubles.
This time, even after riding the horse, the problem remained unresolved, but for some reason, Ayan felt much more at ease.
Although she still couldn't understand Yunzhu's actions, at least she could calm down.
On horseback, she recalled everything she and Yunzhu had gone through, the days they spent side by side. She remembered Yunzhu's appearance when she first came to the Central Plains and married Xiao Mingzhang, the grievances she felt when she was first tormented by Ying Shi, the genuine love and affection she shared with Xiao Mingzhang, the disheveled state she was in when she escaped from the palace, and the hardship she endured while pregnant with and giving birth to Mu Zhaozhi...
Fate had bound them together tightly, and it seemed that many important things in Yunzhu's life had happened alongside her.
She witnessed her joy and her sorrow, so after surviving the ordeal, she wished more than anyone that she could live a happy and fulfilling life.
So she put all her effort into protecting this hard-won freedom.
However, Ayan felt that she had forgotten that Yunzhu and she were inseparable mistress and servant, but Yunzhu did not belong to her. She had her own personality and her own thoughts. She was independent and should belong only to herself.
She had no right to interfere with Yunzhu's thoughts, especially her feelings.
"Princess, I shouldn't have treated you that way this afternoon..."
The bright moon hung in the sky. Yunzhu and Ayan walked all the way to the garden of the commander's mansion. Ayan lowered her head and apologized to Yunzhu.
"How is this your fault!" Yunzhu didn't feel she needed Ayan's apology.
She was also in a bad mood in the afternoon. She had just made a decision when Ayan contradicted her, and she was furious.
"No matter what, I should have discussed those decisions with you first," she said.
“No, this is the princess’s own business, there’s no need to discuss it with me!” Ayan suddenly raised her head and said.
Yunzhu looked at Ayan in astonishment, wondering what she had gone out to do and why she had suddenly changed her mind.
Ayan hesitated, then said to Yunzhu, "Princess, I've thought about it carefully this afternoon. If you've truly fallen for Xiao Mingzhang again and want to stay with him, then let's stay together. Since you've already fallen in love with him again, forcibly separating you would only make you suffer. Anyway, no matter what happens, I'll always be by your side. If you encounter danger again, I'll take you to escape again. We're not without experience, but this time we also have Azhi, so if we want to escape again, there will be three of us..."
Did she go out all afternoon just to think about these things?
Yunzhu never imagined that she had only mentioned a hint to Ayan, and Ayan would immediately follow that spark and think of a raging fire that might ignite in the future.
Should she praise her for being prepared, or should she praise her for being prepared?
Yunzhu wanted to continue talking to Ayan, but seeing her serious expression, she held back for a moment, but couldn't help but burst out laughing.
Ayan paused, looking at Yunzhu blankly, completely bewildered.
Yunzhu looked up and gently stroked Ayan's head in the moonlight, saying, "My dear Ayan, I know what you're thinking, but I'm really not that thoughtless, am I?"
Ayan looked at Yunzhu with suspicion, still somewhat confused about her meaning.
Yunzhu took a deep breath and explained, "I do want to reconcile with Xiao Mingzhang, but only if there are guarantees. If there are no guarantees, I will not easily turn back. Right now, Xiao Mingzhang and I haven't talked about anything. Reconciliation is just talk, and it won't happen so quickly."
"What terms does the princess want to negotiate with Xiao Mingzhang?"
When it came to negotiating terms, Ayan perked up. Her eyes became cunning, and she was no longer the aggrieved and speechless woman she had been in front of Yunzhu.
Yunzhu smiled faintly. She had almost figured out the conditions. Just as Ayan had said, if she really went back to Yunzhou and Jinling with Xiao Mingzhang, she would not only have to face Xiao Mingzhang and his father and mother, but also the vast number of civil and military officials of the country.
She needs a promise from Xiao Mingzhang, a promise that he will never betray her no matter what, before she will truly choose to go with him.
...
The master and servant talked for a long time, walking around the garden from east to west, before finally finishing their story.
This was the first time Ayan had heard Yunzhu's complete plan for Xiao Mingzhang. It contained her feelings for Xiao Mingzhang, but also her inescapable calculations.
Finally, Yunzhu heard Ayan say, "Ayan, I've already been hurt once, so I'll be more cautious in everything I do than before. But I don't want to lose the courage to start over. Do you understand?"
Ayan naturally understood.
Yunzhu has always been the bravest daughter on the grassland. In the past, when the nobles on the grassland raced horses and shot arrows, Yunzhu, being a girl, could have been less competitive, but in the competition, she was always the bravest one, even more powerful than many princes.
Everyone praised the barbarian king's daughter for being brave, lovely, and fearless, but only Ayan knew how hard it was for her to fall off her horse again and again in order to win the victory, how many times she was cut by arrows, and how much pain she endured when her eyes were fixed on the bullseye until tears welled up in her eyes.
If you fall, just get up again. If you take the wrong path, just find a new one and start over.
Yunzhu has no shortage of this kind of courage.
Only now did Ayan truly understand Yunzhu.
She turned around and grasped Yunzhu's hand, their fingers intertwined tightly, and together they returned to the courtyard.
In the courtyard, Xiao Mingzhang was still sitting in Yunzhu's bedroom.
However, he was already fully dressed and sitting in Yunzhu's room, directly opposite the door.
Ayan was never friendly to this man, especially when he sat at the table looking smug and boastful.
Ayan chose to ignore it and stood outside the door. After seeing Yunzhu inside, she planned to leave.
Ke Yunzhu grabbed her hand and said, "Ayan, since everyone is here now, come here, I have something to say."
Ayan didn't know what else Yunzhu wanted to say in front of her and Xiao Mingzhang. She looked at Yunzhu, full of questions.
Ke Yunzhu blinked her eyelashes, said nothing, and tried to pull her inside.
Having no other choice, Ayan could only follow Yunzhu into the house first.
She strode across the threshold with an air of grandeur and stood before Xiao Mingzhang's desk, coldly glaring at him.
She still held hands with Yunzhu, their fingers intertwined, their arms clasped together intimately, shining brightly before Xiao Mingzhang's eyes, as if showing off the intimacy between her and Yunzhu, a secret unique to them.
Xiao Mingzhang ignored Ayan's petty behavior and, when he heard Yunzhu was about to speak, his eyes followed her closely.
Yunzhu pressed Ayan down to sit at the desk before sitting down herself.
Under the watchful eyes of both Xiao Mingzhang and Ayan, she finally asked, "Xiao Mingzhang, I'm asking you, when do you plan to return to Yunzhou or Jinling?"
Is this what you're asking?
Ayan immediately sat up straight. In fact, she also wanted to know: now that Prince Yi was definitely gone, the situation in the capital was changing rapidly, and Xiao Mingzhang was still leading so many troops in Liangzhou. Was that inappropriate?
King Huan really wanted him to return to Jinling.
Furthermore... Xiao Mingzhang killed Prince Yi just like that. Did he and Prince Huan discuss this beforehand? Or did he do it alone? What should be done about the mess he made?
At the same time, the person feeling the gaze of four pairs of eyes became Xiao Mingzhang.
He glanced at Yunzhu, then at Ayan, and sneered. If he had known he would be asked this question, he should have gone back earlier.
But since Yunzhu had brought this up, Xiao Mingzhang naturally wouldn't hide anything from her anymore.
He said, "The date for signing the new ceasefire agreement with the Western Regions is set for five days from now. Five days from now, as long as the ceasefire agreement is in hand, I can set off back to Jinling at any time."
Go back to Jinling.
Xiao Mingzhang has made it clear that he is returning to Jinling, not Yunzhou.
Yunzhu and Ayan stared intently at the candlelight before them, sensing that a massive bloodbath was about to descend upon them.
Nanjing.
They had never actually been to Nanjing.
—
Jinling City
The news of Prince Yi's death was first heard by Prince Huan, Xiao Shao.
It was the first night after Yunzhu learned the news. Xiao Shao returned from a social engagement outside, and a servant presented him with an urgent secret report, saying that the messenger had instructed that Xiao Shao must open the letter personally.
Xiao Shao instinctively felt that this was a secret letter from Xiao Mingzhang, so following the messenger's instructions, he opened the letter by himself and examined it alone.
When Xiao Shao saw the words "Prince Yi is dead," he was still somewhat taken aback. It wasn't until he stared at those words, looking at them again and again, that he suddenly crushed the jade thumb ring in his hand into two pieces.
He continued reading.
Xiao Mingzhang was quite dutiful in his letter, not only writing about the death of Prince Yi, but also explaining why he had suddenly eliminated him first, and even how he should deal with the situation if the matter reached the emperor's ears a few days later.
But what use was all that writing? In Xiao Shao's eyes, the words "Prince Yi is dead" were like a whip, instantly sentencing him to death.
Did Xiao Mingzhang kill Prince Yi?
Did Xiao Mingzhang kill the eleventh prince?
How dare he? He made such a decision without informing him beforehand?
Xiao Shao erupted in a thunderous rage in an instant.
"Has Xiao Mingzhang gone mad?!"
"Your Highness, please calm down!"
Ying had been observing Xiao Shao's situation from the sidelines. In the past month, every letter from Xiao Mingzhang and Xiao Shao had easily enraged Xiao Shao, so Ying had to observe from the sidelines every time, not daring to let the father and son really break up.
She stepped forward and snatched the letter from Xiao Shao's hand, wanting to see what Xiao Mingzhang had written this time to anger his father.
It would have been better if she hadn't looked; once she did, Ying was nearly scared out of her wits.
She stared at Xiao Mingzhang's handwriting on the letter, then asked the servant who delivered it in a trembling voice, "Did he really do that?"
The servant looked completely innocent, unaware of what was written in the letter. He was merely a messenger, ordered by the Crown Prince to deliver the letter to the Prince as quickly as possible. Thus, he dared not delay for a moment, and after three or four horses had exhausted themselves, he finally arrived with the letter.
He didn't know the contents of the letter, nor did he know why the two people in front of him were so horrified and furious.
Madam Ying gasped, and receiving no response from the servants, she could only turn her face back to Xiao Shao.
"Your Highness..."
"That unfilial son! How many more outrageous things will he do!" Not content with breaking the ring in his hand, Xiao Shao, under Ying Shi's gaze, suddenly swept everything off the table in front of him.
With a crash and a bang, the porcelain bowl, along with teacups and pastries, shattered and littered all over the floor.
Ying was so terrified that she almost had nowhere to stand.
"It's all because of that woman, all because of that woman!" Xiao Shao said. "Xiao Mingzhang has gone mad!"
Ying frowned at the mess on the ground. Although she also disapproved of Xiao Mingzhang's somewhat absurd behavior, was it too much to blame Yunzhu for everything he did?
“Didn’t he write in the letter that he had no choice but to do it because the eleventh prince kidnapped our granddaughter first? How can you blame Yunzhu for that?” Ying asked.
“It’s no wonder that woman gave birth to this daughter. How could our family have such weaknesses?” Xiao Shao retorted emphatically.
"..." Madam Ying no longer thought Xiao Mingzhang was absurd. She felt that the most absurd person in the entire family was the one in front of her.
Even without this weakness, there would be others. What she couldn't stand most was Xiao Shao's disdain for his granddaughter.
Ying couldn't help but turn cold and said, "You should save your breath. The eleventh prince and our family haven't gotten along for long. Now that Father Emperor's days are numbered, so be it if we kill the eleventh prince. We have a perfectly good reason to face the court officials. I really don't know what you have to be afraid of!"
"You're going to join him in this absurdity?" Xiao Shao rebuked.
"How is this absurd?" Ying asked, puzzled. "When you were serving the country on the battlefield, weren't you always full of spirit? I think you were the one shouting the loudest on the battlefield. What's wrong with that? You can risk your life for the court, but now our own granddaughter has been kidnapped and her life is being threatened. She is our own granddaughter! The one who kidnapped her should be our enemy. If we kill our enemy, we should kill him. You have courage on the battlefield, but when it comes to our enemies, do you really have no courage at all?"
"Even courage has its priorities! In the current situation, our throne is already in our grasp, so why take this risk and risk further complications? A gentleman takes revenge even after ten years, so what if we kill him a little later?"
"Delay killing him? If we don't kill him now, who knows who will be the one killed in the end!"
Ying was truly angered by Xiao Shao, and her responses to him became increasingly forceful.
Xiao Shao was so angry with Ying that his chest heaved violently. This woman had become increasingly sharp-tongued since arriving in Jinling, a completely different person from when she was in Yunzhou.
He pointed at Ying Shi, wanting to say something more to her, but Ying Shi looked at him and finally said, "Don't think I don't know what you're thinking. Aren't you just afraid that if the eleventh prince is gone, and that Father Emperor will have a different opinion of you if he finds out about this?"
Since returning to Jinling, Ying Shi followed Xiao Shao in and out of the palace many times. The more often she went in and out of the palace with Xiao Shao, the more she understood him.
Xiao Shao was a man who completely lacked fatherly love, something Ying had long seen through.
Even though there are no princes in the court who can rival their family now, and even though they no longer need to fear the Eleventh Prince or the old subordinates of the He family, Xiao Shao still insists on being wary.
It's because those are all people the emperor cares about. He wants the throne, but he also wants to gain a good reputation in front of his father.
But there's no such thing as a free lunch. The emperor didn't love his son, he just didn't. They should have seen this when the emperor arranged the marriage for Xiao Mingzhang, but because of Xiao Shao's blindness, the whole family chose to numb themselves.
Now that Ying has arrived in Jinling, he no longer needs to numb himself, but Xiao Shao still insists on self-hypnosis here.
No matter how hard a person tries, they can never surpass the child who is naturally favored by their father.
"What nonsense are you talking about!"
Xiao Shao glared and bristled. Sure enough, the person who knows best how to hurt others is always the one beside you in bed.
Even though the news of Prince Yi's death had enraged him, it hadn't made his eyes turn bloodshot. But now, Ying Shi's casual words had caused Xiao Shao's eyes to become bloodshot, which was quite terrifying.
Ying felt ashamed of his reaction.
“Isn’t that so?” she retorted. “Instead of going crazy here, we should think carefully about the strategy we need to take in the court soon. Mingzhang has written it all down in his letter: the eleventh prince has privately detained many officials in Yong County and replaced them with his own men; he has also used our granddaughter to blackmail Mingzhang, forcing him to seek peace with the Western Regions. All of this is enough to warrant a charge of treason!”
Xiao Shao took a deep breath.
It's true that Xiao Mingzhang was absurd, but it's also true that Prince Yi was foolish.
It was indeed fortunate that he was foolish, so even though his father favored him for so many years, he was never given the position of Crown Prince in a fair and square manner.
Fortunately, he was foolish, so even if Xiao Mingzhang were to kill him now, they would have ample reason to do so.
Having gradually calmed down from his initial rage, Xiao Shao realized that since the incident had already occurred, he should naturally, as Ying Shi had suggested, begin to consider his position in court in the coming days.
Although news of Prince Yi's death has spread to a small area in the western region, it has not yet reached Jinling. The news was specially sent by Xiao Mingzhang on horseback. If it is to become known to everyone, it may have to wait until the day after tomorrow, or even the day after that.
Xiao Shao couldn't calculate the timing accurately, but that didn't stop him from starting preparations now, so that when things broke out, whether it was the day after tomorrow or the day after that, he would have plenty of ways to deal with it.
He was confident that he could silence the entire court with facts, except for his father, the emperor…
Ying's words still echoed in his ears, making Xiao Shao somewhat anxious and uneasy.
He was unwilling to admit that everything Ying said was true, and even more unwilling to admit that he was the unfavored child.
From childhood, no one knew how much effort he put in to gain his father's approval. Not long after being enfeoffed as a prince, he was ordered to guard the border, making great contributions to the peace of the nation's frontiers. He thought his hard work would be rewarded by his father, but in the end, he was met with fear and suppression.
Couldn't Ying himself see what he was saying? But even if he did see it clearly, what would he gain...?
Xiao Shao dared not think about it further.
That night, Xiao Mingzhang's matter had already kept him awake, and Ying's words made him sit in the hall all night, unwilling to go back to his room.
Ying did not try to persuade him any further.
As husband and wife, there were some things she could help Xiao Shao with, but there were some things on his mind that only he knew how to resolve.
As dawn broke, Xiao Shao's stiff body, which had been sitting motionless all night, finally stirred after being informed by a servant.
The servant reminded him that it would be time to attend the morning court session in another hour.
There was still an hour left... Xiao Shao snapped back to reality, counted the time on his fingers, and realized it was enough.
He then got up, changed into the clothes he needed to wear for the morning court, and headed to the palace ahead of schedule.
He didn't tell anyone.
He sat in the hall all night and made a momentous decision—
He planned to personally inform his father, the Emperor, of the news of Prince Yi's death.
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