Chapter 107: Both Need and Need

The wind roared violently, and the candlelight flickered.

"So that's how it is." Lu Mingchao suddenly realized.

Principal Yu of Baopu Academy was once invited to the palace to teach the late emperor when he was still the crown prince. It was natural that his most proud disciple, Shu Yuan, became the crown prince's companion.

We met when we were young and have been together and know each other for more than ten years.

One of them was born into a distinguished family and was a descendant of a royal family; the other was gifted and a genius.

I don't know when the feeling of mutual respect and appreciation among like-minded people changed.

The prince shoulders a great cause and has many followers, so it is impossible for him to follow his will and act uprightly and stay with Shu Yuan forever.

After the crown prince succeeded to the throne, Shu Yuan voluntarily entered the palace as a eunuch.

"Shu Yuan is a love-brained person!" Lu Mingchao sighed inexplicably.

This should have been a life that would go down in history, but instead, it could only be evaluated in the meticulous writings of historians and by flattering eunuchs.

Xie Yan was stunned for a moment, and murmured in a dreamlike voice, "Shu Yuan said that he sought benevolence and got it, and he didn't feel any pain."

"When I was young, my cousin went to the northern border to serve in the army, and Shu Yuan accompanied him. At that time, Shu Yuan was a well-known scholar, and his every move was full of scholarly spirit."

"A glass of strong liquor and a poem, dripping with wine all over my clothes and sleeves."

"His frivolous and arrogant attitude turned into the unrestrained and uninhibited character of a scholar after he encountered a person full of poetry and books."

"That scene is imprinted in the minds of countless Northern Frontier soldiers."

"To be honest, for a long time, I always thought that all scholars were like Shu Yuan."

"He said he held me in his arms in the mountains during that military trip."

"Later, when the news of Shu Yuan's purification and entering the palace spread to the northern border, people expressed contempt and disdain, and more people sighed and lamented."

"The year he entered the palace, his aunt became ill from anger, and Yu Shanzhang even declared that this was the greatest disgrace in his life. No one remembered Shu Yuan's talent that was supposed to be gifted only by heaven, and he became a person despised by scholars all over the world."

"There are limits to one's ability and wisdom, and rumors can penetrate anywhere."

Lu Mingchao frowned and pursed his lips, feeling that his stuttering was too clumsy to fully express the complex emotions in his heart.

"Then why is he so humble and considerate to me?" Lu Mingchao changed the subject at the right time.

Xie Yan squeezed Lu Mingchao's hand and said, "Huaiqian's mother is the daughter of a Jiangnan clan. She has been engaged to her cousin since she was a child."

"Although it's rare to see each other all year round, we are bound by an engagement after all."

"In this sense, Shu Yuan is a latecomer."

"Moreover, Huaiqian's mother left a blood letter and hanged herself with hatred for Shuyuan."

Lu Mingchao tilted his head, his bright and clear eyes blinking, "I have something very disrespectful to say, I wonder if I should say it or not?"

"We are just having a private conversation as husband and wife, there is no need to be so serious." Xie Yan looked back at Lu Mingchao, with a smile on his face at the end of his voice, like water hitting a rock.

Lu Mingchao paused for a moment, "I think your cousin wants both."

With warmth as the warp, promises as the weft, and memories as the thread, we carefully weave it into a giant net to firmly trap Shuyuan.

As the web gradually tightens, Shu Yuan's fate is completely in the hands of the weaver. Laughter or tears, life and death, are all decided by him.

"Even if Shu Yuan is unwilling to enter the palace, your cousin will not allow him to do whatever he wants."

"When a monarch humiliates his subjects, it will chill the hearts of officials and scholars in the court and shake the foundation of the country. But keeping a little eunuch to warm the bed is a completely different matter."

"Perhaps, even the path to enter the palace for purification was pointed out by your cousin."

"Once he entered the palace, Shu Yuan had no way out. Everywhere he looked, he saw violent storms. Your brother's preference was the only light left in his life and the only protection it could give him."

"Shu Yuan is a soft-hearted person who likes to deceive himself and others." As he spoke, Lu Mingchao sneered.

She laughed at Shu Yuan's stupidity, but would never ridicule Shu Yuan's sincerity.

As for Huai Qian, the person he should hate the most is the late emperor, not Shu Yuan.

However, the late emperor died, but Shu Yuan is still alive, which can be regarded as God's compensation to the poor man.

"In your description, Shu Yuan is a man who can drink a glass of wine and write a poem, while Master Yu's favorite disciple must have passed the imperial examinations and achieved fame long ago."

"In the Imperial Court, he could write down strategies for governing the country and keeping the people safe; in the literary world, he could write beautiful poems and colorful chapters."

"People like this are as clear as ice and snow. It's not that they can't see through your cousin's intentions, but they don't want to see through them."

"Or, to be more precise, I am willing to fulfill your cousin's wish after seeing through him, so that the country will not be shaken because of him alone."

"It's not that your cousin has no sincerity towards Shu Yuan, it's just that his sincerity is mixed with too much calculation."

He is Master Yu’s favorite disciple!

People's words are scary, let alone the mouths and pens of scholars.

Xie Yan's eyes dimmed, and the nostalgia in his eyes quietly faded away.

His cousin was not only his cousin, but also a member of the royal family.

How could the royal family allow themselves to have something they cannot love or desire?

His Ming Dynasty was as sober and sharp as ever.

"I won't do that in the Ming Dynasty." Xie Yan said seriously.

He never wanted much. When he was young, he only wanted to make achievements in the northern border. After his family was destroyed, he just wanted to survive and protect Huai Qian and the others.

Well, now he wants to live with the Ming Dynasty.

Lu Mingchao held Xie Yan's hand and said, "Ah Yan, I am a vindictive person. I can never be as considerate and considerate as Shu Yuan."

"It's a good idea to part ways in peace and still be happy."

"Otherwise..."

Otherwise, will La Xieyan die together?

No, let Xie Yan die.

She will miss Xie Yan.

"It won't disperse!"

"It's impossible to disperse!" Xie Yan glared at Lu Mingchao with great momentum.

Lu Mingchao curled his lips and said in a sly voice, "He who keeps company with vermilion becomes red, and he who keeps company with ink becomes black!"

Xie Yan's breathing stagnated and he had difficulty breathing.

"The one I am closest to is Shu Yuan. He was the one who held me in his arms in Northern Xinjiang."

"So, I am willing to regard you as the only light in this bloody storm."

Lu Mingchao was in a good mood and said, "Very good."

"It's clearly written in the script that a love brain is the best betrothal gift for a man."

Suddenly, Lu Mingchao came closer and kissed Xie Yan's lips. "This is the best reward for a sweet-mouthed young man."

Xie Yan's face turned red and his body became stiff and straight.

By the time Xie Yan reacted, Lu Mingchao had already pulled up the quilt and closed his eyes.

Before going to bed, Lu Mingchao was still thinking about giving Shu Yuan a snack the next day.

Poor little thing.

The late emperor is dead, but the poor little one still has to think about revenge.

Forget it, be nicer to Shu Yuan and Xu in the future.

As he was thinking, Lu Mingchao fell into a deep sleep.

Xie Yan listened to the even and long breathing beside him, and couldn't help but frown. In the dim light, he opened his thin lips and said silently, "It's the truth."

He and the Ming Dynasty will live together forever.

The candle went out.

The wind still blows.

That night, Shu Yuan and Xie Huaiqian lay on the same bed.

There is a galaxy in between.

"Shuyuan."

"Um?"

"Do you miss my father?"

"In no mood."

"You don't even miss my father. He was so good to you that my mother was jealous."

She is the only living person.