Chapter Thirty-Two: The Secret of the Prince of Ruyang
This is a secret that Prince Ruyang has kept hidden in his heart for more than 20 years.
More than twenty years ago, Prince Ruyang was a renowned nobleman in the capital. Born into a prominent family, handsome and charming, he was the object of many women's affections. However, Prince Ruyang was too proud to take a liking to any of them. In the eyes of this young nobleman, only Shen Yan, the "most talented woman in the capital" who possessed both beauty and talent, was barely worthy of him.
Shen Yan was the legitimate daughter of Grand Tutor Shen. She was virtuous, gentle, and learned. Not only was she a renowned talented woman in the capital, but she was also beautiful and elegant, making her the goddess in the hearts of many young men in the capital. However, Shen Yan looked down on Prince Ruyang and other members of the royal family, and never gave him a second glance.
Prince Ruyang was born into privilege, getting whatever he wanted effortlessly, and his mansion was filled with beautiful women. He had never suffered such neglect before. This became a thorn in his side, making him determined to possess Shen Yan no matter what. However, Grand Tutor Shen loved his daughter dearly and was unwilling to wrong her in the slightest. Upon hearing that Prince Ruyang was going to request the Emperor's decree for marriage, he immediately decided to betroth his daughter to his protégé, the newly appointed top scholar of the imperial examination, Mu Linfeng.
Mu Linfeng's ancestors were once officials, but by his generation, the family had fallen on hard times and was quite destitute. If it weren't for his profound knowledge catching the eye of the Grand Tutor of the court, he would probably never have been able to turn his life around. Therefore, Mu Linfeng dared not neglect his studies in the slightest, until he achieved fame and became the top scholar in the imperial examination.
Upon hearing that his teacher was going to betroth his daughter to him, Mu Linfeng was so excited that he couldn't sleep all night. He had fallen in love at first sight with this "most talented woman in the capital" when they first met at the poetry gathering that year. However, because of his impoverished background and lack of official rank, he had deeply suppressed his feelings of love. Who would have thought that perhaps heaven had eyes, taking pity on his lonely and difficult childhood, and had actually bestowed this marriage upon him.
But he was also unwilling to wrong Shen Yan. After Grand Tutor Shen spoke, he hesitated for a long time before finally asking, "This student will leave it to the teacher's discretion. But what is Miss Shen's opinion?"
He had thought that if Miss Shen already had someone she liked, he would never force her. But when Shen Yanqing's clear, cold eyes looked at him, Mu Linfeng's heart pounded like a drum, and he was somewhat afraid, fearing that the final answer would be a rejection. Just as he was tormented and at a loss, the answer he had been longing for rang out: "Ayan has no objection, she will leave everything to Father's decision..."
"Excellent, excellent, excellent!" Grand Tutor Shen clapped his hands in delight. It not only brought together a perfect couple but also avoided what the Prince of Ruyang wanted; it was truly a wonderful marriage.
On one side, the Grand Tutor's mansion was filled with joy; on the other, the Prince of Ruyang gritted his teeth in frustration. As noble as he was, he had never experienced such setbacks with a woman. Yet, the more he couldn't have her, the more restless his resentment became. He couldn't do anything to Grand Tutor Shen and Shen Yan, but couldn't he handle a mere top scholar?
With Grand Tutor Shen protecting him, Mu Linfeng quickly entered the Hanlin Academy and became a close advisor to the emperor. He was also a skilled writer, his elegant prose earning him the emperor's favor. The Prince of Ruyang, unable to harm Mu Linfeng, was seething with hatred. Yet, he never gave up for a moment.
Five years later, Grand Tutor Shen passed away, and Mu Linfeng only rose to the fourth rank. Three years later, the emperor died, and Mu Linfeng, now a third-rank official, was eager to realize his ambitions. But then the struggle for the throne broke out.
The imperial court was shaken, and the capital was in turmoil. It was at this moment that the Prince of Ruyang, who had been biding his time for so long, made his move against Mu Linfeng.
If you want to find fault, you can always find a pretext.
That day was in the dead of winter. The sky was overcast, a howling wind blew, and the gray expanse was a harbinger of an impending snowstorm. First, rebel troops, appearing from nowhere, broke down the gates of the Mu residence, then a horde of soldiers stormed in, claiming to be capturing the traitors. Poor Mu Linfeng, an upright and honest man, was hacked to death by the chaotic army, and then branded with the disloyal crime of "harboring rebels."
Shen Yan naturally knew this was a premeditated murder, but before she could even hide her daughter, who was not yet nine years old, she was captured by the rebel leader. The leader, seemingly acting on orders, took out a portrait, compared it to the portrait, and then sent men to forcibly take Shen Yan away. But after Shen Yan was forcibly abducted, the leader raised his butcher's knife with a ferocious grin: "Kill!"
That night, the blood of the Mu family flowed like a river. Except for Shen Yan, not a single living creature remained.
In the dead of winter, the flowing blood froze into ice in an instant. A flurry of snowflakes fell, concealing this unprecedented crime.
The night was so cold and so long. After an unknown amount of time, when everything around had fallen completely silent, a girl crawled out from under the still-frozen corpse. Her clear, cold eyes and trembling body made her grit her teeth and struggle to crawl towards the dog hole in the corner of the wall.
She can't die, she can't die! Her mother said that there is hope only in living!
Shen Yan committed suicide on her very first night in the Prince of Ruyang's residence. The reason she waited until she entered the residence to take her own life was so that she could do it in front of the Prince of Ruyang.
"Bah! You scoundrel, you've been plotting against me for years, do you have even a shred of royal dignity? I, Shen Yan, will not serve two husbands. You have harmed my husband and destroyed my home. I will never let such a villain succeed..." Before she finished speaking, the sharp jade bracelet fragments that she had already hidden slashed towards her slender jade neck without hesitation.
Blood splattered like a fountain across Prince Ruyang's face. Watching the woman he had longed for for so many years finally fall cruelly before him, Prince Ruyang's eyes glazed over for a moment. Unrequited love, ultimately, remains unrequited love!
"Ayan, why did you do this?" That night, the Prince of Ruyang held the woman's body and wailed, "I didn't really want to ruin your life, I just couldn't swallow this..."
If you had shown me even the slightest kindness or given me a way out back then, perhaps I wouldn't have harbored resentment towards you, and I wouldn't have gone after your husband. But resentment had already taken root, and it eventually escalated into a blood feud.
After that, there was another year or so of purging the rebels. Then, the Empress ascended the throne, changed the era name to Chunxi, and granted a general amnesty.
That year, the little girl who crawled out of the cold sea of corpses had been hiding for a whole year. During that year, she fought with dogs for food and with beggars for bedding. If it weren't for her love of martial arts since childhood, and the martial arts instructor hired by her grandfather, she probably would have starved and frozen to death that winter.
Now, she has no home, no mother, no father, and can only rely on herself. The little girl stares with clear, cold eyes, disguising herself as a wild boy, and fights for food without hesitation. After eating a little more, she secretly finds a place to practice martial arts, determined to make herself stronger.
Until that day, when she was shivering with a high fever, she could no longer hold on and collapsed at the entrance of the charity. She had heard that this charity selected people. She gambled, gambled that God would not let her die such a miserable death; she also gambled that this charity could give her a better future.
In the end, her gamble paid off.
Eight years later, the little girl who had escaped death years ago had become a capable and independent lieutenant under the Empress. Even though her childhood memories were somewhat blurred, the blood and snow of that night remained an indelible mark on her heart…
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