Chapter 1256 The Human Heart Is Unpredictable
A morning court session completely resolved the near-bloody struggle between the King of Qin and the Crown Prince, and at the same time uprooted the largest power in Chang'an, or rather the entire Daye Dynasty, and abandoned it to Luoyang, the eastern capital.
Did the emperor really resolve this matter swiftly and decisively?
Even after the court session ended, many people were still in shock.
Among them, the most somber-looking were naturally the officials who had previously sided with the King of Qin. Their brows were furrowed, and they were all preoccupied. They had originally thought that the situation in the court would undergo a dramatic change after seeing the King of Qin's triumphant return, a scene of great prosperity like a blazing fire and blooming flowers. However, they never expected that after several rounds of battle, the King of Qin would be thrown out of the center of the dynasty overnight.
This means they bet on the wrong horse.
They all failed.
On one side, gloom hung in the air, while on the other side, after gradually recovering from their shock, everyone cheered with joy.
Especially Yu Dingxing and Su Changjing, walking in the center of the crowd and surrounded by a group of officials, all of whom were beaming with joy, their steps light and quick. Although they still habitually kept their voices low when they spoke, their tone was already overflowing with barely suppressed happiness—
"It still takes His Majesty the Emperor's intervention!"
"Yes, only His Majesty's swift and decisive actions can resolve this situation."
"Now it's all good, we finally don't have to put up with that jerk over there anymore."
Upon hearing this, Yu Dingxing stopped and turned around, a hint of displeasure and arrogance flashing in his one remaining eye: "What do you mean by being bullied? Who have we ever been bullied by?"
The person who spoke immediately nodded and bowed, smiling apologetically, "Yes, yes, I misspoke."
Yu Dingxing said, "While we are still in the palace, we must be careful with our words and actions."
After saying that, he continued walking forward. The officials wiped the cold sweat from their foreheads and could only take a few steps back cautiously, following slowly. Only Su Changjing followed closely beside Yu Dingxing until they walked down from the Liangyi Hall. They stopped and looked back. Not far behind them, a solitary, slender figure slowly walked down.
It was none other than Crown Prince Yuwen Qian.
Logically speaking, there should be more people around him, but ever since the Prince of Qin returned victorious from Luoyang, Yuwen Qian has become much more indifferent to matters of the court. Whether it was the Prince of Qin's lavish rewards or the expansion of the Twelve Guards, these actions that almost overwhelmed the Crown Prince's Palace seemed insignificant to him. Even though everyone around him was already overwhelmed, he, who should have been at the center of the storm, seemed to be detached from it all.
Gradually, people stopped daring to disturb his "seclusion," and many matters had to be discussed with Yuwen Cheng, Yu Dingxing, and even the Crown Princess.
But today, a figure slowly walked towards him.
As if sensing the approaching powerful aura, Yuwen Qian stopped in his tracks and turned to meet a pair of eyes that shone like bright pearls.
Xiao Yuansui bowed to him and said, "Greetings, Your Highness the Crown Prince."
Yuwen Qian looked him up and down with his semi-transparent eyes, then said, "It seems like this is the first time we've met."
"Yes, I have never seen the Crown Prince's true face."
Who I am is not important.
Upon hearing this, Xiao Yuansui raised an eyebrow slightly, as if somewhat surprised that the other party would speak in this way. He then looked up at the Crown Prince of the Great Sheng Dynasty, who was second only to the emperor, and at his calm and unassuming eyes, which seemed to be shrouded in mist. Xiao Yuansui smiled and said, "But I have long admired Your Highness."
"oh……"
Yuwen Qian lowered his eyes and thought for a moment before saying, "Does my appearance surprise you?"
"Unexpected, yet not unexpected."
"How so?"
“Your Highness, this is not right; but Yuwen Qian, this is right.”
Before he could finish speaking, and before Yuwen Qian could say anything, Yuwen Cheng, who had followed him up, immediately reprimanded him in a low voice: "How dare you address the Crown Prince by his name!"
Xiao Yuansui immediately lowered his head.
However, Yuwen Qian's translucent eyes did not reveal any anger at being offended. Instead, his gaze was even more serious than when he had met Xiao Yuansui's sharp eyes earlier. After looking Xiao Yuansui over once more, he smiled faintly and said, "No wonder you are a match for my second brother."
Yuwen Cheng immediately said, "Your Majesty—"
Yuwen Qian said, "We can talk about it when we get back. Xiao Yuansui, since you are the Crown Prince's tutor appointed by the Emperor, you should come too."
Xiao Yuansui replied, "Yes."
So the officials who came out of the main hall split into several groups. Some whispered among themselves in twos and threes, some walked alone with their eyes straight ahead, and some gathered together as a group of heroes and walked out of the palace.
When they arrived at the palace gate, it was already crowded with carriages that had come to welcome the officials who had just finished court.
The two carriages guarding the front of the palace gate were the carriages of the Crown Prince's residence and the Prince of Qin's residence. The two carriages, traveling side by side, almost blocked the entire road. The Crown Prince's carriage was a five-horse carriage, while the Prince of Qin's carriage could only be a four-horse carriage. Although the styles were different, the Prince of Qin's carriage was no smaller than the five-horse carriage. It was spacious and magnificent, exuding an unshakable majesty.
Seemingly hearing the footsteps of officials leaving court ahead, inside the Qin Prince's carriage, a jade-like hand gently lifted the curtain, revealing a dignified and beautiful face behind it.
It was Princess Shang Ruyi of Qin.
Looking at the bustling crowd ahead, her eyes sharpened, and she immediately spotted a figure that was somewhat unfamiliar yet not unexpected—Xiao Yuansui, who was standing beside the Crown Prince.
Xiao Yuansui spotted her immediately.
At that moment, his calm and composed steps involuntarily faltered for a moment. Yuwen Qian noticed it almost immediately, turned to look at him, and then looked up ahead as if he understood something.
The next moment, Shang Ruyi stepped down from the carriage.
Once the King of Qi's birthday had passed, she no longer wore such heavy makeup as she had that day. She wore only a pale yellow top and a jade-green flowing skirt. Although it was not luxurious, it made her skin look snow-white, her eyes bright and her teeth white. In the sweltering summer heat, it was as if a cool breeze had blown in.
Xiao Yuansui took a deep breath and immediately lowered his head.
Shang Ruyi, on the contrary, greeted him with a smile and bowed to Yuwen Qian: "Greetings, Your Highness the Crown Prince."
Yuwen Qian's gaze swept over her hair bun, and he said indifferently, "Why is my sister-in-law here?"
"I'm here to escort the King of Qin home after court."
"My younger brother and sister-in-law have a deep and loving relationship; it's truly enviable."
"Your Highness is joking."
If an outsider were unaware of their past conflicts, they might have thought this conversation was between a harmonious brother-in-law and sister-in-law. However, the officials passing by felt a chill run down their spines upon seeing this scene, and many did not even dare to look at it for long. Yuwen Cheng, standing to the side, also sneered inwardly.
Who doesn't know that they are the kind of people who want to grind the other person to dust?
In fact, Yuwen Cheng could sense that Shang Ruyi harbored a deeper animosity towards them than towards Yuwen Ye, who was vying for power with them. After all, she had been the one to break off the engagement first, and later, because Yuan Gan was nearly poisoned, she had forced Han Yu Hui to her death, which had thoroughly enraged Yuwen Qian. If Yuwen Ye might still obey the emperor's decree to retreat to Luoyang and not engage in a life-or-death struggle with them, then Shang Ruyi probably wanted to fight them to the death every moment to eliminate any future threat.
However, the purpose of this "majestic lady" greeting them now is clearly not the crown prince, with whom she has a life-or-death feud.
With a smile in her eyes, Shang Ruyi finished her few casual remarks, then shifted her gentle gaze from Yuwen Qian's face. She then politely nodded to Yuwen Cheng and the surrounding officials before finally fixing her gaze on Xiao Yuansui.
Almost instantly, as if a sword had been drawn from its sheath, his smiling gaze turned sharp.
Xiao Yuansui, who was neither obsequious to the emperor nor the crown prince, kept his head down, as if he were afraid of her gaze, and never raised his head to meet the woman's eyes.
It wasn't until Shang Ruyi smiled and said, "Young Master Xiao—oh no, now I'm afraid I should call you 'Lord Xiao'" that she finally spoke.
Yuwen Qian raised an eyebrow slightly and turned to look at Xiao Yuansui.
Shang Ruyi continued, "I never imagined that after being enemies at Hulao Pass, we would still have the opportunity to serve as ministers in the same court in Chang'an."
"..."
"Life is unpredictable."
Xiao Yuansui finally slowly raised his head.
His face did not show the fear and retreat that everyone had guessed. On the contrary, he was very calm and composed. He glanced at Shang Ruyi, then immediately lowered his eyes again and said very respectfully, "Your Highness is so intelligent, how could you not have thought of this?"
Shang Ruyi said, "No matter how intelligent I am, I can only see through the ways of the world, but I can't see through people's hearts."
Xiao Yuansui laughed and said, "In this world, how many people can truly see through people's hearts?"
"yes,"
Shang Ruyi nodded, but her gaze had already passed over his shoulder and landed behind him. Yuwen Ye was leading Shen Wuzheng, Pei Xingyuan, and a group of officials slowly walking towards them. She took a step back and said, as if summarizing, "Human hearts are unpredictable."
"..."
"Since the King of Qin is here, I will have to stay a little longer."
After speaking, he bowed again and walked past them to greet Yuwen Ye and the others.
Xiao Yuansui turned his head slightly, but did not actually turn around to look. He just stood calmly in the distance, listening to the bustling voices behind him. Yuwen Cheng, on the other hand, turned around and looked at the solemn expressions on the faces of the Prince of Qin and his entourage. He chuckled and said, "Our Princess Consort of Qin is truly a heroine. She never suffers a loss, whether in her hands or in her words."
"..."
"Your Majesty, I'm afraid we'll have to have the Crown Princess come next time."
Yuwen Qian remained indifferent and did not respond.
Although the footsteps behind him were getting closer and closer, he did not turn around. Firstly, he did not intend to meet Yuwen Ye again, and secondly, Yu Dingxing and the others were still waiting ahead. Obviously, after today's incident, everyone wanted to go to his Crown Prince's residence to discuss the next steps—if Yuwen Ye really obediently set off for Luoyang in ten days.
So he calmly said, "Let's go."
The group followed him forward. Although Xiao Yuansui's steps were slightly heavy, he did not turn around and soon left with the group.
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