Chapter 65 Chapter 65 God's Will
"Maybe I took advantage of my status as a princess of the royal family and was too spoiled, and in the end he couldn't stand it anymore."
The rain was getting heavier, hitting the bluestone slabs in the courtyard with a loud clatter, splashing white everywhere. Even the tree in the corner could not be seen clearly. Only the wind and rain, carrying the fallen leaves, flew to the doorstep.
The leaves fell on Nian Jia's skirt. She picked them up and threw them back into the wind and rain.
Du Lingjing looked up and heard her ask, "Jingniang, do you remember that I always wanted to make a silver-white brocade robe for him with my own hands?"
The wind brought long-lost memories, ruffling the loose hair on Du Lingjing's temples.
She remembers.
When Wei Jue was working in the palace, he actually wanted to study. The people he admired most were scholars like her father who had passed the imperial examinations.
Study, be an official, and have students all over the world, serve the country and the people.
Unfortunately, the Wei family was a military family, and Wei Jue was also a royal relative. By the time he reached a certain age, it was too late for him to take the imperial examination.
"But I don't think it's a big deal. Why can't the royal family produce noble scholars?" Nian Jia whispered, "If he becomes my Yibin, I will let him study and ask the chief secretary of Prince Yu's Palace to find a scholarly position for him. It's not impossible."
"I thought so, and I also thought that my groom was different from other groomsmen. He was a scholar, so he should wear a light-colored brocade robe to look elegant and noble."
When Nian Jia had this idea, he actually considered making him a silver-white brocade robe that fits him well.
"But I was not good at sewing and didn't want to ask others for help. I couldn't even figure out how to take measurements and tailor clothes. And he was young at the time and grew very fast..."
The wind and rain blew in through the doors and windows.
Du Lingjing recalled that after she returned to Qingzhou with her father, she received several letters from Guo Nianjia.
In every letter, she mentioned Wei Jue and the extremely difficult-to-make silver robe for Wei Jue.
Du Lingjing remembered one time when she was sitting in the bamboo forest under the Mian Building. She had just opened Nian Jia's letter when she was greeted by Nian Jia's troubled complaints.
She said that she had made great progress in taking measurements and tailoring clothes, and that she was making the clothes very quickly and would soon be finished. However, she hadn't seen Wei Jue for only two months and when they met again she almost didn't recognize him. He had also grown taller, and the silver robe that was about to be made could not be made no matter how much she altered the measurements!
Nian Jia was so angry that he said to himself that he would not waste his efforts any more, as it was simply torture.
At that time, Du Lingjing also felt that Nian Jia was about to give up, as the princess was not someone who could patiently do needlework.
Du Lingjing looked towards her and heard her lower her eyes and smile, saying, "Actually, I didn't give up. When I couldn't alter the dress, I bought some new cloth."
She said that because of all the procrastination, the clothes were not made yet, and they both grew up and reached the age to get married.
At that time, it was no longer the time when the previous emperor was still alive and both of them were in the palace, but the current emperor had ascended the throne. Nian Jia left the palace and returned to Prince Yu's Mansion, and Wei Jue suddenly became the emperor's cousin.
In the past, Nian Jia was a princess, and she was just a branch of the Wei family of the Zhongqing Earl's Mansion.
"But mother saw that I liked him and looked down on others, so she never stopped me."
But after the emperor ascended the throne, Wei Jue's father became the emperor's uncle, and their branch was separated from the Earl of Zhongqing and was granted the title of Earl of Xinyun. Wei Jue's father became a lord earl and was directly promoted to the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. Wei Jue became the eldest son of the Earl of Xinyun, no longer the unknown boy before.
"Some people started to propose marriage to him, including civil officials, military generals, and royal family members. They said that my Prince Yu's Mansion was just an empty shell, and that I was a child without a father and was not worthy of him."
"I became angry when I heard these words, and in a rage, I threw away the silver robe that I had almost finished making for him."
Wei Jue picked up the clothes from somewhere and knocked on the door of Prince Yu's mansion in a hurry that night.
Nian Jia refused to see him, so he waited outside until it started to rain in the second half of the night. Seeing that the rain was getting heavier, but he still didn't leave, Nian Jia opened an umbrella and hurried out.
"What are you still doing here? I'm not worthy of you, why don't you leave now?"
She was annoyed, but Wei Jue smiled helplessly.
"I have always been the only one who is unworthy of the princess. When has the princess ever been unworthy of me?"
The night rain soaked him completely, his hair stuck to his forehead, and raindrops dripped from his sleeves.
But Nian Jia still had a stern face, "But you never sent anyone to the palace to propose marriage."
This made Wei Jue silent for a moment.
Seeing that he stopped talking, Nian Jia became even angrier and turned to leave.
But he grabbed her hand.
"That's not the case."
He said that the unexpected letter from Prince Yunbo was empty.
"I have nothing but this title. How can I come to the palace to propose marriage?"
He said he didn't like the job of Jinyiwei, and that his academic career was a failure, but he wanted to make achievements in the army.
"Just like my cousin Lu and my cousin Cong."
He was talking about Lu Shenru and Wei Cong.
"Like them, they can accumulate real merits on the battlefield, fight on the battlefield, realize their ambitions, and be a man in the world."
Nian Jia was stunned. This was the first time she heard him say this.
It turns out that he no longer cares about studying, and he also wants to go to the northwest to make achievements...
"It's just that I don't know," he looked over, his eyelashes wet by the night rain, "I don't know if you, Yuanyuan, are willing to leave the capital with me and go to the wind and sand of the northwest border."
He called her Yuanyuan, which was Nian Jia's nickname and the name left to her by her father, Prince Yu, whom she had never met.
The wind and rain grew stronger, covering the courtyard tightly as if it were night.
Du Lingjing was stunned for a moment.
Many years later, Nian Jia did go to the northwest, but he did not follow Wei Jue, but Wei Cong...
Du Ling was silent for a while, but Nian Jia said that after listening to his explanation that night, she was no longer angry.
She said she could consider going to the northwest, but she also had to return to Beijing to take care of her mother.
But the silver robe she threw away was broken. After finally fitting her properly, it could no longer be worn.
Wei Jue said it was okay, he would go back and have it repaired with needle and thread and wear it for her to see another day.
"Don't be angry, okay?"
Nian Jia was of course not angry anymore, but he still didn't allow him to wear the torn clothes, "You are not allowed to grow any taller, I will make you a new one!"
He lowered his head and smiled and said, "I'm not that tall anymore, you take your time."
Nian Jia really likes him wearing silver-white and standing in the bright moonlight. He looks like an immortal walking out of a painting, pure and flawless.
Her groom is naturally more handsome than anyone else...
But Wei Jue failed to find an opportunity in the northwest. His father, Wei Guojiu, died suddenly of illness. He inherited the position of Earl Xinyun, took charge of the entire Earl Xinyun Mansion, and completely entered the Jinyiwei.
Perhaps it was because of the cold aura of the Jinyiwei that he became increasingly busy and silent.
Nian Jia began to miss him. He wasn't seen for one or two months, and then for three or five months.
It was clear that both of them were in the capital, but he seemed to have disappeared.
"I expected the Jinyiwei to be like this, and I advised myself not to take it to heart."
When Nian Jia said this, his eyes froze.
She said, "Until one day, I found that he clearly saw my carriage, but pretended not to see it and just passed by it."
That day, Nian Jia was shocked and angry. She had no idea why Wei Jue had such an attitude. She had someone stop him and asked him why he was like that.
At that time, Wei Jue was silent for a moment, and then he said calmly, "I didn't see the princess's carriage."
Then he said, "I have something else to do in the palace. I'll leave first."
After he finished speaking, he rode away without stopping.
"I was really disappointing. I cried when I got home. The Queen Mother and my mother said that it was not a good thing for us to drag on like this. We should have arranged the marriage sooner."
Wei Jue's father's funeral is almost over, so it's fine to arrange the marriage first.
Princess Yu felt sorry for her daughter and was dissatisfied with the attitude of her "son-in-law", but Concubine Jiang said that the Wei family is no longer what it used to be. Wei Jue is already the Earl of Xinyun, and in the future he might take over the job of Uncle Wei and sit on the high position of the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.
She also said that since Nian Jia cared about him, loved him so much and couldn't let him go, then Prince Yu's Mansion should take the initiative and adopt a lower attitude.
"I have never bowed my head in front of him. He has always been the one to coax me. But my grandmother said that. I was also wondering if I had a bad temper and made him unhappy."
“I agreed to bow my head, and my mother invited Madam Baoguo to the Hongluo Temple, and she also brought the new silver robe I made for him.”
Mrs. Baoguo was naturally happy that Prince Yu's Mansion was willing to take the initiative.
Nian Jia felt that he and Madam Baoguo did not get along well, but when the two families began to discuss the engagement, Madam Baoguo agreed immediately and apologized to Princess Yu for Wei Jue's misbehavior, saying that she would take the silver robe back and "let Wei Jue wear it tomorrow and apologize to the princess."
After all, Nian Jia was a princess, and the two families were well matched, so Mrs. Baoguo had no complaints about the marriage.
I want to wait until the two of them reconcile before formally discussing the marriage.
But the silver robe was sent out, "I waited for him to come and talk to me since the next day before dawn, but I didn't see him until the sun went down and the night fell."
The girl tossed and turned all night long, unable to fall asleep.
She summoned up her utmost patience and prepared to wait for him for another three days.
But after waiting for three days from morning to night, he didn't come.
On the fourth day, the person who was waiting could no longer bear it and found out that he was in the Northern Pacification Office of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, so she went to block his way.
When others saw the Jinyiwei, they all hid away, but she just rushed in.
"What do you mean?! Don't tell me you don't have time to put on some clothes and talk to me!"
A dress that she had been sewing by hand for four or five years.
She just wanted to wait for him to call her "Yuanyuan" and have a good chat with her.
But he never called her "Yuan Yuan" again. He turned sideways and said, "This is not a place for the princess to come."
These extremely cold words completely irritated Nian Jia.
"Okay, Wei Jue, then give me back my clothes! If I do anything for you again, everyone in Kyoto will look down on me!"
She had never said such harsh words before. She wondered if he would be able to return to normal after saying this.
But his expression did not change at all. He just paused after hearing the voice, and then whispered to someone, "Bring the princess's clothes."
The silver robe was actually in the Jinyiwei. For a moment, Nian Jia didn't know what to do until she saw the silver robe that she had sewn many years ago appear in front of her.
He didn't look at it or touch it, he just called someone.
"Return the clothes to the princess."
He honestly returned the clothes she had made for him to her.
Nian Jia was stunned.
There was an indescribable gloomy and cold feeling among the Jinyiwei, which made people feel stinging from the nose to the corners of the eyes.
The sun went down, and everything was dark. She looked into his eyes in disbelief.
"You really don't want it?"
The voice that came out when he asked was trembling.
Wei Jue closed his eyes and remained silent, but he also agreed.
Nian Jia didn't want to shed a single humble tear in front of him, but she couldn't help it.
She tore her clothes.
She tore the silver robe into pieces and trampled on it.
"Wei Jue, from now on, we will leave each other alone. I, Nian Jia, will never have any contact with you again in this life!"
He was silent for a moment, and only replied to her calmly with one word.
"good."
... ...
Du Ling stayed still and heard Nian Jia say.
"When I returned to the palace, I wondered if he would catch up with me. I was so upset that I hid myself in a closet at night. I wondered if he would regret it and change his mind and take me out of the closet...
"But he never came again. He never came to see me again."
Completely withdrew from her life.
They were all still in the capital at that time, but they were strangers when they met, or perhaps they never met again since then.
Du Lingjing was incredulous, she stared at Nian Jia in a daze.
I heard Nian Jia say that he had never spoken to Wei Jue since then.
"In fact, Mrs. Baoguo came to the palace once later, but I was still angry at the time and told people not to open the door, so Mrs. Baoguo was turned away."
Madam Baoguo is the emperor's aunt. How many people in the capital dare to embarrass her?
The rain outside subsided at some point, and Nian Jia sighed softly.
"I was ignorant at that time and didn't even do this little favor. I think I annoyed Madam Baoguo and implicated you."
Du Lingjing shook her head repeatedly.
Five or six years had passed since the incident. When she saw Nian Jia talking about this old event, his expression was indifferent, a little melancholy and stunned, but not the heartache and sorrow he had felt at that time.
She just sneered at herself.
"Maybe I'm too indulgent. I've always been the one being coaxed by others. He probably couldn't stand it anymore."
Every time they argued, he would turn around and coax her.
But after what she thought was a normal argument, he never came back.
She was still waiting for him, but this time it was a breakup.
Nian Jia smiled, "In fact, he was right not to marry me. I have neither a good temper nor a good family background. From the outside, I look like a princess of the royal family, but Prince Yu's Mansion is really just an empty shell. I am just a child without a father..."
Du Lingjing's eyes turned red, and she moved closer and held Nian Jia's hand.
"Don't say that!"
Nian Jia chuckled and sighed, her eyes a little red as she looked at Du Lingjing.
"That means you really want to be with me, and the prince really wants to marry me. He probably doesn't know me very well, and I'm embarrassed to tell him that I'm actually not that good of a person."
"How could that be?" Du Lingjing said, "Whether it's me or the prince, we have never felt that you have done anything bad."
As for Wei Jue, Du Lingjing couldn't figure it out.
She could only say, "Let the past be the past. You are doing well now."
*
When the four of them had dinner together in the evening, Nian Jia gradually recovered. Du Lingjing no longer mentioned it, but sat with her and chatted with her.
But when she returned to her room, she thought about what Nian Jia had said about her past with Wei Jue, and she leaned on her arms in a daze for a long time.
When Lu Shenru walked in, he saw that she was not reading but just in a daze, so he couldn't help but walk over to her.
"What's wrong?" he asked softly.
Du Lingjing shook her head and said nothing, but he saw her slightly red eyes.
His handsome brows immediately frowned.
The whole room became completely silent with his breath.
Du Lingjing felt something was wrong, looked up, and heard his cold voice.
"Nian Jia mentioned Jiang Zhuxiu to you." Du Lingjing's mind was confused. What did this have to do with Sanlang?
But I saw that his expression was different.
It's obvious that he is the one who is bringing up...
She glared at him angrily, "No!"
She stood up and was about to leave, and Lu Shenru realized that he had made a mistake.
He held her arm and immediately relaxed his expression. Seeing his wife's tense face, he lowered his head.
"Is it about Wei Jue?"
Du Lingjing didn't want to pay attention to him and turned her head away. He spoke softly, "I've heard that too."
He said that it happened in the fifth year of Yin You. At that time, he had just left the northwest and came to Beijing. That year, the emperor appointed Wei Jue as the Northern Pacification Envoy of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. It was obvious that he wanted to give him some experience before taking the position of the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.
"Wei Jue came out of the city to meet me. I saw that he looked lonely, and then I realized that he had just had some problems with the princess."
He added a few words to Du Lingjing, saying that Wei Jue had written to him, saying that he wanted to seek a position in the Northwest Army. "I was quite surprised. I didn't expect that he wanted to come to the army, but not long after, the prince passed away, and it was impossible for him to go to the Northwest again."
Du Ling was silent.
It turned out that Wei Jue really wanted to go to the northwest, but failed.
So was it, as Nian Jia said, that his feelings for Nian Jia faded, or was it that the Imperial Guards changed his personality? Or was it some other reason?
Du Lingjing always felt that things were not completely consistent with what Tong Nianjia said. She couldn't figure it out, but the person next to her sat with her, saw that she looked disappointed, and said something.
“Everything in the world has its own destiny. It may not be logical, but a drop of water can wear away a stone.”
Du Lingjing couldn't help but look back at him.
If the previous sentences are talking about Nian Jia and Wei Jue, then who is the last sentence talking about?
Du Lingjing is not a black and hard stone.
But he saw her looking at him, his eyes caught hers, and his deep eyes met hers.
“Human power is also God’s will.”
So he doesn't care if it's forced?
Du Lingjing turned her head and glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, but he smiled, held her palm with one hand, and poured her tea with the other hand.
He apologized for what he had just said.
Du Lingjing, don't answer it.
He was about to say something else when Chongping suddenly came looking for him.
He didn't leave immediately. Instead, he gently squeezed her hand, said he had some things to do in the evening, and gave her some instructions.
"Go to sleep first, my lady."
Du Lingjing still ignored him, he sighed and walked out.
He left, but his scent remained here. Du Lingjing drank the tea he poured for her.
His temperament is indeed somewhat different from that of ordinary people. He does not expect things to happen naturally, but believes that man can conquer nature.
Just as the Queen's prince passed away and the Eastern Palace was vacant, the civil officials wanted to support Prince Yong. He immediately stood up, fearlessly, behind the Imperial Concubine and Prince Hui, and insisted that Prince Hui take the throne.
But the imperial concubine is not the queen after all.
If the Empress continues to endure, the Emperor will die first, and then the Imperial Concubine will never be able to become the Empress.
If the imperial concubine cannot become the queen, Prince Hui cannot be the legitimate son.
It would be even more difficult for the emperor to bypass the two princes and enthrone the young Prince Hui as the crown prince.
Wouldn't everything he had planned be in vain by then? Or would he, Marquis Lu, have the army at his disposal and be able to call for the support of hundreds of people and overwhelm the imperial city?
If this is true, he is only a step away from becoming a traitor who plots to usurp the throne.
A winner or a loser, what will his future be like...
I don't know when it started raining outside the window again. The sound of raindrops hit the window frame, breaking the tranquility of the spring night.
Du Ling sat quietly under the window, frowning in a daze for a long time.
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