Chapter 688 Debut - Return to Jin State
The two passed each other, neither noticing the other.
In the capital of Wei, as soon as the cloaked woman left, a letter from the Crown Prince of Wei was sent out immediately afterward.
"What? It's already February and you're still not going back? Are you planning to step down?"
Ji Wenxuan was promoted to junior general immediately after the New Year, and he now had his own guard in the military camp.
After the New Year, Xu Yunzhi not only did not return to Jin, but instead moved back to the small courtyard in the city where he used to live, and would go to fight Ji Wenxuan whenever he had nothing to do.
With March fast approaching and Xu Yunzhi showing no sign of leaving, Ji Wenxuan began to suspect that Xu Yunzhi, the crown prince, was merely a figurehead.
"Abdicate and yield the position to a more capable person? Could it be that Brother Ji intends to take me in?"
Xu Yunzhi had a roguish air about him, and if it weren't for the fact that the person standing opposite him was a grown man, Ji Wenxuan would have suspected that he was harassing a respectable woman.
"Get lost! With your lazy and gluttonous appearance, no one would want to take you in."
Ji Wenxuan looked at Xu Yunzhi, who was sitting with his legs crossed, looking relaxed and comfortable, and sighed inwardly.
Thinking back to when he was with his mother, wasn't he just as carefree and leisurely?
But since arriving here, not only have these problems increased, but the man has also become darker-skinned. Most importantly, he has to constantly be wary of his second uncle, fearing that he might be tricked by someone else and do something terrible.
"I am the Crown Prince! Ghosts will take me in? Would a ghost dare to take me in?"
Xu Yunzhi glanced at Ji Wenxuan with amusement, but seeing that Ji Wenxuan was already gritting his teeth, he stopped teasing him.
"Actually, I'm going back tomorrow. The situation in Jin is not good, and there are some things I need to handle personally."
Xu Yunzhi's words carried a hint of seriousness, but his face still maintained that carefree and nonchalant demeanor.
"So fast?"
Ji Wenxuan kept nagging that Xu Yunzhi hadn't left yet, but when Xu Yunzhi was actually about to leave, he felt it was all happening too fast.
On second thought, with the crown prince gone for so long, his brothers must be itching to seize his position!
Although he wasn't born into the royal family, seeing how the princes of the Great Zhou had been fighting each other for so many years, Ji Wenxuan couldn't help but feel some sympathy for Xu Yunzhi.
"I've delayed long enough; it's time to go back and face it."
Ji Wenxuan naturally interpreted Xu Yunzhi's words as a call to return and face the struggle for the throne.
However, only Xu Yunzhi himself knew that what he would have to face upon returning was punishment from the old man.
He touched the porcelain bottle in his arms, where Yun Yichen had given him medicine. Unfortunately, he didn't plan to use it this time, because he couldn't rely on someone else's protection forever.
Ji Wenxuan glanced at Xu Yunzhi, and finally condensed all his unspoken words into a simple, "Take care."
After Ji Wenxuan finished speaking, he left with his men before Xu Yunzhi could say anything.
Watching his retreating figure, which seemed to be running away, Xu Yunzhi couldn't help but chuckle and say, "You clearly didn't want me to leave, and you chased me away every day. Now that you're really leaving, you're the one who's uncomfortable."
"Your Highness, why don't you just follow the Valley Master's suggestion and leave Jin?"
A man who looked like a servant beside him couldn't help but suggest it.
However, Xu Yunzhi shook his head, "Jin State may seem docile, but it is actually a fierce tiger. If I am here, at least my brothers will not have any worries."
Seeing that Xu Yunzhi seemed to have made up his mind, the servant stopped saying anything more.
The next day, Xu Yunzhi did not bid farewell to Ji Wenxuan, but instead took a few trusted confidants and rode at full speed to the capital of Jin.
Ji Wenxuan had finished his early training and wanted to see Xu Yunzhi off, but upon hearing that Xu Yunzhi had already left, Ji Wenxuan stood alone on the city wall, gazing in the direction of Jin, as if bidding farewell to Xu Yunzhi.
Yun Yichen received the letter half a month later. Gu Shuyan's morning sickness was becoming more and more obvious. Seeing that Gu Shuyan could not eat anything, Yun Yichen spent more of his time taking care of Gu Shuyan.
What did the letter say?
Gu Shuyan had just finished vomiting when she looked at the letter that Yun Yichen had torn open and couldn't help but ask a question.
"Mo Qin said that Sun Ruoyun has already returned to the capital."
Mo Qin is the name of Bai Mo Qin, the crown prince of Wei. Gu Shuyan nodded upon hearing this. Thinking of Yun Yichen's intimate way of addressing him, she couldn't help but tentatively ask, "Is Crown Prince Bai also one of your brothers?"
In fact, Gu Shuyan had felt something was amiss ever since the people of Wei started targeting her.
Later, the Crown Prince of Wei even expressed his desire for Gu Shuyan to go to Wei for a marriage alliance. At that time, Gu Shuyan was just an inconspicuous little girl who had returned from the countryside.
Even if the Gu family and the Ji family became each other's targets, there was no reason for them to make it so obvious from the beginning.
If the other party treated him that way solely because of Yun Yichen, then all of this seems to make sense.
Seeing Gu Shuyan's somewhat cautious expression, Yun Yichen couldn't help but reach out and gently flick the tip of her nose.
"Fool, ask whatever you want. There are no secrets between us as husband and wife."
"Then I'll ask?"
Gu Shuyan was a little uncertain. Seeing Yun Yichen nod, Gu Shuyan then said, "Actually, I just wanted to ask if your father was from Wei and whether he was related to the royal family."
These words had been lingering in Gu Shuyan's heart for a long time. Although she had long suspected something, she had never dared to ask them.
Upon hearing this, Yun Yichen nodded. "My father is indeed a member of the royal family, or rather, the former crown prince of Wei."
Upon hearing Yun Yichen's words, Gu Shuyan covered her mouth in surprise, but considering her previous guesses, they were actually quite accurate.
Consort Yun was originally a princess of the Wei Kingdom who was sent to marry a foreign ruler, as recorded in historical books.
Legend has it that more than twenty years ago, Princess Baiyun of Wei and Crown Prince Baixu of Wei came to the Great Zhou to make peace. Princess Baiyun later married the emperor at the time, while the Crown Prince of Wei, unable to marry the eldest princess, had to take back the daughter of a minister.
After returning to the State of Wei, the Crown Prince of Wei missed the Princess dearly and soon died of depression.
At the time, Gu Shuyan found it strange that the crown prince of a country would fall ill from lovesickness for a woman. Now, hearing Yun Yichen's words, she feared there were still many unknown things involved.
What happened back then?
Gu Shuyan couldn't help but ask.
When Yun Yichen saw that Gu Shuyan had asked, he didn't intend to hide it any longer. So he waved his hand, dismissing the servants, and then told Gu Shuyan everything that had happened back then.
Gu Shuyan was furious when she learned the truth. The thought that the emperor had used dirty tricks to marry Princess Baiyun and obtain her dowry made her extremely angry.
"Sure enough, the royal family is just as adept at using women as they are at rejecting them."
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