Chapter 492 Give Up
At the end of winter, the remaining snow melts and spring is about to come.
The spring breeze brought the warmth of new life, and also finally spread the news of the coldest time of winter to every inch of the vast land under the sky.
After several months of civil strife in Xiyan, Prince Han Biao, who had been a hostage in the Kingdom of Nan, killed all his brothers and led his troops to take the throne.
However, before he could even get comfortable on the throne, one night a mysterious man slit his throat and sent him to hell.
This news shocked the world, but failed to cause any ripples in the Yan Mansion.
After a full month of acupuncture and medication, Yun Chen's health improved significantly, and there was no sign that he was occupied by the split personality "Demon Yun Chen".
The time for Yanlang and Concubine Zhao's so-called "private travel" has arrived, and they begin to pack their bags and prepare to set off back to Dongyan.
Yan Shijiu, who had disappeared for twenty days, finally returned from the palace.
He had lost his usual cheerful and frivolous look, and his face was filled with an indelible gloom.
While Yan Lang was giving Yun Chen acupuncture for the last time in the side hall, Yan Shijiu found Concubine Zhao sitting alone in the courtyard.
During the more than one month in Yan Mansion, because of Yun Chen's company, Concubine Zhao was in a good mood, her appetite increased, her face looked rosy, and her demeanor became more graceful.
Yan Shijiu walked over to Concubine Zhao and sat down beside her. He hugged her body, buried his head in her shoulder like a child, and said in a low voice:
"Mother, how is Yun Chen? Do you like her very much?"
Concubine Zhao felt uncomfortable being held. Facing her own biological son, she always felt an indescribable sense of strangeness and wariness. She laughed and said,
"Very good, Yunchen is a good boy. I like him very much."
"So you think it would be great if she was your brother's wife. You want her to marry your third brother, right?" Yan Shijiu continued.
Concubine Zhao froze and said nothing.
Yan Shijiu slowly straightened up, his face showing an unconcealable look of disappointment and contempt:
"You're still the same as before. You only have eyes for your brother and want to give him everything good. Now, you even want to give him the woman I like. You're such a good mother!"
Concubine Zhao frowned displeasedly: "I didn't mean that. Yun Chen is a rare good girl. Whether she marries you or Lang'er, I like her. This is a matter between you brothers, I will not interfere."
"But there is only one bracelet, not a pair."
"You're overthinking it. I'll give a bride to whoever of you two brothers gets married first. It's the same for both of you."
"You sound so generous!" Yan Shijiu said with a bold smile, his tone becoming more and more aggressive:
"No, I should say, don't pretend that you love me too. I've never been in your eyes."
"Xing'er!" Concubine Zhao interrupted angrily:
"I never wanted Yun Chen to be Lang'er's wife. I just felt that this good girl deserved the best man in the world and shouldn't have suffered so much! You shouldn't have hurt her to this extent for your own selfish reasons!"
"Harm her?" Yan Shijiu laughed in anger, "I love her to the core! Everything I do is just because I hope she loves me back!"
"But love cannot be forced, child!" Concubine Zhao was heartbroken.
"So what?!" Yan Shijiu fiercely waved his sleeves to interrupt Concubine Zhao's words:
"Then I will destroy her! Reshape her! I want her to believe in me, love me, and depend on me! She can only live under my wings and rely on me for her life!"
Yan Shijiu's expression was cold and extremely resolute, which made Concubine Zhao stunned at first, and then she smiled bitterly and shook her head.
She didn't understand why her child had become so crazy. She pointed to the side hall where Ah Ling was rubbing his head against the cage, trying to get out after hibernating, and said sadly:
"Xing'er, that's just possession, not love. Yunchen is a living person, just like when you liked A Ling and loved her golden and white appearance, your love for Yunchen is precisely because you love that passionate and warm her, right? So why do you have to try to 'destroy and reshape' Yunchen like you dyed A Ling?"
Concubine Zhao said all this in one breath, raised her eyes to meet Yan Shijiu's dark eyes, and immediately realized that Yun Chen was Yan Shijiu's Achilles' heel, and no more words could be said.
Thinking that the chaos in the world was caused by Yan Shijiu, and that even her own life and Yan Lang's life were in his hands, Concubine Zhao had to soften her expression again.
She knew that she was a biased and unqualified mother who always favored sick and weak children more.
The world is in chaos now, Yun Chen is suffering, and thousands of innocent people are suffering. Although Yan Shijiu is the culprit, she, as a mother, cannot escape blame.
Concubine Zhao sighed softly and had to change her approach. She said to Yan Shijiu in a somewhat pleading tone:
"Xing'er, do you know that when I was young, I was a maid of the late Queen Mother of Nan Kingdom."
Yan Shijiu looked surprised and motioned for her to continue.
Concubine Zhao looked up at the high sky, her eyes became dim and painful, as if she was recalling many painful pasts, those memories that were no longer worth mentioning but could not be erased.
After recalling for a long time, Concubine Zhao only said one sentence:
"Xing'er, I personally witnessed the former Empress disguising herself as a man to plot her dominance, and I also witnessed the previous Emperor plotting his hegemony. I can assure you that in my lifetime, all the monarchs I've seen and heard of who dreamed of unifying the world have ultimately ended up with nothing and a miserable end."
Yan Nineteen sneered: "Hmph, Mother, are you cursing me?"
Concubine Zhao shook her head helplessly, her voice low:
"No, I just want to tell you that I admit that I haven't been a good mother to you, but my son, you are also my son. How can I watch you walk down a road of no return that is doomed to destruction?"
Yan Shijiu fell silent. Concubine Zhao's eyes welled up with tears as she pleaded earnestly:
"Xing'er, you already own Dongyan and are the monarch of a great country. Why do you have to be so humble in Nan Kingdom and covet things that don't belong to you? You can take Yun Chen back to Dongyan and become a wise and illustrious divine monarch!"
Yes, why must we take over the Kingdom of Nan and make it our own?
Wouldn't it be better to just pursue Dongxi Yan?
Oh, it’s because Yan Chuo once said when he was drunk many years ago that the person he hated most in his life was the Emperor of Nan Kingdom, and if there was an afterlife, he would definitely destroy Nan Kingdom.
From that day on, the four words "Conquer the Nan Kingdom" were deeply engraved in Yan Shijiu's heart.
Little Yan Shijiu mistakenly believed that as long as he was smart and brave enough, and could conquer the Kingdom of Nan one day, he would finally be able to prove himself in front of his father and gain his recognition, right?
But later on, somehow, the road became darker and crookeder.
When he personally poisoned Yan Chuo to death, looking at Yan Chuo's tall, purple corpse, he suddenly remembered that he had forgotten to tell Yan Chuo:
Father, I'm already invading the Southern Kingdom, and I'm almost there...
Having long forgotten his original intention, Yan Shijiu ran out of control on this rugged and dangerous road like a paranoid child.
Now, Concubine Zhao's words made him stop, as if he had finally come to his senses.
Yan Shijiu began to waver for the first time. He didn't want to delve into whether it was because of Concubine Zhao's words or because he was afraid of losing Yun Chen.
He suddenly wanted to give up everything he had in the Kingdom of Nan, and throw away the hegemony he had been planning for almost ten years. He didn't want to unify the three kingdoms, he didn't want Huo Gannian to bow down to him, and he didn't want the world's praise and awe.
He suddenly wanted only to take Yun Chen away from here.
Go back to their country.
After merging Dongyan and Xiyan into one, he will change the country's name to "Yunyan" and he and Yun Chen will become the emperor and empress of that country.
Seeing that her words had little effect, Concubine Zhao stood up and, rarely, took the initiative to hug Yan Shijiu.
She put her arms around Yan Shijiu's shoulders and patted his head gently like she did when they were children.
"Let's go back to Dongyan and take Yunchen with us. There's still time for everything."
After saying this, Concubine Zhao turned around and left, getting on the departing carriage.
At this time, Yan Lang walked out from the side hall and said, "Yun Chen is still sleeping and will wake up in half an hour," and prepared to leave with Concubine Zhao.
When passing by Yan Shijiu, Yan Lang was unexpectedly grabbed by the arm.
Yan Shijiu stared into Yan Lang's eyes, his gaze flickering darkly.
Yan Lang did not say anything. He heard everything that Concubine Zhao and Yan Shijiu said just now in the side hall.
He didn't think Yan Shijiu would give up everything he was about to get for Yun Chen. He didn't believe that Yan Shijiu loved Yun Chen to that extent.
But he obviously miscalculated.
Facing Yan Lang's cold and calm face, Yan Shijiu closed his eyes. When he opened them again, they were filled with brilliant starlight.
Yan Shijiu raised the corners of his lips and chuckled:
"I won't fight anymore. I give up. I want to take Yun Chen back to Dongyan. Brother, please go back and prepare for the wedding of the Emperor and Empress for me, okay?"
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