Chapter 44: A Heart-to-Heart Talk Leads to an Agreement
“No, no, you don’t need to do that,” Qi Xiaojun said, shaking his head with a smile. “You’ve always been a proud and aloof person. Wouldn’t it be too suspicious if you suddenly started acting all humble and subservient? I just hope you can give Lord Liu a chance to talk with you.”
“…” Ji Hua’s brow remained tightly furrowed. “I’m just a physician. It’s one thing for you to ask me to treat someone, but now you want me to help with this kind of thing too?”
“My dearest Ah Hua,” Qi Xiaojun flashed a coaxing smile. “You know the Liu family is connected to the Crown Prince by marriage. It won’t be easy to make Lord Liu betray the Crown Prince. You’re the only one who can help with this!”
In truth, this wasn’t entirely what Qi Xiaojun was thinking. Using the relationship between Ji Hua and Liu Hanyue to win him over wasn’t the most critical part of his plan. Qi Xiaojun was simply looking for an excuse to help the father and son.
He himself had once shared misunderstandings and rifts with his own father. Just when they had finally reconciled, they were separated, making it difficult for father and son to meet again. He didn’t want Ji Hua and his father to suffer the same regrets.
Qi Xiaojun’s expression turned serious again. “I have a gut feeling that Lord Liu isn’t a completely evil person. You should at least hear him out. Maybe he has his own difficulties?”
“…Fine,” Ji Hua finally relented, seeing how earnestly Qi Xiaojun was lobbying him. “I’ll find some time to talk to him.”
“Great! It’s getting late today, so I’ll help you set up a meeting for noon tomorrow!” Qi Xiaojun was afraid that delays would only create more problems, so he didn’t dare to put it off. “After he finishes with the morning court session, you two can have lunch together.”
“…You can arrange it,” Ji Hua sighed, a little helplessly. “But I really don’t want to be alone with him.”
Qi Xiaojun smiled. “If you two don’t mind an extra wheel, I can go as well.”
Ji Hua rubbed his temples, the thought of his relationship with his father still giving him a headache.
At that moment, Jiang Yingnan was sitting in a pavilion, reading a letter by the moonlight.
The letter was from Jiang Zhenxiong:
“My dear Nan’er, your father knows you have been staying at Prince Rui’s residence ever since your separation from the Crown Prince. Prince Rui is an upright and dependable man, so I’m not worried about you staying at his estate. But… are you still holding a grudge against your father, refusing to return to the Jiang family home?
“When I struck you back then, I was forced by the Jiang family rules. I hope you can one day understand. In truth, with the way the Crown Prince treated our family, you should have realized long ago that he was not a good man… Of course, it’s not too late for you to mend your ways.
“It’s fine if you don’t want to come back and live here, but at least come back to visit when you have the time. Your mother and I are very worried about you.”
The letter wasn’t long, but Jiang Yingnan read it over and over again.
In reality, he no longer held a grudge against his father. He felt that his father had been right to hit him back then. He had been the one so bewitched by Chu Ziqian that he had helped him go against his own family.
He was simply too ashamed to face them and return to the Jiang family home.
“Uncle Jiang,” Chu Yunxuan suddenly approached. “You seem to be quite troubled. Is something on your mind?”
The two now had a master-apprentice relationship, and Chu Yunxuan had always been a considerate person, so it was no surprise that he would show concern for Jiang Yingnan.
Jiang Yingnan gave a bitter smile, looking down at the white jade bracelet on his wrist and subconsciously glancing in the direction of the Crown Prince’s residence. “Xuan’er, in your eyes, what kind of person is your Eldest Royal Uncle?”
“Hmm…” Chu Yunxuan pondered for a moment. “A lot has happened between him and my Royal Father recently, so I can’t quite figure out his true character right now. But before, I always felt that Eldest Royal Uncle treated me very well. Whenever Second Royal Uncle wanted to hit or scold me, he would stop him if he saw it.”
That’s right. Chu Ziqian was, at the very least, more reasonable than Chu Weide, knowing who was truly worthy of affection.
Whether it was Chu Ziqian or Jiang Zhenxiong, if they were purely heartless people, he could have let go without a second thought, instead of being so conflicted like this.
“Xuan’er, if someone truly loves you, but they have something more important in their heart, something they would sacrifice you for, do you think they are worthy of forgiveness?”
“I don’t know,” Chu Yunxuan shook his head. “But I think the decision to continue a relationship with that person should depend on whether you’re happier with them, or happier on your own after leaving them.”
“…!” It was as if Jiang Yingnan had been instantly enlightened.
If he had to say which life was more relaxed and pleasant, it was undoubtedly his current one.
Back at the Crown Prince’s residence, he truly hadn’t had a single day of peaceful sleep. The only moments of security he felt were when he’d wake up in the middle of the night and see Chu Ziqian still by his side. But the moment Chu Ziqian got up, he had to get up too, otherwise, he’d worry someone would rush in and beat him awake.
Now, however, he was always alone when he woke up. And while he knew no one would come to harm him anymore, he couldn’t help but feel a little lonely.
He couldn’t deny that during his marriage to Chu Ziqian, although it was arduous, there were sweet moments too. He once believed he could overcome all the hardship for the sake of that sweetness.
But life can never be perfect. One always has to make choices.
Jiang Yingnan sighed silently and slipped the jade bracelet off his wrist.
He raised his hand, intending to throw it into the small pond beside them, but his hand froze mid-air, unable to let go.
In the end, he could only lower his hand, deciding to take the bracelet back to his room and hide it deep within a drawer. Just like his once-intense love, he would seal it away forever.
“Honestly,” Chu Lianmo said, having approached at some point. “You were still wearing this bracelet. You’ve finally decided to take it off?”
“…I’ve made a fool of myself in front of Your Highness, Prince Rui,” Jiang Yingnan said with a bitter smile. “I thought that perhaps it could offer some comfort on sleepless nights. But I just had a sudden realization. This thing is like a poison. Even if it provides temporary comfort, in the long run, it does more harm than good.”
“Are you that desperate for a man?” Chu Lianmo also sat down in the pavilion and smiled. “How about this Prince introduces you to someone? The eldest son of the Jiang family, my own brother-in-law, is a gentle and refined man who is not yet married. Would you like to meet him?”
“…Thank you for your kind offer, Your Highness, but there’s no need,” Jiang Yingnan shook his head repeatedly with a wry smile. “My heart has no room for anyone else right now. It wouldn’t be fair to the other person. Let’s talk about it some other time.”
“Very well.”
“Royal Father,” Chu Yunxuan suddenly interjected timidly, “do you… do you really have to go against Eldest Royal Uncle and Second Royal Uncle?”
His voice was soft, yet the question he posed was incredibly heavy.
Chu Lianmo was stunned for a moment, his gaze fixed on Chu Yunxuan.
Although Chu Yunxuan was still young, he wasn’t a child anymore. If Chu Lianmo were to truly become emperor, there was no doubt that there could only be one crown prince: Chu Yunxuan. Therefore, there could be no rifts between them; they had to clear the air sooner or later.
“Your Highness, I’d also like to ask you,” Jiang Yingnan seized the opportunity to speak frankly with Chu Lianmo. “I know you were in love with the Second Prince of Qi, and he died at the hands of Prince De. It’s only natural that you would hate Prince De to the bone…”
After the recent turmoil, this matter was now common knowledge throughout the Chu court.
“But, there’s no deep-seated hatred between you and the Crown Prince! If he stops protecting Prince De, could you let him go?”
Hearing this, Chu Lianmo smiled. “I already figured it out some time ago… Chu Weide looks like a warmonger. His proposal to send troops to Qi seemed logical on the surface, but how could our Royal Father not be aware of his impulsive nature? He says send troops, and we just send troops? Who was really supporting this matter from behind the scenes?”
“If you’re going to put it that way, wasn’t it the Emperor who made the final decision? Does that make the Emperor your enemy as well?”
“…” Chu Lianmo’s smile vanished, his gaze turning serious as he looked at Jiang Yingnan.
“…My apologies, I spoke out of turn.” Jiang Yingnan couldn’t help but regret his words the moment they left his mouth.
“Perhaps you’re right,” Chu Lianmo smiled faintly again, a hint of sorrow in his expression. “Royal Father is also my enemy. Ah Yun’s enemy should naturally be my enemy too. He was the one who orchestrated all the tragedies in Ah Yun’s life.”
“But Royal Father,” Chu Yunxuan couldn’t help but interject again, “if I may be so bold, while Chu’s dispatch of troops against Qi was certainly a disaster for the people of Qi, from the perspective of Chu’s rulers, it was done for the benefit of the state of Chu. How can you say it was a monstrous crime?”
Chu Lianmo fell silent for a moment upon hearing this.
Chu Yunxuan’s courage had truly grown recently, but that was a good thing. After all, an overly meek and submissive person could never be a future king.
Besides, he had always had his own thoughts. Even if he hadn’t dared to say these things before, they must have been in his heart for a long time.
“I understand what you both mean. In other words, from another perspective, my current actions are those of a treacherous subject and a rebel, is that right?”
“That was not my intention!” Chu Yunxuan hastily stood up, about to kneel.
“There’s no need to be so tense.”
Chu Lianmo stopped him.
“Today, I’ll share my true feelings with you. We were all raised with an education of loyalty to the monarch and love for our country. No one wants to be a treacherous subject. What’s more, this path is arduous and bloody. Everything is done out of necessity.
“From what I’ve gathered, the crimes of Chu Ziqian and Chu Weide extend far beyond just instigating our Royal Father to send troops to Qi.
“It’s just that I don’t have enough evidence in my hands right now. When the time is right, I will prove it to you. You are both people I trust now, and I sincerely hope that one day we can work together to eliminate this evil.”
Chu Yunxuan and Jiang Yingnan looked at each other, then nodded solemnly in unison. “Rest assured, Royal Father. If Prince De’s crimes truly deserve death, I will not show him mercy because of our blood ties. I am your son now; all that is past is like water under the bridge.”
Jiang Yingnan also said earnestly, “Your Highness, you and I once stood on opposing sides, yet you are now willing to overlook the past and see me as a trustworthy person. I will certainly not betray that trust.”
“That’s good,” Chu Lianmo gave them a gentle smile. “I knew my judgment of people wouldn’t be wrong.”
Just then, Qi Xiaojun hurried over. “So you’re all here. I was looking all over for you.”
Chu Lianmo smiled. “Why are you back so late? You missed a very important conversation.”
Qi Xiaojun pouted. “I’ve been running around for your grand plan, haven’t I? Trying to win over the Liu family for you. We’ll just have to see how the chat between Ah Hua and Lord Liu goes tomorrow.”
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