"The Prince of War is drunk. The maids are afraid to approach him, and the guards don't know how to take care of people. Why don't you go and check on him?" Lin Yan lowered his voice so the guests couldn't hear what they were saying.
Ruan Chuqing abruptly stopped picking up food, her eyes flickering unnaturally.
Shen Lixue nodded and smiled apologetically at Chu Youran, Aunt Bai, and Ruan Chuqing: "Excuse me, I have something to take care of. Please excuse me for a moment!"
Shen Lixue stood up and quickly left the front hall with Lin Yan. Ruan Chuqing watched their backs, her cold gaze darkening. She put down her chopsticks and slowly walked out, saying, "Enjoy your meal!"
Shen Lixue and Lin Yan walked very fast. Ruan Chuqing left the front hall and ran all the way to a small courtyard. There were guards at the gate, so she could not go in. She hid behind a big tree and watched the two go in.
One minute, two minutes... Time passed by, and the courtyard was quiet, without a sound. Ruan Chuqing was getting anxious and was just about to think of a way to go in and investigate when a servant came out of the courtyard.
Ruan Chuqing's gaze darkened, and she slowly walked over.
"Madam!" The servant who followed Duke Wen bowed respectfully upon seeing Ruan Chuqing.
Ruan Chuqing glanced at him indifferently: "What are you doing here?"
Xiao Xiang bowed and said, "Madam, Master is drunk and is resting in the orchid wing. I'll go and bring him some hangover soup!"
Ruan Chuqing frowned slightly: "Does the master sleep alone in this courtyard?"
"No." Xiao Xiang shook his head: "Prince Zhan is also drunk and is resting in the bamboo room!"
Ruan Chuqing's gaze turned cold, and she waved her hand lightly: "You may leave!"
"Yes!" The servant received the order and left quickly. Ruan Chuqing looked at the silent courtyard with resentment, her beautiful eyes narrowing slightly. The War King, the Bamboo Chamber, he really can't forget Lin Qingzhu. He stays in the guest room and the Bamboo Chamber.
A moment later, a servant brought in some hangover soup and went into the courtyard. A quarter of an hour later, Shen Lixue and Lin Yan came out.
"My godfather is too drunk. Even after drinking the hangover soup, he won't wake up for at least two hours!" Shen Lixue walked slowly, sighing helplessly.
Lin Yan chuckled softly: "He drank a whole jar of wine by himself, so the hangover soup probably won't be of much use. It doesn't matter if he doesn't sober up; he can just stay at the Duke of Wu's mansion for one night."
Shen Lixue frowned: "My godfather rarely drank when he was at the War Prince's Mansion. How come he's so drunk at this banquet?"
"I was probably in a good mood and didn't realize I'd had a few too many drinks!" Lin Yan explained.
Shen Lixue raised an eyebrow; that was the only explanation!
Lin Yan looked at Shen Lixue: "Lixue, your aunt's room has been restored to its original state. You can stay there when you come to the Duke of Wu's mansion in the future. Would you like to go and see the room there?"
“Okay, lead the way…” Shen Lixue and Lin Yan said as they walked away.
Ruan Chuqing emerged from behind the big tree, a cold smile playing on her lips. They didn't know why the War King was so drunk, but she knew perfectly well.
The Duke of Wu's mansion was Lin Qingzhu's maternal home where she grew up. Although the layout of the renovated mansion had changed somewhat, it retained most of its original appearance. Thinking of Lin Qingzhu's death, he was overcome with grief and naturally sought solace in alcohol.
From afar, the servant walked out of the small courtyard and onto the road leading to the front yard, his destination unknown.
Ruan Chuqing's eyes flickered, and her slender figure leaped into the air, her long skirt trailing a beautiful rainbow as she instantly jumped into the courtyard. Her body was light and she made no sound, so she did not disturb the guards at the door.
Inside the courtyard were high-end guest rooms, with exquisitely carved railings and galleries, but Ruan Chuqing had no interest in appreciating them and went straight to the bamboo garden.
She gently pushed open the door, and a faint scent of bamboo leaves wafted out. Ruan Chuqing frowned tightly, her beautiful eyes flashing with intense hatred. She strode into the room and closed the door.
This room is like the master's main room, divided into inner and outer rooms. The outer room is furnished with tables, chairs, and benches for receiving guests, while the inner room is for living.
Looking at the bamboo pattern made up of strips of curtains, the curtains, drapes, sheets, and quilts embroidered with green, purple, and black bamboo, Ruan Chuqing gritted her teeth in anger, rushed into the inner room, and roared at the slender figure on the bed: "You like Lin Qingzhu that much? She's dead, dead!"
The person on the bed was facing him, lying quietly on their side. The blanket covered most of their face, so their features were not visible, but judging from that handsome profile, it was definitely the War King. Soft, shallow breathing filled the room, and the faint scent of bamboo leaves masked the intoxicating smell of alcohol.
Looking at that tall, slender, and sleeping figure, Ruan Chuqing's eyes instantly turned red. He did not respond to her. Whether he was awake or asleep, he did not want to pay attention to her, not even a single word.
"When I was thirteen, on the night of Qixi Festival, by the clear lake, I was the one who saw you first, but why did you only invite Lin Qingzhu to go boating on the lake, leaving me out in the cold? She is smart, beautiful, and has a noble status. I have all of those things, but why did you fall for her? Is it because she is the most talented woman in the capital, and my reputation is slightly inferior to hers?" Ruan Chuqing's voice choked with sobs as she looked resentfully at the figure on the bed.
From childhood to adulthood, she excelled in everything, from playing musical instruments and chess to calligraphy, painting, poetry, and prose. At the banquet held in the palace, she lost to Lin Qingzhu by a narrow margin. After that, Lin Qingzhu became famous throughout the capital, while Ruan Chuqing's name was rarely mentioned.
She is no worse than Lin Qingzhu, really no worse than her. Why does everyone in the capital know Lin Qingzhu but not her?
And then there's Dongfang Shuo. Ever since she met him, she's been keeping an eye on him all the time. She collects everything he writes and paints. Even the painting of "After the Rain" was kept as a memento because it was painted by him and contained her name. But she never expected that it would be stolen by Shen Lixue and become evidence of her bad deeds.
"Knowing that you like horseback riding and archery, in order to be worthy of you and to have something in common with you, I secretly asked a master to teach me martial arts and archery. I was exhausted every day, and my fair hands developed calluses. But I kept telling myself that I could endure this pain in order to be worthy of you."
"When I had mastered martial arts and archery, and learned that you had also returned from the training grounds, I excitedly ran to find you. Do you know what I saw? You were standing outside the Duke of Wu's mansion, bidding farewell to Lin Qingzhu." The deep affection in your eyes was like a pool of autumn water capable of drowning someone…
The two of them, one her best friend and the other the one she loved most, actually got together behind her back!
Haha, her best friend who used to swear she would never take anything from her has blatantly stolen her sweetheart, the handsome and charming sweetheart, and is now flirting with her best friend behind her back.
She saw Dongfang Shuo first, so if anyone should like someone, it should be her. Why should Lin Qingzhu get the better deal? What a hypocritical and pretentious bitch! If she can't have the man, Lin Qingzhu can't have him either!
The person on the bed remained lying quietly, motionless, with only long, drawn-out breathing echoing in the room.
"Lin Qingzhu has never changed anything for you, and she's always been indifferent to you. Why are you so infatuated with her?" Ruan Chuqing roared in a low voice. She thought that once Lin Qingzhu got married, the War King would like her, but as it turned out, she was wrong.
Lin Qingzhu's marriage made the War King even more obsessed with her. He would secretly sneak into the Wu State Duke's mansion every day to see her. He would see her pregnant, basking in the sun, gently stroking the child in her womb, her eyes full of happiness.
Every time he went, he was hurt again, yet he still went to see her every day. His heart was broken beyond repair, shattered into pieces, but he didn't know how to restrain himself: "She doesn't like you, she likes Shen Minghui. She married him and had his child. Why are you still so infatuated with her?"
"Do you know that it was because I was angry that you treated her so well and didn't see me that I agreed to marry Duke Wen in a fit of anger? Do you remember, the day before the wedding, I had someone send you a wooden box? My determination was written in that box. On our wedding night, I kept stalling, thinking that as long as you appeared, I would go with you without hesitation. I tried my best to delay until dawn, but there was no wedding night. But what did I get after dawn? That wooden box was returned to me unopened. You didn't even open it before returning it to me. Do you know how desperate I was at that time? I couldn't wait for the person I loved and was forced to marry someone I didn't like..."
Years later, Ruan Chuqing still feels excruciating pain when she thinks about it: "All along, the person I've loved is you. If you had been willing to open the wooden box back then, if you had been willing to take that one more step, we could definitely have become husband and wife, and neither of us would have had to suffer for so many years..."
The body on the bed stirred, then fell silent again, as if it had fallen asleep once more. Long, drawn-out breaths resumed, and Ruan Chuqing continued her lament: "From thirteen years old until now, twenty years have passed. I've loved you for twenty years, do you even know that?"
"Lin Qingzhu was rumored to have died fifteen years ago, but not only did you not let go of her, you were also heartbroken because of her. You even gave up your position as a prince and went to a temple to cultivate yourself. You were truly infatuated with her."
Ruan Chuqing raised her voice, her tone full of sarcasm: "But she doesn't care about you. She was abandoned by her husband and would rather suffer in the countryside with her daughter than come to rely on you!"