L'hibiscus comme peinture - Chapitre 68
Jin Xuan smiled confidently and said, "I remember you said that if I won, you would tell me the truth." He was still quite confident in himself. However, judging from what she had just said, although he didn't understand what 'coach' meant, it sounded like she and Yu Qing were very close. He became increasingly certain that the most important person she was referring to was Yu Qing, and that the "Jun" Yu Qing had mentioned before was her.
Quickly gathering his thoughts, he dribbled the ball past Ao Jun, but as he passed her, his hand suddenly felt empty; Ao Jun had intercepted the ball. He stared in disbelief at his empty hand. How could she have taken the ball from him? Although he hadn't used martial arts, the agility honed through years of training couldn't be easily concealed. He hadn't expected her to steal the ball. Meanwhile, Ao Jun, after intercepting the ball, scored another layup.
Jin Xuan looked up at Ao Jun, who was casually bouncing the ball with ease. She smiled at him and said, "It seems that the Empress has only taught you how to dribble, but not how to control the ball! Controlling the ball like that makes it easy for someone to steal it! And remember one thing, don't get distracted on the court, it's already four to zero!"
As he spoke, he launched another quick attack. Jin Xuan listened to Ao Jun's words, put aside his thoughts, and focused on playing the game. As expected of Prince Jin, he quickly grasped the secret. Ao Jun now found it difficult to steal the ball from him, and his shots were both fast and accurate, able to shoot directly from one basket to the other.
Although Jinxuan grasped the concepts quickly, he was still no match for Aojun. Half an hour had passed, and Jinxuan was still far behind. Meanwhile, Aojun appeared relaxed, clearly not having used his full strength.
Jinxuan realized that he was bound to lose if things continued like this. Jun's basketball skills were too good, even better than Yuqing's. He watched as Aojun made another three-pointer.
"Jinxuan, you should just admit defeat!" Aojun tossed the ball to Jinxuan triumphantly. How could Xue's apprentice possibly beat me? Even if her apprentice is incredibly talented, talent is useless without regular training.
"I, Ouyang Jinxuan, never admit defeat," Jinxuan said with a proud smile, grabbing the ball and running up to make a layup.
Ao Jun was momentarily captivated by that smile, but quickly snapped back to reality. Watching Jin Xuan make a layup, he smiled strangely, crossed his arms like a thug, and said, "Jin Xuan, you fouled!"
Jinxuan was stunned for a moment, then realized what he had just forgotten. He thought this was called breaking some kind of rule!
As if knowing what he was thinking, Ao Jun smiled and continued, "You traveled, the Empress must have told you that! It seems she's quite a failure as a coach." (The Empress in the palace sneezed. Who's talking badly about me behind my back? Could it be Xiao Xuanzi? Emperor: I'm innocent!)
Jinxuan's shot was pretty good, and Aojun had to inbound the ball first. Generally speaking, when Aojun inbounds the ball, he's guaranteed to score. Sure enough, although Jinxuan quickly ran back to defense, he still managed to get Aojun to make another three-pointer from the three-point line.
Finally, the time came, and Ao Jun won the match 100 to 80. Seeing Jin Xuan hanging his head in frustration, Ao Jun walked over, patted his shoulder generously, and said with a suppressed laugh, "Victory and defeat are common in war, don't take it too seriously. As for what you want to know, you'll find out tonight when you enter the palace and see the Empress." She had already made up her mind: tonight, no matter what, she would not let Jun enter the palace.
He walked up to Uncle Zhu, lowered his head, and whispered something in his ear. Uncle Zhu was taken aback at first, but quickly recovered, nodded, and turned to leave.
Ao Jun put down the ball, wiped his sweat, and said he was a little tired because he hadn't played in a long time.
Seeing that Ao Jun seemed very tired, Jin Xuan said with a touch of heartache, "Jun, you must be exhausted! You've been in the carriage for so long, and you haven't had a proper rest since you got back. You've also been playing ball for so long. Go back to your room and rest! I've already asked Uncle Zhu to prepare a room for you."
"I'm a little tired, and you must be tired too!" Ao Jun smiled gratefully at Jin Xuan. It turned out that he had just instructed Uncle Zhu to prepare a room for her.
"Not tired." Jinxuan shook his head.
Uncle Zhu returned quickly, carrying a bowl of water, and said to Ao Jun, "Young Master Mo, please."
Ao Jun looked at the soup that Uncle Zhu brought over with a puzzled expression, and Jin Xuan explained, "You just finished playing ball, you must be thirsty and hot! Have some water first!"
Upon hearing this, Ao Jun unceremoniously took the bowl of water and gulped it down in one go. He wiped the water droplets from the corner of his mouth, sighed contentedly, and realized he was indeed thirsty. He needed to replenish his fluids after exercising, and it seemed Xue had taught him well in this regard.
Seeing Ao Jun's satisfied expression, Jin Xuan smiled indulgently and said to Uncle Zhu, "Uncle Zhu, take Young Master Mo to rest!"
Zhu Bo glanced meaningfully at the empty bowl that Ao Jun had drunk from, and respectfully said to Ao Jun, "Young Master Mo, this way please."
"Mm." Ao Jun nodded slightly, then turned to Jin Xuan and said, "Remember to call me when you're going to the palace!"
Seeing Jinxuan nod, Aojun followed Uncle Zhu's footsteps toward her room. She was really tired; why was she getting sleepier and sleepier?
Jin Xuan watched Ao Jun's figure disappear from the basketball court with a complex expression: "Jun, although you didn't tell me the truth, from your words and actions, I already know that your relationship with Yu Qing is unusual. I'm sorry, I can't let you two meet. Yu Qing suffered too much because of Meng Fei and Nangong Jun back then, and my brother still harbors resentment towards the Jun that Yu Qing spoke of. For Yu Qing's sake, and for yours, I won't let you meet."
The Strategist and the Princess Consort, Chapter 54: Entering the Palace
Finally, night fell, and the celebratory banquet to welcome Prince Jin was ready. The imperial garden of the palace was brightly lit, displaying the grandeur of the royal family. All the civil and military officials were present, as were the meritorious generals of this expedition. Only the two most important figures were missing—Prince Jin and Young Master Mo.
"Prince Jin has arrived." As the eunuch's shrill voice rang out, the noisy Imperial Garden immediately fell silent as if no one was there. Everyone held their breath, and their expectant eyes all turned to Jin Xuan. Unfortunately, all they saw was the proud and upright Prince Jin with an expressionless face, but they did not see the legendary figure.
After all, they were all people who had worked in the officialdom. Although they had doubts in their hearts, they did not show any emotion on the surface. As soon as Jinxuan entered the Imperial Garden, he was immediately surrounded by a group of obsequious officials. In fact, after the emperor's reforms, most of the officials in the court were upright and capable, but there were still some obsequious sycophants with low-ranking positions.
"Your Highness, you've arrived. Congratulations on your victory!"
"Your Highness, you truly deserve to be called the God of War! You are simply invincible."
"The Cangliao Kingdom dares to challenge the gods, isn't that courting death? Haha... With King Jin in charge of the Longxuan Dynasty, the border is absolutely safe."
...
Jinxuan kept a cold face from beginning to end, completely ignoring those sycophants. This was the reason why he hated officialdom the most.
The military officers who had fought alongside Jin Xuan were pushed aside by this group of civil officials, which infuriated everyone. Zhao Zhiyang was so angry that he wanted to shout, "Get out of the way!" But in the end, he held back.
"Your Highness, where is the strategist?" Wei Ziqi finally couldn't stand it any longer, frowned, and asked Jin Xuan. Strange, where is Jun? Your Highness said at the city gate that Jun had caught a cold, just to prevent Jun from being seen by everyone, but why didn't Jun come to the banquet tonight?
He had never liked officialdom. Although his father was a prime minister, he chose to wander the world because he couldn't stand his father's actions. Later, his father was exiled for treason, and he volunteered to go to the battlefield with the prince to atone for his father's sins. He finally made great contributions in battle. In other words, he never really got involved in the court. Now, seeing the faces of these people, he really felt that they were hypocritical.
Wei Ziqi's question finally silenced everyone, who stopped their fawning and waited for the prince's reply. Xiao Qiyuan and Liu Jingming also waited intently for Jinxuan's response. Liu Jingming, in particular, was heartbroken to see his youngest daughter crying at home.
Just as Jinxuan was about to speak, a sharp voice rang out: "The Emperor has arrived! The Empress has arrived!"
Everyone immediately returned to their positions, bowed their heads, and knelt down, saying, "Long live the Emperor! Long live the Empress! Long live the Empress!"
A pleasant yet authoritative voice rang out: "Rise, my lords, and take your seats."
"Thank you for the seat, Your Majesty." The civil and military officials kowtowed to the emperor again before slowly rising and taking their seats.
Wearing a dragon robe and sitting on the dragon throne was Emperor Ouyang Zhengxuan of Longxuan. Although he smiled and glanced at everyone, his innate imperial aura still made the officials below not dare to raise their heads.
"Today is to welcome Prince Jin, so my dear ministers, please do not stand on ceremony," the emperor said with a kind smile to the reserved officials.
"Yes, Your Majesty," the officials shouted in unison once again.
From the moment the Emperor and Empress appeared, Jin Xuan's gaze never left the Empress, also known as Ao Xue. Ao Xue smiled back at him. Her brother was taking good care of her. Yu Qing looked even more beautiful, more mature and charming—perhaps because she was now a mother! At this moment, she appeared so dignified and virtuous, exuding an aura of imperial grace, making it hard to imagine her as the capricious and eccentric Yu Qing. She and her brother were a perfect match! They were a match made in heaven. He really wanted to see what his nephew looked like, whether he was as beautiful as Yu Qing. He couldn't help but think of the Emperor, who should still be unconscious. He had prevented her from seeing Yu Qing; he wondered if she would hate him if she found out. He didn't want her to hate him. "Jun, will you hate me?" he thought. "But I'm doing this for your own good. If you really have something going on with Yu Qing, your brother won't let you off."
At this moment, Jinxuan was completely unaware that he was no longer as persistent in his feelings for Yuqing as before. Seeing her again was not as difficult as he had imagined. His heart was completely occupied by Aojun.
He didn't notice, but the Empress, who sat beside the Emperor and was also Ao Jun's cousin, Ling Aoxue, did. From the very beginning, she had been watching Jin Xuan, and at that moment, she even felt guilty towards him.
She wanted to see how he had been doing over the past year, and sure enough, he had lost a lot of weight. Back then, Jinxuan loved her so much, and she didn't want to hurt him, but who can predict matters of the heart? A love triangle is the most painful. In the end, she and Xiaoxuanzi found happiness, while the heartbroken Jinxuan chose to go to the frontier. She couldn't say anything, she couldn't do anything, and no matter what she did, she couldn't make up for it.