L'hibiscus comme peinture - Chapitre 70
Chang Wuhai smiled reassuringly at his beloved wife, and handed her a glass of water, subtly creating some distance between Aoxue and Jinxuan.
Ao Xue rolled her eyes at Zheng Xuan's 'consideration,' not thinking he didn't know she was jealous. She rudely pulled her hand away from his and walked past him to Jin Xuan, urging him again, "Jin Xuan, why are you standing there like that? Tell me!"
Jinxuan struggled to process the barrage of questions Aoxue had asked, but the first thing he said after regaining his composure was completely irrelevant: "Yuqing, how have you been these past year?" In truth, he knew that his elder brother loved Yuqing so much, how could she not be doing well? He just wanted to hear her say it herself.
Aoxue, who was about to listen attentively to the story of her idol, was taken aback when Jinxuan suddenly said such a thing. She was a little shy and a little guilty and said, "I'm doing very well. Xiaoxuanzi treats me very well and always accommodates me. I'm happy. How about you?"
Jin Xuan gave a bitter smile: "I... I'm doing very well too." Before meeting Jun, he had lived a life that was practically like a walking corpse. How could he be doing well? Just thinking about Yu Qing being with his brother made his heart ache so much that he wished he could die. It wasn't until Jun appeared that he felt like he had been reborn, and every day felt wonderful and fulfilling. Thinking about the little moments he had shared with Jun, his heart felt sweet and full. Slowly, his bitter smile turned into a doting smile, and his gaze towards Ao Xue became as if he were looking through her towards some distant place.
"Jinxuan, I..." Seeing Jinxuan's bitter smile, Aoxue felt even more guilty, but when she opened her mouth, she didn't know what to say. Looking up, she found that Jinxuan was completely immersed in his own world, smiling as if he were very happy. Aoxue felt relieved: it seems that Jinxuan has really let go of her, but he just doesn't know it yet. It seems that she has to give him a nudge, otherwise that 'girl' will probably wait until Jinxuan, this blockhead, realizes his feelings on his own, until his hair turns white.
"Alright, let's not talk about that for now. Jin-di, Qing'er keeps talking about Mo-jun every day, saying that Mo-jun is her idol. You should tell us about Mo-jun's deeds!" Zheng-xuan stepped in to smooth things over. Seeing the two of them like this, he felt very uncomfortable. One was the woman he loved most, and the other was his own brother. Sigh... But he still noticed Jin-xuan's sudden change in expression: Jin-di, you can't escape tonight.
"Yes, yes, Jinxuan, hurry up and tell us!" Aoxue quickly echoed Zhengxuan. They could talk about Jinxuan's matter later; Mo Jun's matter was more important.
"Actually, there's not much to say. Jun is indeed incomparably handsome and wise beyond compare. The fact that this battle ended so quickly is also thanks to her." Jin Xuan glossed over it lightly. He just didn't want Yu Qing to pay too much attention to Jun, so that Jun would be safer. His elder brother's possessiveness was too strong. He was the third brother, so it was a little better, but Jun might not be so.
"That's it? That's all?" Ao Xue, who had been beaming with excitement, asked with a look of disappointment after Jin Xuan finished speaking.
"Mm." Jinxuan actually nodded to her.
Ao Xue wasn't about to let him off the hook and immediately snapped, "You still say 'huh'? You're his commander, we've fought side by side for so long, I don't believe you only know this much, less than I do. No way, tell me now, I want to know everything about her, preferably every single word she said, every single detail. Tell me now, don't try to fob me off again. I'm not buying it."
Wow! Is this still the mother of the nation?! She's practically a shrew! "Your Majesty, you've suffered!" Jinxuan gave Zhengxuan a "I pity you" look, to which Zhengxuan replied, "Sigh, what can I do? He's the emperor in public, but in private, he's henpecked!"
"You two, stop flirting with me! Jinxuan, speak up!" Aoxue slammed her hand on the table and shouted forcefully.
"Hehe... Qing'er! You know that Jin'er is not usually very talkative. It seems a bit unreasonable to ask him to tell you everything about Mo Jun in such detail. How about this, since I have already appointed Mo Jun as the Crown Prince's tutor, there will be plenty of opportunities to see her. Wouldn't it be better for you to ask her yourself?" Zheng Xuan, after being yelled at by Yu Qing, immediately came to Jin Xuan's rescue with a sycophantic grin, and even patted Ao Xue on the back with a fawning expression.
Ao Xue snorted at Zheng Xuan, who was trying to curry favor with her, but still softened her tone and said, "You have a point."
Seeing Aoxue say this, Zhengxuan seemed to have ignored Aoxue's cold snort and breathed a sigh of relief. He then tried to divert Aoxue's attention again: "Qing'er, Brother Jin hasn't met his nephew yet."
This successfully diverted Ao Xue's attention. With a look of 'How could I have forgotten something so important?', she smiled brightly (her face changed faster than flipping through a book) and said to Jin Xuan, "That's right! Look at my head. Jin Xuan, you sit down first, I'll go get the baby." With that, she ran out like the wind.
Seeing Aoxue's rapidly disappearing figure, Jinxuan chuckled and said, "Yuqing hasn't changed at all; she's always right."
Turning his head, he found his elder brother staring at him with a sly look. He knew that his elder brother had deliberately sent Yuqing away, and it seemed that he had something to say to him alone.
"Speak!" Jinxuan said calmly and without any change in expression.
"It's not me who's saying it, it's you who's asking. Why won't Mo Jun be allowed into the palace?" Zheng Xuan brushed off non-existent dust from his dragon robe and smiled innocently.
"I knew I could fool anyone but you." Jinxuan showed no surprise, calmly glancing sideways at the emperor.
"Is it related to Qing'er?" Zhengxuan guessed. Seeing that Jinxuan always mentioned Mo Jun to Qing'er in passing, his intuition told him that the reason Jinxuan hid Mo Jun was related to Qing'er.
"Hmm." Jinxuan nodded slightly. To prevent the two from meeting, he still had to rely on his elder brother. In any case, he had no choice but to take this gamble. "My lord, I will not let anything happen to you."
He sighed and said, "Your Majesty should still remember what happened with Nangong Jun back then!"
"Hmm." Upon hearing the mention of Nangong Jun from back then, Zhengxuan's sly smile vanished, replaced by a somewhat guilty nod. He seemed unwilling to delve further into the past, for it would remind him of the immense suffering Qing'er had endured due to his distrust, filling him with remorse. But why did Jin-di suddenly bring up those events?
"Your Majesty, you must still mind the 'Your Majesty' that Yuqing mentioned!"
“No one understands me better than my brother Jin. Indeed, although I wronged Qing’er about what happened with Nangong Jun back then, and the ‘Jun’ Qing’er spoke of wasn’t referring to Nangong Jun, I haven’t wanted to mention it since then, and naturally I haven’t dared to ask Qing’er who that ‘Jun’ really was. But this ‘Jun’ has always been a thorn in my heart.” Zheng Xuan said with a somewhat somber expression. Ever since Qing’er truly been with him, he had heard her call out ‘Jun’ in her dreams more than once, which made him, as her husband, very angry. But when facing her, he could only pretend that nothing was wrong, simply because he had made Qing’er suffer too much back then because of this ‘Jun’.
"Is this related to Mo Jun?" Zhengxuan paused for a moment before asking again. There must be a reason why Jindi suddenly brought this up.
Seeing Zhengxuan's gloomy expression, Jinxuan hesitated and said, "I think I already know who the 'ruler' Yuqing mentioned is." As he spoke, he carefully observed Zhengxuan's reaction.
Just as he had expected, Zhengxuan stood up abruptly upon hearing his words, his expression immediately turning sinister. He gritted his teeth and asked, "Who is it?" After a moment's thought, he suddenly widened his eyes in disbelief and said, "Could it be... Mo Jun?" No, no, it couldn't be. Mo Jun lived on the frontier and was from Mo Family Village, while Er had always lived in the capital. How could the two possibly know each other?
But to everyone's surprise, Jin nodded and said while watching Zhengxuan's reaction, "That's why I tried everything to prevent you from entering the palace."
"Preventing him from entering the palace is only a temporary solution, not a permanent one. To make Qing'er completely forget this person, the only way is to make her disappear from this world once and for all," Zhengxuan said calmly, as if he were talking about the weather, but his eyes were filled with murderous intent, and his whole body exuded a strong killing aura. He looked at Jinxuan meaningfully, knowing that he trusted Jinxuan the most to handle this matter.
"I will not allow anyone to touch her in the slightest." To Zhengxuan's great surprise, Jinxuan said this in a calm tone, but the firmness in her voice still shocked Zhengxuan.
Zhengxuan stared at Jinxuan with disbelief, as if he could see into his heart, while Jinxuan met his gaze directly, his eyes filled with unwavering determination.
After a moment of silence, Zhengxuan suddenly seemed to have thought of something and said with a smile, "If that's the case, then why tell me about this?" Although he was smiling, the chill on his face was even more pronounced.
Jin Xuan met Zheng Xuan's meaningful smile without flinching and said calmly, "If I don't speak, my elder brother will definitely summon Jun. I can stop it the first time, but I can't stop it every time. Jun and Yu Qing will meet sooner or later, and my elder brother will find out anyway. As long as Yu Qing doesn't meet Jun, it can be as if nothing ever happened. Therefore..."
Before Jinxuan could finish speaking, Zhengxuan interrupted in a cold voice, "So you told me beforehand that you hoped I wouldn't summon Mo Jun to the palace. How can you be sure I would agree?"
"Your Majesty, I dare not be certain that you will agree, but if Your Majesty lives, I will live; if Your Majesty dies, I will die." Jin Xuan changed his previous indifference, stood up and said earnestly and firmly.
"You..." Zhengxuan couldn't believe that Jinxuan would threaten him with death. He stared at Jinxuan for a while, but Jinxuan still straightened her back and looked back at him with a firm expression. In the end, he gave in and slumped down, saying weakly, "Is she worth you doing this?"
"It's worth it. She's more important than my life." Jinxuan said firmly to Zhengxuan as if making a vow. He was shocked by his own words, but he didn't regret saying them, because they came from his heart.
"You...you...it's impossible..." Zhengxuan was so shocked that he jumped up, completely losing the composure one would expect from an emperor.
"Maybe, I love her, I love her very much." Jinxuan seemed afraid that Zhengxuan's shock was too small, so he continued to say something shocking.
Chapter 55 of "The Strategist and the Princess": A Heartfelt Confession
"Maybe, I love her, I love her very much." Jinxuan seemed afraid that Zhengxuan's shock was too small, so he continued to say something shocking.
He and his elder brother had always been honest with each other since childhood, so he never intended to hide this from his brother. Moreover, he was never afraid to let others know that he had fallen in love with a man; he didn't need to care about other people's opinions. However, he cared about Jun's opinion. He had never dared to confess to Jun because he was afraid that she would look down on him and find him disgusting, and of course, partly because of Yuqing. But he was certain that he had indeed fallen in love with her.
Zhengxuan was so shocked by Jinxuan's words that he couldn't come to his senses for a long time. The words "I love her, I love her so much..." kept echoing in his ears. No, how could Jinxuan fall in love with a man! But Jinxuan didn't seem to be joking.
"Who do you love so much!" Ao Xue appeared in the palace with a smile, holding the baby, breaking the strange atmosphere between the two.
Neither of them spoke, sitting opposite each other. Ao Xue also sensed something was amiss and said with a mischievous smile, "Jin Xuan, come and see your little nephew."