Robe blanche - Chapitre 134
This time I was completely dumbfounded, and I even stammered, "Wh...what, more than two...two years?"
"Yes, Auntie, you've been asleep for over two years, and we've been waiting for you to wake up." It was Xiao Wan who spoke. I could hardly believe my ears. I had been in a coma for over two years. How much patience and faith must they have had?
I wanted to ask more questions, but Zinuo seemed unwilling to talk about it and urged us to go in quickly. I looked at them and thought, "Never mind, there's plenty of time later."
After finishing their meal, they strolled around the garden. Chu Chen could already speak quite a few words, her soft voice making one's heart flutter. Recalling Zinuo's childhood appearance, she couldn't resist the temptation and began telling Chu Chen the stories she had told Zinuo when she was little. Not only Chu Chen, but even Xiao Wan listened attentively. Zinuo smiled and shook her head, then sat down with Gan Lin.
Who knew that once I started talking, I couldn't stop. Chu Chen insisted on having me tell her story again and again. Looking at that adorable smiling face, I couldn't bear to refuse. I was finally free when Chu Chen fell asleep. The palace maid standing next to Hou Li carried Chu Chen away, and Xiao Wan also withdrew, leaving only the three of us in the garden.
Letting out a long breath, Zi Nuo asked with a smile, "Are you thirsty?"
I nodded honestly, and a palace maid brought me a cup of tea. I drank several sips before putting the cup down.
Seeing that I had finished drinking, Zi Nuo slowly stopped smiling and looked at me with a dangerous expression: "Sister, you also have secrets you're hiding from me, don't you?" At this moment, Zi Nuo was no longer the little adult who pretended to be strong. He had completely become a noble and elegant prince. His expression made me feel a sense of pressure without my noticing.
I pretended not to understand and said, "Huh?" I've been hiding a lot of things from him, so I have no idea which one he's referring to. I might accidentally confess without being asked.
Zi Nuo twitched the corner of her mouth, her tone full of dissatisfaction: "The Mo family, the Mo family's affairs, otherwise what's going on with those two children? Sister, why do you never tell me? Can't I share the burden with you?"
I shook my head repeatedly and said, "I haven't interfered much in the Mo family's affairs. I went to Pingcheng right after acknowledging Aunt Yun, and then went to the Northwest after returning from Pingcheng. There's really no need to say more. Xiao Wan and Chu Chen were completely unexpected; it was the Second Prince who helped me find them."
Zi Nuo looked at me, remained silent, then looked at Gan Lin, and finally said, "Sister, do you know that your clansmen are not just Xiao Wan and Chu Chen, but also someone who has always been by our side?"
"Who?" It's still the one who's always been by our side.
Zi Nuo turned her gaze to Gan Lin and fell silent. Could it be Gan Lin? I looked at Gan Lin with some doubt, only to see a faint, ethereal smile on Gan Lin's lips: "My father, Mo Nan."
Aunt Yun had said that my mother had two siblings, the eldest being Mo Nan. Therefore, Gan Lin was my cousin. I looked at Gan Lin with a mixture of surprise and joy, but Gan Lin didn't share my excitement. My enthusiasm seemed to have been doused with cold water, slowly cooling down. Yes, what was there to be happy about? Everyone believed he was Xuan Ying's top assassin, but his true identity had been erased.
Seeing that the atmosphere wasn't as lively as it should be during a family reunion, I couldn't help but chuckle dryly: "Haha, we lost a younger brother but gained an older brother, what a win!"
Zi Nuo was dissatisfied: "Does Sister mean I'm inferior to Brother Gan?"
Cursing himself for saying the wrong thing, he quickly and carefully explained, "That's not what I meant. A younger brother is meant to be cherished, while an older brother is meant to cherish me. This difference means I'm getting a great deal."
Zinuo scoffed without saying a word, her expression clearly showing disapproval. I felt ashamed; even though I was the older sister, it seemed that the older we got, the more Zinuo took care of me, and I was just a figurehead carrying the title of older sister.
"Is Huai'en so happy to have an older brother?" Gan Lin asked, her eyes gleaming, making it hard to see clearly.
"Mmm." She nodded honestly. With an older brother, she could selfishly and comfortably enjoy his care.
Gan Lin smiled slightly: "If that's the case, then I'll be your older brother."
I asked Gan Lin what his name used to be, and he said he didn't remember. I didn't believe him at all. He doesn't remember his own name, but he remembers his father's name. Who is he trying to fool? But he wouldn't say. Whether he's Blood Demon or Mo Moumou, he's still my Gan Lin, still my cousin.
That night, we talked all night long. Zinuo and Ganlin kept urging me to go back to sleep, but I didn't want to sleep because I had too many questions in my mind. So the two of them had no choice but to stay with me until dawn.
I learned from Zi Nuo that I had already breathed my last in Shen Tingxuan's arms that day. He snatched me from Shen Tingxuan's arms, berated them (to be honest, I can't imagine Zi Nuo cursing), and then took me away, intending to return to the Golden Sparrow Kingdom. Unexpectedly, I started breathing again halfway there. He was overjoyed and rode at full speed to Han Yue City to ask the Golden Sparrow Kingdom's Grand Preceptor to treat me. Because Zi Nuo was the destined Golden Sparrow King, with a sparrow feather mark on his forehead and a special constitution, the Grand Preceptor used the rare Golden Sparrow Gallbladder to have Zi Nuo use his internal energy to catalyze the poison of the Soul-Slaying Pill in my body, suppressing it. However, Zi Nuo's hair turned white due to overexertion.
Looking at Zinuo's full head of white hair, I couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness. But when I heard that Zinuo's name in the Golden Sparrow Kingdom was "Luoyang," I couldn't help but laugh out loud, because I thought of the saying, "A tiger fallen into the plains is bullied by dogs."
Seeing my strange smile, Zi Nuo became unhappy again. I quickly changed the subject: "When did you find out that the Golden Sparrow King is your father, and the Marquis of Qi Yun isn't?"
Zi Nuo looked at me for a long time before saying, "If I told you that my mother told me I wasn't the son of Marquis Qi Yun not long after you entered the Prince Qing's mansion, you wouldn't blame me for lying to you for so long, would you?"
Shaking her head, she naturally wouldn't blame him, especially since he wasn't the first; there was already the precedent of Shen Tingxuan. Thinking about it, Marquis Qiyun was truly magnanimous, raising other people's children. She couldn't help but doubt whether she was really his daughter. The more she thought about it, the more convinced she was that she wasn't his biological child; otherwise, how could he be so heartless and cruel to her and Zinuo? With this in mind, she didn't have much of a problem with Marquis Qiyun anymore.
Zi Nuo told me that when Prince Luo Chen entered the capital, he accidentally saw that the jade pendant on Prince Luo Chen's waist was somewhat similar to the jade pendant left to him by his aunt. That's when he began to suspect that his father was a member of the royal family of the Golden Sparrow Kingdom. So he insisted on going to the post station where the Golden Sparrow Kingdom's envoys stayed at that time. The more he looked at Luo Chen's jade pendant, the more he felt that it resembled his own. So he followed Shen Haoyu when he sent Princess Zi Ling to the Golden Sparrow Kingdom to find out the truth. As a result, he discovered that his jade pendant was actually the one that the current Golden Sparrow King had once worn.
After recognizing the Golden Sparrow King, Zi Nuo, noting the fierce power struggle between the two princes, Luo Chen and Luo Hua, within the Golden Sparrow Kingdom, realized the country wasn't as peaceful as it appeared from the outside. Instead, he returned to Youjing Dynasty with Shen Haoyu. He explained that he had come to the Golden Sparrow Kingdom hoping it would be better than the Qing Prince's residence, allowing him to take me there and escape the intrigues of the Qing Prince's mansion. However, he realized that returning to the Golden Sparrow Kingdom as him would only bring him closer to the power struggles. He figured it was better for me to stay in the Qing Prince's mansion, so he stayed with me.
Outside Caizhou City, we were attacked. Zi Nuo was shot by an arrow and fell into the water while trying to save me. He was swept away by the current but was rescued by the secret guards of Jinque Kingdom who had been following him. He was sent back to Jinque Kingdom overnight. After nearly a month of recuperation back in Jinque Kingdom, Zi Nuo finally recovered from his injuries. As soon as he recovered, he sent people everywhere to search for my whereabouts, but to no avail. It wasn't until Emperor Youjing issued an edict to marry Mu Huai'en, the second daughter of Marquis Qiyun, to the second prince Shen Tingxuan that Zi Nuo learned that I had arrived in the capital. He hurriedly rushed from Hanyue City to the capital, only to find me surrounded by the Imperial Guards and "dead" in Shen Tingxuan's arms.
Zi Nuo's words filled me with mixed emotions. On one hand, I was moved by Zi Nuo's decision to give up the riches and honors of a prince and accompany me through so many trials and tribulations with the Prince of Qing's family. On the other hand, I blamed myself for not caring enough about Zi Nuo. I had never thought deeply about his insistence on seeing the envoy from the Golden Sparrow Kingdom and his desire to come to the Golden Sparrow Kingdom. How fortunate I am to have such a brother who is not related to me by blood but is more like a younger brother to me. Is this a reward for the love I gave him when we were children?
Zi Nuo's story is quite long, while Gan Lin's is much simpler. It turns out that after taking Xiao Wan and Chu Chen away, Gan Lin temporarily settled them in a farmer's house on the outskirts of the capital. He himself returned to the city, keeping an eye on my whereabouts, fearing something might happen to me. On the day of the wedding, upon hearing that the Second Prince's bride had attempted to assassinate the Emperor during the ceremony but escaped wounded, Gan Lin immediately searched the city for my whereabouts, hoping to take me away before the Imperial Guards could find me, but to no avail. Later, hearing that the Imperial Guards had captured me in the west of the city, he rushed there, but like Zi Nuo, he was too late. In the end, he and Zi Nuo could only fight their way out with my "corpse" to the Golden Sparrow Kingdom. Afterwards, he and Zi Nuo stayed by my side, and secretly sent people to bring Xiao Wan and Chu Chen from Youjing Dynasty. Only then did he learn that Xiao Wan and Chu Chen were actually members of the Mo family, sharing the same bloodline as him.
Looking at my "younger brother" and cousin beside me, I feel that my hardships have finally come to an end and I am very happy now.
Zi Nuo told me that after Emperor Youjing was stabbed that day, the sword was poisoned and could not be cured. Less than three days later, Emperor Youjing also died (I chuckled inwardly, thinking that Heaven had finally heard my prayers). The princes were busy seizing power, and the true culprit of the regicide was not investigated. The fourth prince controlled the capital, the third prince fled to the northwest overnight, the second prince, with the help of Marquis Qiyun, took refuge in the southwest, the eldest prince was assassinated, and then the various lords on the borders also declared independence. The Youjing Dynasty was in complete chaos.
However, Shen Zexuan, having participated in the recapture of the twelve cities in the Northwest, was entrusted with the administration of the Northwest by Emperor Youjing upon his return to the capital. His military strength was formidable, and he quickly pacified several northern warlords, unifying the north. Meanwhile, the Fourth Prince's position in the capital was precarious. Prince Qing, relying on the map of the capital and palace tunnels entrusted to him by the late emperor and his powerful eastern forces, quickly stormed the capital. The Fourth Prince was imprisoned, proving that Prince Qing was indeed the prince to whom the former Emperor Youjing intended to entrust the throne. After entering the capital, Prince Qing ordered Empress Dowager Zeng's coffin to be removed from the imperial mausoleum. He then ordered the coffin opened to examine the late emperor's remains, finding them blackened, indicating poisoning. He then denounced Empress Dowager Zeng for over ten crimes, including poisoning the late emperor, forging a will, plotting against court officials, and poisoning the harem. He had her remains whipped for three days, then had them ground to ashes and removed from the imperial register, demonstrating the depth of Prince Qing's hatred for Empress Dowager Zeng. However, Prince Qing did not implicate the innocent too much. Despite Empress Dowager Zeng's numerous crimes punishable by the extermination of nine generations of her family, Prince Qing merely exiled all members of the Zeng clan to the north, forbidding them from ever returning to the capital, banning their male descendants from holding official positions for five generations, and forbidding their female descendants from marrying into the imperial family or entering the palace for five generations. As for Emperor Youjing, because he was relatively capable in governance during his reign, and the Youjing dynasty's power gradually increased, Prince Qing did not pursue the matter further, instead posthumously granting him the title of Emperor Kang. Since arriving in the capital, Prince Qing has not yet proclaimed himself emperor, claiming that he will only be able to face his ancestors after completely unifying the Youjing dynasty. Meanwhile, in the south, the rebellion of the southern princes was quelled under the suppression of Marquis Qiyun and Shen Tingxuan. The Youjing dynasty was now divided into three, with Prince Qing still holding the strongest position. However, unification would not be a matter of just one or two years.
After the devastating defeat in the twenty-second year of Tianxuan, Xuan Ying's strength was severely weakened. During the two years of chaos in Youjing Dynasty, it was unable to launch an eastern expedition, thus reducing the pressure on Youjing Dynasty. The western Xia Kingdom, isolated by deserts, had historically maintained contact with other countries, let alone wage war. Furthermore, other countries, due to its barren land, were reluctant to attack it. Therefore, although Xia Kingdom's natural conditions were not ideal, it remained peaceful. Currently, the most prosperous kingdom is Jinque Kingdom, enjoying years of peace and prosperity. At this time, it has not considered taking advantage of Youjing Dynasty's weakness, which is truly commendable.
After hearing all this, I had a general understanding of the current situation, but I refused to inquire further about You Jingchao's situation. What difference would it make if I knew? Shen Tingxuan, Shen Haoyu, and even... Shen Zexuan, were all people I couldn't face right now. Everyone cared about them, yet no one could help them. I could only stand on the sidelines.
Thank you, Zinuo, I've finally escaped their entanglement.
Do not lean against the west railing to lock in the clear autumn. Chapter 117
Chapter word count: 3932 Update time: 09-09-13 12:34
After catching up on sleep in their rooms early in the morning, Gan Lin could also go back to rest, but Zinuo had to go to court, which was really tiring.
When I woke up in the afternoon, Xiao Wan brought Chu Chen to see me. Chu Chen called me "Auntie" affectionately and kept asking me to tell him a story. I coaxed and tricked him by saying that the story was to be told before going to sleep, and then he left reluctantly with a pout.
She asked a palace maid what Zinuo was doing, only to learn that Zinuo was in the outer court discussing matters and had not yet returned. So she asked the maid to lead the way to Ganlin. They had only gone halfway when they encountered an old eunuch carrying a whisk. The purple-clad palace maid beside him bowed respectfully. She couldn't help but wonder, was this old eunuch of high status?
When the old eunuch saw me, he bowed and said, "Young lady, the king heard that you have woken up and ordered this old servant to invite you to the Taiji Hall for a chat."
"King?" What does the Golden Sparrow King want with me?
"Yes, please follow me, young lady." The old eunuch said, turning around and leading the way. I quickly asked the maid beside me, "Who is he?"
The palace maid replied, "It's Eunuch Xu, who serves the King."