Chapter 44 Forgot
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Jing Song escorted someone back and saw Yuwen Chu’s eyes shining eerily in the lamplight. He walked over and asked softly, “Your Highness?”
Yuwen Chu smiled and said, “I once told you something.”
“Yes,” Jing Song couldn’t recall what Yuwen Chu had said to him before, but he understood that Yuwen Chu didn’t want him to repeat that sentence; he just wanted someone to listen.
Yuwen Chu said, “That statement was wrong. I retract it now, you forget about it.”
Jing Song was initially embarrassed because he couldn’t remember what exactly was said, but since Yuwen Chu wanted him to forget, he simply smiled foolishly and said, “Yes, I am indeed dull and couldn’t recall what Your Highness was referring to.”
Yuwen Chu hesitated for a moment, then smiled and said, “Forget it if you can’t remember, you may leave.”
What exactly was that sentence? What could make the usually calm and composed Ying Wang react like this? Jing Song kept pondering as he walked, occasionally turning around to see Yuwen Chu standing up from the couch near the window, walking to the desk, pulling open a drawer, and bending down to look inside. Right there lay the pair of shoes that had just been retrieved from the Jade Emperor Temple earlier this evening.
So that’s it. Jing Song was startled and quickly turned his head, as if someone was chasing him, and hurriedly walked out as if in a hurry – he had inadvertently seen through Ying Wang’s thoughts. And this matter, as long as Ying Wang did not speak it out voluntarily, he shouldn’t have known about it, or else he would meet the same fate as Zhu Changsheng.
Zhu Changsheng was very trusted, and he managed all the affairs in Ying Wang’s residence. However, he always missed out on the most crucial and secretive matters, not because of anything else, but because he loved to speculate about Ying Wang’s thoughts, so he would probably only be a servant for the rest of his life.
He was doing fine now, being smart when he needed to be, and being stupid when he needed to be, with limitless prospects for the future. Jing Song walked into the silk-like rain curtain, but he couldn’t help but think of another matter.
It was four years ago, when he accompanied Ying Wang to attend a banquet in the palace. It was at that palace banquet where Fu Mingzhu took a liking to Linan Wang. The twelve-year-old girl, dressed in a luxurious red silk dress adorned with pearls, still had her hair in pigtails, but her eyes were bright and her beauty was captivating. Sitting beside Empress Fu, her proud demeanor overshadowed all the noble ladies present.
It’s not an exaggeration to say that anyone attending the banquet, upon first seeing the sharp and beautiful Empress Fu, would then notice her. He couldn’t help but wonder, who was this girl? Seeing the resemblance between her eyebrows and those of Empress Fu, he thought she might be the Empress’s legitimate daughter, but then remembered that the Empress had only given birth to one son. Unable to resist the urge to ask Ying Wang, he saw Ying Wang staring expressionlessly at the girl, without even blinking.
Then he saw the gorgeously dressed Linan Wang being surrounded by a group of people and reluctantly bowing to Empress Fu. The girl’s eyes lit up, and she bent down to ask, “Are you Linan Wang?”
Linan Wang frowned, obviously unwilling to pay attention to her. It was only out of consideration for Empress Fu’s face that he reluctantly replied in a low voice. She, however, was very happy, “Ah, you’ve grown taller. I’ve seen you before, and you didn’t look like this back then, did you?” Before Linan Wang could respond, she laughed and leaned against Empress Fu, saying crisply, “Aunt, you and father were worried about your niece’s future before, but there’s no need to worry now. I’m going to marry him!”
With a beautiful curve of her jade-white hand, she pointed to Linan Wang standing below, her face full of sunshine-like smiles and joy, not even noticing that the faces of everyone present had changed. Or perhaps she did notice, but simply didn’t care.
What a spoiled child she was. He had already guessed who she was and couldn’t help but want to exchange opinions with Ying Wang, but he just happened to see Ying Wang lowering his eyes, with a mocking smile on his lips.
“She’s blind to the bigger picture,” Ying Wang muttered disdainfully, repeating in a low voice, “Though she shines like gold and jade on the outside, she’s as foolish as a donkey.” There was a hint of anger and grievance in his tone.
At the time, he didn’t think much about it, just nodded in agreement. Although the secrets of the palace were not openly discussed, everyone knew them tacitly. This girl was really too foolish to want to marry Yuwen You, and she even spoke out about her feelings in front of so many people. But her open and honest liking and fondness on her face made it impossible for anyone to say anything harsh, she was just the innocent beauty of a spoiled child. She simply liked that person sincerely.
“This is the jade vase my aunt just rewarded me with. It’s said that there’s no other piece of jade in the world as good as this one. I’m giving it to you, hoping you’ll like it.” Fu Mingzhu had a very matching voice, crisp and sweet, pleasant to listen to. She held up the precious jade vase high, presenting it to Linan Wang like a treasure, her beautiful big eyes curved into crescents, looking at Linan Wang with a smiling face.
Linan Wang’s expression was very stiff, with a hint of pride. He provocatively looked at Empress Fu, and although Empress Fu was smiling, she was actually displeased, and stopped Fu Mingzhu, saying, “Stop fooling around, come back!”
Linan Wang suddenly reached out and took the jade vase, and smiled at Fu Mingzhu, sincerely praising, “No jade stone, no matter how beautiful, can compare to you.”
Fu Mingzhu blushed and silently bowed to him, walking back joyfully and inspiringly, with her skirt fluttering as she moved, even a blind person could feel her joy. But everyone knew that Linan Wang wasn’t sincere, he was probably just trying to embarrass and disgust Empress Fu.
“Stupid pig!” Ying Wang scornfully muttered to himself, then quickly got up and walked out, and he hurriedly followed, seeing the redness in Ying Wang’s ears. But when he looked closer, Ying Wang had already regained his usual expressionless demeanor.
Ying Wang kept walking with his head down. After walking for a long time, he suddenly stopped, turned around, and said to him, “Fu Cong was always clever, and his sons each had their own strengths. It’s a pity that in his old age, he ended up having a daughter as foolish as a pig. Perhaps he had foresight when he named her ‘Zhu*’.”
* same pronunciation as pig
His tone was very harsh. He thought it was another prince who disliked the Fu family and was about to say a few words of persuasion, but Ying Wang had stopped speaking, frowning and murmuring, “Forget what I just said. I shouldn’t speak ill of an immature young girl behind her back.”
Indeed, he had forgotten those words. Jing Song looked at the continuous, never-ending spring rain and couldn’t help but feel a little shocked. If his speculation was true, if Ying Wang had already taken a liking to Fu Mingzhu a long time ago, then his continuous rejection of the Jiang family’s proposal for marriage was no accident.
Fu Mingzhu was not yet married, so Ying Wang naturally didn’t give up.
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