The cool breeze of the summer night carried away the accumulated heat of the day, gently swaying the white curtains around.
The midnight had passed, and the servants guarding the Kanghua Hall were gradually becoming drowsy.
The solemnly adorned palace walls flickered with candles, and wisps of blue smoke rose from the table.
"When we were young, mother was out of favor with the emperor and we lived in a secluded courtyard near the Cold Palace. We relied on each other, and before we knew it, several decades had passed."
"Mother was always afraid of the cold, but she always gave me the thick quilt. In the winter, she got many frostbites on her feet but kept it from me, afraid to worry me."
"I always thought there was a long future ahead, plenty of time to show filial piety to mother, but I forgot the saying 'the tree desires tranquility but the wind does not stop, the child desires to be filial but the parent does not wait.' in the end, the words were choked with sobs."
Why does the voice of this speaker sound so familiar?
In a daze, Yan Ruoxu heard another woman say, "Your Majesty, please do not blame yourself. All the people of Dayan know that you are a filial son and have been very kind to the Empress Dowager. If the Dowager were here, she would not want to see you like this."
She furrowed her brow and finally opened her eyes.
What first caught her eye was the table and memorial tablet in front, and on the left and right were solemn high monks reciting scriptures with closed eyes.
Although the candlelight was dim, these familiar bricks and tiles, were it not her grandmother's sleeping hall? The memorial tablet enshrined on the table was indeed in her grandmother's name.
But Yan Ruoxu's grandmother had passed away when she was sixteen.
What's going on? She looked around, and when she finally saw the faces of the two people in mourning clothes beside her, she was even more shocked.
"Mother?" she called out in a daze.
"Ruoxu, are you tired? Go to the side hall to rest for a while," Empress Xu held Yan Ruoxu's hand, forced a tired smile, and said, "Your father and I will take care of it."
During the chaos in Taiyang that year, both Emperor Qianjing and the Empress died in succession, which was unforgettable to Yan Ruoxu.
How come today, these three people who were separated forever, have gathered again? Yan Ruoxu widened her eyes, full of disbelief.
This astonished expression was seen by Emperor Qianjing, who thought his daughter was overly sad and in a daze, feeling very distressed. He reached out and stroked Yan Ruoxu's hair, and gently said, "Listen to your mother, go and rest."
Yan Ruoxu was stunned, and she grabbed the arm that the Emperor offered, feeling the warmth and reality of it. Is all this real?
She hugged her father and mother tightly, feeling a deep sorrow in her heart, tears welling up. Perhaps heaven pitied her unworthiness in her last life, and that's why it gave her a chance to start over?
"Sister Ruoxu, when grandma passed away, we were all deeply saddened, but you must take care of yourself," a familiar voice of a young girl suddenly came from behind Yan Ruoxu.
Turning her head, she saw a girl of about fifteen or sixteen years old, with a lily-shaped hairdo, kneeling on a cushion behind her.
"Sister, why don't I accompany you to rest? If I'm with you, would that be good?" The girl had a pair of exquisite eyes. Despite her young age, she already exuded a captivating charm. At this moment, her eyes were even more moving with tears.
If it were the Yan Ruoxu of the previous life, she would surely have been touched by these tears and would have thanked her for her sisterly affection. But now, she just let out a light laugh and sighed, "Yan Yushan, it turns out you've been acting from the beginning."
Thinking about the absurd things Yan Yushan did later, Yan Ruoxu's eyes involuntarily turned cold as she silently stared at the person in front of her.
Yan Yushan's heart skipped a beat. Yan Ruoxu had never looked at her so coldly before, and there was even a hint of anger in her eyes. They had always been close, and although Yan Ruoxu was a princess, she never put on airs, and she would never reveal such disdainful emotions.
"Sister Ruoxu..." Yan Yushan felt a sense of dread and embarrassment at being seen through.
Who is she pretending to be pitiful for?
Yan Ruoxu furrowed her brows, her eyebrows slightly twisted. She looked at Yan Yushan's exquisite acting, thinking to herself that such consummate acting skills were probably unmatched by the most outstanding artists in the palace.
In her past life, she relied on acting pitiful and telling lies to gain her trust, and she stood out among the royal princesses, second only to Yan Ruoxu.
Yan Yushan's background was a palace secret quietly circulated in Dayan. When she was ten years old, carrying a dragon-patterned jade, she went to the Ministry of Justice and claimed to be the daughter of the late Prince Rong and wanted to acknowledge her ancestry based on the token.
This incident caused a stir in the court at the time. Although Prince Rong died young, he sacrificed his life for the country during the Dayan upheaval more than ten years ago. He had three sons and three daughters, all legitimate children of his wife, and everyone knew that Prince Rong had never taken concubines. Some ministers thought that blindly believing the words of a young child and allowing her to be part of Prince Rong's lineage was a great disrespect to him. Others argued that the jade was a unique possession of the Dayan prince, thence its authenticity was confirmed by the Ministry of Rites. They also pointed out that her appearance strongly resembled Prince Rong. The debate stirred the great hall of the court for a while.
Emperor Qianjing felt very troubled and temporarily kept Yan Yushan in the palace.
One afternoon, Yan Ruoxu found Yan Yushan crying in the backyard, wearing thin clothes in the chill of late autumn, and feeling very distressed, she went over and asked her, "Are you the daughter of the elder uncle? It's already getting cold, why aren't you wearing warmer clothes?"
"I don't have any warm clothes. My grandma said people in the palace are all snobbish and only made this new jacket for me. It's a pity that I can't change and wash it now that it's cold," Yan Yushan stood up and, not understanding the palace rules, did not bow, but simply spoke the truth.
Yan Ruoxu, who had been born into luxury and had plenty of new clothes to wear, was secretly surprised and couldn't understand what it was like to have no clothes to change into. She blinked her watery eyes and, feeling a pang of compassion, took Yan Yushan's hand and said, "Come with me. I'll take you to see father, and we'll ask him to put you in the Jade Butterfly Pavilion so you won't be cold anymore."
The naive Yan Yushan tightly held Yan Ruoxu's hand, and this girl one year older than her became a guiding light in her life. A casual act of kindness changed her life. On the second day, Emperor Qianjing ordered Yan Yushan to be appointed as a princess, entered into the family register, and kept in the palace to accompany the Princess. Such an honor was something most people would never hope to attain.
So she started enjoying the benefits of acting pitiful from that moment on, right?
Yan Ruoxu's expression became even more cold.
As she turned to look at Yan Yushan, no one else knew about the undercurrents in their gazes. Empress Xu thought her daughter was tired and gently urged her, "Go down. The Empress Dowager won't blame you. Yushan is a considerate person, so I'm very relieved to have her accompany me."
Upon hearing this, Yan Yushan seemed a bit shy and sincerely said to Empress Xu, "Empress, you're mistaken. Yushan feels unworthy of such praise."
"Alright." Yan Ruoxu moved her cold stare away and nodded slightly to her father and mother, "I will go down first and come back later to keep grandmother's vigil."
As soon as she finished speaking, Yan Yushan got up and kneaded her aching knees after a long time of kneeling, waiting for Yan Ruoxu to get up with a sign of impatience.
Dowager Du, Yan Ruoxu's grandmother, had always disliked this granddaughter who suddenly appeared and whose origins were unclear. She rarely received her and was just an unpleasant old woman in Yan Yushan's eyes. Her sad expression was all an act, and she couldn't wait to go to rest early, finally persuading Yan Ruoxu to leave. This entire detail did not escape Yan Ruoxu's eyes.
Yan Ruoxu remembered clearly that in her previous life, during the mourning period for the grandmother, Father had invited monks from the Monastery of the West to chant scriptures for her. Yan Yushan was chatting with the maidservants, saying that her grandmother was a "miserable old woman". Even if there was nothing else, just based on this incident, it was enough to show that she had a despicable character, disrespectful and disregarding of her elders.
"Sister, let's go down," Yan Yushan waited for a while and seeing that Yan Ruoxu did not move, urged her.
"I'm waiting for your line." Yan Ruoxu glanced at her lightly, then slowly reached out her hand. The two of them were like sisters on ordinary days, and Yan Ruoxu was a generous person who would always save a portion of the good things for Yan Yushan. In their interactions, the complicated rules and formalities associated with their status were set aside, causing Yan Yushan to forget about the distinctions of seniority and status between them.
Yan Yushan's expression showed a moment of surprise, but quickly disguised her displeasure and quietly said to Yan Ruoxu, "Sister, be careful."
Although she appeared respectful on the surface, she was puzzled by Yan Ruoxu’s unusual behavior. A few hours earlier, when they had dinner together, everything seemed normal, but now she suddenly put on the airs of a princess.
Before she could make sense of it, Yan Ruoxu, whom she was supporting, stood up and shook off her hand, straightened her back, and walked out of the hall.
Following the familiar corridor in her memory, Yan Ruoxu slowly made her way to the side hall. Since her grandmother's death at the age of sixteen, she had avoided the Kanghua Palace to prevent herself from feeling sad and tearing up. After getting married at eighteen, she was engrossed in the affairs of the general's mansion and hardly ever returned to the palace. Later on, even if she wanted to return, she couldn't.
She had never expected to have the opportunity to return here again. The reemergence of everything she had lost filled her with boundless joy and brought tears of excitement.
The painful stories she had once heard were now just a nightmare, and everything had returned to its original state. Therefore, everything was still salvageable.
Yan Ruoxu looked at the lanterns hanging in the corridor and listened to the subtle sound of Yan Yushan's footsteps behind her. She felt the cool summer night breeze pass by and her mind was filled with countless thoughts.
She really wanted to ask Yan Yushan why, despite her kindness, she had put her in a dangerous situation. However, she shook her head, knowing that since she had been fortunate enough to have a second chance at life, there was no need to dwell on the past. Besides, at this moment, Yan Yushan had not committed those wrongful acts, so she couldn't blame her.
But this person would no longer share her innermost thoughts with her.
Yan Yushan followed behind Yan Ruoxu, her eyes filled with a hint of resentment. Unseen by Yan Ruoxu, she slowly revealed a cold smile, thinking to herself that she would show her what’s what in the future.
Unconsciously, they arrived at the door of the bedroom in the side hall, where some slightly older maids dressed in plain clothes were quietly waiting outside. They saluted Yan Ruoxu and were about to lead them inside.
Suddenly, a side door not far away was hastily pushed open, and a group of soldiers in armor entered carrying a brocade box. They hurried towards the main hall of the Kanghua Palace, and their silver armor disappeared into the night.
A eunuch loudly proclaimed, "Urgent report from the front line, must report to the Emperor quickly."
His sharp, urgent tone made Yan Ruoxu tremble involuntarily upon hearing it.
The year Yan's grandmother passed away, there was turmoil on the border of Dayan, and the years of peace were shattered. Since then, there had been constant wars, and the country faced severe crises, all of which stemmed from the events of today.
If she wanted to prevent the tragic events that would occur later, she had to take action at this moment.
Yan Ruoxu stopped in her tracks and pondered seriously.
The author has something to say:
The male lead will make an appearance in the next chapter.
***
Lu Yuanzhe: I heard it's been two chapters and I haven't appeared.
Yan Ruoxu: Ha? What do you mean, I'm the main character—feeling disdainful
Lu Yuanzhe: You! Don't you want to see my (⊙＿⊙)? I am your husband.
Yan Ruoxu: Huh, I don't know you yet~
Lu Yuanzhe: ...
****
Lu Yuangwu, who doesn't know where he is, stepped forward with a sword: Come, let me see who dares to covet my wife, I'll teach him a lesson or two
Yan Ruoxu: Scum, get lost.
Lu Yuanzhe: Hehehe, it's me, come and hit me