This can be considered as Miantang’s first time entering the palace after losing memory again.
Fortunately, these days, Servant Li has resorted to various court etiquette, and she is not afraid of disgracing herself after entering the palace.
Miantang changed into the Palace uniform, with tall hair and a sparrow crown on her head, and entered the palace gate under the guidance of the palace attendants. However, as she walked into the back garden, she saw a man in a jade robe standing under the blooming begonia tree.
Once… In the courtyard of the back study of the Mountain of Yang, there was also a begonia tree.
Whenever she returned from leading troops outside the mountain, it used to be the same young man in a white robe standing under a tree, smiling and waiting for her.
Miantang paused and stood in place respectfully, saying, “I, Liu Miantang, greetings to the emperor.”
Liu Yu quickly walked over, trying to reach out and help her up, but was slightly pushed back by her and stood up on her own.
The young emperor was somewhat disappointed and whispered, “I heard that you have already remembered the previous events.”
Seeing Miantang nod, he said with a hint of urgency, “Since that’s the case, why do you still hide from me? Do you still misunderstand me? I have never loved any other woman except you. As long as you are willing, I will always have a way to pick you up to my side.”
Miantang smiled slightly, but her face was not the kind of courtesy that a courtier wife would face towards the emperor. Instead, she smiled confidently and freely, as often seen on the Mountain of Yang Lu Wen’s face. “… It’s not necessary anymore. If you miss it, it’s considered gone. Since I remember it, I’ve always thought about one thing. That’s how Yunniang got into your study…”
Liu Yu was drugged when he was young, and the fear of being dragged out of bed while sleeping had been lingering around him. Therefore, he carefully selected his personal guards and was not very stable when sleeping normally.
So, every time she enters his study, she tries to make a loud noise as much as possible to remind him that she’s coming, so as not to startle him.
But Yunniang was able to quietly sneak into Liu Yu’s study at that time, and now it was quite strange to think about it.
Liu Yu frowned and defended himself. This time, he said, “She intoxicated me. In fact, I didn’t do anything that time.”
Miantang doesn’t want to be involved in these old relationships with Liu Yu in the future, she simply put it bluntly, “I know you didn’t do anything, you just did nothing, acquiesced in Yunniang’s feelings for you, acquiesced in her drunken you, and you also know that I went back to the study to find you that day, and also knew that according to my temper, I would only leave in silence when I knew that my sworn sisters had a private relationship with you… So although your old Eastern Palace officials have made countless plans to unload my military power, in fact, their ideas are not as effective as yours.”
After reminiscing, Miantang asked Cui Xingzhou a lot about the follow-up events of the Mountain of Yang, and many things that she couldn’t figure out before became clear.
However, deep down in her heart, she still didn’t want to think so deeply about the young man in white under the crabapple tree.
But… This time, the serial poison plot of being bewitched made Miantang better understand Liu Yu’s suspicious and gloomy side.
He… Maybe he loved her back then. After all, when walking hand in hand in the sea of flowers, the sweetness and silence of the four eyes cannot deceive anyone.
However, her power at that time was too great and her abilities far exceeded those of the people in the Mountain of Yang. Moreover, she would never allow him to marry the daughter of the Shi family, which made Liu Yu feel uneasy.
He does love her, but he loves a lovely woman who can help him, but not so outstanding or aggressive.
So, he forced her to give up her military power and run away from the Mountain of Yang, allowing him to marry the Shi family without feeling too guilty, making the subsequent recruitment process more logical. He even left an opportunity for the two to reunite in the future – after all, everything was Yunniang’s malicious plot to separate, and he did not disappoint her at that time.
Unfortunately, Liu Yu calculated everything but did not plan for Prince Sui to send someone to assassinate her, let alone for her amnesia and forgetting him completely before marrying someone else.
Liu Yu listened to Miantang’s words and fell silent for a moment.
It was not surprising to guess his true thoughts at the time, as intelligent as she was.
But Liu Yu didn’t think he had done anything wrong, and his tone hardened, saying, “Men who want to achieve great things, need to cherish the world. I have the heavy responsibility of restoring my family of the royal family, and can only move forward alone. Do you think that by always being a bandit on the mountain, I can restore the reputation of my father? Even for Cui Xingzhou. If he were to stand in my shoes, he would also make this decision.”
Liu Miantang shook her head slowly and said with a hint of regret, “I had injured my head on Kou Island. When he rescued me, I wanted to find you again and explain the misunderstanding. But… Later, this idea disappeared.”
Upon hearing this, Liu Yu clenched his fists forcefully. As an emperor, he relied heavily on Cui Xingzhou. But as a man, it was always difficult to let go of his fierce pursuit of love.
“What did he do to make you reluctant to leave?” Liu Yu asked word by word.
Miantang smiled and said, “He didn’t do anything. He just knew that I was a female bandit who couldn’t remember the relationship I had with him. I only remembered the battle between life and death with him. But every day when he slept with me, he slept deep and unprepared like a child.”
Liu Yu had a gloomy face, but he understood the meaning of Miantang’s words.
Even though he knew that Liu Miantang had amnesia and possessed the martial arts skills of killing people, Cui Xingzhou never tested her.
What Liu Miantang wanted has never been a golden mountain or a silver sea, but a beloved person who was willing to stand beside her and give her the trust on the back of her neck.
Only this one thing, Liu Yu was extremely poor and couldn’t afford to pay for it!
Liu Yu’s face suddenly turned pale. He watched as Miantang followed the rules of the palace ceremony and walked towards the queen’s bedroom without looking back.
This time, Liu Yu knew that Miantang, the woman who was smiling sweetly at him under the crabapple flower, would never come back
That day, Miantang returned from the palace and had dinner with Cui Xingzhou.
Cui Xingzhou saw that she was eating very urgently, and while holding onto her braised elbow skin, he said, “Didn’t you have dinner with the queen in the palace? Why are you still so hungry?”
Miantang reluctantly took a sip of the soup and said, “When I was about to enter the palace, Servant Li reminded me of the rules. Even if there were delicacies, I couldn’t eat them.”
Cui Xingzhou smiled and said, “It’s still Servant Li who understands you. She said that you must not be able to eat comfortably in the palace. She brought the cook and cooked several delicious meals for you… So what did the queen tell you?”
Miantang said, “At first, it was just words to comfort, but I don’t think the empress is really sad, so I talked about something else.”
Cui Xingzhou glanced at her and asked, “Oh? What did you talk about?”
Miantang said, “The empress asked me that you have made new achievements this time, what do you hope to be rewarded for? I learned from what you told me beforehand and told the empress that as a king with a different surname, we have reached the top of the line of honor and favor as a vassal. If we continue to be rewarded, we may lose the blessings of our ancestors. For us, being crowned a prince or a vassal is not as good as returning to our hometown to serve our mother and enjoy the happiness of our life. If you cherish the merits of the prince’s many years of war, why don’t you let the prince return to his hometown and become a wandering and idle person? If there is another danger in the border, the prince will hang his armor again and wait for the call of the emperor.”
This was not a statement to appease the emperor and dispel his suspicion, but a sincere statement from Cui Xingzhou.
He also walked step by step from a foreign land and ascended to the Great Yan Dynasty to become a minister of the humerus. But the power struggle and intrigue are not what Cui Xingzhou loves.
There was a saying that accompanying a ruler was like accompanying a tiger. In his bones, just like his choice of friends, a life like Zhao Quan was what he had always longed for but could not obtain.
So after listening to Miantang’s words, he smiled and asked, “So what did the queen say?”
After eating half a bowl of rice, Miantang became more stable, “The queen doesn’t seem to believe me. She asked me if I would give up the excitement in the capital and go back to the State of Zhen with you. I told the queen that I had never been accustomed to the days in the capital, especially those princes in the capital. They all have three wives and four concubines, and it’s better to go back to the State of Zhen, worried and afraid of learning badly. The queen said that my words were against the principle of being a virtuous wife. If a man wants to have a concubine, it’s not good to stop him being a legitimate wife.”
Cui Xingzhou raised his eyebrows and had a bad premonition. He pulled a long tone and asked, “So how did you return to the queen?”
Miantang smiled and said, “Of course, I dare not deceive the queen. I just say that I don’t have the virtuous and magnanimous qualities of the queen, and I don’t know how to write the words of being a virtuous wife. If the prince wants to have a concubine, he must ask if the sword in my hand agrees.”
Servant Li, who was filling the soup on the side, couldn’t help but take a cold breath upon hearing this.
Cui Xingzhou didn’t take it seriously and continued listening with a light smile.
Miantang continued, “The Empress smiled bitterly upon hearing this, saying that she cannot guarantee that all the courtiers in the world will not rebel in the future. However, as long as I, Liu Miantang, become your legitimate wife for a day, you will surely enjoy the joy of being with me and have no time to fight for those worldly vanities.”
Cui Xingzhou pinched Miantang’s cheek and said, “No etiquette! How dare you say anything so recklessly, making it like you can beat me with a sword.”
However, Cui Xingzhou knew in his heart that the queen’s ability to make such a joke was actually a reassuring gesture towards him and his wife.
At the very least, Liu Miantang did not have the grand wish of expecting her husband to become the next emperor.
That position was too high and too cold, and people sitting on it for a long time would eventually change.
However, Liu Miantang could never allow her husband to have three wives and four concubines like Liu Yu. Wise as she was, if she had a peaceful and prosperous life, she would naturally not have the desire to persuade her husband to seize power without any trouble.
Miantang deliberately said this at the time, in fact, it was also a request for the empress to relax.
There was always a tacit understanding between two women who have always had a good relationship, which can only be understood but cannot be expressed.
Today, when she was in the palace, Empress Shi listened to her words, and in fact, she smiled bitterly and kept silent for a long time, and said, “This day, like Congee, it’s always getting thicker and thicker, but everyone’s cooking methods are different… Princess Consort, your method is also good, but few women in the world can be as free and easy as you…”
When Empress Shi said this, the desolation in her eyes was not something that a woman of her age should have.
TL/ Note: Thanks for the support for the novel~~ we have come to the end of the stories. There are still 2 extra chapters behind. Do continue to enjoy.
Loveguy On CFRFGC Chapter 12