Chapter 851 – Side Story, My Husband is a Guardian (Part Two)
Wan Yue entered the Young Man’s study and found the spacious room filled with bookshelves, stacked high with countless tomes.
“So many—” Wan Yue gasped, her small mouth agape, forgetting to close it for a long while.
“It’s my father’s collection.” The Young Man’s voice took on a hint of amusement and a barely noticeable pride, as if he were quite pleased.
This was the first time Wan Yue had heard the Young Man talk about his family.
Unbeknownst to her, she had spent half a year here, and the deadline she had agreed upon with the Ice Person was approaching.
Wan Yue felt restless; even her daily studies couldn’t hold her focus, and soon enough, the Young Man saw through her.
“If you don’t love to study, just give it up. Why force yourself?”
As he listened to Wan Yue mess up the notes, a slight flicker of annoyance crossed the Young Man’s face.
Wan Yue hung her head, both dejected and mumbling her worries.
“Is it really because of that?” the Young Man said, surprised.
Wan Yue replied, “If the Young Master doesn’t like me, then the Ice Person will definitely send me back, and when that happens… I’ll surely be sold off again by my aunt.”
The Young Man sat next to the qin, lost in thought.
“In my life, I’m afraid I’ll have to live next to the Emperor’s Mausoleum, unable to leave even a step.” He sighed, “You’re still young; I’ll speak to that woman and ask her to arrange a marriage for you. She’s the most obedient dog under the sun, loyal to the most powerful person around.”
Wan Yue didn’t understand why the Young Man wished to live in seclusion near the Emperor’s Mausoleum. It seemed he had his reasons and outside forces keeping him there.
In the six months that had passed, the Young Man’s only activity had been within the vicinity of the Mausoleum. He had never spent a night outside, always returning before dark.
“But… but… if Wan Yue covets the Young Master’s looks, I might never look at another!”
In Jiang Zhao, it was common for women to pursue men.
In a chaotic world from two or three decades ago, a girl Wan Yue’s age could already be married.
“You’re still young.”
“In just a few days, I’ll turn twelve; in a few more years, I’ll be eighteen. I’m not that young!”
Rounded up, that means I’d be an adult!
Gathering her courage, Wan Yue knew that there would hardly ever be anyone as good as the Young Man before her.
The Young Man was speechless. Faced with a girl who was a whole cycle younger than him, he didn’t know what to say.
To him, she seemed just like a naïve young child.
Wan Yue had been living with the Young Man at the back of the Emperor’s Mausoleum for nearly six years, and in the blink of an eye, she had grown into a graceful and charming young lady.
The Young Man still looked the same; aside from his features maturing, it was as if time had paused for him.
One day, she went out to pick some fruits she had grown herself. Upon returning home, she found many exquisite carriages outside.
Nervously, she approached and wasn’t stopped at all.
Wan Yue saw the “Ice Person” from years ago, dressed in a blue outfit with white chrysanthemums, looking quite capable.
“Who are you?” Wan Yue asked, holding her basket, her heart racing.
The Ice Person looked at her and after some time recognized her as the girl from years ago.
“The Eldest Lady is inside speaking with the Second Young Master. Please wait here with me.”
The Ice Person smiled and nodded at her, making Wan Yue even more anxious.
The “Eldest Lady” inside—was that his family?
It was strange; from the first time Wan Yue saw the Young Man until now, he had always worn plain clothes with simple accessories, even avoiding oily foods during meals… If it were for family mourning, wouldn’t six or seven years be too long?
Standing in the hallway, Wan Yue, relying on her excellent hearing, faintly caught the conversation inside.
“After all these years, have you reflected enough?”
A woman spoke, her voice slightly hoarse but exuding a powerful presence.
The Young Man scoffed, “What’s there for me to reflect on?”
The woman asked, “To this day, don’t you think you were wrong?”
The Young Man remained silent, and Wan Yue felt a sudden tightness in her chest.
Though she didn’t know what had happened in the Young Man’s family, having spent many years with him, she often saw the regret and frustration in his eyes.
The Young Man raised his voice a few notches, saying, “Do you think I was wrong? Jiang Yan, you’ve taken all the good things in this world, yet why am I scolded for merely seeking an explanation! We are siblings born of the same mother, yet you hold power over all, and I’m just a bastard son of a concubine. You were taught with care while I was secretly mocked. Jiang Yan, what have I done that’s worse than you? You were born with a silver spoon in your mouth, while I was stripped of my identity at birth and deemed dead… Did she ever ask about my feelings?”
Wan Yue was frightened, like a startled bird; she had never seen the Young Man display such intense emotions in all the years she had known him.
The woman inside calmly said, “In the end, you’re still unable to let it go.”
“Yes!” replied the Young Man, “I’d rather have taken my life back then than to live a petty life on this mountain beside the Emperor’s Mausoleum!”
The woman sighed, “I thought staying here would help you reflect on the past situation. The Grand Tutor had high hopes for you, your mother was eagerly looking forward to you, yet all you do is throw childish tantrums. Seeking an explanation? The cost of seeking one is too heavy.”
The Young Man did not answer, but a sound of something heavy falling on the ground echoed from within, as if someone had thrown something off a table.
“Jiang Yan, it’s easy for you to say that. She has never looked me in the eye… Not even once…”
Had he not known the truth, the Young Man could have gotten by. After all, he was the sole son of the current Grand Princess and Grand Tutor. Even if he was just a bastard born of a concubine, he could still lead a comfortable life. However, the truth was harsh; he was the Emperor’s son, once posthumously granted the title of Crown Prince.
Two identities—one on the ground, the other in the sky.
He couldn’t let it go, why was he deprived of his identity from the moment he was born?
Since he was destined to be despised and abandoned from birth, it would have been better if he had never been born.
Siblings born of the same mother, yet treated so differently!
He had indeed been naïve and ignorant back then, deceived into thinking his biological father wasn’t his true father but rather an underhanded thief plotting against the Crown Prince.
Mistakenly taking his biological father for an enemy, it was only later he realized… The one who stripped him of his identity was no other than the revered Emperor himself.
Before he could recover from this colossal truth, one blow after another came crashing down, causing his vision to swim.
When the news hit him that his biological father insisted he was an imposter of the Crown Prince, he felt darkness envelop him, as if the sky and earth had shattered, unable to hear anything else.
Originally reported to have passed away, his biological mother revived just then. Under the terrified gaze of ministers and military officials, she calmly dealt with a pile of rebels, capturing those who needed to be caught and executing those to be killed. Meanwhile, he—the “mastermind”—was left aside, ignored… Not a single word regarding his fate until his mother truly passed away, and even then, he received no mention of his punishment.
It was as if he were a clown, completely overlooked.
“Never looked me in the eye?” The woman laughed, “So that’s how you think. Would you like to hear my honest thoughts?”
The Young Man remained silent.
