NFBE Chapter 392 The human heart is more unpredictable than drifting clouds.
Chapter 392 The human heart is more unpredictable than drifting clouds.
A wisp of smoke rose from the gilded dragon-shaped incense burner, and the rich aroma of ambergris slowly filled the room.
Lu Jiangnian, dressed in a dark brocade robe with cloud patterns, stood in the center of the hall like a drawn sword, his jade belt reflecting the morning light.
His expression was calm, like a deep pool, without the slightest ripple.
"Your Majesty is wise."
He bowed respectfully, his voice neither hurried nor slow, "Last night, when I returned home it was nearly midnight. My wife didn't mention anything else, except for this matter."
The emperor, who was reviewing memorials with his vermilion brush, paused slightly upon hearing this. He raised his eyelids and asked with interest, "Oh? What did she say?"
Lu Jiangnian's lips curled slightly, his cold, hard features instantly becoming more lively: "Your Majesty, my wife has always been sheltered in her chambers; she's more timid than a rabbit."
A gentle ripple appeared in his eyes. "That day, when you summoned her to the palace, she was questioned by Consort Liang. Her hands were ice-cold, and she was almost scared to tears. She had never seen such a fierce person before."
A cool breeze suddenly rose outside the palace, rustling the leaves on the trees. Lu Jiangnian's voice was particularly clear in the stillness: "I asked her if she was too frightened to sleep after returning home, and she actually said..."
The words were on the tip of his tongue, but he stopped, as if he found it difficult to speak.
"Speak freely." The emperor simply put down his vermilion brush and leaned forward slightly.
The Junshan Silver Needle tea on the table was steaming, its aroma mingling with the fragrance of ambergris.
Lu Jiangnian took a deep breath, his eyes gleaming with a mixture of helplessness and doting: "She said... because the Emperor was present, she wasn't afraid anymore."
"Why?"
The Emperor recalled that day, and the pale face of Lady Yuan. It was somewhat reasonable to say that she was so frightened that she couldn't sleep.
Lu Jiangnian's voice carried a mixture of helplessness and doting affection, "My father often talks about his past battles alongside the Emperor, and he constantly admonishes us to be loyal to the Emperor and serve the country. My wife has been influenced by this and has developed a great respect for the Emperor."
Lu Jiangnian suddenly looked up, his gaze clear as autumn water: "Sometimes when I chatted with her about old stories from the border, she would say..."
He stopped abruptly there, as if he was hesitant.
"Hmm?" The emperor tapped the table lightly with his fingertips, his interest growing stronger.
“She said…” Lu Jiangnian seemed to have made a great decision, but his voice grew even more firm, “that His Majesty is wise and mighty, daring to appoint a greenhorn like me as the commander-in-chief of an army.”
He looked directly at the emperor's face and said, word by word, "In her heart, Your Majesty is wise and mighty, omnipotent. With Your Majesty in charge, she would never be wronged. It is Your Majesty who gives her confidence; even if the sky were to fall, she would not be afraid."
Just as the words were spoken, the sound of a morning bell rang out from outside the palace, its deep resonance echoing for a long time within the palace walls.
The emperor paused for a moment, then suddenly clapped his hands and laughed, startling the birds perched under the eaves.
Over the years, the emperor had grown accustomed to the carefully crafted flattery of his courtiers; those ornate words were like gilded cages, beautiful yet empty.
But the simple words he heard from Lu Jiangnian today were like a clear spring, flowing straight into the emperor's heart.
"Hahaha!" The emperor suddenly clapped his hands and laughed, the laughter echoing in the hall. The wrinkles at the corners of his eyes relaxed, as if he had become ten years younger. "I finally understand why you later fell for her. This Lady Yuan is quite a remarkable woman!"
Lu Jiangnian stood with his head bowed, a barely perceptible smile playing on his lips.
He thought to himself: My wife is more than just a wonderful woman; she is clearly a celestial maiden descended to earth. Your Majesty, you probably can't even imagine the extent of her power to manipulate others.
“She also said something very disrespectful…” Lu Jiangnian pretended to hesitate, lowering his voice even further.
Seeing that the emperor gestured for him to continue, he whispered, "He said that His Majesty looks even more dashing and youthful than His Highness the Crown Prince."
After Lu Jiangnian finished speaking, he immediately lowered his head, as if afraid of being punished for a serious offense of disrespect.
"Bang!" The emperor slammed his hand on the table, his smile widening the wrinkles around his eyes. At his age, nothing was more pleasing than such praise.
"Guards!" The emperor waved his dragon sleeve, his voice booming like a bell.
The palace doors opened with a creak, and several eunuchs filed in carrying brocade boxes. Lu Jiangnian glanced at them casually; the East China Sea luminous pearl shimmered softly against the brocade, the cloud patterns on the Shu brocade seemed to come alive, and the imperial brushes and Huizhou ink emitted a faint scent of pine...
In the blink of an eye, half of the main hall was filled with these treasures, which shimmered and shone under the setting sun.
"These," the Emperor said, pointing to the treasures filling the hall, a rare look of kindness in his eyes, "are half a reward for your hard work in investigating the case, and half to soothe the Yuan family's nerves."
He suddenly sighed, "At first I thought this marriage was beneath you, but now it seems it's a match made in heaven."
Lu Jiangnian kowtowed solemnly, and a complex look flashed in his eyes as his forehead touched the ground.
As he left the palace, he gazed at the drifting clouds in the sky. Human hearts are fickle, even more unpredictable than the clouds in the sky.
-
Yaoguang Hall.
Lady Zhaohua leaned against the carved rosewood chaise lounge, her nail guards unconsciously tapping the table.
A fine bowl of bird's nest soup had long since gone cold, congealing into a gelatinous substance, yet no one dared to step forward to replace it. The incense in the hall wafted gently, but it could not dispel the cloud of sorrow that had settled between her brows.
She has a headache right now.
For no other reason than for one thing.
Her good-for-nothing son actually took a fancy to Liang Yuhua from the second branch of the Liang family!
"Mother!"
The person was not seen, but the voice arrived first.
In the past, Lady Zhaohua would have smiled upon hearing Murong Jun's voice, but now she was extremely annoyed.
The beaded curtain rustled as the Fifth Prince, Murong Jun, burst in.
The jade pendant at his waist jingled, and a few flower petals still clung to the hem of his brocade robe, clearly indicating that he had just come from the Imperial Garden.
His handsome face, resembling Lady Zhaohua's, was filled with determination: "What have you decided? Please grant my request!"
"impossible!"
Madam Zhaohua slammed her hand on the table and stood up abruptly, the gold and jade bracelet on her wrist hitting the table with a crisp cracking sound.
Her beautiful eyes widened, her meticulously drawn eyebrows almost stood on end, and her chest heaved violently: "You've truly gone mad! Now that Consort Liang's power is gone and the Second Prince is imprisoned, instead of thinking about cultivating your influence in court, you're eyeing that maid from the second branch of the Liang family?"
Murong Jun casually lifted the corner of his brocade python-patterned robe and sat down on the Xiangfei bamboo couch.
Reaching out of the glass, I picked up a candied kumquat and casually tossed it into my mouth.
From childhood to adulthood, his mother would always try to get him anything he wanted. The Akhal-Teke horse he had his eye on during the spring hunt that year was originally intended to be given to the Crown Prince by his father, but it ended up in his hands.
"Mother," he drawled, like a child begging for a toy, "that Liang Yuhua is so adorable, you just haven't seen her..."
"Murong Jun!"
Lady Zhaohua raised her hand to slap her son, but stopped abruptly before it touched his cheek. Her nails, painted with henna, trembled slightly, and her voice carried an unprecedented sternness: "Do you know that the entire court is avoiding this matter...?"
She suddenly lowered her voice, "And you, you're practically jumping into a fire pit!"
The soft footsteps of palace servants echoed outside the hall. Lady Zhaohua clenched her embroidered handkerchief tightly, her knuckles turning white. "Do you find the position of Crown Prince too hot to handle? Or do you think I've had it too easy these past few years?"
"Mother, you worry too much." Murong Jun casually dusted off his sleeves, a sinister glint in his eyes. "The position of Crown Prince is nothing more than a prize in my hands."