Chapter 17: Sugar-Preserved Plums
(Thank you to the readers who recorded the audio of The Legend of the Choice of Heaven. I’ll find time to listen carefully. I’ve been really busy lately and can’t spare a full block of time… I took a quick look at the table of contents and thought it over seriously. Recording this takes a lot of time and effort, 5555, I’m so touched.)
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With just one glance, Xu Yourong could tell that Yu Ren didn’t like her.
Yu Ren looked at her quietly, saying nothing, because he couldn’t speak.
Xu Yourong said with a self-deprecating tone, “I always thought everyone liked me.”
That remark was somewhat endearing.
Yu Ren smiled.
But the smile in his eyes was faint—so faint it could be called indifferent.
Xu Yourong looked into his eyes and suddenly smiled as well.
Because she understood why Yu Ren didn’t like her.
The events that had happened tonight must have already reached the palace. Yu Ren surely knew that Chen Changsheng was genuinely angry.
In his view, all of this was Xu Yourong’s doing.
So he didn’t like her.
Having figured out the reason, Xu Yourong realized she didn’t need to ask any more questions.
Yu Ren truly valued Chen Changsheng, just as Chen Changsheng valued him.
These two senior and junior brothers from Xining Town were like real brothers—even closer than blood brothers.
Xu Yourong’s smile was beautiful, because she was naturally beautiful.
And this time, she was smiling from the heart.
Perhaps it was because of her lovely face or because he saw her sincerity, but the indifference in Yu Ren’s eyes lessened a little.
“Yes, he doesn’t want to be the Pope, and he has no choice in this matter.”
Xu Yourong said, “I’m different. When I was five, the Empress and my master gave me a choice. This was my own decision, and it has become my habit. So it’s more fitting for me to handle what comes next.”
What comes next?
First, naturally, was to continue this conversation.
Xu Yourong sat down across from the desk, looking perfectly at ease.
Yu Ren pushed a small plate on the table toward her with his right hand.
Xu Yourong noticed the plate held sugar-preserved plums.
Yu Ren didn’t seem like someone who would enjoy sugar-preserved plums. So were they prepared for the eunuchs or maids?
Xu Yourong didn’t see this as an insult. On the contrary, she knew it was Yu Ren’s way of showing goodwill.
Even though his way of expressing goodwill was just as clumsy as Chen Changsheng’s.
She picked up a sugar-preserved plum with her fingers and placed it in her mouth, her face showing a look of satisfaction.
Seeing this scene, Yu Ren smiled, also satisfied.
Xu Yourong said, “I don’t practice the orthodox Dao of the state religion. Even now, I don’t fully understand what Chen Changsheng means by ‘following one’s heart.’ So I can’t grasp the relationship between you and your master. Probably only the three of you in the entire continent truly understand it. But the problem still needs to be resolved.”
Yu Ren looked at her quietly, asking with his eyes what her solution was.
“It’s simple. You and your junior brother join forces and ask your master to retire.”
Xu Yourong’s voice was a bit muffled because of the sugar-preserved plum in her mouth.
But the meaning she wanted to convey was as clear as a fasting sword.
From the shadows deep within the hall came the sound of a sharp intake of breath, like someone had bitten into an extremely sour plum.
Xu Yourong’s expression didn’t change, clearly aware that someone was there all along.
Yu Ren looked toward the shadows and shook his head.
Old Eunuch Lin’s figure gradually emerged from the darkness, then bowed and retreated from the hall.
Perhaps because of the shock from Xu Yourong’s words, or perhaps because of his age, this palace powerhouse’s frame was somewhat stooped. As he left, he forgot to latch the hall doors. The faintly cold winter wind surged in from the deep night, blocked by the formation attached to the palace, making a rustling sound like scattering paper.
A western window was blown open by the wind, slamming against the wall with a sharp crack. Several gusts that had slipped through the formation stirred the yellow drapes inside the hall. The night pearls weren’t candles, yet their light seemed to waver with the breeze, unable to clearly illuminate the faces of Xu Yourong and Yu Ren.
Their faces were expressionless, their eyes unblinking, as they silently stared at each other.
Xu Yourong’s gaze was utterly calm.
Yu Ren was puzzled.
He couldn’t understand why she would make such a suggestion, or rather, how she dared to make it.
The entire continent knew that, in stark contrast to his cold indifference toward Chen Changsheng, Shang Xingzhou treated Yu Ren very well.
This kindness was beyond reproach.
Even Shang Xingzhou’s enemies, even Chen Changsheng, had to admit this.
“Yes, he raised you, educated you, cared for you, placed you on the throne, taught you how to govern, and now intends to return power to you. From any angle, he seems good to you. But the question is, is he truly good to you?”
Xu Yourong said calmly, “What he loves is Emperor Taizong, not you. You’re merely an emotional projection for him, or a puppet.”
A breeze stirred again.
The bright yellow sleeve was ruffled.
Yu Ren raised an eyebrow.
He didn’t storm off or slam the table.
But Xu Yourong knew he didn’t want to hear any more.
So she changed her approach.
“If those two senior and junior brothers truly become enemies, can you stand by and watch them kill each other? If your master really kills Chen Changsheng, won’t he regret it later? Even for your master’s sake, you should do something to prevent all this.”
Xu Yourong said, “You should choose where to stand, and the sooner the better. It can’t be in the middle.”
Yu Ren shook his head.
He didn’t think Xu Yourong was wrong, nor was he rejecting her proposal. He was trying to tell her that doing so would be meaningless.
Xu Yourong’s gaze fell on the jade pendant hanging at his waist, and she understood his meaning.
Three years ago, during the snowstorm in the capital, when Chen Changsheng went to kill Zhou Tong and Shang Xingzhou was about to leave the palace, Yu Ren appeared in the snow, holding that jade pendant.
That jade pendant had been sent into the palace by the Qiu Shan family, representing the sword Qiu Shan Jun had thrust into his own chest during the chaos at Li Mountain.
Yu Ren had used that jade pendant to show his resolve, stopping Shang Xingzhou from leaving the palace.
But at that time, Shang Xingzhou had also told him that this was the last time.
Yu Ren knew his master well. Since he said it was the last time, it would indeed be the last.
He didn’t think that joining forces with his junior brother could make his master back down.
Xu Yourong suddenly asked, “After the incident at the Tian Shu Mausoleum, you and Chen Changsheng never met again. Even though you’re both in the capital, separated only by a palace wall, why is that?”
Yu Ren looked at the western window blown open by the wind, a longing expression on his face.
That direction led to the National Academy.
Xu Yourong continued, “Because you know your master doesn’t want you to meet.”
Yu Ren said nothing.
He and Chen Changsheng both knew this was what their master was most wary of.
So they had never thought about meeting.
Even though they wanted to.
Xu Yourong pressed on, “But have you ever wondered why he doesn’t want you to meet?”
Yu Ren was puzzled, thinking it was for the reasons everyone knew.
Xu Yourong smiled slightly and said, “Because he’s afraid of you.” (To be continued.)