Happy Spring Every Year

Chapter 222: Close and Distant

"Madam Jiang, the jade pendant on your waist looks very delicate and exquisite. Could you show it to me?"

Concubine Rong raised her eyes and looked at Shen Jiasui. At this moment, her gentle eyes seemed to be filled with countless thoughts.

There was a faint glimmer of water in her eyes. Although she tried her best to suppress it, it still revealed the ripples of emotion in her heart.

Shen Jiasui lowered his eyes and looked at his waist, his heart also deeply touched.

This jade pendant is indeed... of extraordinary significance.

She nodded respectfully, took off the jade pendant, and presented it with both hands.

Concubine Rong reached out to take it.

When my eyes fell on the jade pendant and I saw the word "Lin" on it, my fingertips gently stroked it and touched the familiar patterns on it, and the dusty memories instantly came flooding back like a tide.

......

"You gave me a bamboo hairpin, and I gave you a beautiful jade. It's a gift of reciprocity."

The girl's clear voice sounded like the chirping of an oriole, and she casually handed over the warm jade pendant in her hand.

The young man opposite was as tall and straight as a pine tree. He usually looked a bit nonchalant and unruly, but at this moment, there seemed to be an unconcealable tenderness between his eyebrows.

He smiled and reached out to take the jade pendant. His eyes were instantly attracted by the word "Lin" engraved on it. His brows raised slightly, and a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes.

Seeing his reaction, the shyness on the girl's face turned into a blush, and she muttered:

"I don't know who it was, but he was showing off by handwriting a visiting card and handing it over. I looked at it and only the character 'Lin' was acceptable."

In fact, the visiting card was written very beautifully. She liked it very much and specially asked someone to carve the word "Lin" on it on the jade pendant.

The young man was so smart that he immediately realized that the girl was not speaking from the heart.

He suddenly clenched the jade pendant, raised his chin slightly, and looked at the girl with eyes full of admiration and joy.

The breeze blew gently, and the emotion was evoked, lingering around the young man and girl standing opposite each other, brightening the years and spring.

.......

Concubine Rong gently closed her eyes, the corners of her mouth trembling slightly, and the suppressed emotions continued to surge in her heart.

Her fingertips caressed the jade pendant inch by inch, as if caressing the past that could never be retrieved.

Shen Jiasui noticed Concubine Rong's strange behavior, but still couldn't help but say:

"My Lady Dowager, this is a family heirloom given to me by my teacher."

Upon hearing this, Concubine Rong suddenly opened her eyes, was stunned for a moment, and murmured repeatedly: "Family heirloom...ah."

Tears were about to fall from her eyes. Concubine Rong hurriedly lowered her head, slowly closed her palm, and held the jade pendant tightly in her palm.

She had always thought that she was the only one reminiscing and lingering on the tenderness hidden in the wrinkles of time. It turned out that he also...

The joy has not yet faded, but the sorrow is gradually rising.

Concubine Rong opened her lips as if she wanted to say something, but something seemed to be stuck in her throat, and in the end she could only let out an almost inaudible sigh.

The palace is surrounded by high walls and the secular world is a chasm. She has experienced all kinds of joys and sorrows in her life, but she has endless regrets.

We will never see each other again in this life.

This morning, she heard that the imperial tutor was detained in the imperial prison for forming a clique for personal gain, and her heart tightened with shock.

Back then in the pavilion, he spoke eloquently, his words were about sages, loyalty, righteousness, the people, and the world.

Even though they were separated by decades and people's hearts were unpredictable, she stubbornly believed that he would never do such an unfaithful and unjust thing.

Now, he has given the jade pendant to Miss Shen, which shows that... he has made up his mind.

She understood...

Concubine Rong once again looked at the jade pendant in her palm, and engraved the word "Lin" on it firmly in her heart. When she looked up again, her expression had returned to its usual calm and gentle expression.

"Mrs. Jiang, it is indeed a fine piece of jade."

Concubine Rong smiled and handed the jade pendant back.

When the eldest princess saw this, her brows relaxed slightly, and her worries finally came to an end.

Her mother had told her about the old story between her mother and Uncle Lin before she set out for the marriage.

My mother shed tears at that time, worried that she would think this was disloyal to her father, but she just felt extremely sorry for her mother.

My father has three thousand concubines in his harem, and I wonder how many beautiful women are imprisoned within these vermilion palace walls.

My father can be fickle and have girls on both sides, so why can't my mother keep the young man from the past in her heart?

Moreover, the Empress Dowager only favored Concubine Chen, so it was not easy for the mother and daughter to live. When the crisis of the marriage came, it was Uncle Lin who finally planned a way out for them.

The reason why I summoned Miss Shen into the palace today was to hear the cause and effect of what happened in the morning court.

If this was Uncle Lin and Jiang Xun's plan, she was also worried that rash action would ruin things.

After the four of them sat down together, the eldest princess said meaningfully, "Madam Jiang, there are no outsiders here."

Although the eldest princess did not bring many people with her when she returned to Beijing this time, with her skills, it was more than enough to protect the Cining Palace.

After hearing this, Shen Jiasui no longer had any concerns and told Jiang Xun in detail the guesses and plans she and Jiang Xun had discussed last night and today.

The princess frowned upon hearing this and said in a deep voice, "If Cui Daoyuan is to be convicted of a serious crime, Uncle Lin, as the instigator, will inevitably be punished as well."

"But as long as you can save your life, it's nothing."

"But if His Majesty really has his eye on Prince Rui, and you guys defeat him right after, His Majesty will immediately realize that he's been tricked by Elder Lin."

"Jia Sui, this is something an emperor cannot tolerate. If this continues, Uncle Lin will surely die."

The eldest princess is indeed smart and her words hit the nail on the head.

Shen Jiasui nodded solemnly, but couldn't help but sigh, "Princess, this is exactly what Axun and I are suffering from."

"Now the situation has gone according to the teacher's plan. If we do nothing, the teacher's hard work and dedication will be wasted. If we do our best, the teacher will..."

Shen Jiasui frowned, paused, and continued:

"Axun knows the teacher best, so he went to find Censor Zhang. Censor Zhang is upright and honest, and thanks to Axun's reminder, he's ahead of the curve. It's only a matter of time before he uncovers the corruption within the Ministry of Personnel and the Cui family."

"Prince Rui holds a 'sharp weapon' in his hand and is waiting for the right moment to strike. However, once the Cui family is facing collapse, he will surely be eager to attack our Shen family."

"After all, for Prince Rui, even if both sides suffer losses in this fight, as long as His Royal Highness the Grandson has something to criticize, he won't necessarily lose by picking the taller one out of the short ones."

"Axun and I have never concealed anything about our Shen family from our teacher. I never expected that this incident would prompt our teacher to join the game and completely eliminate the hidden dangers."

If the letter game is done well, it will surely deal a heavy blow to Prince Rui.

But Cui Daoyuan had been the Minister of Personnel for so many years, and his power had already become deeply entrenched.

Furthermore, the emperor's intentions are unclear. If Prince Rui is brought down this time, and the emperor and Cui Daoyuan work together to expose the truth, their future will be difficult.

So Mr. Lin chose to take the initiative, and while finding out the emperor's thoughts, he also pulled out this sharp tooth of the Cui family.

Of course, during the period when the Cui family suffered, Prince Rui had to plead with the emperor.

What if the emperor revealed at this time that the person he favors is Prince Rui?

Thinking of this, a cold light flashed across Shen Jiasui's face.

The emperor has been wavering and hesitating for so many years. Now he is sharpening his knife to attack the Cui family, while at the same time saying that he has long chosen Prince Rui as the crown prince. Does Prince Rui dare to believe it?

However, before the Cui family fell, it was impossible for the emperor to issue an order to appoint a crown prince.

Otherwise, if something happens to him, Prince Rui will be the new emperor with full legitimacy, and the Cui family will be able to revive in the blink of an eye and become even more powerful than before.

After all, it is a matter of vying for the throne in the Dragon Court, between the closest and the most distant relatives.

The kindness and trust between father and son, and between brothers in the Heavenly Family, were all worn away bit by bit by His Majesty himself over the years...