Chapter 105: The Past
Li Yanhe heard Jiang Luohan’s words, and suddenly the aura around him turned icy cold. In that instant, the entire courtyard seemed frozen by frost.
Li Yanhe glanced back at Jiang Luohan and said coldly, “Sometimes, you have to pay attention to other people’s faces when you act. People like you, mere bandits, dare to speak to me that way?”
Jiang Luohan felt Li Yanhe’s overwhelming presence press down on him relentlessly, as if he had no regard for consequences. He looked up at Li Yanhe and replied, “It’s your own problem; why blame others?”
After saying this, Jiang Luohan flicked his sleeve and walked away. The sharp tension radiating from Li Yanhe oppressed everyone in the small courtyard. After a long moment, Li Yanhe turned and left.
Li Yanhe himself didn’t understand why he felt this way. Perhaps it was Lin Miaomiao’s appearance that had introduced countless new possibilities into his life.
To be fair, Li Yanhe did desire that lofty throne. For whatever reason, he refused to become a mere pawn, a helpless victim to others’ schemes.
Unfortunately, his mother seemed to oppose his rise to such heights; she didn’t wish for him to become the exalted emperor.
His father, on the other hand, naturally hoped to pass the throne to a strong son, so that the Great Yong dynasty could endure through the ages.
But that was only his father’s desperate plan in old age. If given a choice, Li Yanhe was certain his father wished for him to live forever.
His brothers too eyed the throne greedily. Even if Li Yanhe did not care much, he was unwilling to meet a tragic end someday.
Li Yanhe had originally thought he would marry a daughter of an official family and live a life just like her parents—an ordinary life for most people, one of mutual respect but eternal loneliness.
He wandered aimlessly, not knowing why he ended up in front of the small mansion Lin Miaomiao had built. His heart ached slightly.
He sighed heavily. Just then, Lin Miaomiao was about to step out and noticed Li Yanhe standing there. At that moment, she didn’t feel like engaging with him.
But Lin Miaomiao thought that if she wanted to sort things out with Li Yanhe, some matters had to be faced.
Li Yanhe also saw Lin Miaomiao standing there. She glanced at him and said to the elderly nanny Zhao behind her, “You may leave now.”
Nanny Zhao looked at Lin Miaomiao, then at Li Yanhe, nodded, and left.
Lin Miaomiao asked Li Yanhe, “Do you have something to say? Or did you come today to settle everything once and for all?”
Li Yanhe looked up seriously at Lin Miaomiao and said, “Who exactly are you?”
The moment she heard his question, Lin Miaomiao’s mind went blank. She looked up at Li Yanhe but remained silent.
Seeing her silence, Li Yanhe’s lips curled into a mocking smile. “Someone like you probably just wants to leave this place, right?”
“To have any connection with people here is a burden for someone like you.”
Lin Miaomiao frowned, lifted her head, and asked, “What do you mean by that?”
Li Yanhe stared seriously at Lin Miaomiao and said, “I am a prince. Inevitably, there will be struggles for the throne in my life.”
“You probably think my actions are hopelessly foolish! You see us as animals fighting for mating rights—foolish and base.”
Lin Miaomiao looked at him and said, “What exactly do you want to say? Can you make yourself clear? With what you said, I have no idea what you mean.”
Li Yanhe fluttered his long eyelashes at her and said, “You should know exactly what I mean.”
Lin Miaomiao sighed and said, “As you said, I’m not from this era. I come from a place thousands of years in the future.”
She continued, “My coming here was an accident, so I tried my best to separate myself from this little girl.”
“In fact, I know this girl’s parents died because of you. I also know you saved me out of guilt for her parents.”
After saying this, Lin Miaomiao sighed deeply. “I don’t know how you learned all this, but what you just said is not what I think at all.”
She looked up at Li Yanhe: “I have never thought meeting you was unfortunate. In fact, the moment I met you, I felt truly saved.”
Lowering her gaze, she said, “I feel like I belong to this world. I have no parents, no relatives, no friends.”
“I am just a person who, after death, forgot to drink the reincarnation soup and was reborn in this girl’s body.”
Tears silently slid down her cheeks. Lin Miaomiao opened her mouth to speak but found no words.
Li Yanhe had never seen Lin Miaomiao cry before. Seeing her tears, he was unexpectedly moved.
After wiping her tears away, Lin Miaomiao said, “Life is full of helplessness. This is my greatest helplessness, isn’t it?”
Li Yanhe said nothing. After a long pause, he embraced Lin Miaomiao gently and said, “I’m sorry. I was too saddened by some things.”
Lin Miaomiao shook her head and said, “Actually, I should have told you this long ago.”
“We’ve known each other for so long; I should have told you. Whether you ask is your matter; whether I tell is mine.”
Hearing this, Li Yanhe looked at Lin Miaomiao and said, “I want to tell you a story. Would you like to hear it?”
Lin Miaomiao nodded. “Alright, tell me.”
They entered Lin Miaomiao’s small mansion, and the servants all stepped aside.
Li Yanhe said, “Do you know? That night, the words Li Zheng spoke… he once said them to someone else.”
Lin Miaomiao looked up, puzzled by the meaning behind his words.
Li Yanhe smiled bitterly and said, “Long ago, there was a woman named Yuan Chuxia.”
“She was my mother, but she carried a great secret—she clearly did not belong here.”
“Thirty years ago, my mother Yuan Chuxia came here. As a member of the General’s household, her appearance was celebrated by all.”
“The General had no wife, and no daughter. But as a powerful general, his only sister became the object of everyone’s admiration.”
“At that time, all the princes were ambitious, fiercely vying for their positions. None would yield. As they fought among themselves, the current emperor repressed them.”
“Yuan Chuxia’s arrival was a turning point. You were the best way to test the emperor, so they began to approach this girl.”
“Unfortunately, none succeeded. Until one day, two young noblemen were walking in the street when a gang of thugs targeted them.”
“The thugs stared greedily at these young noble sons, seeing them as their next meal.”
The two young men sneered coldly at the thugs. Just then, a young woman said coldly, “I say, how dare you do such things in broad daylight?”
The young woman sat astride a tall horse, a casual smile on her lips. She held a whip and lashed it at the thugs.
Soon, the thugs were knocked down by her. She approached the two young men. They wanted to thank her, but she looked them over and said, “Next time you go out, bring more people.”
Li Yanhe glanced at Lin Miaomiao, who suddenly felt that the young woman was none other than the virtuous Imperial Noble Consort Yuan Chuxia.
If she wasn’t mistaken, the two young noblemen were Emperor Yongchang and Li Zheng.
Lin Miaomiao voiced her thoughts quietly. Li Yanhe nodded and said, “Yes, that’s right.”
He continued, “Some things happened so long ago that I don’t know everything. But I do remember, just as I was about to leave, overhearing a conversation between my mother and Li Zheng.”
Lin Miaomiao looked up in surprise. Li Yanhe smiled bitterly and slowly said, “Only then did I realize that if Li Zheng had agreed to my mother’s request, I wouldn’t be the emperor’s son.”
“Unfortunately, they were not the ones truly in love. The real lovers were my father and mother.”
Hearing this, Lin Miaomiao felt that Li Yanhe hadn’t finished speaking, though she didn’t know what he left unsaid.
Li Yanhe looked up at her and continued, “When I was young, my mother was once suspected of something. At that time, I overheard an argument between my father and mother.”