Chapter 206: The Person Who Looked for Her Mother in the Past
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
“Xinan can escort Nan Xun to the capital, but the Emperor must promise that he’ll not collect taxes from Xinan or touch Xinan’s troops,” Yu Yunxi said expressionlessly.
“Is Xinan trying to rebel? Your demand is no different from asking for Xinan to be independent from Tianxia!” Chen Kui said angrily.
“I won’t change my mind. If the Emperor disagrees, then there’s no need to discuss this matter anymore. Oh, that’s right. We have another request. The Emperor must hand over the phoenix crown from when Princess Chunyang got married,” Yu Yunxi said stonily.
Princess Chunyang was highly favored, and when she got married, the phoenix crown was personally bestowed to her by the former Emperor. After she disappeared, all her belongings were kept in the palace. Moreover, there were many soldiers guarding them.
Yu Yunxi did not know the reason, but her godfather had sent her a message, telling her to ask for the phoenix crown.
‘Princess Chunyang’s phoenix crown? Princess Chunyang has been missing for so many years. Why are they bringing her up?’
Chen Kui was old so he was aware of what happened in the past. He looked at Yu Yunxi suspiciously when he heard her request.
Yu Yunxi no longer wanted to waste words with them. She said, “Write a letter to the Emperor and tell him about this. If he agrees, we’ll bring Nan Xun to the capital in a few days.”
Although Feng Yijin’s heart was dark, he cared very much about his image as an emperor. If he made a promise, even if he felt vexed, he would not easily go back on his word. If he agreed to the request, Xinan would be safe for a long time.
Chen Kui knew he would not be able to gain anything today. He flicked his sleeve and left in a huff.
Feng Weiping walked to Yu Yongnian’s side and whispered, “General Yu, let’s go. ”
“Fourth Princess, you go ahead. I still have something to say to Eldest Sister,” Yu Yongnian said lightly.
‘What does he have to say?’
Yu Yunxi’s hand that was holding the teacup paused briefly.
After Feng Weiping and Chen Kui left, Yu Yunxi and Yu Yongnian went to the backyard.
“If you have anything to say, say it,” Yu Yunxi said coldly.
“Eldest Sister, Xinan has the Crown Prince of Nanyue now so I can understand your confidence. However, if Xinan causes too much trouble with the imperial court, it won’t do you any good. I could tell that your relationship with the Prince Regent has improved. This means that you’ll eventually return to the capital. At that time, you’ll be in danger…” Yu Yongnian said, slightly anxious.
Yu Yunxi looked at Yu Yongnian with a strange expression as she asked, “Is
Third Brother worried about me?”
Yu Yongnian’s expression stiffened, and he looked away unnaturally when he heard these words. Then, he pretended to be nonchalant as he said, “It’s not that I’m worried. I was just reminding you. You’re still part of the Yu family no matter what. It’ll be bad if you anger the Yu family…”
A smile finally appeared on Yu Yunxi’s face when she heard this. She did not expect her third brother to be so… interesting. Whether he was worried about her or not, she could still sense it. Finally, she replied lightly, “Third Brother, just do your own thing. The various forces in the capital are constantly struggling with each other. With you in the family, the Yu family won’t fall. After all, the Emperor won’t give up on his pawns so easily…”
Yu Yongnian:
‘Is she trying to comfort me?’
“Also, what did Xinan gain from giving in to the imperial courts over the years? Nothing. Since that’s the case, what’s wrong with being a little unyielding?” Yu Yunxi said. This time, her voice was a little colder.
Yu Yongnian pursed his lips and did not comment on this matter.
“Third Brother, you didn’t come just to pass on the imperial edict, right?” Yu Yunxi asked with a faint smile as she glanced at him from the corners of her eyes.
Feng Yijin valued powerful ministers the most. It was impossible for him to send both Chen Kui and Yu Yongnian here without a good reason. Moreover, the Chen family and the Yu family were on the same side. This meant that it was likely that Yu Yongnian was the one who asked to be sent here.
When Yu Yunxi was in the capital, she had observed Yu Yongnian. He was very smart and kept a distance from Feng Weiping, Feng Weizhou, and the others. Based on how well he protected himself, under normal circumstances, he would not choose to come to Xinan. Seeing that he was here, it could only mean that he came with ulterior motives.
Yu Yongnian was slightly stunned by Yu Yunxi’s words. After he regained his senses, he said in a low voice, “It seems like I can’t hide anything from you.”
After a beat, he said, “Mother and Father wronged your mother back then. I’m disgusted by their actions. I know it’s too late to say it now, but I still want to tell you something.”
Yu Yongnian brought out a jade bracelet and a letter before he said again, “Back then, when your mother was still alive, an old man brought her portrait to the residence to look for her. When Father saw that old man, he acted as though he had seen his enemy, and he vehemently denied that your mother was in the residence. Then, he even got someone to chase that old man away…”
“I was present at that time. I was suspicious after I saw everything so I followed the old man. Initially, I planned to ask the old man a few questions. Unexpectedly, Father sent someone to beat that old man to death. I was young at that time, and I was powerless to save him. After everyone left, I went to the old man’s side. With his dying breath, he gave me these two things… He urged me to give them to your mother.”
“I… I… At that time, I thought you and your mother were the sinners of the Yu family. If it weren’t for the both of you, the Yu family wouldn’t be in chaos. Therefore, I hid these things until now…”
Yu Yunxi was shocked by Yu Yongnian’s words. She hesitantly raised her hand to take those things as she asked, puzzled, “Why did you suddenly decide to give them to me?”
Yu Yongnian looked away and asked in a low voice, “Would you believe me if I said I’m ashamed of my actions?”
Then, he coughed lightly and quickly corrected himself, saying, “I was just talking nonsense. I, I didn’t do anything wrong so why should I feel ashamed? I just feel like these two things were in the way so I decided to give them to you..
Yu Yunxi was amused by his behavior. Why did she not realize that Yu Yongnian had such a side to him?
The letter had turned yellow due to the passage of time, and it was clear that it had not been opened at all after such a long time. It could be seen that Yu Yongnian’s nature was not as bad as the other members of the Yu family.
“Mother!”
At this moment, the little bun ran over with some freshly baked pastries. He thought Yu Yunxi was done with her work so he came looking for her. When he saw Yu Yongnian, he was stunned.
Yu Yongnian was shocked when he saw the little bun’s face that was no longer disguised.
“He, he, he is…”
“Junjin, come here and greet your uncle,” Yu Yunxi said, waving at the little bun.
‘Uncle? Oh, from the Yu family…’
Although the little bun was not very enthusiastic, he still ran over with his short legs. He called out in a low voice, “Uncle.”
Yu Yongnian, who was usually very calm, was at a loss after being called ‘Uncle’ by the little bun. He coughed and said awkwardly, “I came here in a hurry so I didn’t bring a meeting gift for you. I’ll make it up to you in the future.”
“It’s fine. I can give you a welcome gift,” the little bun said as he rummaged through his pockets and found a few pieces of silver.
Yu Yongnian did not take the little bun seriously and assumed that the little bun was just joking around.
However, the little bun carefully counted the silver as he muttered, “This is to buy candied hawthorn for Mother. This is to buy a hairpin for Mother. This is to buy a dress for Mother… This is to buy food for myself.. ‘
Then, the little bun gritted his teeth as though he was enduring some kind of pain before he placed the last piece of silver in Yu Yongnian’s hand and said, “Uncle, this is for you.”
Yu Yunxi did not know whether to laugh or cry as she watched from the side. As it turned out, her son had been saving money. She knew he had probably obtained the silver from Qian Ji and the others.
Yu Yongnian hesitated for a moment. In the end, he still took the silver and said, “Thank you.”
He had an indescribable feeling in his heart when he looked at the silver in his hand. After a while, he said, “Eldest Sister, I’ll go to the relay station first. I’ll write a letter to the Emperor and inform him of Xinan’s request. Don’t worry.” With that, he turned around and left.
Looking at Yu Yongnian’s back, the little bun asked in a soft voice, “Mother, I heard from Aunt Qian Jiao that you made a request to that bad Emperor. Will he agree to your request?”
“He’ll agree. After all, news already spread from Nanyue that they’re willing to use two cities to redeem Nan Xun,” Yu Yunxi said faintly.
Unexpectedly, Nan Xun was so favored. He was actually worth two cities. ‘The Emperor will have to make his choice between gaining two cities or giving up on Xinan…
At this moment, Yu Yunxi remembered something.
“Has the snow lotus been sent over?”
Earlier, before meeting Yu Yongnian and the others, the Third Prince of Beixiao had said that he was sending the snow lotus over.
Yu Yunxi could not figure it out. Beixiao agreed to help Nanyue because they wanted the snow lotus. So why did the Third Prince send the snow lotus to them after obtaining it?
“Forget it. There’s no point in thinking about it since I can’t figure it out. I should go and brew the medicine for Brother,” Yu Yunxi muttered to herself as she prepared to go to the kitchen.
At this time, the little bun pulled her back and said earnestly, “Mother, don’t be anxious. The trusted aide of the Third Prince of Beixiao said that once the snow lotus leaves the soil, its medicinal properties will weaken. As such, we still need to leave it in the soil for some time before giving it to Uncle.”
‘Oh, right. How could I forget about this?’
At the same time, her doubts grew. She only knew about the snow lotus because she had read many medical journals. However, how did the Third Prince of Beixiao know so much?
Yu Yunxi sighed. At the same time, she looked at the jade and letter in her hand.
‘Forget it. Let’s find out why that old man was looking for Mother first…’
When Yu Yunxi opened the letter, she saw only one sentence: When the flowers bloom in the capital, don’t forget to return.
‘What does this mean?’
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