Chapter 99.2 – Letting Go of Past Grievances
Right now, it had actually only been less than half a month since their previous showdown with the Crown Prince. Based on the frequency of Qi Yang entering the palace in the past, she had only came to the Eastern Palace once or twice less than usual. The Emperor was ill during this time, and others could not see that she had become estranged from the Eastern palace.
But that was everyone else. As the two parties involved, Qi Yang and the Crown Prince naturally understood that there was a rift between the two ever since that day – not only did they understood it well, even the Emperor saw it.
Perhaps if things had gone on longer, other people would also be able to see it. But fortunately, the Emperor reminded them, so the two siblings would not gradually drift apart.
In the Eastern Palace’s front hall, the Crown Prince was discussing matters with some officials, and he didn’t expose anything different on his face when he saw Qi Yang’s arrival.
After casually dismissing his few subordinates, the Crown Prince greeted Qi Yang as usual, saying, “Royal Sister is here, come sit down quickly. Royal Father has not been in good health recently, and you haven’t come here for a while. Today, you just came from Xuanshi Hall, right?”
Qi Yang nodded. Seeing the Crown Prince’s calm face, she sat down with a peace of mind.
The Eastern Palace’s maid quickly brought tea and snacks, and was immediately dismissed by the Crown Prince with a wave of his hand. Only the two were left in the large front hall. This time, even Lu Qipei was not there, and the siblings could have a truly frank conversation.
The Crown Prince held his cup of tea but did not drink it. The slightly hot temperature went through the tea cup, warming his palms that were a little bit chilly after autumn. He said, “Royal Sister must have something to say to me when you come today.”
Qi Yang did not drink her tea either, her gesture when holding the tea cup no different from that of the Crown Prince’s. “Regardless of what Royal Brother thinks, I trust the Prince Consort.”
Her straightforward words were so direct that the Crown Prince was stunned. He wanted to smile but couldn’t; when it came to serious matters, his face turned even more serious and he spoke in a rare solemn tone. “Royal Sister is so emotional, I am disappointed.”
Honestly, the Crown Prince basically raised Qi Yang by himself. He taught her how to read and write, and taught her about common sense. He put more effort than even on his own children. The more effort you put in, naturally, the greater your expectations.
Watching Qi Yang grow estranged from the Eastern Palace recently, the Crown Prince was already somewhat disappointed by her overemphasis on romance. Hearing her say that again now, there was no need to mention how his mood was.
Qi Yang saw the disappointment in the Crown Prince’s eyes, and her heart suddenly grew heavy. But there were some things that she needed to say, and some things she couldn’t run away from. She straightened her back and said, “I’m not acting out of emotion. Today, I’m here to reason with you.”
When he heard this, the Crown Prince’s face softened a lot and he said, “Then tell me, I will hear you out first.”
Qi Yang looked at the Crown Prince, her bright black eyes honest and pure. “I don’t know where Royal Brother found out about Xie Yuan, but it’s unwise to doubt the Prince Consort because of this. You don’t need to mention how she looks like Xie Hongyi, I’ve already seen this too. But other than that, has Royal Brother ever seen the Prince Consort do anything that is disloyal to the Emperor, not good for the country or anything that stands in our way?”
The Crown Prince was dumbfounded and pondered for a moment, then shook his head and said, “I don’t know. Maybe she didn’t do it, maybe I just never found out.”
The corner of Qi Yang’s mouth couldn’t help but twitch after hearing that. “Royal Brother didn’t find anything, so you started suspecting her?” After saying that, she continued without waiting for the Crown Prince to say anything. “Royal Brother must know that it’s nothing strange for people to have acquaintances in this world. Even if the Prince Consort and Rong State’s Xie Yuan looks exactly the same, so what? In this world, there might be someone who looks exactly the same as you and I.”
It wasn’t easy for the Crown Prince to refute those words. His suspicion was something that members of the royal family naturally had. Qi Yang should also have it, but right now she had been completely blinded by emotions.
But the Crown Prince wasn’t someone who did things arbitrarily either. He suddenly spoke up that day, mostly to probe things out.
Unfortunately, Lu Qipei was too stable. He didn’t find anything, but instead Qi Yang could no longer hold back first.
Facing Qi Yang’s questioning right now, the Crown Prince also felt a bit of headache. At the same time, he still couldn’t easily believe things, “Even if I cannot provide any evidence, for such an important matter, does Royal Sister really have no doubt about the Prince Consort at all?”
Qi Yang shook her head and said with a firm expression, “No, not in the slightest.”
The Crown Prince stared at Qi Yang for a long while. He naturally realized that she was saying the truth, but he still found it unbelievable – Qi Yang was personally taught by him, and was the person most similar to him. He though that she would face anyone and anything calmly.
Of course, the Crown Prince right now didn’t know the kind of waiting and yearning, and the despair and loss that Qi Yang once experienced. Just when you thought you had lost it, you finally regained that thing. It was the kind of thing you would cherish beyond reason.
Fortunately, she met Lu Qipei. The person who had a clear and open mind, and once suffered losses together with her. That person would never use her, much less betray her.
The siblings looked at each other in silence, and Qi Yang suddenly said, “Royal Brother, did you forget? Before we talked about Xie Yuen that day, Prince Consort was reminding you to pay attention to your own safety. She has never had any ill intentions towards you.”
The Crown Prince was dumbfounded. His doubts might not have subsided yet, but he also knew that Qi Yang was right. At least from this point of view, it seemed that not only had Lu Qipei never harmed him, but in the past few years, she had been doing everything that was possible to help protect him. What she had proposed that day was even more selfless.
The Emperor was right – the Crown Prince would be a wise ruler. He wouldn’t be so ruthless that he would kill the innocent rather than let the guilty get away.
After a long time, he sighed and said, “Perhaps you are right.”
Author notes:
Qi Yang (patting shoulder): Alright, Royal Brother. Don’t doubt your own family, hurry up and unite your fighting strength to fight the outsiders!
Crown Prince (sighing): Fine, just don’t blame Royal Brother if you got tricked.
Qi Yang & Lu Qipei (showing off public display of affection ): You’re thinking too much!
