Ever since that night in the bamboo forest, Yang Ruoning had been waiting.
The person who wanted to assassinate her must know something, and that person was likely the most crucial link in this perplexing chain of events. Once this link was found, everything would fall into place.
Jason's cause of death had to be investigated, but finding that girl seemed more important. She needed to ensure she was safe.
Her high-profile romance with Luo Yuan also served this purpose. She was signaling to those involved, "I am here. I am waiting for you."
But two months had passed, and the person had not reappeared.
Yang Ruoning mused, stopping her pen and gazing at the small white flowers blooming in the sunlight outside the window.
Luo Yuan had gone to the front hall to receive guests. Before he left, he had assigned Yang Ruoning homework. Ever since that day in the bamboo forest, he had been diligently teaching her. She found Luo Yuan very patient, teaching someone like her, who had no aptitude for languages.
She was despairing of learning Chinese. She had given up on it in middle school, and that was simplified Chinese. Now faced with traditional characters, Yang Ruoning felt that her daily studies were a form of inhumane torture.
One day, Luo Yuan explained to her why a husband and wife might call each other "qing." He said, "Originally, only husbands called their wives 'qing.' Later texts like 'Huo Ni Pian' record: Wang Anfeng's wife often called Anfeng 'qing,' and Anfeng rebuked her, saying, 'A wife calling her husband 'qing' is disrespectful according to propriety. Later, you did it again.' He personally retorted, 'I care for you, I love you, therefore I call you 'qing.' If I don't call you 'qing,' who else should?' You see here, the character 'qing' has different meanings…"
"Hey, are you speaking Chinese?" Yang Ruoning felt a headache coming on. "What is this alien language? Can humans learn it?"
She pointed to her hair, which she had messed up like a bird's nest, and said, "Sir, please teach me a human language, okay?" She then pointed to the fallen hairs on the table. "Honey, my hair is precious too. I don't want to be bald within a week."
Luo Yuan looked at her for a moment and asked seriously, "Back where you come from, were you actually a good student?"
Uh…
Thinking of this, Yang Ruoning sighed.
Today, she still had four pages of text to copy. Luo Yuan had said that if her homework wasn't finished, she would be confined for two days.
She felt she needed to buy some snacks to get through the long hours of copying.
So she slipped out through the back door. She had intended to go to the pastry shop on the corner to buy some osmanthus cake, but unfortunately, they had sold out early and closed. She remembered the auntie in the kitchen at Fan Lou mentioning a small wine shop in the back alley of the West Market that sold the best plum wine in the capital. Yang Ruoning had never been there. Since she was already out, she decided to go. She thought she could delay things for a while.
She finally found the wine shop after asking for directions. The shop assistant told her to wait a moment, and he would go to the back to get the wine for her. kuAiδugg
Yang Ruoning waited for the assistant.
Someone in the wine shop was telling a story. The accent suggested he was from the north. The topic today, by chance, was Luo Yuan.
Yang Ruoning was curious, so she sat down in a corner, drinking the plum wine and listening to the anecdotes about Luo Yuan.
Most of the content was similar to what she had heard from the gossiping girls at Fan Lou.
He was adopted at the age of eight and went to war at eleven. At twelve, he single-handedly defeated a pack of wolves after getting lost. At fourteen, after a battle between two armies, he single-handedly returned to the battlefield, killing hundreds of remaining enemies and beheading a prominent enemy general. At fifteen, he participated in the imperial examination under the pen name Luo Jianci and became the second-place scholar. To everyone's astonishment, he entered the imperial palace to receive the emperor's commendation. He had guarded the northern border for many years, maintaining peace and stability. However, for years he refused to return to the capital to serve as a civil official, until the beginning of this year.
With his numerous military achievements and his intelligence and caution, he had made many friends in the capital's official circles after arriving. Naturally, such a talented young man with boundless prospects attracted many matchmakers, who practically beat down the door. It was said that Old General Luo had rejected all proposals because he had already privately betrothed his own daughter to him.
He was already engaged? It must be that beauty from the wormhole video, Yang Ruoning thought.
At this moment, a man with a northern accent sitting at the next table lowered his voice and boasted to his companion, "Do you know, there's been a legend in our north for a long time that General Luo is actually the legitimate son of the late emperor."
"The legitimate son? You mean that crown prince who died in an accident over ten years ago?"
"Precisely."
"What late crown prince?" someone asked, not understanding.
"Before the late emperor passed away, one day the Empress took the young crown prince to a temple to pray. On the way, due to falling rocks, they plunged into a cliff. However, they only found the Empress's body, but not the young crown prince's."
"Ah, so that means the crown prince might…"
The person next to him immediately interrupted, "Saying that could cost you your head."
Hearing this, Yang Ruoning put down her wine bowl.
She remembered that British General Mountbatten had said that a successful coup always had five key factors: The first factor, control of the media. Clearly, Luo Yuan had already garnered considerable popular support and courted many influential figures; second, control of the economy. She didn't know if Luo Yuan had achieved this, but his salary was far from enough to afford the treasures in his room. He must have other sources of income; third, occupy administrative targets, namely the imperial city, and achieving this requires the fourth key element – the loyalty of the army. He commanded millions of elite troops in the north, who were seasoned warriors after years of training, so a large-scale southward march to attack the city was also possible.
The fifth factor, legitimacy. To overthrow the current imperial power, a valid excuse was naturally needed. This was also what Yang Ruoning had found most baffling. Luo Yuan, as Old General Luo's adopted son, an orphan, where did his legitimacy come from? Now, she finally understood that the missing crown prince was likely his source of legitimacy.
Was he really that missing crown prince? How could he prove his identity? If he was indeed the crown prince, would he really kill his brother for the throne?
Yang Ruoning felt countless thoughts swirling in her head. She tried to categorize them, but the result was only more confusion. She had a vague feeling that her time with Luo Yuan might be drawing to a close, but she hadn't found the person she was looking for yet, and she needed to plan for the future.
She was absolutely unwilling to follow Luo Yuan into the palace. She couldn't bear to see Luo Yuan walk onto the grand hall with his Empress; she couldn't tolerate sharing a husband with numerous women. Even if he were an emperor and needed women to balance the harem and even the court, those women had never known freedom, so they wouldn't understand what they had lost. But Yang Ruoning knew that it was something she could never give up.
Yang Ruoning finished the last sip of wine from the pot, feeling slightly tipsy.
The sky outside had already darkened. At the entrance of the wine shop, the assistant had hung up a string of red lanterns.
Yang Ruoning stood up; she should go back.
The autumn evening was already a bit cold. The north wind blew through the alley, and Yang Ruoning shivered. She hugged her arms and quickened her pace back.
From a distance, she saw a tall figure hurrying towards her. It was Luo Yuan, looking for her.
She smiled at him apologetically and said, "I'm sorry, I lost track of time. I'll definitely stay up tonight to finish the homework."
Luo Yuan took off his outer robe and draped it over Yang Ruoning. He said, "Next time you go out, tell me. If you're gone for too long, I'll worry."
Yang Ruoning took his hand and said, "Okay, let's go home."
They chatted casually on the way. Luo Yuan told her that he had found an old book of miscellaneous stories about rural life, filled with interesting tales that she would surely enjoy.
Yang Ruoning, in turn, told him that she had heard a storyteller at the wine shop telling stories about him, and that's why she had lost track of time.
Luo Yuan said, "Those are just rumors from the common folk. Listen to them as stories, but don't take them seriously."
Yang Ruoning suddenly asked him, "Luo Yuan, can you promise me one thing?"
"Oh? What is it?"
Yang Ruoning stopped, looked up into his eyes, and said earnestly, "Can you promise me that no matter what happens in the future, you will never harm Qing Ye?"
A flicker of light flashed in Luo Yuan's eyes. He asked, "Why bring this up so suddenly?"
Yang Ruoning shrugged and said, "No reason, it's just… Qing Ye is the first friend I made here, but I feel like you don't really like him. Actually, if you were to get to know him better, putting aside his identity as emperor, you'd find he's actually quite lovable."